展開觀點(diǎn)的方法叫做論證方法,常見的有四種:舉例,因果,對比和解釋。在這篇文章中我們重點(diǎn)討論最后一種:解釋。
將一個觀點(diǎn)進(jìn)行解釋有三個方法:
1.if…will/would
2.without…will/would
3.in other words
一:正面論證if…will/would
Advocates of this believe that today’s sedentary life style and stressful working conditions mean that physical activity is nolonger part of either our work or our leisure time.If there were easy-to reach local sports centres,we would be more likely to make exercise are gular part of our lives,rather than just collapsing in front of a screen every evening.(C9T3)
考官范文中給出的觀點(diǎn)是:如今終日伏案的生活方式和緊張的工作環(huán)境使體育活動從我們的工作和休閑生活中消失。由于本段是寫Advocates的觀點(diǎn),即增加體育設(shè)施對提高公眾健康有好處,所以觀點(diǎn)之后緊跟著有進(jìn)一步的解釋:如果當(dāng)?shù)赜薪愕捏w育活動中心,那么我們就很有可能將體育運(yùn)動作為生活的一部分,而不是每晚都癱坐在屏幕前。
正面論證更像是對觀點(diǎn)所產(chǎn)生結(jié)果的進(jìn)一步列舉,比如談到出國的好處:出國可以提高語言水平,如果一個人出國,他會與nativespeaker直接接觸,從而有了更多面對面練習(xí)語言的機(jī)會。
二:反面論證without…will/would
Good musicians or artists and exceptional sports stars have probably succeeded because of both good training and natural talent.Without the natural talent,continuous training would be neither at tractiven or productive,and without the training,the child would not learn how to exploit and develop their talent.(C7T1)
范文中觀點(diǎn)是:杰出的音樂家,藝術(shù)家和體育名星的成功是訓(xùn)練和天賦的結(jié)合。作者用了兩個without從反面進(jìn)行解釋論證:沒有天賦,連續(xù)訓(xùn)練可能既乏味又沒有效果;沒有訓(xùn)練,孩子們就不知道如何開發(fā)利用他們的才能。
反面論證是從“如果沒有…”這個角度去擴(kuò)充思路。比如說到政府與環(huán)境的話題:政府應(yīng)該加大對污染企業(yè)的監(jiān)管,如果沒有政府的監(jiān)督和管理,那些污染企業(yè)就可以在排放污染的同時獲利,并且逃脫懲罰,這樣對社會和環(huán)境治理都是極其不利的。
三:解釋in other words
解釋并不是把一句話換幾個同義詞再寫一遍,這個看似簡單的短語前后有著很大的奧妙,看看考官是如何利用這個方法的。
Over all,I think an ability to keep clear perspectives in life is a more essential fact or in a chieving happiness.By that I mean an ability to have a clear sense of what is important in our lives(the welf are of our families,the quality of our relationships,making other people happy,etc.)and what is not(a problem at work,getting annoyed about trivial things,etc.).(C4T2)
作者認(rèn)為要獲得幸福的一個更重要的因素是:to keep clear perspectives in life。這是一個很抽象的概念,如何做到這一點(diǎn)呢?范文中用了by that I mean來做進(jìn)一步解釋:也就是要知道生命中什么是重要的什么是不重要的。這是一個從抽象到具體的解釋。
再如:
…They are allowed to have whatever they want, regardless of price,and to be have as they please. This means that the children grow up without consideration for others and without any understanding of where their standard of living comes from.(C4T4)
This means that前面的內(nèi)容是由于出生率降低,孩子們被寵壞的具體表現(xiàn),后面講他們在成長的過程中很少為他人考慮,也從來不思考他們的幸福生活是從何而來。這是一個從具體到抽象的總結(jié)。
類似的短語還有:
It means
That is to say
In other words
To put it another way
By that I mean
總之,解釋是一種將觀點(diǎn)進(jìn)行再次闡釋的方法,通過正面,反面或抽象具體之間的轉(zhuǎn)化可以使考官更加詳盡地了解考生觀點(diǎn),同時由于加入了一些細(xì)節(jié)內(nèi)容,也使觀點(diǎn)變得豐富,充實(shí)。