Vocabulary and Text Types
IGCSE English Topic 11 7:24 English narration · English + 中文 subtitles burned in
Chapters
Transcript
Two students get the same task: a report for the head teacher about the school trip.
两名学生拿到同一道题：给校长写一份关于学校旅行的报告。
The first student writes: Hi Sir!
第一位学生写：老师你好！
The trip was good. The food was good and the day was good.
这次旅行很好，食物很好，这一天也很好。
The second student writes a title, a heading, and then: the trip was well organised, and the meals were excellent.
第二位学生先写标题，再写小标题，然后写：这次旅行组织得很好，饭菜也很出色。
Two marks are hiding in that difference — the text type, and the words.
这个差别里藏着两处分数——文本类型，和用词。
Four parts, and together they feed every writing task you will meet.
四个部分，合起来支撑你将遇到的每一项写作任务。
First, how to learn a word well enough to use it.
第一，怎样把一个词学到能用出来。
Second, the natural phrases that make you sound fluent.
第二，那些让你听起来流利的自然搭配。
Third, the text types on your syllabus.
第三，考纲上的各种文本类型。
And fourth, how to match your style to the type.
第四，怎样让你的文体与类型相配。
Start with the words.
先从词开始。
Learn every new word three ways: what it means, how it is spelled, and how it sounds.
每个生词都要学三样：它是什么意思，它怎么拼写，它怎么发音。
Miss one, and the word is only half yours.
少学一样，这个词就只有一半属于你。
Then keep a vocabulary notebook, and group the words by topic.
然后准备一本词汇笔记本，把词按主题分组。
And notice useful words in every text you read.
还要在你读到的每一种文本里，留意有用的词。
Here is one word, known well: decision.
这是一个被真正掌握的词：decision，决定。
Its meaning — a choice you make.
它的意思——经过思考后做出的选择。
Its spelling and its sound — write it, and say it.
它的拼写和读音——你写得出来，也说得出来。
Its word family — decide, decisive, decision.
它的词族——decide、decisive、decision。
Its collocation — you make a decision; you never do one.
它的搭配——我们说 make a decision，绝不说 do a decision。
And its topic group: where you file it.
还有它的主题分组：把它归到哪一页。
Five things, one word.
一个词，五件事。
So where do these words live?
那么这些词放在哪里？
In a notebook, in groups.
放在笔记本里，按组分开。
One page for travel: departure, luggage, delay, boarding pass.
旅行一页：出发、行李、延误、登机牌。
One page for health: symptom, treatment, recover, healthy diet.
健康一页：症状、治疗、康复、健康饮食。
One page for school: timetable, revision, assignment, deadline.
学校一页：课程表、复习、作业、截止日期。
You can also group them by everyday situation — at the airport, at the doctor's.
也可以按日常场景分组——在机场、在诊所。
Then one task hands you a whole page.
这样，一道题就等于把一整页词一起交到你手里。
Some words in English like each other, and some refuse.
英语里有些词彼此喜欢，有些词彼此排斥，而且没有规律可以推出来。
There is no rule to work out. You do not do a decision — you make a decision.
不能说 do a decision，要说 make a decision。
Rain is never strong; in English it is heavy rain.
雨从来不是 strong；在英语里是 heavy rain。
And you never make a photo; you take a photo.
也绝不说 make a photo，而说 take a photo。
So do not write the single word in your notebook. Write the pair, and learn it as one item.
所以不要在笔记本里只写单个词， 要写下这一对，当作一个整体来记。
Those pairs are called collocations, the first of three phrase families.
这样的搭配叫做 collocations 词语搭配，是三个短语家族中的第一个。
You learn all three whole, not word by word.
这三类都要整体地记，而不是逐词地记。
A set phrase never changes: in my opinion; I look forward to hearing from you.
固定短语永远不变：in my opinion；I look forward to hearing from you。
A phrasal verb is a verb plus a small word that changes everything: give up means stop trying; look after means take care of.
短语动词是动词加上一个小词，而这个小词会改变一切： give up 是放弃，look after 是照顾。
These natural phrases make you fluent.
这些自然的短语，让你变得流利。
The routine that turns a new word into a word you own.
这套方法能把生词变成真正属于你的词。
Meet it — write it down with one example sentence.
遇见它——把它写下来，配上一个例句。
File it — put it in its topic group, with its collocation.
归档它——放进它所属的主题分组，连同它的搭配一起写下。
Test it — cover the meaning and recall it tomorrow, then a week later.
检验它——盖住意思，试着回想；第二天一次，一周后再一次。
This is called spaced review, and it beats reading a list once.
这叫做间隔复习，效果远远好过把词表读一遍。
Use it — write it into your own work within days.
用起来——几天之内把它写进自己的作文。
Five words a day is over a thousand in a year.
每天五个词，一年就超过一千个词。
Now text types.
现在讲文本类型。
Every writing task in this exam is a text type, a kind of writing with its own rules.
这门考试里的每一项写作任务都是一种文本类型，一种自带规则的写作。
Two questions unlock all of them.
两个问题就能解开全部。
Why am I writing?
我为什么写？
That is the purpose: to inform, to argue, or to discuss.
这是目的：告知、论证，还是讨论。
Who will read it?
谁会读它？
That is the audience: a friend, a teacher, an organiser.
这是读者：一位朋友、一位老师，还是一位负责人。
Together they choose your register: informal, or formal.
两者合在一起，就决定了你的语域：非正式，还是正式。
The nine types named in your syllabus.
这就是考纲上列出的九种文本类型。
An email is a message to one person. An article is for many readers. A blog is a personal post online.
电子邮件是写给一个人的消息；文章是写给许多读者的； 博客是发表在网上的个人化帖子。
A report gives facts to someone in charge. A review gives your opinion on something you tried. An essay argues a point of view.
报告是把事实提供给负责人；评论是就你亲身体验过的东西给出看法； 议论文是论证一种观点。
A notice and a leaflet give short, clear information; an interview is questions and answers.
通知和传单提供简短、清晰的信息；采访是一组问题加上回答。
Nine types, nine sets of rules.
九种类型，九套规则。
Four come back again and again, each with a shape.
其中四种反复出现，每一种都有自己的形状。
An email goes to one person, so it opens with a greeting and ends with your name.
电子邮件写给一个人，所以开头有称呼，结尾有你的名字。
An article goes to many readers who can stop at any moment, so it needs a title and a strong opening.
文章写给许多读者，他们随时可能不再读下去， 所以需要一个标题和一个抓住人的开头。
A report goes to someone in charge who wants the facts fast, so it needs clear headings and a recommendation.
报告写给想尽快得到事实的负责人，所以需要清晰的小标题，还要有建议。
And a review goes to people deciding whether to try it, so it describes, it judges, and it ends with advice.
评论写给正在犹豫要不要尝试的人，所以它描写，它评价，最后给出建议。
Text types also sit on a line, from informal to formal.
文本类型还排在一条线上，从非正式到正式。
At the informal end is an email to a friend: short forms, chatty and warm.
最不正式的一端是写给朋友的邮件：用缩写，随意而亲切。
In the middle, the article and the review.
中间是文章和评论。
At the formal end, the report, the formal letter and the essay.
最正式的一端是报告、正式书信和议论文。
Moving along it is mostly a change of words.
在这条线上移动，主要就是换词。
I'm writing becomes I am writing to.
I'm writing 变成 I am writing to。
Thanks a lot becomes I would be grateful if.
Thanks a lot 变成 I would be grateful if。
Same message, a different level.
同样的意思，不同的正式程度。
So decide where your task sits, and hold it to the last word.
所以要定好任务落在哪里，并把它保持到最后一个词。
Now a real task.
现在做一道真题。
Your school magazine wants a review of the new sports centre in your town.
学校杂志请你为镇上新开的体育中心写一篇评论。
So look again at its shape.
那就再看一次评论的形状。
It opens by naming what you tried.
它先点明你体验的是什么。
Then it balances describing what the place is like with judging it — your opinion, with reasons.
然后把描写这个地方是什么样的，与做出评价放在一起——你的看法，加上理由。
And it ends with clear advice: try it, or not.
最后给出明确的建议：值不值得一试。
For a magazine, add a title on top.
给杂志写，上面还要加一个标题。
Now the words: get your review adjectives ready.
再说用词：把评论用的形容词准备好。
Now write it.
现在写出开头。
Here is the weak version. The new sports centre is good.
先看弱的版本：这个新体育中心很好。
It is big and it has good machines.
它很大，机器也很好。
One tired word is doing all the work.
一个用旧了的词承担了全部工作。
Now the same two sentences, with a title above them.
现在是同样的两句话，上面加一个标题。
Bright, busy and worth a visit.
明亮、热闹、值得一去。
The new sports centre is a real find.
这个新体育中心真是个惊喜。
The main hall is spacious, the machines are modern, and the entry price is excellent value.
主馆宽敞，器械新式，票价也非常划算。
The title is the fixed part. Spacious, modern and excellent value are the vocabulary.
标题是固定部分；宽敞、新式、非常划算则是词汇。
You need both to win both marks.
两样都要有，两处的分才都能拿到。
The exam works the other way too: it shows a text and asks what type it is.
考试也会反过来考：给你一段文字，问它是什么类型。
Read the features one at a time.
把特征一条一条读下来。
A headline and a byline mean it was published, so not a letter and not an email.
有大标题和署名，说明它是发表出来的，所以不是书信，也不是邮件。
Quotations from witnesses mean it reports what happened to others.
引用了目击者的话，说明它在报道发生在别人身上的事。
No I, and no opinion, means it is impersonal — so not an article and not a review.
没有"我"，也没有观点，说明它是非个人化的——所以不是文章，也不是评论。
Every feature points the same way: a news report.
每一条特征都指向同一个答案：这是一篇新闻报道。
Four habits to take with you.
带走四个习惯。
First, learn words in families, one per text type: email openers, report verbs, review adjectives.
第一，按词族记词，每种文本类型配一个词族： 邮件的开头语、报告的动词、评论的形容词。
Second, write the fixed parts down first — greeting, title, headings.
第二，先把固定部分写下来——称呼、标题、小标题。
Fifteen seconds, and they cannot be wrong.
只花十五秒，而且不可能写错。
Third, keep a personal word list: five a day beats fifty once a month.
第三，保留一份自己的词表；每天五个新词，胜过一个月背五十个。
Fourth, when a new word appears, guess it from the words around it and keep moving.
第四，遇到生词，就从周围的词猜出意思，然后继续往下读。
Know the type, know the words, and the writing paper stops being a guess.
认得类型，认得词，写作卷就不再靠猜。
Four things to remember.
记住四件事。
Learn each word three ways.
每个词学三样。
Learn phrases whole.
短语要整体地记。
Know your text types.
认清各种文本类型。
And match the purpose, the reader and the tone to the type.
再让目的、读者和语气与类型相配。