托福写作诀窍:擅用名词化

所属专题:托福写作备考全集合  来源:    要点:托福词汇  
编辑点评: 新考试作为国外类考试,其写作部分的用词地道的重要性毋庸置疑。然而,由于历史、地理和社会的原因,英民族更注重抽象思维,他们擅长用抽象的概念来表达具体的事物。他们认为通过名词化可以产生大量抽象概念,满足表达抽象概念的需要。

因此,擅用名词化不仅体现了写作水平,更是一种思维方式。曾经一个针对中国几所顶尖大学的优秀作文的调查显示,20 篇优秀作文中名词化的使用频率为7%-8%,而普通习作的使用频率仅为5%-6%。与此同时,选用了20 篇英语国家学生的英语作文,同样的方法统计出其名词化的使用频率为10%-15%。有人更是戏说道,老外眼中句子分为3个档次,最差的是主动句,较好的是被动句,倒装句等,最好的nominalization(名词化)的句子,这样的句子最学术最适合写论文。那么面对这样的差异,我们需要重新审视我们写作中的思维方式,做到如何恰到好处又不“画蛇添足”。

简单说,名词化即是动词或形容词被用作名词的现象。比如动词转成名词:discovery->discovery,move->movement,refuse->refusal,又比如形容词转成名词:careless->carelessness,difficult->difficulty, intense->intensity。那么什么情况下,我们需要进行名词化呢?

A 谓语动词的宾语部分。

原句:I do not know either what she meant or what he intends.

名词化:I do not know either her meaning or his intentions.

B 结合被动形式

原句:If people decide without enough persuasive information,...

名词化:If a decision is made without enough persuasive information,...

C 取代诸如从句中“the fact that”的用法

原句:The fact that I denied what he accused me of impressed the jury.

名词化:My denial of his accusations impressed the jury.

更好的名词化:a. When I denied his accusations,I impressed the jury.

b. In denying his accusations, I impressed the jury.

D 名词化部分用在there is/are的后面

原句:We demand that the government stop taxing entertainment.

名词化:There is a demand for an end to taxation on entertainment.

原句:The floods considerably eroded the land.

名词化:There was considerable erosion of the land from the floods.

然而,有些时候,在我们的思维方式中认为理所应当使用“名词化”时,老外认为是没有必要的。比如:

A 名词化部分跟在动词后面

原句(名词化“冗余”):The police conducted an investigation into the matter.

改后:The police investigated the matter.

B 名词化部分作为主语

原句:Our discussion is concerned with a tax cut.

改后:We discussed a tax cut.

C 连续进行名词化

原句:a. First,she reviewed the evolution of the dorsal fin.

b. There was a first a review of the evolution of the dorsal fin.

改后:First,she reviewed how the dorsal fin evolved.

D 连接部分名词化

原句:Their cessation of hostilities was because of their personnel losses.

改后:They ceased hostilities because they lost personnel.

原句:The instability of the motor housing did not preclude the completion of the field trials.

改后:Even though the motor housing was unstable, the research staff completed the field trials.

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