摘要是对一篇文章的主题思想的简单陈述。
它用最简洁的语言概括了原文的主题。
写摘要主要包括三个步骤：（1）阅读；（2）写作；（3）修改成文。
第一步：阅读A．认真阅读给定的原文材料。
如果一遍不能理解，就多读两遍。
阅读次数越多，你对原文的理解就越深刻。
B．给摘要起一个标题。
用那些能概括文章主题思想的单词、短语或短句子作为标题。
也可以采用文中的主题句作为标题。
主题句往往出现在文章的开头或结尾。
一个好标题有助于确定文章的中心思想。
C．现在，就该决定原文中哪些部分重要，哪些部分次重要了。
对重要部分的主要观点进行概括。
D．简要地记下主要观点——主题、标题、细节等你认为对概括摘要重要的东西。
第二步：动手写作A. 摘要应该只有原文的三分之一或四分之一长。
因此首先数一下原文的字数，然后除以三，得到一个数字。
摘要的字数可以少于这个数字，但是千万不能超过这个数字。
B. 摘要应全部用自己的话完成。
不要引用原文的句子。
C. 应该遵循原文的逻辑顺序。
这样你就不必重新组织观点、事实。
D. 摘要必须全面、清晰地表明原文所载的信息，以便你的读者不需翻阅原文就可以完全掌握材料的原意。
1/ 19E. 写摘要时可以采用下列几种小技巧：1) 删除细节。
只保留主要观点。
2) 选择一至两个例子。
原文中可能包括5个或更多的例子，你只需从中筛选一至二个例子。
3) 把长段的描述变成短小、简单的句子。
如果材料中描述某人或某事用了十个句子，那么你只要把它们变成一两句即可。
4) 避免重复。
在原文中，为了强调某个主题，可能会重复论证说明。
但是这在摘要中是不能使用的。
应该删除那些突出强调的重述句。
5) 压缩长的句子。
如下列两例：“His courage in battle might without exaggeration be called lion-like.”可以概括为：”He was very brave in battle.”“He was hard up for money and was being pressed by his creditor.”可以概括为：“He was in financial difficulties.”6) 你还可以使用词组代替整句或者从句。
请看下面的例子：“Beautiful mountains like Mount Tai, Lushan Mountain, and Mount Huang, were visited by only a few people in the past. Today, better wages, holidays with pay, new hotels on these mountains, and better train and bus services, have brought them within reach of many who never thought of visiting them ten years ago.”2/ 19可以概括为：”Beautiful mountains like Mount Tai, once visited by only a few people, are today accessible to many, thanks to better wages, paid holidays, new hotels and better transportation services.”7) 使用概括性的名词代替具体的词，比如：“She b rought home several Chinese and English novels, a few copies of Time and Newsweek and some textbooks. She intended to read all of them during the winter vocation.”可以概括为：”She brought home a lot of books to read during the vocation.”8）使用最短的连接词。
比如，可以使用but, then, thus, yet, though，不能使用at the same time, in the first place, because of these, on the other hand等较长的连接词。
通常，使用分号就能够达成使用连接词的效果。
9) 文章中的第一人称说的话通常在摘要中转换成第三人称，从而把大段的对白简化，比如：Kate looked at Paul disapprovingly: You use too much salt on your food, Paul — it’s not good for you!” Paul put down his knife and frowned:”Why on earth not! If you didn’t have salt on your food it would taste awful… like eating cardboard or sand… just imagine bread without salt in it, or potatoes or pasta cooked without salt!” Kate wa s patient. She didn’t want to quarrel with Paul. She wanted to persuade him. She said3/ 19firmly:”But too much salt is bad for you. It cause high blood pressure and latter on, heart-attacks. It also disguises the taste of food, the real tastes which are much more subtle than salt, and which we have lost the sensitivity to appreciate any more.”可以用第三人称概括为：Kate suggested to Paul that he should eat less salt. She thought that eating too much salt would do harm to Paul’s health and that it could reduce the real tastes of food. But Paul disagreed. He said that food without salt would be tasteless.第三步：修改成文草稿拟好以后，对它进行修改。
首先，与原文比较看是否把所有重要的观点都概括了，摘要中的观点是否与原文中的完全一致。
其次，如果摘要中出现了不必要的词汇、短语或长句子，删除它们。
第三，检查拼写、语法和标点符号的错误。
最后，保持语言简单明了。
经过上述步骤和方法，一篇摘要就可以完成了。
ArticleChildren Must be Taught to Tell Right from WrongWilliam KilpatrickMany of today’s young people have a difficult time seeing any moral dimension (道德层面) to their actions. There are a number of4/ 19reasons why that’s true, but none more prominent than a failed system of education that eschews (回避) teaching children the traditional moral values that bind Americans together as a society and a culture. That failed approach, called “decision-making,” was introduced in schools 25 years ago. It tells children to decide for themselves what is right and what is wrong. It replaced “character education. (品格教育)” Character education didn’t ask children to reinvent the moral wheel (浪费时间重新发明早已存在的道德标准); instead, it encouraged them to practice habits of courage, justice and self-control.In the 1940s, when a character education approach prevailed, teachers worried about students chewing gum; today they worry about robbery and rape.Decision-making curriculums pose thorny (棘手的) ethical dilemmas to students, leaving them with the impression that all morality is problematic and that all questions of right and wrong are in dispute. Youngsters are forced to question values and virtues they’ve never acquired in the first place or upon which they have only a tenuous (薄弱的) hold. The assumption behind this method is that students will arrive at good moral conclusions if only they are given the chance. But the actual result is moral confusion.5/ 19For example, a recent national study of 1,700 sixth- toninth-graders revealed that a majority of boys considered rape to be acceptable under certain conditions. Astoundingly, many of the girls agreed.This kind of moral illiteracy is further encouraged byvalues-education (价值观教育) programs that are little more than courses in self-esteem (自尊). These programs are based on the questionable assumption that a child who feels good about himself or herself won’t want to do anything wrong. But it is just as reasonable to make an opposite assumption: namely, that a child who has uncritical self-regard wil l conclude that he or she can’t do anything bad.Such naive self-acceptance results in large part from thenon-directive (无指导性的), non-judgmental (无是非观的),as-long-as-you-feel-comfortable-with-your-choices mentality (思想) that has pervaded (渗透) public education for the last two andone-half decades. Many of today’s drug education, sex education and values-education courses are based on the same 1960s philosophy that helped fuel the explosion in teen drug use and sexual activity in the first place.6/ 19Meanwhile, while educators are still fiddling with (胡乱摆弄) outdated “feel-good” approaches, New York, Washington, and Los Angeles are burning. Youngsters are leaving school believing that matters of right and wrong are always merely subjective. If you pass a stranger on the street and decide to murder him because you need money—if it feels right—you go with that feeling. Clearly, murder is not taught in our schools, but such a conclusion—just about any conclusion—can be reached and justified using the decision-making method.It is time to consign (寄出) the fads (风尚) of “decision-making” and “non-judgmentalism” to the ash heap of failed policies, and return to a proved method. Character education provides a much more realistic approach to moral formation. It is built on an understanding that we learn morality not by debating it but by practicing it.SampleSummary of “Children Must be Taught to Tell Right from Wrong”In his essay “Children Must be Taught to Tell Right from Wrong,” William Kilpatrick argues fervently that the “decision-making”approach to the moral education of American youth, which7/ 19replaced “character education” 25 years ago, has prevented juveniles from behaving and thinking in accordance with the traditional moral principles that are fundamental to American society.According to Kilpatrick, decision-making methods instill in students a wrong belief that all norms of morality are subjective constructs with only relative truth in them and therefore can be interpreted flexibly and even questioned. This belief deprives them of the chance to secure solid moral standards and induces misconceptions about what should be clearly right or wrong.In parallel with this inadequacy of the “decision-making” approach are the unexpected outcomes of those values-education programs focusing on students’ self-esteem that subscribe to the“non-judgmental” mindset dominating “decision-making” curriculums. Their mistaken assumption that feeling good warrants morality excuses students from criticizing and disciplining their own behaviors.8/ 19Basing his conclusion on his analysis of the fundamental flaws of the decision-making approach, Kilpatrick finally proposes an immediate shift back to character education which he believes teaches morality more effectively by emphasizing practice instead of discussion.Summary 常用句式1.This article/ passage mainly tells (a story) about……2.This passage mainly deals with/discusses/explores/……3.In this passage (about ……), the author ……4.In this passage about ……, the author ……5.The author began the essay/ passage by telling/ presenting……6.First/Firstly/ In the beginning/In the first part, the author argues/ explains/ mentions/ states/ points out (that)……7.Secondly/ Next/ Further on/ Then/ In the next part/ In the main part, the author goes on with……8.Finally/ As a conclusion/, the author concludes/ adds/ stresses that……9.Finally, the author summarizes that ……9/ 19二、常见句型1）This paper deals with..2）This article focuses on the topics of (that,having,etc). 3）This essay presents knowledge that...4）This thesis discusses...5）This thesis analyzes...6）This paper provides an overview of...7)This paper elaborates on ..8）This article gives an overview of...9）This article compares...and summarizes key findings. 10）This paper includes discussions concerning...11)This paper presents up12)This article covers the role of chemicals in...13)This paper addresses important topics including...14)This paper touches upon...10/ 1915)This paper strongly emphasizes..17)This article not only describes...but also suggests...18)This paper considers...19)This paper provides a method of ...20)This paper introduces an applicable procedure to analyze...21)This paper offers the latest information regarding...22)This paper is devoted to examining the role of...23)This article explores...24)This paper expresses views on...25)This paper reflects the state of the art in...26)This paper explains the procedures for...¬27)This paper develops the theory of ..28)This article reviews the techniques used in...29)This paper investigates the techniques and procedures to...30)This article is about...31)This essay is related to ...11/ 1932)This paper concerns...33)This paper gives an account of ...34)This article tells of...35)This paper tries to describe...36)This paper provides an analysis of ...37)This paper reports the latest information on ..38)The author of this article reviews..39)The writer of this paper discusses...40)The writer of this essay tries to explore...41)The aim of this paper is to determine..42)The purpose of this article is to review...43)The objective of this paper is to explore...破题用语，一般有：①The author of this article reviews (or: discusses, describes, summarizes, examines) something……②This article reviews (or:reports,tells of,isabout,concerns)something…….12/ 19③This article has been prepared (or:designed,written)…….④The purpose of this article is to determine something…….⑤The problem of something is discussed …….结论和建议，一般有以下几种写法：①The author suggests (recommends,concludes)that…….②This article shows that…….③It is suggested that…….④The author's suggestion (or:conclusion )is that ……⑤The author finds it necessary to …….Useful Transitions and Transitional Phrases13/ 1914/ 1915/ 19In the distant past, many people thought bats had magical powers, but times have changed. Today, many people believe that bats are rodents, that they cannot see, and that they are more likely than other animals to carry rabies. All of these beliefs are mistaken. Bats are not rodents, are not blind, and are no more likely than dogs and cats to transmit rabies. Bats, in fact, are among the least understood and least appreciated of animals.Bats are not rodents with wings, contrary to popular belief. Like all rodents, bats are mammals, but they have a skeleton similar to the human skeleton. The bones in bat wings are much like those in arms and the human hand, with a thumb and four16/ 19fingers. In bats, the bones of the arms and the four fingers of the hands are very long. This bone structure helps support the web of skin that stretches from the body to the ends of the fingers to form wings.Although bats cannot see colors, they have good vision in both dim and bright light. Since most bats stay in darkness during the day and do their feeding at night, they do not use their vision to maneuver in the dark but use a process called echolocation. This process enables bats to emit sounds from their mouths that bounce off objects and allow them to avoid the objects when flying. They use this system to locate flying insects to feed on as well. Typically, insect-eating bats emerge at dusk and fly to streams or ponds where they feed.They catch the insects on their wingtip or tail membrane and fling them into their mouths while flying.There are about 1,000 species of bat, ranging in size from the bumblebee bat, which is about an inch long, to the flying fox, which is sixteen inches long and has a wingspan of five feet. Each type of bat has a specialized diet. For seventy percent of bats, the diet is insects. Other types of bats feed on flowers,17/ 19pollen, nectar, and fruit or on small animals such as birds, mice, lizards, and frogs.One species of bat feeds on the blood of large mammals. This is the common vampire bat, which lives only in Latin America and is probably best known for feeding on the blood of cattle. Unfortunately, in an attempt to control vampire bat populations, farmers have unintentionally killed thousands of beneficial fruit-and insect-eating bats as well.Bats, in fact, perform a number of valuable functions. Their greatest economic value is in eliminating insect pests. Insect- eating bats can catch six hundred mosquitoes in an hour and eat half their body weight in insects every night. In many tropical rain forests, fruiteating bats are the main means of spreading the seeds of tropical fruits. Nectar-feeding bats pollinate a number of tropical plants. If it were not for bats, we might not have peaches, bananas, mangoes, guavas, figs, or dates.Today, the survival of many bat species is uncertain. Sixty percent of bats do not survive past infancy. Some are killed by predators such as owls, hawks, snakes and other meat-eating18/ 19creatures, but most are victims of pesticides and other human intrusions. InCarlsbad Caverns, New Mexico, where there were once eight million bats, there are now a quarter million.At Eagle Creek, Arizona, the bat population dropped from thirty million to thirty thousand in six years.Bats often have been burdened with a bad reputation, perhaps because they are not the warm, cuddly sort of animal. we love to love. However, their unusual physical features should not lead us to overestimate their harm or to underestimate their value.19/ 19。
