英语写作精讲精练：关注主题句的提炼

　　Passage 2: Education and Good Books

　　The world is indeed(强调词，应该注意)flooded with reading materials of every description. (此话概括度很高，自然需要解释)Most of the material is meant for imparting(传授、传递)information; a lot is for entertainment and some few for enjoyment. In my opinion, books which I read for enjoyment alone are worth reading.(观点摆出了)

　　Though(注意)on the scale of ‘worth’, I would not put it on the top, I realize that information gathering is important.(主题句，下面必然需要扩展)The daily newspapers are essential reading to get a brief idea of what is going on in the world and which of these I need to know. Usually, I skim through it to get a brief idea of the type of news I am concerned about. I may want to know about the political and economic situation in the world, but(注意转折)I really don’t need to know all the details. Hence(结论性的用词), I will slow down and read in whole only that which concerns me. In all, I usually spend fifteen minutes reading the newspapers. If an interesting article or editorial(社论)deserves my attention, I may spend half an hour with the newspapers.

　　For additional information, I subscribe to The Economist.(主题句)I believe that of all the periodicals, this is the one which gives serious views of the world. It gives much more information than the newspapers and its viewpoint is usually reasonable and often non-aligned(不结盟的). I usually finish reading an issue of The Economist in a day.

　　For entertainment, there are thousands of titles available.(主题句)Most of them are fiction and paperback. They are written with one aim: To sell and get rich by. They have attractive covers and many are rehashed(换汤不换药)repeatedly from other success formulae, and almost all are calculated to rouse the senses and give cheap thrills. When stripped bare of all the sensational parts, the reader is often left with two covers.(此话太损了！)Except for a few like Frederic Forsythe and J.R.R. Tolkien, I will not touch any of them. Reading them is an absolute waste of time. For entertainment, I prefer to read books of nonfiction. These include biographies, history and psychology.

　　For my enjoyment alone, I will read the books that I consider are worth reading.(主题句)These will be the classic books of all time. I do not have to spend a single cent to indulge in these. Weekly trips to the excellent public libraries will give me all the books I want to read. I will put aside the best reading hours—mostly late into the night—for this great pleasure. For non-fiction I will read books on philosophy and for fiction, the great classics of Dickens, Scott, Jane Austen, Ernest Hemingway and the works by the recent Booker Prize winners and Nobel Prize winners.

　　The joy of the challenge of reading precise language I will get from philosophy and the realistic characterizations of the classic writers will thrill me.(主题句)Reading a good book is not like reading trash to arouse your senses. Reading a good book takes you on a journey. I share in the intimate thoughts of the writer who expresses what he wants to and not what his readers want him to express. He writes literature. He reaches the end of language and breaks through obstacles of expression. He is a pioneer, not a thrill arouser.

　　In my opinion,(表明观点的标记词)the books that I read for enjoyment and knowledge are the ones most worth reading.