总结

             
关于如何写总结，在很多其他书籍中多有论述，我在这里不与之竞争。不过，在0501 / 0503 / 0505 / 0507 / 0509班的写作课程中，我们的确做了很多关于如何写总结的训练，特别是，根据《新编英语教程》，第三册(ISBN: 7-81046-621-6) 。这里总结有两种方法：总结单独的句子，和总结单独的段落。以下的例子供你们分析使用。请参考课本和原文的总结。
 
     讨论. 
 
     以下是当你总结句子和总结段落时，要记住的一些基本原则。
 
 
 
总结句子
当你选择逐句来总结段落时，你需要毫不留情地删减所有不需要的词汇。通常，从每句话的动词开始，因为动词是句子的核心。（有时，会是名词）写下要总结的句子中的动词，或者最主要的动词。然后阅读句子，理解句子含义。用一张纸遮住句子，然后根据句子的主要意思从新开始造句。千万不要看原来的句子。如果你这样做了，你会发现每一个名词，形容词、副词、连词、当然还有每一个前置词都会向你大叫：“不要删掉我，删掉它们！”，这样你很可能只是复制了原来的句子，或者至少接近原来的句子。正如本书前面所讨论如何写句子一样，你需要从零开始，用自己的语言开始写。记住，是用自己的语言缩短原来的句子；原来的语言经过你的大脑，保留了原意，变成相似的句子，最后成为你自己的语言了。                                                                             
 
  
因此，你逐句总结整个段落或者课文。最后，你将得到一个用自己总结的原文的缩减版本。（尤其是你打算攻读研究生，或者开始练习真正的写作的时候，用自己的语言写作，这一技能非常重要。）
    
前三个例子(Shakespeare, The Bermuda Triangle, and The Atomic Car)，是在总结句子的基础上总结。当你分析它们的时候，请参考课文中的原文。也许，在你阅读的时候，你会觉得，“我可能会以另一种方式总结，用不同的词汇。”这没错；重要的是学习原来的句子是如何缩减到总结的句子这一过程。
 
记住，你必须要毫不留情，而且努力用自己的语言，当然还要保留原句的意思。你只是用一个精简的形式传达原意。
 
总结段落
当你通常遇到一篇课文中的几个段落时，你需要逐个总结段落。尤其在你准备考试时，这些段落的总结非常有用；你可以总结许多课本的文章，获得本质的含义，然后在考试之间方便地复习这些总结梗概。对，和逐句总结来比，逐段总结的质量要低一些。但是我们这里的目的不是记住每一件事，而是帮助你回忆其他信息，给你提供一个“精神上的扳机”。我觉得，大脑能够记住更多的是“回忆”信息，而不是“纯粹的记忆”；你可以利用这一现象，下载重要的“扳机”，相信回忆的力量能够帮你记起其他的信息。
 
以下的例子(The Channel Tunnel, Tom’s Holiday)是以段落总结进行的。在分析的时候，不要过分注重选择的单词，而是学习所有的方法。如果你有其他的方法，这也没错。
 
     Examples. 
 
 
Topic: Shakespeare. 
Source: A New English Course, Book Three, Unit 4, p. 39. 
Written by: Zhao Xiao Qian, 0501. 
Summary: By sentence. 
(1)    In 1616, Shakespeare signed his will. 
(2)    Then, 200 pounds / year was a lot of money. 
(3)    His signatures are his only surviving handwriting. 
(4)    People everywhere respect his writing, as it is the best. 
(5)    Many books have been written about him, but his private life is unknown, and he could have lived at any time. 
(6)    His home town has promoted him for a long time, to tourists from everywhere. 
(7)    It is good to visit his home and watch his plays. 
(8)    Retracing his life is very hard, as we don’t know when he was born, or where he went to school. 
(9)    He married and had children. 
(10) in 1585, he disappeared for seven years; nobody knows what he did, but he probably went to sea. 
(11) we know many play-companies visited his home town; maybe he joined a play company.  
(12) In 1592, he was a well-known dramatist in London. 
(13) He adopted, wrote and performed over 30 plays, and wrote poetry. 
(14) His life is a mystery: how did he know so much, and who was the “dark lady”? 
(15) Why is there so little of his handwriting today? 
(16) Perhaps we will discover more letters. 
 
 
Topic: The Bermuda Triangle. 
Source: A New English Course, Book Three, Unit 3, p. 33. 
Written by: Yang Qing Ling, 0505. 
Summary: By sentence. 
(1)    The Bermuda Triangle is located in the western Atlantic Ocean, near Florida and Bermuda. 
(2)    It is a very mysterious place. 
(3)    Many planes and ships have vanished, and many people have died without trace. 
(4)    Today, more people disappear, even though their movements are carefully monitored. 
(5)    Many planes have “vanished” under normal conditions. 
(6)    The pilots radioed strange messages–the instruments were not working, and the weather and sea conditions were not normal. 
(7)    Here are two examples of losses. 
(8)    In 1945, five Navy planes, and the rescue plane, disappeared. 
(9)    Some planes have disappeared, even when in radio contact. 
(10)  It seems they entered another “dimension”. 
(11)  Large ships and their crews have vanished, sometimes leaving behind some animal, that could not speak. 
(12)  Disappearances continue today, and most people blame the “Bermuda Triangle”, realizing something is wrong there. 
(13)  A new “folklore” has appeared from some survivors’ stories.   
(14)  We still do not know what is really happening in the Bermuda Triangle.  
 
 
Topic: The Atomic-Powered Car.  
Source: A New English Course, Book Three, Unit 6, p. 65.   
Written by: Yuan Jiang Chun, 0503. 
Summary: By sentence. 
(1)    Drivers dream of a cheap car that needs no petrol–an atomic car. 
(2)    Harnessed atomic energy yields everlasting power. 
(3)    In theory, this works–in a car for twenty years, greatly cutting petrol costs. 
(4)    Is this possible? 
(5)    Theoretically, yes (submarines). 
(6)    However, many problems before reality. 
(7)    What problems?  Radiation. 
(8)    An atom-splitting reactor makes dangerous radiation, as in an atomic bomb. 
(9)    Radiation penetrates almost everything, and kills anything. 
(10) Must construct atomic car in lead, to contain radiation. 
(11) Must invent a light but strong metal to build such a car; metal must be synthetic, and better than lead. 
(12) Then, an atomic car is more possible. 
(13) However, there remain problems of economics and safety. 
(14) Making a cheap engine for a car is unlikely now, but “economy of scale” will change this.
(15) In time, this car will be cheaper than a petrol car. 
(16) However, still problem of safety. 
(17) Imagine a road accident; damage like an atomic bomb. 
(18) Safety is the biggest problem. 
(19) Is a constantly safe atomic engine possible? 
 
 
Topic: The Channel Tunnel. 
Source: A New English Course, Book Three, Unit 5, p. 51.   
Written by: Yuan Jiang Chun, 0503. 
Summary: By paragraph. 
(1)    Britain and France will be connected by tunnel, although cultural misunderstandings will continue. 
(2)    In Britain, a man and his wife complain about bad French food, and French pride. 
(3)    In France, a Frenchman complains about the British. 
(4)    Afer many years of separation, the tunnel will join the two countries. 
(5)    The major features of the tunnel. 
(6)    What the writer saw, when the two “digging crews” came together.  
(7)    The future–who will use the tunnel? 
 
 
Topic: “Tom’s Holiday Away.” 
Source: A New English Course, Book Three, Unit 2, p. 17.    
Written by: Yang Qing Ling, 0505. 
Summary: By paragraph. 
(1)    Tom was angry, because he had to leave his summer garden, and Peter. 
(2)    It was a small and simple garden, where the boys played. 
(3)    Tom had to leave, because Peter had measles. 
(4)    Before Tom got into his uncle’s car, Tom’s mother told him to be good. 
(5)    The mother pushed Tom away, and thanked the uncle for helping. 
(6)    The mother was sorry; Tom was bitter. 
(7)    Tom looked up at Peter, who was in the bedroom window, waving. 
(8)    Tom was silent to the uncle. 
(9)    Tom thought ahead about a summer without a garden, and no good way to escape his aunt and uncle. 
 
 
结论. 
 
     书店中有很多其他书籍也在讨论如何写总结、做笔记、注解。请参考这些书籍了解详情。在进行总结时，最重要的就是将原来的语言转化为自己的语言来说。总结必须具有原文的意思，但是同时又是用自己的语言。要想总结得好，你需要“游戏”语言，一遍一遍地重新塑造、改变、创造/毁掉/再创造它。而且你需要以英文来做这样的训练，而不是你自己的母语。总结也许很难达到完美，但是却值得追求完美。当你在阅读那些长课文时，在必须做笔记时，总结就显得尤为重要。希望你们在以后发现总结是如此有用！