如何用英文清晰准确地进行描述
１. 我这里所说的“描述”是广义的：既涉及到“描”(describe)也涉及到“述”(narrate)，同时也涉及到描述的目的--传达意义(meaning)，也就是所谓的阐释(illustrate)。
资源环境科学
２. “描”(description)是向人静态地展现外界留给你的印象；“述”(narration)是向人动态地展现事情的发展及过程；“阐释”(illustration)则是通过具体的例子揭示事物或抽象观念的意义(meaning)。
３. 英语学习者在用英文进行上述意义的“描述”时，常常受到母语思维方式的影响，难以有效地组织描述，或者描述出来之后令英美人不得要领。问题出在汉语思维方式倾向于强调普遍的东西而英语思维方式则倾向于具体的东西；汉语思维方式倾向于不分重点地罗列而英语思维方式则倾向于依照意义的重要性来进行人为地组织或加工。
４. “细节性思维”+“清晰的逻辑结构”是掌握英语描述的关键。所谓“细节性思维”指的是每当你要表达的时候，要求自己引用具体的东西来支撑你的表达或使你的表达具体化、清晰化，这也就是英文中总强调的突出“要点”(point)的意思。泛泛而谈而没有具体细节支撑，对方则看不到(e)你的要点(point)，自然也就不会明白你的意思。所谓“清晰的逻辑结构”指的是英美人所习惯的组织他们描述的框架，这一框架基本上由三个部分构成：A导引(the lead)
B 事件的流程(the flow of events)
C 收尾(the end)。
５. “导引”是描述的第一步。在导引里，你可以展示一个问题(t out a problem)、引入一个新的情况(introduce a novel situation)、提出某种挑战(po a challenge)、抛出一个令人吃惊的东西(pop a surpri)、问一个问题(ask a question)或者提及你的最初印象(initial impression)。导引只是提供必要的而不是全部的背景，不可铺垫过长，一定要选择有代表性的时刻切入；“事件的流程”在描述中起着最重要的作用，因为所有相关的事件都在这一步按照一定的方式被组织成有意义的、有序的主干(logical sgroupsof events)；“收尾"是完成描述的最后一步，收尾的时候一定要回应“导引”，解决了这个问题(resolve the problem)、展示了新情况要么向好要么向坏的变化(show the change of situation for better or wor)、成功或失败地回应了挑战(succeed or fail in responding to the challenge)、解释了令人吃惊的东西(make the surpri understood)、回答了问题(answer the question)、进一步印证或推翻了你的最初印象(prove or fail to prove your initial impression)。
６. 在用英文进行描述时，初学者应牢记两点：A汉语思维中描述一系列事件习惯采取的方式就是按照这些事件发生的先后顺序一一展现。这样一种方式对英美人来说十分枯燥无趣。英语思维方式往往打破这样一种所谓的“自然时间序列”(natural quencesgroupsin time)，按照讲述者的主观时间序列来一一展现。这一主观序列的本质在于，他们总是先把自认为最重要的东西说出来，然后说第二重要的、第三重要的……把最不重要的留在后面说。例如：描述你第一次去上海的经历。汉语思维往往是这样
的--先介绍上海的历史、文化背景，然后抵达上海，上海现代化的市容吸引了你，你见到了上海的熟人，熟人要你一定去看看外滩的夜景，你看到了外滩的美丽，最后你依依不舍地告别上海返回家乡。英语思维多半会这样组织--期刊里上海现代化的市容吸引了你，你抵达上海，你见到了上海的熟人，熟人要你一定去看看外滩的夜景，你研究并熟悉了外滩的历史，你依依惜别地离开了上海，最令你难以忘怀的是你看到的外滩的美丽。B 讲述时中国同学往往不知道说完一句该怎样接着说下一句，以至生拼硬凑，想说什么说什么，让自己跟着感觉走。其实英语思维中连接两个句子的模式不外乎这样几种：a)句子A直接导向句子B(A leads to B.)；b)句子B和句子A正好相反(B is the opposite of A.)；c)句子A和句子B同属一个相关的事件群(A and B both belong to the samesgroupsof related events.)；d)事件A发生在事件B身上(A happens to B.)；e)事件A之所
以发生是因为事件B(A happens becau of B.)。
７. 千万不要在一个描述中试图说太多的事情，学会只选择一件事情来说(talk about only one thing)。另外，要保证你描述中的每一句话紧紧扣住主题(stick to your subject)，不要涉及毫不相关或关系不大的其他细节(focus on the one thing)。收尾要出人意料、引人入胜(make the end interesting)。
princetonuniversity８. 下面我们仔细比较几个具体例子来消化以上的论述。
例一：Can computers in the classroom ever replace teachers? (the lead)
——同意或反对意见
——举出事实和数据{logical flow}
——相互争论观点
"Sure, computers can help kids learn," Bob says, looking at the rows of blinking screens in his classroom, "but I'd take a good teacher without computers over a poor one with computers, every time." (the end)
例二：(1) 对一只宠物狗的两种描述
V ersion A
We have a dog. Her name is Beauty. She is a bulldog (一种脖子粗，性凶猛的狗). She has a pretty face. She likes to catch rats.
评点：这一描述中出现的事件太多，不集中。Too many things about a pet dog!
V ersion B
One night when I was about to go to bed, my dog Bud gotsintosthe kitchen. He saw a box of cornstarch (淀粉) on the shelf. He jumped up and knocked it all over himlf. In the morning when I saw Bud, he was as white as a ghost.评点：只围绕一件事描述。Focus on one event. Stick to the subject.
(2) 描述一个星期六
V ersion A美国知音
Saturday I helped my mother clean hou. Then I ran on some errands(跑腿办事). When father came home at noon, he gave me ten bucks(美元). In the afternoon I went to a movie. The movie was terrible. I didn't enjoy it so much as the one I saw last Saturday. Next Saturday I am going again.
评点：描述乏味，事件太多，多数句子没能紧扣主题，结尾无趣。Subject is not interesting. Not all the ntences stick to the subject. Too many things. The ending is boring.
V ersion B
Saturday my brother Tom said he would teach me to skate. So he let me take hold of a stick. Then he would pull me along. Once he let go of me. He thought it was fun to e me fall, but I didn't e th
e joke.
莎拉大波娃评点：题材有趣，所有的句子围绕滑冰一件事来说，结尾出人意料。Interesting subject. Every ntence is talking about skating. The ending gives surpri.
(3) 描述放学回家的过程
V ersion A
Y esterday I went home from school. I saw many cars. I also saw some large trucks. I went home with my brother. We were very late when we made it home.评点：事与事之间无联系，没有统一的主题。
烫发的种类V ersion B
Y esterday noon I saw a girl who had trouble with her car. She stopped at a street crossing (路口). When the traffic cop signaled(给信号) to go, she couldn't start(起动). There was a long line of cars behind her. After a while she finally started her car. I think she was frightened to death.
评点：主题突出，句子紧凑，只围绕一件事说，结尾有总结性观点。
不给力英文
９. 中国同学训练自己的英文描述能力时应按以下步骤进行：
A想清楚要表达的主题。
B 用逻辑流程图展示描述的结构，并且检验这一结构是否有效地组织了事件。
C 用有意思的细节扩展完成这一流程图。
图画描述法：
As is shown/described in the pictures above, we can e clearly that a flower, with the protection from the heavy rain, grows very well in a green hou. But once removed the protection and expod to the bitter weather, it withers and fades.
In the picture, we can e clearly that all of the men are working together to build a hou. Without their combined effort, the hou would be unlikely to be completed. This is a kind of teamwork spirit that is highly valued in today's society.
The primary purpo of this picture lies in the criticism of the moral degradation.
我是歌手第三季第二期
It goes without saying that the drawings aim at revealing a common and rious problem in China: how to educate and cultivate the young.
The cartoon features a man who looks fat, wealthy and edacious.
What the drawing is trying to express is very conspicuous.
zmkA first glance at this cartoon tells us that a matchmaker is attempting to create a n of crush between a man and a woman.
The picture describes an increasingly common scenario in today's world.
Almost everybody who lives in the urban areas of China is familiar with the phenomenon shown in this picture.
This is a very thought-provoking picture. / The cartoon reveals a very thought-provoking scene. / This is quite an extraordinary and meaningful picture.
It is a very alarming cartoon, in which hundreds of new-born babies are crying for food but there are only two bowls of porridge available.
对不起英语
The title of the picture further points out that to read books means to enlighten and development our thoughts with the help of other's thinking.
This picture describes th e scene of…
The cartoon reveals an astonishing scenario that…
The cartoon features the sharp contrast between…
The picture prents an interesting scenario occurring in…
It goes without saying that this picture aims at revealing a current problem:
It is a very eye-catching photo in which…
The drawing portrays a tragic scene in which…
In the picture, we are amazed to find that …
Basically, what we e in this cartoon is…
As the caption points out …
The picture depicts …
As is suggested by the pict ure …
图表描述法：
As is shown in the graph, it can be easily concluded that the past twenty years have en some ups and downs in China's growth rate whereas there has been a steady increa in the amount of GDP.
As is shown in the graph, the US population has been increasing dramatically since 1800. It had a much sharper increa from 1940 to 1990, reaching the peak at 250 million.
From the pie chart, we can find that among 5.5 billion people in the world, the smokers almost account for 20 percent of the total population.
From the above bar chart, we can learn that the life expectancy in the developing countries ro greatly from 1960 to 1990 with the infant mortality declining sharply.
The key findings taken from the survey are as follows: different people do not u the library in the same way. Their age, education background, and even their x may affect their choice of library materials they need.
dawning
The veral points compared in this table calls for our attention.
