with details and make your conclusion．Coherence is also important．
Write clearly．
31．2 Advice on How to Write the Composition
1）Examine the title carefully and make sure that you understand the
main idea of the title；
2）Organize your ideas and write out an outline；
3）Produce a topic sentence for each paragraph；
4）Draft your essay．
31．3 Analysis of the Sample Test Item
1）Main idea of the title
The controlling idea is“firecrackers”．You seem to have a lot to write about．But your topic has been limited by the sentence“Should…be banned？”It is an interrogative sentence，so it must be a controversial topic．
2）Outline of the sample
Since it is a controversial topic，different opinions must exist．Thus，it is
advisable to write out the conflicting opinions of different people．
a．different
people have different opinions
b．good—reflects the heritage of Chinese
culture
adds much to the warm atmosphere
adds emjoyment of people
bad—brings great
economic loss to the country
causes certain disorder in the society
pollutes our environment
c．Your own
opinion and conclusion
3）Topic Sentence of each paragraph
① Firecrackers have been used in
China for hundreds of years．
② People in China have different
opinions about setting off firecrackers．
③ In my opinion，setting off firecrackers should be
banned．
Model Essay 31-1
Should Firecrackers be
Banned？
Firecrackers have been used in China for hundreds of years．Firecrackers were always part of
New Year's celebrations，weddings and other important occasions．
In recent years，however，people in China have different opinions about the old custom of
setting off firecrackers．Some people think setting off firecrackers is a good thing，because it reflects the heritage of
Chinese culture．It also adds
much to the enjoyment of people and the warm atmosphere during important
holidays．But others，on the other hand，believe that setting off
firecrackers should be banned．The main reasons in their eyes are that it not only brings great
economic loss to the country，but also causes certain disorder in the society．Furthermore，it pollutes our environment．
In my opinion，setting off firecrackers should be banned．However，we should replace this old custom
with new enjoyable and safe ways of entertainment．Only then can we spend our holidays in a peaceful and joyful manner．
Exercise for Unit 31
Directions：（略） Is Failure a Bad Thing？
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第三十二单元 图表作文Writing a Composition According
to Tables and Graphs
32．1 Introduction
This kind of writing is an information interpretation process．The information may be given in
numbers，lines or
curves，etc．，usually a few explanations are
given．The
organization of the writing is essential to a good essay of tables and graphs．Generally，it is as follows：
General introduction——Analysis——Conclusion
概要介绍——分析图表——总结概括
That is，in the first paragraph，you have to demonstrate the general situation of what has been
reflected in the table or graph；Then，in the second
paragraph，you have to
analyse carefully the numbers，lines or curves，and point out the rate of increase or discrease；In the end，you have to write your own opinion
or comment．
Sample Test Item
Directions：Write a composition based on the title and the following chart in no
less than 120 words．The causes are given under the horizontal line and the precentage of
the totalof 80 fire incidents is given in the vertical column on the left．write clearly．
Leading Causes of Fires in China（1987）
32．2 Basic Writing Process of the Composition
1）Have a correct understanding of the given information，and grasp the main idea；
2）Make a careful analysis of the information，for example，ask yourself the questions like：
a．Who or what
caused the fires？
b．What is the
relationship between cause and frequency of fires？
3）Write an outline；
4）Use the right technique of writing．（The most common techniques used in this kind of writing is：comparison and contrast．）
32．3 Analysis of the Sample Test Item
The main idea of the graph is：Fire causes．From the graph，we know that there are three main causes of fires：
a．Smokers （nearly50％）
b．Defective insulation （38％）
c．Children playing with matches （12％）
Thus，we can，by comparing the above information，make a comment of the main topic，then reach a conclusion．
Model Essay 32-1
From the graph above，we can see that fire，one of the most terrible killers in China，is mainly caused by smokers，defective insulations or children
playing with matches．
In 1987，80 fire incidents took place in China．While nearly50％were caused by smokers，38％were caused
by defective insulation，and12％were caused
by children playing with matches．No matter what the type of the fire，we can almost be sure that they were caused by carelessness．
From the graph，we can conclude that smokers are the leading cause of fires，but we also need to educate our
children，warning them
of the dangers of playing with matches and instruct workers be more careful
with insulation．
Writing Assignment for
Unit 32
Directions：Write a composition based on the statistical table about the total
amount of China import and export．Yourcomposition should be no less than 100 words．
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第三十三单元 英文书信写作English Letter Writing
33．1 Introduction
Letter writing tests the English letter writing skill of the
examinees．In this unit，we are going to focus on different
types of letter writing，their form and language．We will also give you some advice on how to write an effective
English letter．
33．2 Type of letters（信的类型）
English letters are generally divided into two types：
a．personal
letters个人书信
b．business
letters事务书信
33．3 Form（格式）
An English letter usually consists of six parts：heading（信头），inside address（收信人地址），salutation（称呼），body（信主体），complimentary close（结尾客套语）and signature（署名）．
1）Heading：In the upper right hand corner
of the first page，write your
full address and the date．
2）Inside Address：On the left side，above the salutation，put the name and full address of
the addressee．However，this is often omitted in personal
letters．
3）Salutation：The greeting to the addressee，written flush with the left margin，two spaces below the inside address．A comma follows the salutation in a
personal letter；in a business
letter，it is
followed by a colon（：）．Besides，in personal letters，first names are usually used，while in business letters，the surnames are used．
4）Body：The contents of the letter．
5）Complimentary Close：The closing of a letter．
The conventional complimentary closes in business letters are：“Yours truly，”“Yours sincerely，”“Sincerely yours，”“Sincerely，”“Cordially yours，”“Yours cordially，”etc．
The close of a personal letter is of a more free choice．“Yours，”Affectionately，“Fondly，”“Yours with love，”“Love，”“With best wishes，”etc．
6）Signature：Put your name（always handwritten）．
The table below will give you a more visual presentation of the
letter form：
33．4 Language（语言）
The style and tone of a personal letter（个人书信的写作风格和笔调）differ from those of a
business letter．While the
former is casual（随便自然），the
latter is formal（正规）．A
business letter should be polite in tone（笔调客气），exact and concise in wording（选词精确、恰当）．However，for either of them，the style should be clear and direct（清晰、达意）．Also，paragraphs in
business letters tend to be short．The first and last paragraphs are usually single-sentence paragraphs．
33．5 Advice on How to Write English Letters in CET—4Exams
1）Carefully read the directions and the requirements，distinguish the type of the letter：a personal
letter or a business letter．
2）Be clear about the purpose of the writing，and what you are to express in the letter．
3）Write according to the appropriate form．Pay attention to the different writing requirements of a personal
and business letter．
4）Try to be clear，direct，concise in your writing，avoiding too
many complimentary words．
Model of a Business Letter：
Department of Computer Science
Southeast University
Nanjing，Jiangsu Province 210025
People's Republic of China
February 8，1996
Office of Foreign Students
Yale University
New Haven，Connecticut，06520
U．S．A．
Dear Sir/Madame：
I am a senior at the Department of Computer Science，Southeast University，expecting to graduate in July this
year．I am writing
to inquire about the possibility of being enrolled in your university as a
graduate student as of September，1994．
In the past three years，I have majored in Computer Science．Presently，I am doing my graduation project．Enclosed is the transcript of all the subjects which I have so far
completed at my university．I received an excellent score in the College English Test Band-Six（CET-6）sponsored by the Educational Commission of China and therefore my
knowledge of English is adequate for me to continue my studies in the U．S．A．
Please send me information on admission to your univetsity．As I have no relatives in the U．S．A．，I would also
like to know about the procedures for applying for finacial aid．
Thank you very much．I look forward to hearing from you soon．
Yours sincerely，
（Mr．）Zhang Hua
Writing Assignment for
Unit 33
指示：你原计划要回家度暑假。写一封信告诉家人你现在决定不回去了，并解释原因。请在30分钟内写完。
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第三十四单元 转换词语Transitional Words and Phrases
34．1 Introduction
In the writing of English compositions，we have to use transitional words or phrases in order to make
logical connections between individual sentences and paragraphs as well as
enhance the overall coherence of an essay．Otnerwise，the paragraph or the essaywill be loosely connected．To see the difference，let's compare the following two
versions of a paragraph：
（1）
Speaking and writing are different in many ways．Speech depends on sounds．Writing uses written symbols．Speech developed about 500，000 years ago．Written language is a comparatively
recent development．It was invented only about six thousand years ago．Speech is usually Informal．The word choice in writing is often
relatively formal．Pronunciation
and accent are ignored in writing．A standard diction and spelling system prevails in the
writtenlanguage of most countries．Speech relies on gesture，loudness，and the rise and fall of the voice．Writing lacks gesture，loudness，and the rise and fall of the voice．Careful speakers and writers are aware of the difference．
（2）
Speaking and writing are different in many ways．Speech depends on sounds；writing，on the other hand，uses written symbols． Speech was developed about 500，000 years ago，but written
language is a comparatively recent development，invented only about six thousand years ago．Speech is usually informal，while the word choice of writing，by contrast，is often relatively formal．Although pronunciation and accent are
ignored in writing，a standard diction and spelling system prevails in the written
language of most countries．Speech relies on gesture，loudness，and the rise and fall of the voice，but writing lacks these features．Careful speakers and writers are aware of the differences．
34．2 Analysis of the above two versions
In paragraph（1），almost all
connections are missing．Therefore，it is rather difficult for us to tell in how many ways speaking and
writing are different．In paragraph（2），however，by using the six comparsion and
contrast transitions，“on the other hand”，“but”，“while”，“by contrast”and“although”，we can easily identify that speaking and writing are different in
six aspects．
34．3 常用的转换词语类型（Types of Commonly Used
Transitional Words or Phrases）
1）Listing列举
first，second，third
firstly，secondly，thirdly
first，furthermore，finally
in the first place，in the second place，finally
last but not least
first and most important
to begin with，next，then，finally
the former…the latter the first step，the second step，the
next step
2）Illustrating（giving examples）说明（举例）
for example（f．e．） including
for instance（i．d．） mainly
namely such
as
3）Emphasizing强调
obviously certainly
undoubtedly especially
surely above all
indeed most important of all
in fact most importantly
very likely
4）Paralleling并列
or that
is，that's to say not
only…but（also）
and in
other words both…and as
well as
neither…nor either…or
5）Adding补充
also（too） gain furthermore
further moreover what
is more
then in
addition besides
as well（as）
6）Comparison and Contrast比较与对照
comparatives：the same…as；be similar to；and…．，too；
（比较连接词）and…so…；not…and…not…，either；not
…neither…；both…and…；neither…nor…；
Just as…，so…；resemble；have…in common；
There are similarities between…and…
in the same way；equally important；
similarly
Contrastives：be…adj．/adv．+ er…than；more…than…；
（对照连接词）less…than…；not so…as；Unlike…/
Contrary to…/As opposed to…；Although/
Whereas/While；contrast with/differ from/
be different from；however/on the other
hand/in contrast
7）Time时间
now in
