对高考英语概要写作的感知及实践

陈慧娟

一、概要写作的感知

1. 概要写作的含义。

A summary is a short account giving the main points of something longer or detailed.

概要写作包含几种能力。第一，把握文章结构的能力。能够看清楚文章的结构，设法反映出原文中作者的观点。第二，具备筛选信息的能力。要学会区分事实和观点、重要和次要、普遍与特殊、相关与不相关、原因和结果等复杂的逻辑关系。第三，用英文解释英文的能力。要用自己简单的语言解释比较复杂的语言文字，不能抄袭原文。

2.概要写作的步骤：

第一步 确定主题句。确定阅读文章的主题句，一般在段首。没有主题句的需要自己组合。

第二步 寻找关键词。分析主题句意义，确定关键词，关键词一般体现为名词、形容词，关键词的数目决定了概括的信息浓度。

第三步 重构主题句。概括的主题句逻辑上要统摄后面所有的支撑句。可以从作者的写作目的逆推，反映写作目的主题句是高度抽象的，它基本决定了概括的质量。

第四步 重组支撑句。支撑句的意义在逻辑上受制于主题句，可以是补充过程或者提供证据。

3.概括的小技巧：

（1）删除细节，只保留主要观点。

（2）避免重复。在原文中，为了强调某个主题，可能会重复论证说明，但是这在摘要中是不能使用的。

（3）删除具体例子。不过，阅读材料本身是由几个具体例子构成的，如阅读材料是谈西方种种节日的，如删除具体例子，则概括很难达到30个词，那就选择一至两个例子（即一两个主要节日）。

（4）使用概括性的名词代替具体的词，比如：

“She brought home several Chinese and English novels， a few copies of Time and Newsweek and some textbooks. She intended to read all of them during the winter vocation.”

可以概括为：“She brought home a lot of books to read during the vocation.”

（5）把文章的對话或直接引语（的要点）改成间接引语叙述。

（6）把长段的描述变成短小、简单的句子。如果材料中描述某人或某事用了十个句子，那么你只要把它们变成一两句即可。

（7）压缩长的句子。如下列两例：

“His courage in battle might without exaggeration be called lion-like.”

可以概括为： “He was very brave in battle.”

“He was hard up for money and was being pressed by his creditor.”

可以概括为：“He was in financial difficulties.”

（8）你还可以使用词组代替整句或者从句。

二、议论文概要写作指导 ——主题概括法

议论文通常用来讲明道理、议论是非、提出观点和看法。作者先正面或反面提出论点，然后用事实论证论点，最后以重申论点或提出建议的方式得出结论。议论文的主题句通常在首段或尾段，或者在各段的首句或尾句。议论文的概要写作，我们所采取的方法 —— 主题概括法。具体如下：

第一步 找出关键词和全文或段落的主题句。任何一篇文章都是围绕某个主题展开的，因此，许多文章中最明显的特点之一是有一个反复出现的中心词，即高频词，也叫做主题词。抓住了它，便容易抓住文章的中心。一般地说，主题词通常是名词、动词或形容词。

第二步 根据原文的词句（一般指关键词和全文或段落的主题句）， 进行改写： 或用相应的同义词，或进行句型转换（如主动句改为被动句等等）. 千万不要原封不动地抄写原文的词句。

第三步 用连词连接各部分，使它连贯；

第四步 整合中心要点，使用形容词、介词短语、非谓语动词短语合并、简化句子，使之符合概括短文内容要点的词数（30个词左右）。

实战演练：

阅读下面短文，根据其内容写一篇60词左右的内容概要。

Getting rid of dirt， in the opinion of most people， is a good thing. However，

there is nothing fixed about attitudes to dirt.

In the early 16th century， people thought that dirt on the skin was a means to block out disease， as medical opinion had it that washing off dirt with hot water could open up the skin and let ills in. A particular danger was thought to lie in public baths. By 1538， the French king had closed the bath houses in his kingdom. So did the king of England in 1546. Thus began a long time when the rich and the poor in Europe lived with dirt in a friendly way. Henry IV， King of France， was famously dirty. Upon learning that a nobleman had taken a bath， the king ordered that， to avoid the attack of disease， the nobleman should not go out.

Though the belief in the merit （好處） of dirt was long-lived， dirt has no longer been regarded as a nice neighbor ever since the 18 century. Scientifically speaking， cleaning away dirt is good to health. Clean water supply and hand washing are practical means of preventing disease. Yet， it seems that standards of cleanliness have moved beyond science since World War II.Advertisements repeatedly sell the idea： clothes need to be whiter than white， cloths ever softer， surfaces to shine. Has the hate for dirt， however， gone too far？

Attitudes to dirt still differ hugely nowadays. Many first-time parents nervously try to warn their children off touching dirt， which might be responsible for the spread of disease. On the contrary， Mary Rue bush， an American immunologist （免疫学家）， encourages children to play in the dirt to build up a strong immune system. And the latter （后者） position is gaining some ground.

1.要点分析。

文章第一段就是本篇文章的主题句，亮明了总的观点：However， there is nothing fixed about attitudes to dirt. 换句话说：Different people have different attitudes towards dirt. 再结合下文谈到的主题可知Different people have different attitudes towards dirt on the skin. 范文中的要点1“People have mixed opinions towards dirt on our skin. ”概括非常精炼。

第二段主要谈到了在16世纪，人们认为dirt on the skin was a means to block out disease，尤以英、法两国的贵族为代表。结合第三段第一句Though the belief in the merit of dirt was long-lived， dirt has no longer been regarded as a nice neighbor ever since 18 century.可知，直到18世纪之前，人们都认为dirt是很“友好的”，有助于预防疾病。范文中的要点2 “For a long time in history， people of some European countries， such as France， believed that dirt protected people from getting ill.”很好地总结了这些要点。

第三段用Though引出人们对dirt观点的转变“…since the 18th century. Scientifically speaking， cleaning away dirt is good to health.”再结合本段最后一部分Advertisements repeatedly sell the idea…可得出要点3“However， people began to change their attitudes to dirt about 200 years ago. People have been told that washing dirt off our body can keep us healthy.”

文章最后一段第一句指出，现在人们对于dirt的态度还是有所不同，On the contrary引出专家的观点，一位免疫学家认为dirt有助于增强免疫系统，这一观点获得了一些支持。范文中的要点4“However， some scientists believe that exposure to some dirt may help our immune system.”表达很贴切。

2.要点连接。

文章概要，在写完了要点之后，下一步的工作就是要把这些要点用适当的连接词进行连接，使上下句之间具有连贯性。本篇文章整篇结构是总分的结构，要点2和要点3在观点上截然相反，因此，之间需要表示转折的连接词，范文用了However恰到好处。要点3和要点4在观点上又存在不同，因此，还是用表转折的连接词However。不过笔者认为，此处用Nevertheless可以避免三句话内出现两次However。

3.修改成文。

People have mixed opinions towards dirt on our skin. （要点 1 ） For a long time in history， people of some European countries， such as France， believed that dirt protected people from getting ill. （要点 2 ） However， people began to change their attitudes to dirt about 200 years ago. People have been told that washing dirt off our body can keep us healthy. （要点 3） However， some scientists believe that exposure to some dirt may help our immune system. （要点 4）

三、感悟

其实，概要写作我们师生并不陌生，在日常的英语教学中，教师经常让学生就所学英语课文逐段概括段落大意或者复述课文，这在一定程度上都为概要写作奠定了基础。除此之外，作为考生，还要注意以下几点：

1.积累常见的同义短语和句型转换，掌握并运用单词、短语和句型。“巧妇难为无米之炊”，即使有再好的写作技巧，如果没有相应的基础词汇和句法知识，也很难写出概要写作的上乘之作。因此，考生要在基础词汇和句法知识上下功夫，以不变应万变。

2.进行适度的专题练习。

有计划地进行适度练习有利于考生快速掌握概要写作的要点，找到概要写作的感觉，冲破对概要写作的不适感。

总之，新高考更加重视考查考生高中阶段英语基本技能的掌握情况，也注意考查考生进入高等学校继续学习的潜能，目标是利用高考命题的导向功能推动新课程的课堂教学改革。

（作者单位：浙江省天台中学 317200）