图表作文是大学英语四级考试写作题中常出现的题型,它是利用图表如graph, diagram, chart, table, picture等中的统计数据来阐述论题的文章.图表作文大体可以分两类:一、单纯描写图表中数据的变化特点,最后归纳总结,即纯说明文;二、先描写数据变化,再分析变化背后的原因,最后是笔者的个人看法、预测未来发展趋势或提出解决问题的方法,即说明+议论.后者在最近几年的四级考试中出现较多,是科普文章常用的写作方法,既考查了学生的写作能力,又要求有较强的观察力、分析力和想象力,是很好的测试形式.

　　那么如何写好图表作文呢?可以从以下几方面着手:

　　1. 对比分析,寻找数据的变化规律

　　图表作文通常要论述某个论点,因此,所提供的数据资料一般都是有规律的.但这些数据是一些零散的信息,需要我们总结和归纳.关键就是对比数据之间的关系,包括横向和纵向的比较:从横向看,同一类(如事物A)数据随时间变化是升还是降,升降的幅度多大;从纵向看,不同类别(如事物A、B、C)的变化是相似还是相反,从中寻找规律.以91.6 CET-4: Changes in People's Diet in China 为例(表1).

　　(表1)

　　这个表格里有20多个数据,乍一看让人眼花缭乱,其实从纵横向比较极有规律.横向比较,不难发现粮食(grain)的消费量逐年下降,5年间减少了4%,而牛奶(milk)的消费却逐年增加,肉类(meat)也在增加;纵向看,milk和meat变化趋势相同,占总消费的比例在增大,而grain比例变化正相反.从而归纳出一个总的变化规律:grain的消费量在减少,而milk和meat的消费量在增加.

　　相对于表格,2002.6 CET-4(Student Use of Computer)的柱形图显得简洁明了,信息集中.该图的横向为日期(90,95,2000),纵向为大学生每周使用计算机的时间,只有一类事物,没有不同事物的比较.关键考虑计算机应用与日期的关系:随时间递增还是递减?或时增时减?柱形图清晰显示出这样一个变化特点:随着时间的推移,大学生越来越多地使用计算机.(见图2)

　　(图2)

　　2. 筛选数据

　　图表提供的资料数据是否需要在文中一一列出?应选择或忽略哪些数据?引用数据的目的在于更有力地阐述论点,就像论据有主次,数据也应选择具有典型性和代表性的数据一样,不必一一列出.以表1为例,列出1986-1990每一年grain的消费量只会显得繁琐、重点不突出.试试这句话:The percentage of grain consumption decreased gradually, from 49 per cent in 1986 to 45 per cent in 1990. 简明扼要地说明变化趋势是递减,两端数据49%和45%足已说明变化趋势.又如milk和meat的变化,都说明同一观点:人们的经济收入增加了,生活水平提高了,能够消费得起价格较高的肉奶食品.这样,描述milk的变化后,就不必重复meat的变化.简单一句"The same is the case with meat."即可.或者直接计算出增加值或减少值,如:The amount of grain in people's diet has decreased by 4%. However, the amount of milk has increased 3%and that of meat has increased 4%.

　　总之,挑选有说服力的数据,主要是首尾两端数字或其增减值.

　　3. 强调数据间的关系,突出变化

　　发现数据的变化规律,引用了典型数据,还须进一步强调突出这种变化,使论证更有力.以 "Student Use of Computer"为例,有学生写到:But in 2000, students spent nearly 20 hours per week on the computer. This number was ten times that of 1990 and five times that of 1995. 像这样用倍数或比例更能说明问题,给人留下深刻印象.

　　4. 使用主题句

　　无论写作或阅读都强调主题句(topic sentence).主题句是能高度概括文章段落中心内容或主题思想的句子,通常位于段首或段尾.图表作文的主题句最好放在段首,使其既能提纲挚领又能起到衔接的作用,使文章思路清晰,过渡自然.

　　通常第一段的主题句都表示发生了某种变化.例如:

　　(1) Great changes have been taking place in (eg. people's diet, student use of computer...) from (eg. 1995 to 2000). (91.6, 2002.6 CET-4)

　　(2) In recent years, the time students using computers has increased greatly. (2002.6 CET-4)

　　第二段分析引起变化的因素,主题句通常表示引起这种变化的原因有几点.例如:

　　(1) There are many factors that have stimulated this huge change.

　　(2) Such changes are mainly caused by two reasons.

　　第三段总结归纳或提出问题,很简短.例如:

　　(1) In short, with the improvement of people's living standards, changes in their diet will be greater and more obvious. (91.6 CET-4: 预测未来变化趋势)

　　(2) There is sure to be a lot of problems in student use of computer, however....

　　(2002.6 CET-4: 提出问题)

　　5. 常用句式、词汇

　　1) 总括性描述

　　As can be seen from the table, great changes have been taking place in ...

　　From the above table it can be seen that...

　　As it is shown in the table,...

　　According to the graph, ...

　　It is clear from the table that ...

　　The survey shows/suggests that ...

　　According to the figures given in the table ...

　　A study showed ...

　　As you may see from the diagram,...

　　The two charts above tell us something about ...

　　2) 描述具体数据变化

　　increase/decrease by...

　　increase from ... to...

　　increase steadily from...

　　There was a marked increase in ...

　　There has been a rapid increase in ...

　　an increase of

　　decline in ...

　　four times as much as ...

　　amount to

　　fall from ... to...

　　appear stable

　　reach 5,000 million in 1998

　　continue to grow

　　has been growing faster and faster since ...

　　less than

　　up to

　　compared with

　　make up

　　the number of ... remains the same as ...

　　the remaining

　　3) 分析原因

　　There are chiefly two reasons for the changes.

　　...is mainly caused by ...

　　This directly relates to the problem of (the world's food, housing, job shortage...)

　　What caused these changes? ...

　　The reasons that caused changes are diverse. On the one hand, ...On the other hand, ...

　　The rapid growth of ... owes much to...

　　lie in

　　lead to

　　4) 总结归纳

　　Through the analysis, we can draw a conclusion that ...

　　In short, ...

　　Steps should be taken to ...

　　To solve the problem of ..., we ...

　　From all the facts given above, we can see ...

　　Taking the advantages and disadvantages together into consideration, I believe...

　　(文/崔学军; 英语通大学英语四级考试版2004年第3期;版权归英语辅导报社所有，独家网络合作伙伴新浪教育，未经许可，不得以任何形式进行转载。)