化虛為實(shí)，化難為易

賈從永

2013年12月大學(xué)英語(yǔ)六級(jí)考試出現(xiàn)了三道作文題目，均沿用了自2013年6月開始的引言型作文命題方式，即要求考生根據(jù)一句名言或諺語(yǔ)寫一篇議論文。此類作文的思辨性強(qiáng)，寫法迥異于以往的分析現(xiàn)象型作文。由于名言或諺語(yǔ)都比較抽象，所以考生不宜再用抽象說理的方法來論證。俗話說“事實(shí)勝于雄辯”，論證一個(gè)抽象的道理，最有力、最容易下筆的方式就是舉例論證。本文筆者就以2013年12月六級(jí)考試的三道作文真題為例，向考生重點(diǎn)推薦三種舉例論證的方法，以達(dá)到化虛為實(shí)、化難為易的效果。

真題回顧

名言或諺語(yǔ)一般言簡(jiǎn)意賅、含蓄雋永，這讓一些考生理解起來頗費(fèi)腦筋。要寫好引言型作文，第一步就要正確領(lǐng)會(huì)題目中名言或諺語(yǔ)的含義。為此，考生既要斟酌名言，又要細(xì)讀寫作指令，切勿匆匆下筆，造成“下筆千言，離題萬里”的后果。下面先來回顧2013年12月六級(jí)考試的三道寫作真題。

Directions： For this part， you are allowed 30 minutes to write an essay commenting on the remark “The greatest use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it.” You can give examples to illustrate your point and then explain what youll do to make your life more meaningful. You should write at least 150 words but no more than 200 words.

審題：本題的這句名言理解起來不太容易，字面意思如下：度過人生的最偉大的方式是將之花在比人生更持久的事情當(dāng)中。意思就是說，要把人生過得有意義，就要投身于人類的崇高事業(yè)，因?yàn)橹挥谐搅藗€(gè)人利益的崇高事業(yè)才是永恒的。

Directions： For this part， you are allowed 30 minutes to write an essay on happiness by referring to the saying “Happiness is not the absence of problems， but the ability to deal with them.” You can cite examples to illustrate your point and then explain how you can develop your ability to deal with problems and be happy. You should write at least 150 words but no more than 200 words.

審題：本題中名言的字面意思是“幸福不是不存在問題，而是具備應(yīng)對(duì)問題的能力”。結(jié)合寫作指令中的另一句話explain how you can develop your ability to deal with problems and be happy，考生不難看出這句名言要表達(dá)的意思：我們應(yīng)該積極地應(yīng)對(duì)生活中的各種問題，這樣才能獲得幸福。

Directions： For this part， you are allowed 30 minutes to write an essay about the impact of the information explosion by referring to the saying “A wealth of information creates a poverty of attention.” You can give examples to illustrate your point and then explain what you can do to avoid being distracted by irrelevant information. You should write at least 150 words but no more than 200 words.

審題：本題的這句名言出自美國(guó)著名經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)家、心理學(xué)家和社會(huì)學(xué)家Herbert Simon。這句名言成了許多考生的噩夢(mèng)，因?yàn)槠渲械年P(guān)鍵詞wealth和poverty用的都不是本義，而是其引申義。此處wealth的意思是“豐富，大量”，而poverty的意思是“缺乏，匱乏”。這句名言的字面意思是“大量的信息造成注意力的匱乏”。此言何意呢？隨著信息技術(shù)的發(fā)展，各種通信工具使信息無孔不入、無處不在，甚至泛濫成災(zāi)，人們的注意力被過量的信息所分散。人們?cè)僖膊荒芟襁^去那樣靜靜地品茶、思考、閱讀、寫作，甚至連不受打擾地開會(huì)、上課都成了奢望。這句名言說的正是現(xiàn)代人所面臨的這種窘?jīng)r。

舉例論證技巧的應(yīng)用

引言型作文在寫作時(shí)仍以三段布局為宜（關(guān)于謀篇布局的方法請(qǐng)參考本刊2013年10月號(hào)《從2013年6月六級(jí)寫作真題談引言型作文寫作攻略》一文）。通常在文章第二段，考生要論證題目中名言或諺語(yǔ)的正確性。由于名言或諺語(yǔ)都比較抽象，考生最好舉出具體的例子來論證，寫作指令中也明確地建議考生give examples to illustrate your point。列舉生動(dòng)的事例可以化抽象為具體，化難為易。下面筆者就以上述三道六級(jí)寫作真題為例，具體講解如何運(yùn)用舉例論證的方法。考生可以在平時(shí)積累相關(guān)素材，在考試中靈活使用。

列舉偉人事跡

偉人之所以偉大，是因?yàn)樗麄冊(cè)?jīng)做出一些不凡的業(yè)績(jī)，這些業(yè)績(jī)往往為世人所稱頌。因此，引用他們的事跡可以有效增強(qiáng)論點(diǎn)的說服力。就本次六級(jí)寫作的題目一來說，考生要論述的觀點(diǎn)是“人生要過得有意義，就要投身于人類的崇高事業(yè)”。為此，考生可以舉出兩位諾貝爾和平獎(jiǎng)獲得者特蕾莎修女和曼德拉的例子。請(qǐng)看下面的范文。

The best example I can think of is Mother Teresa. She devoted her whole life to helping the poorest of the poor and saving the sickest of the sick in India. An angel helping the underprivileged， she will live in the heart of millions forever. Another example is Nelson Mandela， the father of South Africa， who dedicated 67 years of his life to fighting racist policies. Though the freedom fighter has passed away， his legacy—democracy， equality and reconciliation—will live on.

列舉重大事件

當(dāng)今社會(huì)的一些重大事件為世人所熟悉和矚目，考生可以引用這些事件來證明文章的主題。比如本次六級(jí)寫作的題目二，考生要論證的主題為“只有積極應(yīng)對(duì)各種問題，才能獲得幸?！?。為此，考生不妨以環(huán)境污染為例來闡述。環(huán)境污染威脅到人類的生存，只有意識(shí)到這一問題的嚴(yán)重性并采取有效措施，我們才能重新享受干凈的水、藍(lán)藍(lán)的天和健康的食品。此外，考生還可以拿曾在中國(guó)引起恐慌的問題奶粉事件做例子。由于政府采取了嚴(yán)厲的措施，我們欣喜地看到這一問題現(xiàn)在已基本絕跡。需要注意的是，舉例子是為了說明主題，要適時(shí)地夾敘夾議。請(qǐng)看下面的范文。

Happiness does not lie in idleness. Rather， it lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort. Lets take environmental pollution for example. Pollution poses a great threat to human existence. Fortunately， this problem has drawn our attention and many effective steps are being taken to solve it. Only then will we be able to enjoy clean water， blue sky and healthy food again. Another example is unsafe milk powder， which caused a panic in 2008. But we are glad that the problem has been rooted out now， thanks to the drastic measures taken by the government.

列舉凡人小事

日常生活中的凡人小事雖不驚天動(dòng)地，卻能讓讀者感同身受，所以舉出凡人小事來論證一個(gè)道理會(huì)讓讀者備感熟悉，也容易接受。比如本次六級(jí)寫作的題目三，考生要論述的觀點(diǎn)是“隨著信息技術(shù)的發(fā)展，人們?cè)絹碓饺菀诪檫^量的信息分心”。為此，考生可以舉出生活中的具體事例來證實(shí)這一點(diǎn)：老師經(jīng)?？吹綄W(xué)生在課堂上對(duì)著手機(jī)短信發(fā)笑；開會(huì)的時(shí)候不時(shí)有人將手機(jī)捂在耳朵上出去接聽電話等。這種列舉生活中具體事例的論證方法比抽象說理更加生動(dòng)形象，而且更容易下筆。請(qǐng)看下面的范文。

With email， iPad and mobile phone continuously bombarding us with information， it is increasingly difficult for us not to be distracted. It is a rare teacher who hasnt seen a student chuckling over a text message in class. Similarly， hardly a meeting goes on for half an hour without someone hurriedly tiptoeing out， holding a cellular phone to his or her ear. With the buzzing device close at hand， we find ourselves no longer able to concentrate on our work or even have a good rest.

可以預(yù)測(cè)，在今后一段時(shí)間里，引言型作文仍是六級(jí)作文的主要命題形式。對(duì)此，考生要有清醒的認(rèn)識(shí)和應(yīng)對(duì)之策?？忌灰莆找恍┗摓閷?shí)、化難為易的論證技巧，并在平時(shí)的閱讀中勤于積累，寫出高分的六級(jí)作文并非遙不可及。