托福写作技巧：句型变化

　　托福写作中，句型的变化也是非常有技巧的。大家如果能够利用多变的句型，也能够写出优秀的作文，从而拿到高分。

　　作为一种语言测试方式，托福考试的重点是检测考生的英语语言水平，如何写出正确流畅的语言是得到托福写作单项高分的关键要素。在托福官方指南中(以下简称OG)，对于语言部分的要求是这样描述的：

　　Language use is the third criterion on which your essay will be judged. To get a top score, an essay must display "consistent facility in the use of language." There should be a variety of sentence structures, and word choice should be appropriate. If your essay includes a few minor lexical or grammar errors, you can still get a high score. However, if you make a lot of grammar errors and if those errors make it hard to understand your meaning, you will get a lower score. Raters will also judge your essay based on the complexity of sentence structures and on the quality and complexity of your vocabulary. If you use very simple sentences and very basic vocabulary, you will probably not be able to express very complex ideas. If your language is hard to follow, your sentences are overly simple, and your vocabulary is limited, you may score no higher than a 3 no matter how impressive your ideas may be.

　　从上面这段文字中可以看出来，托福独立写作部分对于我们写作的总体要求是consistent facility in the use of language，给我们的具体建议是a variety of sentence structures和word choice should be appropriate，在这篇文章中我们将谈一谈如何做到句子结构的多样化。

　　首先我们需要知道什么样的句子是没有变化的，大家可以阅读下面学生写的一段文字：

　　My cousin, Jimmy, is a good example. Jimmy lived in the country with his grandparents for twelve years. He went to the city when he grew up. He studied in a middle school there. When Jimmy was living in the countryside, he seldom fell ill. He enjoyed himself in the nature every day. When he went to the city, he gradually felt his throat sore and often coughed.

　　这一小段话中，大多数句子都是简单句，而且句子的主语都是Jimmy或he，读起来非常单调，这时候就需要改变句子结构，使得表达方式多样化。常见的句子变化手法有如下几种：

　　1：长短句结合

　　英语作文中句子的质量通常会与句子的长度有很大的关系，但并不是说所有的句子越长越好。在写作中，以简单句为代表的短句能够清晰明了地用来表达观点，如“主语+谓语+宾语+宾语”结构：Sports teachpeople the spirit of cooperation;或“主语+谓语+宾语+宾语补足语”结构：The development of public transportationmakes travel convenient. 而以复合句结构或复杂句结构为代表的长句通常适合表达非常复杂的逻辑关系，如：Many teenagers complain that they try to communicate with theirparents and are eager to get some advice from them; however, it is alwaysfutile to do so.

　　由于长句和短句的不同功能，在托福写作中，我们常用短句来表达关键信息，用长句来描述引言段中的背景信息和对主体段的主题句进行拓展。如果能做到这一点，文章中就会有长短句交替出现，从而避免枯燥乏味的问题。比如下面这个段落中，作者就用一个短句表达主题思想，然后用了几个长句来解释这个思想。

　　Children in modern society become moredifficult to understand than 50 years ago. Children acquire a lot more newinformation and ideas from various resources, such as mass media and theInternet. However, their parents always cannot accept those ideas, because theyalways have a stereotyped mind and are reluctant to take novel concepts.Therefore, generation gap becomes huger between parents and children in modernsociety, which impedes the communication between parents and the children.

　　2：分词结构

　　即使使用了一些从句，但如果句子的开头部分都是以名词开头会仍然会显得非常单调，这时候可以将一些从句变成分词结构:

　　While technology creates new jobs in somesectors of economy, it takes away jobs in others.

　　Children raised in big families can get on well with others.

　　3：状语前置

　　除了使用分词改变句子开头外，还可以将副词、介词短语、动词不定式等构成的状语结构放在句首，这样不仅对句式进行了变化，而且还使句子有长短结合的节奏感。

　　Undoubtedly, teenagers are easilyinfluenced by the violent content in those movies.

　　By assigning household chores to these young children, parents helpchildren build their responsibility for the running of the home.