1． 段落的基本构成 T _ Xs
段落一般有三个基本组成部分：主题句（Topic Sentence）、扩展句（Developing Sentence）和结论句（Concluding Sentence）。主题句在段落中起引导或序论（Introduction）的作用，是表明全段要描述什么或论述什么的中心词；扩展句是用来说明、解释或论证主题句所表述的主题或中心思想的，起到了引申和扩充的作用；而结论句则是在经过说明、解释或论证的基础上得出的结论，起到了总结全段主题或中心思想的作用。 （一） 主题句 ;P_ Yr
（1） 主题句位于句首。在考试中，主题句通常位于段首，它的优点在于开门见山、直接点明主题，有助于应试者把握段落的中心思想，紧紧扣住主线自然展开，不至于误入歧途。例如： (h 4%*>
① The most striking difference between home life and dormitory life is that students must begin to take responsibility for their own actions. Students must depend on themselves to get up in the morning in time for class; they must depend on themselves to eat properly, to keep their clothes and bodies clean, and to set aside appropriate amounts of time for study and relaxation. Students must also begin to take care of how to spend their money, making sure to preserve enough for things that are essential rather than for fun. All of these responsibilities do a great deal toward preparing students for adult life. FC]MDEn5I
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② Some people think that there is relationship between automobile accidents and suicide. Many accidents happen because the driver has been drinking. Many others occur because of speed of other reckless driving behavior. Drivers could avoid all of these factors if they wanted to. Therefore, many people suggest that such “accidents” are really self-destructive behavior on the part of the driver. :bh\nEr^
③ Responsible for a car of my own has shown me that car owner-ship shouldn’t be taken lightly. Before I owned a car, I would use my friend’s cars frequently and thought that all there was to having a car, putting gas in it and driving away. Now, however, I know about car notes and insurance premiums, which you have to pay if you want to keep driving. I am more concerned about checking things like tires, the battery, and the brakes because if I don’t do this, no one else will. I am also more careful about my driving habits since I could have an accident otherwise, causing my insurance rates to increase. And if I were to dent my car, I would get less money for it if I wanted to sell it. DBoSF ;o
(2)主题句位于段中。主题句位于段落中间的目的主要是要求应试者对两种事物或观点（见例①）或同一种事物两个方面（见例②）进行比较或对照，以此指出不同的或相反的论点，以便加以论证。例如： o_*7y #
① Californians and New Englanders are both American. They speak the same language and abide by the same federal laws. But they are very different in their ways of life. Mobility-both physical and psychological-has made a great impression on the culture of Californians; lack of mobility is the mark of the customs and morality of New Englanders. 7vZ aI{
② Some people like to say. “Let bygones be bygones.” This is especially the case for misanthropes who hate to recall their past events. They hate their fellow-men; they hate everybody, perhaps themselves too. They never fall back on the happy memories of their past. In time of loneliness, instead of enriching their minds by enjoying their happy memories, they blame this world for being cold. Yet we may have something very funny in the past. Why not warm up your coldness by recalling them? P O$'{R6
(3)主题句位于段尾。主题句出现在段尾时，通常起到制造悬念（见例①）和总 7U>g 6#
结归纳（见例②）的作用。例如： 5'FQrnZ
① Some students prefer a strict teacher who tells them exactly what to do. Others prefer to be left to work on their own. Still others like a democratic discussion type of class. No one teaching method can be devised to satisfy all students at the same time. u(K!/ )
② Give students a chance to grow. Do not mold them from one of a thousand patterns. Let them seek knowledge, but do not find it for them. Let them learn patience, do not set rigid time schedules. Most of all, do not push them against a stone wall, crushing them with knowledge gained from the experience of others. Experience cannot be taught; it must come slowly through personal search. 9 c7-e
(4)主题句位于其它位置。这样的实例有：主题句位于段首和段尾，起到重复主 N _qG9^
题，强调段落中心思想的作用（见例①）；主题句隐含其中（见例②），就像研究生考试中有时要求的那样，每一段必须包含一定的内容或意思，但它不是以句子或主题句的形式出现，而要通过整个段落反映出一个主题。例如： Ub9"Ru(y)
① It has been said that everyone lives by selling something. In the light of this statement, teachers live by selling knowledge, philosophers by selling wisdom and priests by selling spiritual comfort. Though it may be possible to measure the value of material goods in terms of money, it is extremely difficult to estimate the true value of the services which people perform for us.…The conditions of society are such that skills have to be paid for in the same way that goods are paid for at a shop. Everyone has something to sell. yvT` (}=]{
② One important purpose on blood is to carry the substances that maintain and repair the body tissues. In this way, blood serves as a provider. A second use of blood is to act as a disposer, carrying wastes and gases away from the tissues of the body. Blood acts in a third way as a defender. The white corpuscles in the bloodstream constantly guard against and try to destroy bacteria and other agents that threaten the body’s welfare.（隐含的主题为：Human blood serves the body in three important ways.） N8SvQJuH/
（二） 扩展句 dg 6sOU[?
扩展句是对主题句或主题的引申，它主要通过事例或实例说明或解释主题句所表述的中心思想（见例①）；用论据来论证主题思想（见例②）；通过不同的角度、层次对段落的主题加以进一步的阐明（见例③）。例如： 0aLpq {
① The great advantage of a reference book is that it serves as a shortcut. =':DF
By being familiar with reference books we can get the answer we are seeking with little waste of time. For instance, we might have to look through several books on World War Ⅱ before finding the exact date of the battle in which we are interested, but a dictionary of dates will yield the information in minutes. Therefore, if we take a library as a treasury of man’s knowledge, reference books are the key to the treasure. w6g :$g
② Travel has become more and more popular. Travel gives people much pleasure. Travelers can enjoy lots of beautiful scenic spots and historic relics. What is more, travel can do lots of good to people’s health; they feel relaxed and free from anxiety and worry. In short, they are happy and gay not only physically but mentally. d &qcR'
③ (主题句)The students of China are a new generation which has bright prospect.(扩展句)They are developed in a new environment provided by the great social reforms.(与前一句角度不同的另一扩展句)They study modern scientific and technological knowledge and train themselves to be the needed persons for the country. >XWIp ?
(三)结论句 }&RDfF/
由于结论句是用来总结或概括段落中心思想的，因此它通常位于段落的结尾处， h nIf7vJ
以使读者产生联想（见例①）或引起深思（见例②）。常用来表示结论的转承词有：in short, therefore, hence等等。例如： hq2ZV .-
① In ferreting the interests of people in space, we are aware that there are probably three reasons. Firstly, it is a plan of looking for other places to hold the overcrowded population on this earth. Secondly, it is the curiosity of mankind to urge the scientists for the research work, because they desire too eagerly the coming of the day when they can travel freely in space. Thirdly, we are reminded of the mineral resources which are not sufficient to provide for the needs on the earth. Therefore, we try every effort to go to other planets in the hope of searching for new resources. PDR6x9e39
② The convenience and economy of small cars account for their popularity. They are easy to park quickly and take smaller parking spaces. Small cars are also a means of conserving energy because they use less gas than big cars. They are also more economical to operate and maintain, and they cost less. Because of all these advantages, the next car I buy is going to be an Econo-Midget. CEVCXE<3-y
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2． 展开段落的几种常用方法 lL#ng&3;w
（一） 按步骤 O H9 #{(f
按步骤（by Process）就是根据事件发生的时间（见例①）或步骤（见例②）的 V [$0U`
先后来组织材料，它是展开段落的最简单的一种方法。例如： N v,'3
① I still remember the day when I first came to the campus. I was then 17, longing for the new life as a university student. if%UjY{{
That morning when the bus carried me to the gate of the university, I felt my heart beating excitedly and almost out of mouth.… >xy1AdR
In the afternoon, I took a walk around the campus together with my roommates.… Wi+ F wf]P
In the evening, we sat together, talking about the past and the future. We were so excited that no one wanted to sleep. wuM[%g~p
② My heart gave a leap when I heard the announcement that our train would soon arrive at its destination---Beijing. Like other passengers, I began to collect my things and put them in to my bag. To the tune of beautiful song the train pulled into the station and gently stopped by a platform. I walked out of the train and was carried forward by the stream of people into an underground passage and then into big hall. As I stepped out of the station, I was dazzled by the bright autumn skies of Beijing. WvB)XJgmE
（二） 按空间 ,(n <0Ce
按空间（by Space）就是按事件发生的地点位置及相互之间的关系来叙述或描述事件。例如： Yrsv
① In the middle of the rectangular-shaped courtyard stood three magnolia trees, all in full bloom. A little girl was hopping among them collecting fallen petals.…At one end of the courtyard a group of youngsters had gathered behind an artist painting a flourishing limb.…At the opposite end a few elderly men and women stood admiring the leafless flowering trees.…(从中间到两头) M5 U#}\O