英语记叙文写作分析及记叙文的组成

一般来说，记叙文通常由三个部分组成:开头、展开和结尾。记叙文是现实中使用频率最高的通用问题，因此对该文体的分析与研究也最为普遍，很多经典的论述值得学习借鉴。本部分参照徐义云教授(2007)的《英语记叙文写作方法析》。

1．记叙文的开头

记叙文的开头通常交代事件的背景，即交代事件发生的时间、地点、有关人物和人与人之间的相互关系等内容。这些方面包含着导致未来变化和发展的因素，可以帮助读者理解事件的本身。例如介绍某次郊游的文章可以这样开头:

I had an interesting outing during the spring holidays.It was Sunday.The sun was shining brightly.The weather was fine and warm.I got up very early that day.After an early breakfast，I went to Mount Mo with my classmates by bike.We got there at about nine.

在这几行文字中，作者写明了郊游的时间、地点和人物。在开头的段落中，介绍了对郊游的准备和到达目的地的时间。由于这几点叙述得自然、紧凑，所以这种方式的开头犹如电影的开头画面一样慢慢展开，把人们带到了郊游的目的地。

在记人的文章中，首先应该把人物介绍给读者，对人物的一些外貌特征可以在开头部分中加以介绍。例如，在介绍一位老师的文章中可以这样开头:

It was in 1981 that I first met my English teacher Mr.Wang.He was not tall but very strong at that time.His eyes shone brightly with knowledge behind a pair of glasses.Ever since then，we have been good friends.

在此段文字中，作者虽然没有直接交代事情发生的地点，但从所述的人物之间的关系，读者可以领会到此事的发生是在学校。另外，文中的“knowledge”一词和句子”Ever since then，we have been good friends”又为下文的展开做了很好的铺垫，容易吸引读者的注意力，激发读者欲读下文的兴趣。

2．记叙文的展开

记叙文的展开通常可以从四个方面入手:以人物活动的时间顺序为线索，按空间位置变换组织材料，以事件发生的顺序记叙，以人物的主次性格特征为序。前两种方法主要用于叙事的文章中，第四种方法用于记人的文章中，第三种方法即可用于记人又可用于叙事。

(1)以人物活动的时间顺序为线索

前面介绍了一次郊游的开头，接下来可以按人物活动的时间顺序作如下展开:

We first stayed for an hour on the grass land at the foot of the hill.There were many people there.Some of us were singing and dancing while others were playing games.Then we began to climb the hill，talking and laughing.On the top of the hill we overlooked the beautiful East Lake and all cried，“Wow！”We were also shocked at the beauty of other hills and the fields around.Besides playing chess and badminton，we took many photographs.At noon we had a picnic.In the afternoon we met some foreign guests.We talked and played games together.

在这篇文章中，作者和同学活动的时间顺序为:first，then，at noon，in the afternoon.

（2）按空间位置变换组织材料

按照事物空间位置转换的顺序安排材料，也就是按照地点变换，方位变换写文章。例如:

We enjoyed our visit to Dr.Hassans’house，perched high up on a hill.Walking up the long drive way，we approached the huge bronze door.A butler was standing in the open doorway，ushering guests into the house.Going in，we passed the oak-paneled library，and the formal dining room before we arrived at the ballroom，where the reception was being held.Under three sparking chandeliers，more than a hundred people were enjoying champagne，hors do’euvres，and good conversation.(www.xing528.com)

空间位置变换的描述若运用表示方位的短语，就比一般的陈述显得更为有趣，具有立体感，可给读者留下深刻的印象。从上一段作者拜访那座位于小丘上的寓所，可体会到空间位置的变化。“沿着长长的车道，来到巨大的青铜门前，侍者将客人引入屋内，穿过橡木镶嵌的图书室和正规的餐厅，便到了举行招待会的舞厅。在三盏枝形吊灯的照耀下，客人们享受着香槟、餐前小吃，愉快地交谈。”

(3)以事件发生的顺序记叙

This story happened in a garden long ago.There were many water vats in the garden.A group of boys were playing there.One of them said it was a good place for playing games.They began at once.

They played happily for a long time.Suddenly someone shouted“Come！Come！A boy has fallen into a vat.”All the boys ran away except a small one.His name was Si Maguang.He was then only eight years old.He thought he should save the boy’s life.

But he was too small，the vat was too large，he could not see the inside of the vat.At that time，nobody would help him.He hurried towards the large vat，and broke it with a big stone.The water came out of the vat at once.When there was no water in it，he pulled the boy out through the hole.The small boys’father and mother and other people came and saw the small boy talking to SiMaguang.They were all pleased very much.They came forward to SiMaguang，praising him for his quick-wittedness and said he was a clever boy.

此文是记人的文章，以事件的发生为序。首段交代事件的发生(一个男孩掉进了大水缸)，然后在第二段记叙了司马光救小男孩的经过(用砖头砸缸，把小男孩从洞口拖出)，最后是小男孩的父母和其他人对司马光的赞扬。文章第二段还夹有对司马光外貌、年龄、心理的描写，进一步衬托出司马光的机智、聪明，从小就能乐于助人的优秀品质。

(4)按人物特征的主次顺序

例如前面那段记叙Mr.Wang的文章的开头对该位老师进行了外表描写(次要特征)之后，下面可以这样展开:

Mr.Wang was knowledgeable.He spoke English fluently and gave us lectures in English，which was not common in middle schools.He explained the grammar and language points carefully in class.After class，whenever I asked him questions，he was pleased to answer them and always encouraged me to raise more questions.

He was also very caring.I was the top student but I was poor.He often offered his table lamp for me to use，saying it was good for my eyesight at night.He sometimes invited me to have dinners in his family，too.

此文中，作者在开头段描述了述王老师外貌特征，并通过“knowledgeable”“also”两词平稳地实现了上下文的过渡与衔接。在展开段中，作者不仅叙述了王老师学术水平高、教学工作耐心细致，而且叙述了王老师在学习和生活上无微不至地关爱自己，热情帮助自己的优秀品德。此文就是按照人物的特征由次到主的顺序展开的。

3．记叙文的结尾

记叙文的结尾不像说明文和论说文的结尾那样复杂。叙事的文章通常是依照事件的发生、发展和结局这样一个自然的顺序来结尾，无须在结构上及方法上有特殊的要求。在记人的文章中，作者通常是有感而发，所以在此类文章结尾时，作者时常发表感慨，陈述自己对某人的观点或态度。在有些“难忘的某事”之类的文章中，作者可用一些议论来结尾。例如，前面所讲到的“郊游”和“难忘的老师”两篇文章，其结尾可分别是:

We spent a happy day on mount Mo.When we arrived home at 7 p.m.，we felt exhausted but extremely excited.

这段文字是按照人物活动的先后自然顺序结尾的，即从早晨出发到晚上回家。

In 1982 I entered university，far away from Mr.Wang’s home，but I would never forget him.It was he who made it possible for me to get higher education.此段结尾夹叙夹议，表达了作者对老师的难忘之情。