关于衔接手段

第四节

英文写作中过渡词的运用

无论是英语还是汉语，段落不仅讲究内容的统一性，也讲究段落的连贯性。讲究段落内几层意思的彼此相互关联，句与句之间的语义衔接自然，这样读者能自然地由上文过渡到下文。我们用形象的比喻，可把段落连贯看成是一个语义链。段落内的句子是其中的一节链，一节必须扣住一节。而要做到这一点，每一个句子都要包含一些和上一句相似或有关的东西，才能借此扣住连接起来。而如果两句内根本没有相同的东西，就如同两节链因没有可以互相扣住的地方而断开了。用图来表示语义链就是：

AB—BC—CD—DE—EF—FG—GH—H。

只有形成这样的语义链，才能达到段落的连贯。

英文写作中应特别注意的问题就是一个段落应围绕一个主题展开，一个段落处理一个中心思想，即保持文章内容的连贯性。汉语的连贯属“意合”，英语的连贯属“形合”，而借助过渡词取得语篇的连贯是形合法最突出的特点。所以在英语文章内，过渡词使用的特别多。它们的运用表明了文章中词语之间、段落之间的逻辑关系，决定文章思路的走向，使文章显得更加连贯。没有巧妙的过渡手段，文章的连贯性将会大受影响，文字内容会变成堆砌起来的思想片段。由于受汉语“意合”的影响，中国学生在英文写作中常常忽略过渡词的运用。

我们分析一下下面这段文章，便可知道衔接手段在英文写作中的重要性：Grades are important thing for most of college students. This competition is always hard to be a winner and easy to be a loser. I have been participating in this competition when I was five years old. I have never been satisfied with my grades.

I came to study in this university and I have lost good grades. Last semester was my first experience of taking regular courses in this university. I had not expected to succeed. Professors speaks fast. I feel like a dumb elementary school kid in the lectures. I studied harder than other students. I could not understand and answer the questions in the class. I dropped one course and failed English composition. I only got a 2.5 grade point average. I believe that grading system is good for a school, but they are not everything for a person’s ability.

这段文章的问题一是句子与句子之间的关系不清楚，没有适当的过渡手段把作者的思想表达的合乎逻辑；二是句式过于单一（英文写作时应特别注意这

一点，句式应有所变化）。如果加上适当的衔接手段并使句式多样化，该段文章便会大大改观：

Grades are extremely important for most college students. The competition for good grades is always very intense, and it is hard to be a winner. Since I was five years old I have been participating in this competition. However, I have never been satisfied with my grades. After entering this university, I have not expected that I would succeed in my studies: professors spoke so fast that I could hardly understand what they said. Therefore I usually could not answer the questions put to me correctly. In the class I felt like a dumb elementary school kid. Though I studied harder than other students, I still dropped one course and failed English composition. Finally I got a 2.5 grade point average. In my view, grading system is good for a school, but it is not the only measure of a person’s ability.

所以在进行英文写作中对过渡词的使用必须给予足够的重视。

按过渡词所表达的逻辑关系，我们将过渡词做一下分类。

分类方式一：

1．表示时间和顺序关系

after, before, later, in the past, at present, since, meanwhile, at the same

time, until,

for one thing,…for another,… （首先……其次……）

in the first place,…in the second place

on the one hand,…on the other hand （一方面……另一方面）

lately, to begin with (首先，第一)，in the beginning, first of all,

first, second, finally, from now on （从现在起），afterwards （此后）2．表示附加，补充和递增关系

furthermore, besides, in addition, moreover, what is more（而且，此外）,

to make things worse/and what is worse（更糟糕的是）, in other words

（换句话说），that is to say（也就是说）

3．表示转折、对立、让步与异同关系：

however, nevertheless, but, although, despite(in spite of), while（而）, on

the contrary（相反地），otherwise, instead, after all（毕竟）4．表示强调

in particular （尤其，特别），particularly, most important (of all), above all