英语写作与修辞练习题

I.Revise the following sentences1. Mr. Wang, a man trusted by his leaders and all his fellow workers, known as an expert in computer programming.2. Flying from Beijing to London three days ago and back to Beijing yesterday, jet lag is troubling him.3. When the meeting between the director of our company and the representative of the American company came to an end, he expressed satisfaction with the result.4. He had a long talk with the visiting delegation, he mentioned all the problems that remained to be solved, however, no agreement was reached in the end.5. They had a long discussion, nevertheless, they came to no conclusion.6. While he was in Shanghai, he has visited the newly developed area in Pudong, and is deeply impressed by the prosperity he has seen.7. This grammar book is a better one as far as I know.8. She hurried back because she didn't know that the meeting was put off.9. I entered her office and found she talked with two guests.10. There are more books in their library than my school.11. The old man who had taught at the school for 40 years and was given a medal of honor for his devotion to the cause of education before he retired.12. This morning the president and a group of students were talking and ten minutes later they left.13. Going to the library to borrow the novel, no copy was available.14. A number of spelling mistakes was found in his composition.15. I was terribly busy yesterday, therefore, I had to leave some work for today16. Everyone of the students, including myself, have bought this dictionary.17. Physics are fascinating but difficult.18. The president together with several assistants are here.19. She put all her reference books into a box, which she would use after taking the new job.20. Fifty dollars seem too much for this sweater.III. Improve the following sentences, paying attention to unity and coherence.1. Shakespeare was one of the greatest dramatists.2. He said he would take the exam and pass it, but he was not certain of it.3. He read the magazine in the reading-room. which contained a lotof latest information about computer science4. It snowed heavily at 8 o'clock.5. Such comments neither add nor detract from his fame.6. I was willing to buy the suit at that price and my billfold did not allow me to buy it.7. Many people believe that one should eat garlic every day to prevent disease in that region.8. The earthquake only damaged a few houses.9. He loves so much to work that he even works during his vacation.10. One student said that such a discussion was not helpful in class.11. At the picnic Helen served salad to hungry guests on paper plates.12. Languages were not invented; it grew with people’s need for expression.13. Mary called Beth every day when she was in hospital.14. Instead of taking physics, chemistry was chosen by most students in the class.15. After listening to the speaker’s inspiring speech, many questions were raised.16. Although only a small boy, his father wanted him to do a man’s work on the farm.17. When describing your tour in the three countries, slides may behelpful.18. He was so tired that we saw him asleep at eight in the morning.19. The landslide destroyed several houses and five people werekilled by it.20. The singing in the film is good and the actors act wonderfullywell.21. What do the rich know about poverty and those who are hungry?22. What one knows is more important than the wealth one has.IV. Improve the following sentences, paying attention to conciseness and emphasis.1.In the early part of December there was a heavy snow in thisarea, and it snowed for three days without letup2. Students who are in their fourth year at the university go to visitthe library regularly to look for material and reference books useful for the writing of their graduation papers.3. Early in the morning there was a fog which covered all things in the whole city and people who were driving were careful and they had to drive very slowly.4. He has tasted the wines produced in different places and he saysthe red wine made in Beijing is the best.5. In fact, he is usually realistic and sometimes he is also quiteromantic.6. Each time there was a knock at the door he was nervous, for he feared that someone might come to bring him more bad news.7. When you read the beginning of the book, you can't understand the meaning of the title. You will understand it when you come to the end of the book.8. China has a population of 1.2 billion. She must do much to limit the growth of population.9. Some people like to say "That's neat" when they mean to say "That's good." It is a slang expression.10. She enjoys talking with friends and is never tired when she is chatting with her good friends.11. The referee raised his right hand in which he was holding a yellow card.12. Moral integrity is more important than life, position, or wealth, according to Confucius.13. Altogether 12 novels were written by this famous novelist during his lifetime.14. Such a new view on the working of the universe could only have been put forward by a scientist like him.15. Rich people in the West usually ask lawyers for help whenever they get into trouble with other people.16. Meaningful content is the most important quality of acomposition, above all.17. She does not care too much about prices; she thinks the quality of things is more important.18. These children are busy playing with toys. They have little time for studies.19. In the evenings television is watched by almost all people in this village.20. The Government praises itself in every possible way, but the Opposition says ugly things about it whenever possible.Section BI. Read the following and say what kind of sentence each is (loose, periodic, or balanced):1. It is a pleasure to read good books.2. She missed the step and sprained her ankle.3. Badly frightened by the explosion, the boy rushed out of the laboratory.4. The Wangs must have gone away for the summer holidays, for we have not seen them for two or three weeks.5. There were the translators in their booths, and the girl secretaries at the doors, and the reporters grumbling and scribbling in their seats.6. Our friends, who had started before us, promised that they wouldmeet us, but when we arrived at the bus stop, they were nowhere to be seen.7. The new thing that happened to me in the town was that I was thrown into experiences that finally seemed to cut my ties to the walled-world of my childhood.8. In the speeches of politicians towards the close of 1919 and the spring of 1920, there was manifest an increasing recognition of the fact that what is called the capitalist system —the private ownership system that is, in which. private profit is the working incentive—-was on trial.9. It will not be done by the Government; it cannot be done by Parliament.10. There are still two widely different methods of getting what you want. One is to make yourselfII. Read the following, point out the mistakes and, make necessary corrections:1.Our host entertained us with many interesting stories ofadventure, he had been a member of an exploration team working in the Arctic.2. When I woke up I saw him asleep in bed, I had not heard him when he came back. Because I had been sleeping soundly.3. Liu always did his work a little better than his fellow workers, thatwas why he got higher pay than others.4. No student could answer that question, even Yao, who was usually quick in answering questions, was silent.5. Lin looks like Li, however, they are not related.6. The old man hunched forward. His head tilted at an angle. His eyes half closed, looking very sleepy.7. Their work was well planned, everybody worked with great enthusiasm, thus, they over-fulfilled their quota.8. Mark Twain, a well-known American writer, whose experience asa pilot on a steamboat was no doubt an important factor that helped him to become a famous writer.III. Rewrite the following by putting the short sentences into compound or complex sentences, or sentences with participial, prepositional, or other phrases:1.Xu comes from a working-class family. He enrolled incollege last fall.2. The dean issued a bulletin. It said the library would remain open on weekends.3. Last night was a wild night. The thunder roared. The wind blew a gale. The rain fell in torrents.4. There are icicles on the trees. The temperature must have fallen considerably during the night.5. He returned to his hometown. He had been away for twelve years. He looked in vain for the familiar landmarks.6. We have made some progress. We still have a long way to go.7. The sky was cloudless. The sun was shining brightly8. There were over two hundred passengers on board the plane. About one third of them were foreigners.9. The girl began to learn to play the piano when she was a child. Her mother was a famous pianist.10. Napoleon was born in 1769. At that time Corsica had just been acquired by France.11. She appeared on the stage. A stormy applause broke forth.12. The gypsies are really a nomadic people from Indian. They migrated into Europe. Once they were thought to be Egyptians. 13. The new workers are young and inexperienced. They are eager to learn from theveteran workers.14. It was a poor quarter. There were a lot of small huts. They had mud walls and straw roofs. They dotted a hillside.15. He heard that his father was ill. He was anxious to go home to see him. He went to the station early in the morning to buy a ticket. IV. The following sentences are not unified or coherent. Try to improve them:1. She began to speak very fast at the meeting at ten o' clock.2. Bernard Shaw was one of the best-known playwrights.3. The houses were mere shanties, and rags were stuffed in the cracks and holes.4. I read the novel on the train, which did not interest me at all.5. A well-dressed man admitted us to the house, and we later learned that he was a thief.6. I lost some important documents and found them three days later. The police had helped me.7. We entered the shop, and a saleswoman greeted us, and all kinds of shoes were on the shelves, and the prices were quite reasonable, and a lot of customers were buying them.8. Tell Helen, if she is at home, I will come to see her9. Listening attentively, a faulty sound was heard.10. On entering the room, no one was seen.11. Fred is energetic, capable, and a man you can rely on.12. The children promised to be careful and that they would return home early.13. Dickens's novels offer no solution to the social injustices he exposes in them.14. My watch is either fast or yours is slow.15. Glancing out of the window, a beautiful view attracted myattention.16. He nearly finished reading ten books during the vacation17. If interested in painting, a course can be taken at the evening school.18. She said that she would come if she could, but not to wait for her.19. To tell my friend the good news the letter was posted at once.20. I will go to the lecture, for I like his poems.V. Revise the following sentences. Try to make them concise.1. In the year 1840 the Opium War broke out.2. There are more books in their library than in our library.3. He returned back home after he graduated from college4. We planned to meet just before sunrise very early in the morning.5. The cause of the flood was due to the heavy rain in late spring.6. He was asked to repeat the sentence again.7. I play badminton equally as well as my brother.8. It seemed to his friends that his attitude was of a puzzling nature.9. These watermelons are large in size and sweet in taste.10. He did not tell the truth with an honest attitude.11. There are a number of students who want to join the drama club.12. He was kind enough to let me share the same umbrella with him.13. Zhao was the person who was elected the representative of theclass by the whole class.14. At the present time I am taking the course of WorId History and in addition a course in geography too.15. The plane circled around the airport for about ten minutes or so and than disappeared and could no longer be seen.16. What I am trying to say is that in my opinion he has not done his work very well and it needs improving17. I would like you to consider the question of whether or notyou will let our journal publish your recent article on women scientists in China.18. Owing to the fact that he had missed many lectures, he was aware that it would be possible for him to fail the exam.19. You must first work out an outline for your paper, and then after you have done that, you need to collect all kinds of material to support your point of view.20. In that country violent death has become a commonplace thing, a thing that occurs every day.21. He is not only a good pianist, but also a good singer as well.22. This pretty actress keeps appearing in TV serials repeatedly.23. As a rule, students are usually not allowed to take books out of this reading-room.24. According to the speaker, it is obvious that the responsibilitysystem has helped to increase production and he has no doubt about it.25. One reason why people are well informed in this country is because of the fact that there are many newspapers which can easily be bought or subscribed to.26. Statistics show that in the decade from 1980 to 1990 enrollments at this school doubled: in 1990 there were twice as many students as in 1980.27. There are so many inexperienced unskilled workers without training in a particular job that production of the factory has been affected.28. There are about 50 patients or so in this ward, among whom many are being given acupuncture treatment.29. His name is called lames Williams30. Whatever he does, he works seriously with great care, and does his best so as to do it well.VI. Rewrite the following sentences, emphasizing the main idea in each:1. Huang, who is over two metres tall, is the tallest man of the team.2. Social position, reputation, even life itself, and friends, were no longer interesting to him after he went bankrupt.3. He decided to take the job, and it was something unexpected.4. China will not be the first to use nuclear weapons under any circumstances.5. Yang alone can do the work, and there are twenty students in the class.6. China has changed a great deal as a result of reform and the open policy during the past 14 years.7. She was the first Chinese woman who had won a gold medal for figure skating in an international contest, according to newspaper reports.8. An attempt was made by Robert to do all the things that the sailor members of the crew usually did while serving as a cabin boy on the ship.9. Mrs. Jones, the famous writer, was among his neighbours.10. The students were patiently helped by their teachers and good progress was made by them.11. She often helps many comrades in her class to improve their pronunciation.12. There are few mistakes in the language of the composition, but it is not very good, because the content is not interesting.。