Model Composition
It is generally believed that love is a hot topic which is most talked about. This is true not only in China but also in other countries. Love is of the utmost importance to the human beings. As is described in the picture, “love is a lamp which is brighter in darker places.” This is indeed true. People in darker places need more light than ordinary people.
Take my neighbor as an example. There are three members in their family and the two adults were laid off last year. The only child will have to drop out of school next semester. In order to help them, I donated all my money—300 yuan to pay the tuition. And I plan to call on others to donate more money.(11) Though I cannot do a lot, I have given love which is like a lamp in a dark place where light is most needed.
So to sum up, we should offer our help to all who are in need. We expect to get love from others and we also give love to others. I believe that the relationship between people will be harmonious and our society will be a better place for us to live in.
Follow-up Exercise
Homework
l Show your understanding of the symbolic meaning of the cartoon;
l State the negative effects of the phenomenon;
l Give your solutions to the problem.
(Clue: 麻将牌mahjong pieces, 打麻将play mahjong)
二、应用文题型 (Applied Writing)
应用文的范围很广，包括书信、便条、广告、简历以及通知等诸方面。英语考试中的应用文以书信为主、兼或有报告、演讲词、导游介绍之类的要求，这一点在大学英语四级考试中屡有所见。
书 信
英文书信一般包括六个部分：
ü 信头-----------------------写信人的地址和日期
ü 收信人内文地址--------收信人的姓名及地址
ü 称呼-----------------------对收信人的称谓语，写在内文地址以下两行
ü 正文-----------------------写信人的身份及写信目的
ü 结束客套语----------------信尾谦辞
ü 签名
l 称谓(Salutation)
这儿指写信人对收信人的称谓。从左边顶格写起，自成一行，比信内地址低两行。其开头词和专有名词的第一个字母还应大写。称谓后，英国人喜用逗号，而美国人则用冒号。
ü “Dear” 的用法：
最常见的是用Dear + (头衔)姓或名，如：Dear Professor Chen, Dear Mr. Alan 或Dear Isabel, 也就是在Mr., Mrs, Miss, Ms, Prof., Dr. 等后只用姓，不用名字。如果关系比较亲密，可用My Dear…。
ü 给某个机构或你不认识的人写信，则按如下称呼写：
Dear Sir, Dear Sirs, Sirs, Gentlemen, Dear Madame,
Ladies or Madame, To Whom It May Concern.
ü 写给政府各部门首长，如参议员、法官、大使、市长等可用Hon. (Honorable 阁下的缩写)，表示尊重。
l 正文(Body)
正文是书信的主要部分。通常在低于称呼一行处写起，每段开头要向后缩进五到八个字母。正文从内容结构上一般包括：
ü 写信人的身份及写信目的------------位于开头部分，一般是寒暄或点明写信的目的;要写得贴切、热情、恰如其分。
ü 写信人的想法，请求等细节--------位于中间部分，叙述一封信的主要内容，要求写得具体明了，直截了当
ü 向收信人表示谢意、希望等---------位于结尾部分，通常写一些表示祝愿、问候、感谢等结束敬语或希望之类的话语。
下面是一些写信时的常用表达：
开头语常用表达：
ü 寒暄或关于“接到你的某月某日的信”
Excuse me of not writing you for such a long time.
Your letter dated the 10th inst. (instant 本月) is at hand.
I feel complimented by the kindness of your letter which arrived this morning.
Words can’t express my delight of receiving your letter dated Aug. 27.
ü 点明目的，表示通知、消息。
I am writing to ask if you can do me a favor.
I have the pleasure to tell you that our friend, Jim, will get married in the New Year’s Day.
I am very much delighted to inform that you will get a promotion soon.
结尾语常用表达：
ü We send you our best wishes.
ü With best regards.
ü Looking forward to hearing from you soon.
ü Love to all you.
ü Please give my best regards to your family / parents.
ü All the luck in the world to you.
结尾谦辞(Complementary Close)。
结尾谦辞指写信人对收信人的谦辞称，写在正文下第二、三行处，从信纸中间稍向右处或齐头左顶格写起，第一字母大写，末尾加逗号。结尾谦辞根据通信人之间关系的亲疏恰当选择。常见的有以下几种：
ü 通常使用：
Sincerely,(Your Sincerely; Sincerely yours; Most sincerely)
Truly，(Yours truly; very truly yours)
ü 给上级、长辈、领导或公务信件用：
Respectively yours,
Faithfully yours,
ü 一般同事或熟人之间用：
Yours ever,
Your friend,
Cordially yours,
ü 写出亲属或关系非常亲密的是：
With love,
Love,
All my love,
Forever yours
Yours affectionately,
Your loving son / daughter
书信作文的语体问题
就书信作文而言，作文内容固然重要，但语体更是问题。英文书信大致可分为事务书信(Business Letters)和个人书信(Personal Letters)两种。前者是单位与单位或个人与单位之间来往的信件，语体比较正规(formal);后者则是个人与个人之间的飞鸿，表达较为随便(Personal)。但有时，同一封信可以采用正式与非正式两种语体表达，这就要求考生具有明辨和变换语体的能力。会变换语体，就要掌握大量词汇和句子结构、套语，尤其是同义词的不同感情色彩以及委婉语气和祈使句的应用。一般说来，正式文多采用包含would, should, might 等情态动词的语句，而个人书信除对师长的客套外，大都可融进少量口语体的句子(如祈使句、感叹句等)。值得一提的是广义虚拟语气在书信中的应用(凡要表达客气委婉的语气或留有余地的主观愿望而使用的虚拟语气属广义用法)。广义虚拟语气涉及到若干固定句式，比如：
l 陈述看法
I believed/thought/guessed/supposed/…that+表述内容(用过去时代替现在时是客气委婉的表示。)
l 提出劝告、建议
It would/could be fine to do …
You might as well do …
You should do…
l 提出请求、询问意向
I would (very much) like to V …
Could you ...
Would you …
l 表明意向
I was wondering if …
I wondered if …
以上句式在正式或比较正式的书信中是常见的，应学会使用。
实例1----2002年1月真题
Directions: For this part, you are allowed thirty minutes to write a composition on the topic: A Letter to the University President about the Canteen Service on Campus. You should write at least 100 words, and base your composition on the outline given in Chinese below:
假设你是李明，请你就本校食堂的状况给校长写一封信，内容应涉及食堂的饭菜质量、价格、环境、服务等，可以是表扬，可以是批评建议，也可以兼而有之。
Model Composition
January 12th, 2002
Dear Mr. President,
I am a student here. I write you this letter to say a few words about the dining halls in this university.
First, the food in the dining halls is not delicious enough, either too salty or too watery, especially in Dining Hall 3. Second, the prices in dining hall are very high and usually we cannot afford it. Third, the dining halls are always very crowed and we can seldom find seats if arriving there not early enough and the tables are not cleaned in time. Anyway, what is good is that the working staff in the dining halls are quite kind, friendly and patient, and they usually try their best to meet the demand of the students and teachers.
Thus I suggest enlarging the dining halls and improving the quality of foods and reducing the prices to what is acceptable to all the students.
Best wishes.
Yours sincerely,
Li Ming
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