雅思G类小作文书信类需把握的四种语气

 　　雅思写作：简单四步把握G类书信语气 书信是G类小作文的唯一形式，但根据其内容可以分为多种类别：如投诉信、询问信、求职信、友情信、道歉信、建议信、邀请信、感谢信等。要写好英文书信，使用哪种语气十分重要，这可以准确地反映出写信人和收信人之间的关系。总的来说，相对正式的信件要给人一种谦恭有礼、积极合作的态度，不那么正式的信件如友情信之类应以友好自然的措辞拉近彼此的距离。

　　由于G类考生相对于A类考生人数较少，考生对于书信写作的重视不够，在G类分数要求日渐水涨船高的今天，考生尤其要注意书信写作中极为重要的一点，就是语气的把握。本文中，雅思专家写作组的专家将从四个方面对于如何选择合适的语气和措辞进行说明。

　　一、审题把握

　　把握好G类书信语气的第一步，就是要弄清写信的要求和背景。雅思书信写作题目就是由背景信息和写作任务两个部分构成的，我们可以将其分成私人信件和事务性信件两种类型。写给亲朋好友的信可以归为前者，如友情信，请看下面这个例子：

　　09.01.15

　　You are going to have a business trip and arrange your friend to look after your children. Write a letter to the friend. You should:

　　1. Tell him/her which kind of food your children like and dislike

　　2. Tell him/her which kinds of activities your children can attend

　　3. Tell him/her the time you will pick up your children.

　　根据背景分析，这封书信是写给朋友请求帮助在自己出差期间照管孩子的，显而易见，这是一封私人信件，由于对方是挚友，写信的语气可以比较轻松和随意，在说明详细内容时，措辞不必讲究但要礼貌。

　　再来看一个例子：

　　09.02.07

　　Your friends have been out on holiday and ask you to stay at their house. However, there is a problem with a piece of equipment in the kitchen. Write a letter to them. In your letter, you should:

　　1. Describe your feeling at their home

　　2. Describe what the problem is

　　3. Describe what action you have done to solve the problem

　　这是一封抱怨信，写信人在朋友度假期间帮朋友看管房屋，在信中向朋友说明厨房用具的问题，这并非商务场合和正式交涉，切不可义正词严。

　　09.09.05

　　You are living in an English-speaking country and the restaurant near you is making a lot of noise everyday. Write a letter to the restaurant owner. In your letter, you should

　　1. say how you are disturbed by noise

　　2. give some suggestions to fix the problem

　　3. tell the owner further action will be taken if this problem remains¹ unsolved.

　　这封信同属抱怨信，我们来比较一下它与上一封信的区别，这封信是写给餐馆经理的，说明对于餐馆噪声的不满，收信人与写信人并不熟悉甚至从未谋面，过于熟络的语气和措辞，或者在朋友之间使用的抱怨性较强的词汇都应尽量避免。

　　雅思专家将常见的书信分为以下几类：询问信、建议信和求职信一般较为正式;友情信属于非正式信件;投诉信、道歉信、邀请信、感谢信的语气要根据具体情况而定。考生需要注意题目所描述的背景和对收信人的设定，分清写信对象，准确而恰当地把握题目要求，走好G类书信第一步。

　　二、信头称呼

　　所谓称呼是指写信人对收信人的称呼用语，一般用“dear”开头，在称呼后可以用逗号(英式)或是冒号“美式”。

　　1. 如果是写给亲戚或是关系密切的朋友，我们习惯于在“Dear”后加上对其的称呼或是名字(given name)。如：Dear mother或者是Dear Emma;

　　2. 如果是写给一家公司或者不知道具体职衔的人，可以用Dear Sir or Madam或To Whom It May Concern;

　　3. 如果知道具体职衔但不知其姓氏，可以以其职位称呼，如Dear Chief Accountant;

　　4. 如果写信人知道收信人的姓名和性别，但关系不够密切，只属于一般往来，Dear Mr./Mrs./Ms/Miss Wang会显得友好却不随便;

　　5. 另外，也可以用学位及职称加上姓氏或者全名，如Dear Dr. Will Smith, Dear Prof. (Professor) Jane Austin。

　　三、语气斟酌

　　正文作为整个信件内容最重要的部分，所选用的词汇和句式无不体现着写信人的态度和语气，应该根据不同的信件内容进行挑选和斟酌。

　　1)投诉信

　　投诉信的收信对象可以是比较熟悉的人，如抱怨邻居宠物过于吵闹，也可以是针对公司甚至不熟悉的机构或者某个事件而写的，如对社区体育设施的拆除表达不满。

　　You heard that a sports center would be closed. Write a letter to the manager. In this letter, you should:

　　1. Tell how you heard about the news.

　　2. Say what your opinion is about it.

　　3. Explain how it impacts your life.

　　由于对象是某运动中心经理，措辞方面就应该较为礼貌，以下的词句是可以选取作为陈述问题的句型：

　　I am writing to you to complain about...

　　I am writing to express my dissatisfaction with...

　　There are some problems with … that I wish to bring to attention.

　　值得注意的是，也完全没有必要像公文那么正式，只要言语恰当就可以。在叙述问题时可以多以客观性描述为主，辅以主观的感受，显得更有说服力，如：

　　I found …

　　I feel quite disappointed that…

　　在结尾部分说明期望时，也可以搭配同样的语气：

　　I hope that the authorities concerned will consider my suggestions and improve the situation as best as they can.

　　I sincerely hope that it will review its management system, with the view to providing, better service to the public.

　　We trust that you will now consider this matter seriously and make an effort to prevent the recurrence² of this kind.

　　如果是针对邻居再三出现的已经提醒过很多次的问题，我们可以措辞更为非正式一些，如I can hardly bear /tolerate /put up with it any more. 但也不意味着可以出现“guy”等过于口语风格化的语句。

　　2)工作申请信

　　G类考生许多都是有工作经验的人，或者曾经有过写工作申请的经历，由于收信人多是公司或者经理级的人，言辞之间应该以正式语气为主：

　　I wish to apply for the position of…which you advertised in…

　　I am very interested in exploring the possibility of obtaining a position as … with your company.

　　结尾部分在阐述希望约见进行面试时，也选取一些较为缓和语气的动词如“hope”来表达：

　　I am available for an interview every afternoon. Please contact me at…

　　I hope that after reviewing my enclosed resume you will kindly³ give me an interview so that I can elaborate on my studies and working experience.

　　I hope you would consider my application favorably and grant me an interview.

　　3)道歉信

　　这类信件的语气要视收信人是谁而定，但中国有句老话说得好“礼多人不怪”，至始至终保持一个歉意的态度是这类信件要注意的细节：

　　Your neighbors have recently written to you to complain about the noises from your flat/ house.

　　Write a letter to your neighbor. In your letter

　　1. explain the reasons for the noise

　　2. apologize

　　3. describe what action you will take

　　对方是熟识的邻居，即便如此，来自于写信人公寓的噪声对其干扰仍然是不可原谅的，对于对方的抱怨信，尽管我们可以选取熟络的语言来致歉，但语气和态度仍然需要诚恳，如

　　I am really sorry for the noises from my flat/house.

　　I hope you can accept my apologies.

　　I am trying to …

　　I promise…

　　这样的语句会让收信人觉得写信人是极有诚意解决这件事情的，起到了积极致歉的效果。

　　其他可供参考的语句有：

　　I am awfully/terribly sorry for what I have done.

　　I feel very guilty for what I have done to you.

　　I am afraid what I have done has caused many inconveniences to you.

　　Please accept my most cordial and humblest apologies for…once more.

　　I will try my utmost not to make such a stupid mistake again.

　　I am so sorry to have put you to so much trouble.

　　4)建议信

　　雅思专家分析认为，首先考生们要分清楚建议信和抱怨信有着本质的区别，前者着重在于给出一些中肯的建议，语气是可以商榷沟通的，相对比较缓和，而抱怨信的目的是为了说明问题并得到对方的回复和解决，而且这一问题常常给写信人带来生活上较大的不便。建议信的重点在于在肯定原有成绩的基础上，尽量选取较为“乐观、积极”的词语表达自己对信中所述问题的兴趣甚至是参与愿望。如：

　　I am delighted to learn …

　　In my point of view, it would be better to…

　　I am very interested in …

　　I am ready to offer the information needed.

　　请看下面这个例子：

　　You are a member of a sports club in an old building. Now all the members are asked to provide suggestions to the manager of the club about the improvement of the club building. Write a letter to offer some suggestions. In your letter, you should say:

　　1. Why the club is important to you?

　　2. What your suggestions are

　　3. What benefits the members can obtain after improvement.

　　写信人被要求向一家体育俱乐部的经理提出俱乐部设施的升级建议，一些有建设性的中肯建议再通过积极参与的态度表现出来，会更容易被接纳。

　　5)感谢信

　　在写感谢信时，分清收信人尤为重要，本是亲密的多年好友，如果用词过于客气和庄重会让人觉得矫情，对于较为陌生的收信人，如下的表达就比较合适：

　　I take this opportunity to express to you my deep appreciation⁴ for the kind assistance you rendered me.

　　I wish there were a better word than “thanks” to express my appreciation for you generous help.

　　My appreciation to you for your generous help is beyond words. I wish I could repay it one day.

　　Please accept my most cordial thanks for your timely help, which I will always remember.

　　Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your kind help.

　　6)询问信

　　在询问时，一些常见的客套表达是必要的：

　　I would like to obtain some information about…

　　I would like some detailed⁵ information on / about...

　　I am writing to you in the hope that I may obtain...

　　I wonder if …

　　另外一处体现礼貌原则的部分是在结尾对于收信人将要提供的帮助给予感谢。

　　I would be much obliged to you if you could let me know …

　　Your prompt and favorable attention to my inquiry⁶ would be highly appreciated.

　　I am looking forward to a favorable reply at your earliest convenience.

　　四、收尾落款

　　签名处的落款也有一定的要求，如果在称呼处用的是“Dear Mr.”等，我们习惯在此处用“Yours sincerely”，如果是称呼“Dear Sir or Madam”, 我们就会用“Yours faithfully”结尾。如果和收信人关系较为亲密，Yours, With love等甚至直接留下名字都是可以接受的。

　　雅思专家提醒考生要特别注意的是，英语语法上的错误，会影响考官对主要信息的理解，其语言使用不当，表达意思含糊不清，是没有办法表达正确的语气表现适当的文体的。在下笔之前先构建好基本结构选择好适当语气，平时尽量多审题多练习，提高实际英语运用能力。

1 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

2 recurrence   

n.复发，反复，重现

参考例句：

• More care in the future will prevent recurrence of the mistake.将来的小心可防止错误的重现。
• He was aware of the possibility of a recurrence of his illness.他知道他的病有可能复发。

3 kindly   

adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地

参考例句：

• Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
• A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。

4 appreciation   

n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨

参考例句：

• I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。
• I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。

5 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

6 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。