“凌波微步”大概是众多武功招术之中最潇洒出尘、最令人心驰神往的了。其流畅洒脱的轻功步法,构成了其核心和精髓。在多年从事雅思写作研究的过程中,总结出来,其实练习雅思写作,就好比修炼绝世武功;而流畅的语言,正如金庸笔下大理世子段誉的那一招“凌波微步”,于轻灵潇洒之中,赢得考官的青睐。

很多准备参加雅思考试的同学却往往不通此法,在练习雅思写作的时候,时常纠结于如何把句子写得更“拽”,于是各种复杂的“大词”和长难句轮番上阵;然而不幸的是,在他们苦思冥想如何把句子“秀”得更漂亮的同时,却往往因为语法功底不强而出现诸多错误,甚至忽略了句子的实际表意功能,使文章难懂、费解、错误百出。这就好像一个武功平平的莽夫,总喜欢依靠蛮力取胜;殊不知,高手出招,往往是胜于无形的。

而这样动辄“求长、求难”的写作,大概是近年来很多考生的一个共同误区!大家总错误地认为,雅思写作用词要越“大”越好,句型要越长越复杂越好。其实不然!一味地追求“大、长、难”不但不能使文章增色,搞不好还会适得其反,特别是那些基础相对薄弱的考生,“大、长、难”务必慎用!

中国人有句古话叫“尺有所短,寸有所长”。同样地,小词、短句,有时候也会有震撼人心的力量。

下面我们来看《IELTS PLUS》里的一段例文:

Avoiding pollution can be a full-time job. Try not to inhale traffic fumes; keep away from chemical plants and building-sites; wear a mask when cycling. It is enough to make you want to stay at home. But that,

according to a growing body of scientific evidence, would also be a bad idea.

Research shows that levels of pollutants such as hazardous gases, particulate matter and

other chemical“nasties”are usually higher indoors than out, even in the most polluted cities.

Since the average American spends 18 hours indoors for every hour outside, it looks as though

many environmentalists may be attacking the wrong target.

没有矫揉造作的长难句型,没有生涩难懂的复杂词汇,通读全文,我们感觉到的是一种自然天成的清晰和流畅,这才是我们所追求的理想作文,才是我们所修炼的上乘武功。

这样清新流畅的语言风格,在考官范文中也比比皆是:Many people find their rewards unfair, especially when comparing these super

salaries with those of top surgeons or research scientist, or even leading

politicians who have the responsibility of governing the country. However,

sports salaries are not determined by considering the contribution to society

a person makes or the level of responsibility he or she holds. Instead,

they reflect the public popularity of sport in general and the level of public

support that successful stars can generate. So the notion of ‘fairness’

is not the issue. ——(《剑桥雅思6》)

长句(Many people find ……responsibility of governing the country.)短句(So the notion of ‘fairness’ is not the issue.)相得益彰,大词(responsibility)小词(so)交相呼应,逻辑关系(comparing, however, instead)清晰明确,是考生们学习效仿的绝佳素材。

雅思写作之“要务”在于文章的可读性,也就是让读者更清晰明了地理解你文章的内容。而复杂的长难句和生硬的“大词”,势必会阻碍文章语言的流畅性和阅卷者思路的延续性,从而造成阅读障碍。而且,频繁使用长句大词无疑增加了出现语法错误和拼写失误的概率,从而导致失分。

语言是一门艺术,写作是创造艺术并享受艺术的过程。反复雕琢固然是美,却不及自然天成的美那样流畅自如。因此我们要敢于“砍掉”那些过于冗繁的长句和大词,就像雕塑家砍掉“伤美”的维纳斯的手臂!因此,恰当准确地使用“小词”“短句”,从而确保语言流畅清新,才是广大中国雅思考生急需掌握的“四两拨千斤”的绝妙武功,才是雅思写作中的“凌波微步”!