怎樣對一篇文章進行複述？

我在之前文章口語和寫作遇到瓶頸了應該怎麼辦？裡面介紹了一種練習口語和寫作的方法：複述。但有不少人反映不知道如何操作，今天我在這裡重點說一下複述的具體操作流程。

對於剛開始接觸複述的人來說，應該優先進行筆頭複述練習，等到筆頭練習比較熟練了再進行口語複述。這樣做的主要原因是筆頭複述時有更多的時間思考以及組織語句，難度要比口頭複述低，更加適合入門。

複述的材料建議選擇議論文，比如與教育、科技、環境、社會、經濟、政府管理等話題相關的文章。這類主題在嚴肅討論中經常遇到，同時也是各類考試作文的常見話題，實用性比較高。推薦使用新概念英語三和四，以及《經濟學人》等外刊文章作為複述材料。

在入門複述之前可以先找一些句子，做單詞以及句義的轉換練習。比如：

1. 利用同義詞進行轉換：

原句：The survey showed that Britain』s trees are in good health.

轉換：The survey revealed that Britain』s trees are in good health.

原句：The company is losing ground to its competitors.

轉換：The company is falling behind its competitors.

2. 利用詞性不同進行轉換：

原句：New technology has also made its own contribution to noise.

轉換：New technology has also contributed to noise.

原句：In autumn they often weekend in the West Hills.

轉換：In autumn they often spend their weekends in the West Hills.

3. 利用不同句型進行轉換

原句：It is impossible to look for life on another planet using earth-based telescopes.

轉換：Searching for life on another planet using earth-based telescopes is impossible.

原句：He was so weak that he could hardly stand up.

轉換：He was too weak to stand up.

在練習的時候可以嘗試結合這三種方法，對一個句子進行改寫。

在對詞句的轉換練習比較順手後，可以著手對文章進行複述。在複述之前先精讀文章，弄清楚所有生詞的意思以及每一段的主要內容。

複述的時候可以採用「提綱法」：提取出每一段的中心句，同時標記出關鍵詞。這些關鍵詞相當於一個個「線索」，在複述的時候根據這些線索就能把整篇文章的意思概括出來。

下面我會以新概念三的一篇文章：Too high a price? 為例子，說明一下複述的流程。

這篇文章主要指出目前隨著科技發展而產生的一系列問題，包括日益堆積的垃圾，各種疾病以及雜訊污染，這些問題都值得我們深思。

文章第一段：

Pollution is the price we pay for an overpopulated, over industrialized planet. When you come to think about it, there are only four ways you can deal with rubbish: dump it, burn it, turn it into something you can use again, attempt to produce less of it. We keep trying all four methods, but the sheer volume of rubbish we produce worldwide threatens to overwhelm us.

中心句：Pollution is the price we pay for an overpopulated, over industrialized planet.

關鍵詞：the sheer volume of rubbish, threatens to overwhelm us

文章第二段：

Rubbish, however, is only part of the problem of polluting our planet. The need to produce ever-increasing quantities of cheap food leads to a different kind of pollution. Industrialized farming methods produce cheap meat products: beef, pork and chicken. The use of pesticides and fertilizers produces cheap grain and vegetables. The price we pay for cheap food may be already too high: Mad Cow Disease (BSE) in cattle, salmonella in chicken and eggs, and listeria in dairy products. And if you think you』ll abandon meat and become a vegetarian, you have the choice of very expensive organically-grown vegetables or a steady diet of pesticidesevery time you think youre eating fresh salads and vegetables, or just having an innocent glass of water!

中心句：The need to produce ever-increasing quantities of cheap food leads to a different kind of pollution.

關鍵詞：industrialized farming methods, the use of pesticides and fertilizers, Mad Cow Disease, listeria, vegetarian, pesticides

文章第三段：

However, there is an even more insidious kind of pollution that particularly affects urban areas and invades our daily lives, and that is noise. Burglar alarms going off at any time of the day or night serve only to annoy passers-by and actually assist burglars to burgle. Car alarmsconstantly scream at us in the street and are a source of profound irritation. A recent survey of the effects of noise revealed (surprisingly?) that dogs barking incessantly in the night rated the highest form of noise pollution on a scale ranging from 1 to 7. The survey revealed a large number of sources of noise that we really dislike. Lawn mowers whining on a summers day, late-night parties in apartment blocks, noisy neighbors, vehicles of all kinds, especially large container trucks thundering through quiet village, planes and helicopters flying overhead, large radios carried round in public places and played at maximum volume. New technology has also made its own contribution to noise. A lot of people object to mobile phones, especially when they are used in public places like restaurants or on public transport. Loud conversations on mobile phones invade our thoughts or interrupt the pleasure of meeting friends for a quiet chat. The noise pollution survey revealed a rather surprising and possibly amusing old fashioned source of noise. It turned out to be snoring! Men were found to be the worst offenders. It was revealed that 20% of men in their mid-thirties snore. This figure rises to a staggering 60% of men in their sixties. Against these figures, it was found that only 5% of women snore regularly, while the rest are constantly woken or kept awake by their trumpeting partners. Whatever the source of noise, one thing is certain: silence, it seems, has become a golden memory.

中心句：However, there is an even more insidious kind of pollution that particularly affects urban areas and invades our daily lives, and that is noise.

關鍵詞：burglar alarms, car alarms, a source of profound irritation, survey, dogs barking, the highest form of noise pollution, new technology, invade our thoughts, interrupt the pleasure of meeting friends for a quiet chat, surprising and possibly amusing, snoring, only 5% of women snore regularly, silence, a golden memory

現在我們將各個段落的中心句和關鍵詞整合在一起，組成一個提綱：

1. Pollution is the price we pay for an overpopulated, over industrialized planet. (the sheer volume of rubbish, threatens to overwhelm us)

2. The need to produce ever-increasing quantities of cheap food leads to a different kind of pollution. (industrialized farming methods, the use of pesticides and fertilizers, Mad Cow Disease, listeria, vegetarian, pesticides)

3. However, there is an even more insidious kind of pollution that particularly affects urban areas and invades our daily lives, and that is noise. (burglar alarms, car alarms, a source of profound irritation, survey, dogs barking, the highest form of noise pollution, new technology, invade our thoughts, interrupt the pleasure of meeting friends for a quiet chat, surprising and possibly amusing, snoring, only 5% of women snore regularly, silence, a golden memory)

接下來將課文原文遮住，根據這份提綱的中心句和關鍵詞，把課文複述出來。複述的時候可以對關鍵詞和句式進行轉換。複述後可以對照原文，看看是否有遺漏或者寫錯的地方。這是我們最終得到的版本：

Pollution is the price we pay for an overpopulated, over-industrialized planet. One of the problems arising from pollution is the sheer volume of rubbish, which threatens to overwhelm us.

Our need to produce ever more cheap food leads to another problem. Industrialized farming methods and the use of pesticides and fertilizers are the culprit of diseases such as Mad Cow Disease and listeria. Even if you choose to become a vegetarian, you still cannot stay away from pesticides.

However, there exists an even more insidious kind of pollution: noise. Burglar alarms and car alarms are a source of profound irritation in our daily lives. A recent survey found that the barks of dogs at night rated the highest form of noise. Other sources of noise pollution include lawn mowers, late-night parties, and so forth. New technology has also contributed to noise. Loud conversations on mobile phones invade our thoughts or interrupt the pleasure of meeting friends for a quiet chat. The survey revealed a rather surprising and amusing old-fashioned source of noise: snoring. Men were found to be the worst offenders, and the proportion of men who snore rises with age. By contrast, only 5% of women snore regularly. It seems that silence has become a golden memory.

這種形式的複述練習能讓我們徹底弄清楚一篇文章框架以及內容，同時在複述的過程中我們還會用上文章裡面的好詞好句，並且學會用自己的語言去轉述一個概念，這對於主動輸出能力的提升會有很大幫助。推薦每一個人都去進行口頭和筆頭複述練習。

喜歡閱讀外刊，致力於提高英文水平的同學可以關注我的公眾號：英文悅讀，公眾號會分享對外刊的點評和賞析，英文寫作經驗，還有我個人的英文學習相關文章，感謝！