英语应用文写作之自传

 　　英语应用文写作之自传

　　自传的写作（ The Writing of Autobiography¹）

　　自传的写法可与简历大体内容对应，但应当用完整的句子来表达经历、学历、个人特点等方面的内容。

　　例1： Lincoln’s Autobiography

　　Lincoln’s Autobiography

　　I was born February 12, 1809, in Hardin Country, Kentucky. My parents were both born in Virginia, of undistinguished families—second families, perhaps I should say. My mother, who died in my tenth year, was from a family named Hanks, some of whom now reside in Adams County, and others in Macon County, Illinois. My paternal² grandfather, Abraham Lincoln, emigrated, about 1781 or 1782, from Virginia to Kentucky, where he was killed by the Indians a year or two later, not in battle but when he was laboring³ to open a farm in the forest.

　　My father, at the death of his father, was six years old, and he grew up literally⁴ without education. He moved from Kentucky to Indiana when I was seven. We reached our new home about the time the state came into the Union. It was a wild region, with many bears and other wild animals still in the woods. I grew up there. There were so-called schools, but no other qualification was ever required of a teacher beyond “reading, writing and adding”. If a stranger supposed to understand Latin happened to reside for a time in the neighborhood, he was looked on as a wizard. There was absolutely nothing to excite ambition for education. Of course, when I came of age, I did not know much. Still, somehow, I could read, write, and add, but that was all. The little advance I have now made upon this store of education, I have picked up under the pressure of necessity.

　　I was raised to do farm work, which I continued until I was twenty-one. At twenty-two, I came to Illinois. I remained in New Salem, Illinois, for a year as a clerk in a store. Then the Black Hawk⁵ War came. I was elected a captain of volunteers, a success which gave me more pleasure than any I have had since. I went into the campaign, ran for the legislature the same year (1832), and was defeated, the only time that I have been rejected by the people. In the next and the three succeeding biennial⁶ elections I was elected to the legislature. I was not a candidate afterward⁷. During that legislative⁸ period, I studied law and moved to Springfield to practice it. In 1846 I was elected to the lower house of Congress. I was not a candidate for reelection. From 1849 to 1854 I practiced law more assiduously than ever before. I was losing interest in politics when the repeal⁹ of the Missouri Comprises aroused me again. What I have done since then is pretty well-known.

　　If any personal description of me is thought desirable, it may be said that I am nearly six feet four inches in height; lean in flesh, weighing one hundred and eighty pounds on the average, I have a dark complexion¹⁰, with coarse black hair and gray eyes. I have no other marks or brands.

　　1.文章分析：从林肯自传不难看出，第一段叙述了家庭背景，第二段是林肯所受过的教育，第三段集中在他的工作经历上，最后一段则是有关林肯的一些个人资料，如身高、体重、外貌等特征。这与写简历时的顺序大体相符。

　　2. Lincoln 林肯（Abraham,1809-1865, 美国第十六任总统，任期1860-1865，以解放黑奴著称于世。）

　　3．In 1863，President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation¹¹ Proclamation(解放黑奴宣言) freeing all slaves in the United States. (College English Book Five Unit Ten P.230)

　　4. 学位的简称（Degree’s Abbreviation）如：

　　B.A. or BA (Bachelor of Arts) 文学士

　　B.S. or BS (Bachelor of Science) 理学士

　　B.M. or BM (Bachelor of Medicine) 医学士

　　M.A. or MA (Master of Arts) 文科硕士

　　M.S. or MS (Master of Science) 理科硕士

　　M.M. or MM (Master of Medicine) 医科硕士

　　M.B.A. or MBA (Master of Business Administration) 工商管理硕士

　　Ph. D (Doctor of Philosophy) 哲学博士

　　D.S. or DS (Doctor of Science) 理学博士

　　M.D. or MD or DM (Doctor of Medicine) 医学博士

1 autobiography   

n.自传

参考例句：

• He published his autobiography last autumn.他去年秋天出版了自己的自传。
• His life story is recounted in two fascinating volumes of autobiography.这两卷引人入胜的自传小说详述了他的生平。

2 paternal   

adj.父亲的，像父亲的，父系的，父方的

参考例句：

• I was brought up by my paternal aunt.我是姑姑扶养大的。
• My father wrote me a letter full of his paternal love for me.我父亲给我写了一封充满父爱的信。

3 laboring   

n.劳动，操劳v.努力争取(for)( labor的现在分词 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转

参考例句：

• The young man who said laboring was beneath his dignity finally put his pride in his pocket and got a job as a kitchen porter. 那个说过干活儿有失其身份的年轻人最终只能忍辱，做了厨房搬运工的工作。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• But this knowledge did not keep them from laboring to save him. 然而，这并不妨碍她们尽力挽救他。 来自飘（部分）

4 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

5 hawk   

n.鹰，骗子；鹰派成员

参考例句：

• The hawk swooped down on the rabbit and killed it.鹰猛地朝兔子扑下来,并把它杀死。
• The hawk snatched the chicken and flew away.老鹰叼了小鸡就飞走了。

6 biennial   

adj.两年一次的

参考例句：

• The workers were strongly against the biennial election.工人们强烈反对两年一次的选举。
• His is a biennial,and one of the most useful pasture plants we have.这是两年生植物，也是我们最有用的牧草之一。

7 afterward   

adv.后来；以后

参考例句：

• Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。
• Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。

8 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

9 repeal   

n.废止，撤消；v.废止，撤消

参考例句：

• He plans to repeal a number of current policies.他计划废除一些当前的政策。
• He has made out a strong case for the repeal of the law.他提出强有力的理由，赞成废除该法令。

10 complexion   

n.肤色；情况，局面；气质，性格

参考例句：

• Red does not suit with her complexion.红色与她的肤色不协调。
• Her resignation puts a different complexion on things.她一辞职局面就全变了。

11 emancipation   

n.（从束缚、支配下）解放

参考例句：

• We must arouse them to fight for their own emancipation. 我们必须唤起他们为其自身的解放而斗争。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They rejoiced over their own emancipation. 他们为自己的解放感到欢欣鼓舞。 来自《简明英汉词典》