英语应用文写作之推荐信

 　　英语应用文写作之推荐信

　　推荐信的写作 （The Writing of Letters of Recommendation）

　　在联系到国外学习或就业的过程中，往往需要以往的同事、上司或老师写一封推荐信。推荐信写得好坏意义重大，因为它关系到对被推荐人人品、能力及知识各个方面的评价。因此，在推荐信的写作中，首先需要对该信的用途加以了解，以便确定被推荐人是否适合这一职位或是否适合进入某一专业攻读学位或从事研究工作。推荐信应包括以下内容：

　　① 被推荐人全名；

　　② 推荐人与被推荐人认识时间的长短及其关系,如：(I have been Mr. Bowman’s immediate¹ supervisor² for the past six years.) ;

　　③ 被推荐人的学识及其优秀的品质（最好有具体的事例加以证明）；

　　④ 被推荐人所申请的学校或机构对其感兴趣的理由，总结对被推荐人的信心，并主动提出如有必要的话，可以提供更多的有关被推荐人的资料。

　　在推荐信的写作中，应注意以下几点：

　　1）推荐信一定要写得具体，可以用具体的事例说明被推荐人的长处。

　　2）即便被推荐人有许多优点，推荐信也应当集中在两三个方面。

　　3）在推荐信中，不要使用诸如下面这样的话：“I’d hire her in a minute if she were applying here” 或 “I can’t think of anyone more deserving of this scholarship.” 。因为，推荐人只需要提供证明资料，并不需要做出任何决定。

　　下面请阅读庞加莱(Henri Poincare)1和居里夫人(Madame Curie) 为爱因斯坦申请到苏黎世联邦工学院任教而写的推荐信。

　　Herr Einstein is one of the most original minds that we have ever met. In spite of his youth he already occupies a very honorable position among the foremost savants of his time. What we marvel³ at him, above all, is the ease with which he adjusts himself to new conceptions and draws all possible deductions⁴ from them. He does not cling to classical principles, but sees all conceivable possibilities when he is confronted with a physical problem. In his mind this becomes transformed into an anticipation⁵ of new phenomena⁶ that may someday be verified in actual experience… The future will give more and more proofs of the merits of Herr Einstein, and the University that succeeds in attaching him to itself may be certain that it will derive⁷ honor from its connection with the young master.”

　　注：

　　1． 亨利·庞加莱（Henri Poincare ） (1854-1912) 法国著名数学家，法国科学院院士

　　例1：一封推荐学生入学并获得资助的信

　　To: Office of Admissions

　　From: Dr. Charles Kennedy

　　Re: Steve Monk⁸

　　Date: November 15 2005

　　Dear Sir:

　　I have known Steve Monk for four years. During his first two years at Isherwood Central High, he was a student in my Earth Science class and in my C.P. Biology class. During his junior year, I was Steve’s advisor⁹ for an independent study in biology, and this year he is carrying out an extracurricular research project for which I am providing some guidance.

　　This young man is one of the brightest, most research-oriented students I have encountered in eighteen years of teaching. His SAT and achievement test scores only begin to tell the story. I understand he is sending you copies of several of his research projects; this will provide you with more evidence of his understanding of the principles of scientific inquiry¹⁰, of his passion of exactitude, and of his bottomless curiosity. However, it is only in talking and working with Steve that the full extent of his talents is revealed.

　　In writing you this letter, I hope to persuade you of one thing: to arrange a meeting between some of your science faculty¹¹ and Steve. There is no doubt in my mind that you will be interested in this young man. I am much more concerned about his financial situation, and I believe that once you see what caliber¹² of student and scientist Steve Monk is, you will find some way of dealing¹³ with his financial needs.

　　I am very much interested in Steve’s situation and will be happy to provide any further information.

　　Yours sincerely,

　　(signature)

　　Charles Kennedy

　　例2：一封推荐学生进一步攻读学位的信 （略去信头）

　　Dear Sir or Madam:

　　This is to recommend Mr. Huang Gang for admission to your university. I have known Mr. Huang since 1995 when I served as advisor to the students in the Electrical Engineering Department at Xiamen University. Later, it happened that in 2001 I served as Mr. Huang’s supervisor again in his graduate program at Shangdong University. Therefore I know Mr. Huang very well in terms of his personality and academic performance.

　　Mr. Hang has always been a very diligent¹⁴ student with an integrity. He has a broad range of interest in both academic and extracurricular activities. His academic record has constantly been at the top level, which resulted from his devotion to study and intelligent nature. In dealing with his fellow students, Mr. Huang always shows willingness to help others and it well respected by them.

　　Mr. Huang entered the gradate program of Shandong University through a most outstanding performance in the entrance examination. The competitors were all equipped with good knowledge and practical experience in electrical engineering, but he proved to outdo them in the exams. Last year, he was elected representative of his class and did a very good job. His overall performance was excellent. In recognition to this, I would like to point out some characteristics of his for your reference.

　　Mr. Huang has strong academic background and work experience in the field of electrical engineering;

　　Mr. Huang is a man of integrity with good team spirit;

　　Mr. Huang has strong determination to pursue advanced study and has the potential to fulfill¹⁵ his academic objective.

　　I highly recommend his admission and hope that you act favorably on his application. If there is anything more you need to know about him, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

　　With the best regards.

　　Sincerely yours,

　　( signature)

　　Xu Ming

　　Professor and Deputy Head (Academic)

　　Dept. of E.E.

　　Shandong University

1 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

2 supervisor   

n.监督人，管理人，检查员，督学，主管，导师

参考例句：

• Between you and me I think that new supervisor is a twit.我们私下说，我认为新来的主管人是一个傻瓜。
• He said I was too flighty to be a good supervisor.他说我太轻浮不能成为一名好的管理员。

3 marvel   

vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事

参考例句：

• The robot is a marvel of modern engineering.机器人是现代工程技术的奇迹。
• The operation was a marvel of medical skill.这次手术是医术上的一个奇迹。

4 deductions   

扣除( deduction的名词复数 )； 结论； 扣除的量； 推演

参考例句：

• Many of the older officers trusted agents sightings more than cryptanalysts'deductions. 许多年纪比较大的军官往往相信特务的发现，而不怎么相信密码分析员的推断。
• You know how you rush at things,jump to conclusions without proper deductions. 你知道你处理问题是多么仓促，毫无合适的演绎就仓促下结论。

5 anticipation   

n.预期，预料，期望

参考例句：

• We waited at the station in anticipation of her arrival.我们在车站等着，期待她的到来。
• The animals grew restless as if in anticipation of an earthquake.各种动物都变得焦躁不安，像是感到了地震即将发生。

6 phenomena   

n.现象

参考例句：

• Ade couldn't relate the phenomena with any theory he knew.艾德无法用他所知道的任何理论来解释这种现象。
• The object of these experiments was to find the connection,if any,between the two phenomena.这些实验的目的就是探索这两种现象之间的联系，如果存在着任何联系的话。

7 derive   

v.取得；导出；引申；来自；源自；出自

参考例句：

• We derive our sustenance from the land.我们从土地获取食物。
• We shall derive much benefit from reading good novels.我们将从优秀小说中获得很大好处。

8 monk   

n.和尚，僧侣，修道士

参考例句：

• The man was a monk from Emei Mountain.那人是峨眉山下来的和尚。
• Buddhist monk sat with folded palms.和尚合掌打坐。

9 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

10 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

11 faculty   

n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员

参考例句：

• He has a great faculty for learning foreign languages.他有学习外语的天赋。
• He has the faculty of saying the right thing at the right time.他有在恰当的时候说恰当的话的才智。

12 caliber   

n.能力；水准

参考例句：

• They ought to win with players of such high caliber.他们选手的能力这样高,应该获胜。
• We are always trying to improve the caliber of our schools.我们一直在想方设法提高我们学校的水平。

13 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

14 diligent   

adj.勤勉的，勤奋的

参考例句：

• He is the more diligent of the two boys.他是这两个男孩中较用功的一个。
• She is diligent and keeps herself busy all the time.她真勤快，一会儿也不闲着。

15 fulfill   

vt.履行，实现，完成；满足，使满意

参考例句：

• If you make a promise you should fulfill it.如果你许诺了，你就要履行你的诺言。
• This company should be able to fulfill our requirements.这家公司应该能够满足我们的要求。