中國學生英文寫作能力怎麽樣？中國學生常犯的錯誤有哪些？

推薦閱讀：中國學生英文寫(xie) 作能力怎麽(me) 樣？文學教授談中國學生英文寫(xie) 作

II. 中國學生常犯的錯誤。

Back to the writing. THE KEY IS IN THE VERBS. That is lesson #1. And THE IMPORTANCE OF MEANINGFUL ADJECTIVES: #2.  For example, I often see student essays which go along like the following. Last week I went to camp. It was very interesting. It isn’t the same where I went last year. Last year it is different. It was different because the people are really nice and the camp instructors were very nice. We did a lot of interesting things. We go for walks in the woods and we also went to the lake where we went swimming. The lake was very beautiful. It is beautiful because the water was blue, and so is the sky. It was wonderful to have gone there and we have a good time and do many interesting things.

1、說回寫(xie) 作。其實寫(xie) 作的關(guan) 鍵在於(yu) 用對動詞，以及有意義(yi) 的形容詞。例如，我經常看到學生作文如下。

Last week I went to camp. It was very interesting. It isn’t the same where I went last year. Last year it is different. It was different because the people are really nice and the camp instructors were very nice. We did a lot of interesting things. We go for walks in the woods and we also went to the lake where we went swimming. The lake was very beautiful. It is beautiful because the water was blue, and so is the sky. It was wonderful to have gone there and we have a good time and do many interesting things.

Of course I am exaggerating to make my point, but many essays share the same basic faults that are present here:  (1) boring verbs; (2) boring, abstract adjectives; (3) unnecessary repetition of starting a new sentence with the same words that ended the previous sentence; (4) switching back and forth between present and past tense.

2、當然，我有些誇大其詞，但許多論文都存在與(yu) 上一段類似的基本錯誤：（1）無聊的動詞； (2) 枯燥、抽象的形容詞； (3) 不必要地重複，以與(yu) 上句結尾相同的詞開始新句子； (4)現在時和過去時之間來回切換。

The last one is a recurring problem. I know that Chinese language is radically different from English and I wouldn’t know where to begin in terms of making a comparison; but suffice it to say that English is all about time relationships.  The past tense is used to describe something that cannot be changed, and it is most often employed in the narrative form because almost all stories – whether fiction like Harry Potter, biography such as The Life of Helen Keller and even conversation about what happened at school (at the office) today are told in the past tense. “Once Upon a time there were three little bears (not are)”  It is simply the nature of narrative, as well as indicating something over and done with and impossible to change. Often people get it confused with the present perfect tense which involves, not  motion but connection between a past beginning and a present reality e.g. “Jack and Jill have been married for ten years” (they are still married) as opposed to “Jack and Jill were married for ten years (they are no  longer married). Present perfect offers a result but not a final result, e.g. Alfred Hitchcock made x-number of films Past tense:(final total, cannot be changed); Quentin Taratino has made e-number of films (Present Perfect: the result is considered temporary, just for now, and is subject to change because Tarantino is still alive and making films.)

3、最後這一點（現在時和過去時之間來回切換）是一個(ge) 重複出現的問題。我知道漢語與(yu) 英語完全不同，我也不知道從(cong) 哪裏開始進行比較；但要重要的是英語重視時間關(guan) 係。過去時用於(yu) 描述無法改變的事物，它最常用於(yu) 敘述形式，因為(wei) 幾乎所有的故事——無論是像《哈利波特》這樣的小說，還是像《海倫(lun) 凱勒的傳(chuan) 記》這樣的自傳(chuan) ，甚至是關(guan) 於(yu) 學校或者辦公室發生的事情的聊天，要用過去時。

“Once Upon a time there were three little bears (not are)”  ，這（用過去式）就是講故事約定俗成的用法，暗示了某些事情已經過去了，已經完成了，不可能改變了。人們(men) 經常把它與(yu) 現在完成時混淆，後者涉及的不是動作，而是過去的開始和現在的現實之間的聯係。 例如。 “Jak and Jill have been married for ten years”（他們(men) 仍然是夫妻），而“Jack and Jill were married for ten years”（他們(men) 不再是夫妻）。現在完成時顯示的是結果但不是最終結果， 例如：“Alfred Hitchcock made x-number of films.” 這是過去式，（是希區柯克製作的電影的最終總數，無法更改）；而‘Quentin Taratino has made e-number of films.” （是現在完成時，這個(ge) 數字是暫時的，目前為(wei) 止這麽(me) 多，但可能會(hui) 發生變化，因為(wei) 塔倫(lun) 蒂諾還活著並且正在製作電影。）

The present simple can be used to describe something that is always true (“I am an English teacher”), something that is repeated action (“I always drink coffee when I wake up in the morning”; schedules and headlines (“The films starts at 8pm” and “Manchester City thrash Chelsea 4-1.”). But it can also be used, right along with present continuous to describe the plot of a film or the summary of a text e.g. (“In the film Titanic, the ship sinks after hitting the iceberg” and “Little Oliver Twist gets into trouble when he asks Bumble the Beadle ‘for more”). It’s because the outcome will never be any different. So don’t go to see Titanic 30 times, hoping that someday it will not sink.

4、現在時可以用來描述總是正確的事情（“I am an English teacher.”），或者重複做的事情（“I always drink coffee when I wake up in the morning.”）；日程安排和標題（“The films starts at 8pm.”和“Manchester City thrash Chelsea 4-1. ”）。但它也可以與(yu) 現在進行時一起用於(yu) 描述電影情節或文本摘要，例如（“In the film Titanic, the ship sinks after hitting the iceberg.”和“Little Oliver Twist gets into trouble when he asks Bumble the Beadle ‘for more”）。這是因為(wei) 這些結果永遠不會(hui) 有任何不同。所以不要試圖去看30次泰坦尼克號電影，希望有一次它不會(hui) 沉沒。

The problem most of my young Chinese students have is fluctuating back and forth, to and fro,  between simple past and present simple as if they really are not sure that a distinction exists. That is one of the main problem areas I encounter. It takes a lot of explaining before progress is noticeable.

5、我的大多數年輕中國學生的問題是在過去式和現在時之間來回擺動猶豫，好像他們(men) 真的不知道這兩(liang) 者之間是否存在區別。這是我遇到的主要問題之一。我往往需要做很多解釋，他們(men) 才會(hui) 有明顯進步。

But let’s go back to the paragraph I modeled, and see what might be done with it using a more lively vocabulary.

6、現在讓我們(men) 回到我剛才說的那段話，看看如果我們(men) 使用比較生動的詞匯，這段話會(hui) 是什麽(me) 樣的。

It was only last week that I found myself back at camp. More so than a year ago, there were stimulating activities in abundance, made even more enjoyable by the counselors, who were always available to help, and the well-conceived schedule of activities: a mixture of educational and recreational. But the best was the friendships I formed with the kids at camp. Among our adventures were long hikes through the woods where we encountered a host of plants, flowers, insects, and birds and ‘beasts’ (at a safe distance!) – both the new and the familiar. In the hot afternoons we would take to the lake and swim in its blue waters under a beaming azure sky; sometimes in the evenings a few of us would return for a dip amid the twinkling woodsy twilight. Sometimes the water would ripple with fish and the summer night wind would come to dry our wet bodies. At night we would ‘blabber and jabber’ , as we teens like to do, and message, message, message. The meals in the cafeteria were delicious, although after a few days we could see that the menu was repetitive. But not to worry !  The days were sunny and long, the nights were short, and our goodbyes were full of smiles and tears. ALL IN ALL, A BRILLIANT EXPERIENCE!

Now the only ‘magic’ in this paragraph is a careful selection of verbs, adjectives, and a mix of sentence length. There is not one word in this passage that most of my students don’t understand. The trick is to use them. Saying that something is ‘interesting’ or that someone was ‘nice’ is almost worse than saying nothing at all. The secret is to SHOW the emotion rather than TELLING. If something is beautiful, interesting, funny, or sad, then let the carefully chosen details (by the writer) evoke the mood. ‘Explaining’ it, choreographing it, is a waste of space. Again THE TRUTH IS IN THE DETAILS.

7、這段話唯一的“魔法”就是是仔細選擇動詞、形容詞，以及不同長度句子的組合。這段話中沒有一個(ge) 詞是我的大多數學生不理解的。訣竅是如何使用它們(men) 。說某事“有趣”或某人“很好”幾乎比什麽(me) 都不說更糟糕。秘訣是間接地顯示情感而不是直白地說出來。如果某件事是美麗(li) 的、有趣的或悲傷(shang) 的，那麽(me) 精心挑選的細節（由作者完成）能引發讀者的情緒。 直白的“解釋”浪費空間。再次強調，真相在細節中。

As far as actually putting the essay on the page is concerned, Chinese pupils have some habits which English natives find odd. For instance, English sentences are immediately followed by the punctuation, then a space, and finally the beginning of the next sentence. For instance: “It rained all day. The wind was strong.” The Chinese version often comes out “It rained all day .The wind was strong.” – with the period (fullstop) at a space from the end of the sentence and positioned next to the new one. Or this”  It rained all day,the wind was strong.”

8、就文章排版而言，中國學生有一些英語母語者覺得很奇怪的習(xi) 慣。例如，英語一句話後麵緊跟標點符號，然後是空格，然後是下一個(ge) 句子的開頭。例如：“It rained all day. The wind was strong.”而中國學生經常寫(xie) 成“It rained all day .The wind was strong.” – 他們(men) 把句號和句子末尾的詞用一個(ge) 空格隔開，但緊貼下一句開頭。或者這樣”  It rained all day,the wind was strong.”

Another ongoing problem is that the students can’t seem to grasp that you do not end sentences with commas, as in: “It rained all day, the wind was strong.”  Commas mean pause, then take a breath and continue. Everything else, the colon (:), semi-colon (;) exclamation point (!), question mark (?) and period (.) means STOP. My advice to students when in doubt as to whether to use a comma or not is this: Read the whole sentence as fast as you possibly can (outloud preferably), and if the sentence still makes sense, you don’t need a comma, e.g. “The book was on the table under the chandelier at the end of the hall in front of the door next to the window.”  Read it like lightning and it will still make sense. Hence, no commas.

9、另一個(ge) 經常出現問題是，學生們(men) 似乎無法理解你不能用逗號來給作結一個(ge) 句子。例如他們(men) 會(hui) 說““It rained all day, the wind was strong.”這是錯誤的。逗號表示暫停，然後吸口氣繼續說。而其他標點符號，包括冒號 (:)、分號 (;) 感歎號 (!)、問號 (?) 和句號 (.) 表示“停”。當學生對是否應該逗號有疑問時，我的建議是：盡可能快地閱讀整個(ge) 句子（最好大聲朗讀），如果句子仍然有意義(yi) ，則不需要逗號，例如“The book was on the table under the chandelier at the end of the hall in front of the door next to the window.”像閃電一樣快地讀它，句子仍然有意義(yi) 。因此，不需要逗號。

But look at this one: “Though old Grandpa could still climb the stairs.”  Is it a sentence? No it isn’t. As written, you would need to add “Though old Grandpa could still climb the stairs, he usually stayed down in the kitchen.”  BUT – if you use a well-placed comma in the first clause, it becomes a sentence: “Though old, Grandpa could still climb the stairs.”  The comma does the trick.

10、再來看看這個(ge) 例子：“Though old Grandpa could still climb the stairs.”這是一個(ge) 句子嗎？不，不是。你需要添加成“Though old Grandpa could still climb the stairs, he usually stayed down in the kitchen.”但是——如果你在第一個(ge) 子句中使用了一個(ge) 恰當的逗號，它就變成了一個(ge) 句子：“Though old, Grandpa could still climb the stairs.”  這裏逗號解決(jue) 了病句問題。

The key factor is the subject verb relationship. It is the glue that holds the sentence together, as well as whether the subject is singular or plural (each sets off a chain reaction that runs throughout the sentences). Now look at this: “Mary wants” is not a sentence. It needs an object: wants what?   But “Mary slept.” – is a sentence; it requires no object. You build sentences from the correct foundation, the same way you build bridges and hotels. Thus, “After flying 10 hours from Moscow to New York, Mary slept.”  We can do more: “After flying ten hours from Moscow to New York, Mary slept 10 more hours in the first hotel she could find.” We can do more: “After flying ten hours from Moscow to New York, Mary, who had drunk ten glasses of vodka during the flight, slept for ten more hours in the first hotel she could find.”  A two-word sentence has thus grown to 31 words. But it’s not the word count that matters; it’s the structure of the sentence.

11、問題的關(guan) 鍵是理清主語和動詞的關(guan) 係，這是將句子連接在一起的粘合劑，以及弄清楚主語是單數還是複數（這些都會(hui) 引發貫穿整個(ge) 句子的連鎖反應）。現在看看這個(ge) ：“Mary wants”不是一個(ge) 句子。它需要一個(ge) 賓語：想要什麽(me) ？但是“Mary slept.”是一個(ge) 句子；它不需要賓語。你從(cong) 正確的主幹上造句，就像你建造橋梁和旅館一樣。因此，“After flying 10 hours from Moscow to New York, Mary slept.”  我們(men) 還可以說得更詳細：“After flying ten hours from Moscow to New York, Mary slept 10 more hours in the first hotel she could find.”或者繼續豐(feng) 富這句話：“After flying ten hours from Moscow to New York, Mary, who had drunk ten glasses of vodka during the flight, slept for ten more hours in the first hotel she could find.”一個(ge) 兩(liang) 個(ge) 詞的句子因此增長到 31 個(ge) 詞。但重要的不是字數，而是句子的結構。