BEC写作

BEC写作（共7篇）

BEC写作 篇1

当前, 国内许多高职商务英语专业都开设了商务英语写作课程, 目的就是使学生通过商务英语写作训练从而掌握基本的商务外贸知识和商务英文写作技能, 以满足实际的商务工作需求。高职学生底子差, 学习主动性又不强, 如何有效地进行商务英语写作教学是教师应该认真思考的问题。笔者认为, 考证能激发学生的学习热情和动力, 通过BBEECC考证与商务英语写作课程相结合, 能帮助学生有目的、有方向地进行学习, 从而为踏上工作岗位后的实实际际应应用用打打下下坚坚实实基基础础。。

一、高职商务英语写作教学现状

首先, 学生英语底子薄, 学习热情不高。如我校的五年制高职学生入学时是初中毕业, 在选择专业上, 有的学生选择商务英语专业是为了将来就业;有的学生对专业认识不足, 是听从了父母的选择。真正对英语感兴趣、想学英语的学生很少。

其次, 商务英语写作是针对商务英语三年级学生开设的一门专业课, 学生虽经过了两年的基础英语学习, 英语基础有了较大的提高, 大部分学生能够通过公共英语二级考试, 但是, 由于没有写作的系统训练, 学生的写作水平比较低。在学生的英语考试中, 可以发现作文得分普遍偏低, 使用的词汇特别简单, 语法错用、乱用, 甚至经常出现照抄题目要求、胡乱拼凑与题目无关的简单句等现象。

最后, 课程设置不合理, 教师教学方法较为单一。商务英语专业的学生在低年级时就应该学习英语听、说、读、写的基础知识。对于这四个部分, 在传统教学中, “写”是经常被忽略的对象, 在低年级时没能开设单独的写作课, 在教学实践中, 写作只是为了学生的考证服务。因此, 很多教师不是从写作基本功抓起, 而是教给学生若干写作模板。由于缺乏基本功训练, 许多学生基本的构词、造句的能力都不具备, 这就对高年级的商务英语写作教学带来了很大的难度。许多学生有表达障碍, 不知如何组织语言, 常出现语法错误, 语气表达也不恰当。

二、BEC初级考试写作概述

剑桥商务英语证书考试 (BEC) 由英国剑桥大学考试委员会负责命题、阅卷和颁发证书。该证书极具权威性, 是英联邦各国及欧洲大多数国家的商业企业部门考核和地区英语能力证明的首选证书, 也是在所有举办该考试的国家和地区求职的“通行证”;该证书在全球商业界得到广泛的认可, 在中国各涉外经济部门以及在华投资的跨国公司中更是倍受青睐。目前, 我国已有数百家外资企业把BEC证书作为衡量应聘人员英语水平的重要标准之一。在我校, 要求商务英语专业学生在毕业时获得BEC的初级证书。

BEC初级考试由四部分内容组成, 分别是阅读、写作、听力和口语。四个部分的分值相同。其中, BEC初级写作要求考生:

1. 能理解本职工作领域简单的商业信函和非商业信函的大意;

2. 能理解预测性的简单报告;

3. 能直接了当地撰写事实型的商业信函;

4. 能对来函、来电做记录;

5. 能进行基本的公司内部交流;

6. 明确商务信函简洁、准确、得体、实用的基本原则。

BEC初级写作试题由两部分组成, 大约需要20-30分钟时间来完成。第一部分为公司内部交流, 要求考生在既定的情景设计下, 给公司的一位或数位同事写一个简短的便条、留言、备忘录或者通知。第二部分为商务信函, 要求考生阅读并理解一个给定的阅读材料, 按要求给公司以外的某个人写一封较长的商务信件。考生需要具备3000左右的词汇量, 并掌握英语基本语法知识、语态、基本句型、习惯用语和涉及动词、介词的语法。

纵观BEC初级写作考试的诸多要求, 我们也可以看出, 在其考试中要求学生掌握的商务文体类型比较齐全, 包括了电子邮件、便条、留言条、备忘录、通知、信函 (询问信、邀请函、投诉信、道歉信) 求职信和简历等, 满足了学生从事初级国际商务业务的需要;其写作任务基于公司活动和商业材料, 交际目的明确, 浅显易懂, 能培养学生分析和提炼材料的能力, 促使学生写作、阅读和商务交际多方面能力的发展。

三、结合BEC初级考试的商务英语写作教学策略

(一) 加强学生基础写作能力教学。

由于学生写作水平较低, 因此非常有必要在商务英语专业低年级开设英语写作基础课程。该课程应着重培养学生英语写作的基本技能, 使学生系统了解遣词造句、段落发展、谋篇布局、文稿格式等英语写作的一些基本方法, 以及摘要写作、读书报告等基本知识;使学生理解英语写作的基本规律及英语成文的规律;使学生能掌握各种文体的写作技巧, 并能运用所学的语言知识, 根据不同的写作要求, 完成不同文体作文的写作任务, 进而增强自己的写作意识, 提高自己的写作基础水平, 为高年级的学习打下基础。

(二) 在《商务英语写作》课程开设之前, 先开设《外贸英语函电》课程。

BEC初级课程在五年制高职商务英语专业三年级学生中开设。笔者在长期的教学过程中发现, 学生对国际贸易环节不是很了解, 缺乏相应的词汇和过程认识。例如, 收到一封投诉信, 学生不知道如何来写道歉信:步骤是什么, 应该用什么词汇、用何种语气来写, 教学起来十分困难。因此, 笔者认为, 在该专业低年级时就开设《外贸英语函电》课程。该课程介绍国际贸易实务中各种英文业务函件及电子邮件的写作格式及表达方法, 以及对外贸易各环节的具体做法, 让学生能掌握国际贸易实务中常用的基本术语及表达技巧, 培养和强化其外贸业务能力。相比较而言, 该门课程比《商务英语写作》更加专业, 也更难一些, 但同时也更加贴近国际贸易工作的实际。例如, 在课程刚开始就介绍商务信函的写作原则、信函的结构和格式, 学生有了这样的基础, 在今后的商务英语写作中就不需要从零开始去一一介绍了。再例如刚才的道歉信, 在《外贸英语函电》中, 学生就会学到在接到投诉信时如何写回复信:“When replying to complaints, plan your letter as follows:

1. Express your thanks for the letter received;

2. Apologize for the inconvenience caused;

3. Express the reason;

4. Indicate what steps you are taking to set the matter right;

5. Express your expectations for further cooperation.”

了解了这五个步骤, 学生在学习《商务英语写作》或是在BEC考试中就不会再忘记先感谢来信再道歉了。

(三) 转变观念, 将课程、考证、工作技能三者相结合。

在实际的教学中, 我们在学生参加BEC考证前开设了商务英语写作课, 明确了课程的目标, 因此, 学生认为课程的针对性较强, 学好这门课程就能在BEC考试的写作考试中取得优异成绩。从以往学生的考试成绩来看, 通过考前的强化训练, 学生在BEC考试中的写作成绩基本都能达到21分以上 (30分满分) , 达到24分以上的学生也不少, 说明该课程在考前开设是非常有效的。但是, 教学的目的并不只是为了考证, 考证也是为了学生能够获得将来在工作中的技能。因此, 教师和学生都应该转变观念, 将课程、考证和实际工作技能相结合。在传统的“考证式”商务英语写作教学中, 教师只是单一地让学生背诵一些专业词汇, 模仿一些例句和范文, 导致学生不能做到灵活应用, 甚至会出现在平时的练习过程中, 学生拿老师上课讲过的范文来照抄框架的情况。学生在这种教学过程中, 固然是了解了一些商务写作知识, 也积累了一些表达方式, 但是商务英语写作课程的目的并不是让学生背诵词汇、机械地模仿范文, 而是培养学生在实际的商务环境中的沟通能力。因此, 教师应该在教学中创设工作场景, 营造工作氛围, 也可以使用现代化的教学手段, 逐步让学生明白, 学习这门课不光为了证书, 更是为了服务将来的工作。

例一:BEC初级考试写作第一部分主要是公司内部通信。这个就可以采取情景教学法, 教师与学生可以把班级设置为一个公司。教师可以做CEO, 学生干部可以是Department Manager, 可以设置不同的部门, 给每个学生一个职位, 然后自己设计自己的名片, 学生会很感兴趣。最后, 在角色扮演中完成Memo、Note、E-mail的写作, 以完成教学目的。

例二:在BEC初级Module 2: writing: Accepting an invitation (对于邀请函的回复) 时, 老师可以先问每个学生要一个E-mail地址, 然后向每个学生的电子邮箱中发送一封邀请函, 让学生写E-mail回复。

例三:在BEC初级Module 12: writing: A covering letter这个十分贴近实际的话题时, 让学生写求职信。教师模拟学生就业的实际, 公布一些就业岗位, 如:salesman、secretary、personal assistant、children’s English teacher等, 先请学生根据自己的情况来写求职信, 然后将这些求职信一一公布, 让学生做Employer决定那封信更好, 提高学生的学习兴趣, 进而判断哪些文章写得好, 哪些文章存在问题。

总之, 根据初级商务英语教材的特点、学生的水平和考试要求, 在商务英语专业低年级学生中应该开设相关基础写作课程;同时, 在商务英语写作教学中, 教师应该做到考证实际和工作技能相结合, 以便锻炼学生的写作能力, 适应考试要求和满足日常商务写作的需要。

BEC写作 篇2

Attached is an accepted copy of your Purchase Security Agreement for the [specify equipment].

There are [number] remaining quarterly payments. Your first quarterly payment will be due on [date] ,and we will mail you an invoice for it approximately one month prior to that date. Please return the remittance portion of the invoice with your check.

Under the Agreement,this contract is non-cancellable during the term of the contract. The balance,however,can be paid off at any time prior to the expiration of the contract.

浅谈BEC听力口语教学 篇3

关键词：BEC;存在问题;措施

一、BEC商务英语的概念

剑桥商务英语证书（BEC）考试是教育部考试中心和英国剑桥大学考试委员会合作举办的权威性考试。目前分为（BEC1）、中（BEC2）、高（BEC3）三个级别。这三个考试是针对英语为非母语国家的需求而设计的主要在经济迅速发展、国际交流日益增多的国家和地区实施，具有更广泛的适用性，因而在国际上受到普遍欢迎。目前已有28个亚洲和欧洲国家或地区，包括一些经济发达国家已开始举办BEC考试。该系列考试是一项水平考试，它根据商务工作的实际需要，从听、说、读、写四个方面对考生在商务和一般生活环境下使用英语的能力进行全面考查，对成绩及格者提供由英国剑桥大学考试委员会颁发的标准统一证书。由于该证书的权威性，已成为在所有举办该考试的一百多个国家和地区求职的“通行证”。

二、我国考生通过率情况

在各种英语类通行证中，中国考生向来以高通过率而著称。与此相比，中国的BEC考试通过率却显得有些尴尬。

剑桥大学ESOL考试委员会发布的BEC成绩报告显示：中国考生的通过率明显低于其他非英语国家考生通过率。2006年5月全球BEC平均通过率是43%，中国考区只有37%，而除中国以外的全球通过率为57—58%。

近几年来，中国BEC考试报名率以每年300%的速度疯狂飙升，中国考区的通过率却一直处于低迷徘徊阶段，严重拖累了世界的BEC通过率。为什么中国BEC的通过率低于世界水平？BEC考试由写作、听力、阅读、口试四个部分组成，只有A、B、C三类为有效成绩。如果有两个部分为D，那么总体成绩就是D，即为无效成绩。剑桥大学考试部授权的中国培训官陈雪翎指出：中国学生写作、听力、阅读、口试的成绩往往不在同一个标准上。

三、目前听力口语教学存在问题

1.缺乏相关商务知识。中国学生之所以在听力方面常常“败北”，原因就在于这两部分对于专业的商务知识要求较高。首先，口话话题往往都是商务方面的，在表述中需运用专业术语、专业语境，如果这方面欠缺，成绩自然大受影响。

2.非标准化的英语表达法。由于《新编剑桥商务英语》（中级）为原版引进，没有中文说明和解释，所以对于文化背景不同、英语能力有限、商务知识欠缺的广大中国考生来说，难免感到困难，特别在听力部分融合了大量口语化的表示法、俚语以及行业术语，与学生平时听到的标准化的发音迥然不同，加之口音问题，更增加了一定的难度。

3.缺乏相关跨文化背景知识。各民族语言含有大量的文化因素，这是构成民族文化的要素之一。不同的文化之间自然会呈现不同的文化形态，这种文化形态差异反映到语言层面上，则表现为语言差异。传统商务英语教材以语法操练为主，教学内容单一、陈旧、跟不上现代英语的发展。

四、BEC商务英语口语听力教学的几项措施

1.针对教材听力资料。熟悉听力材料，弄懂段落中所涉及的商务词汇概念及其Main idea。在足够熟悉此段落中的内容后，脱离文字材料先听一遍磁带，此时绝对不允许照着文字材料听，看看自己究竟能听懂多少，然后把听不懂或容易出问题的部分特别列出，再听一遍，此次应特别留心其词义的语音及商业内涵。尤其是俚语以及行业术语。然后再反复使用录音机上的重复键，尽最大努力听懂全文内容。

2.朗读听力部分的内容。实际上，如果留意，我们不难发现，本教材的听力材料实际上就是商务化的口语，无论从语音的标准化程度、语法的准确度以及大量语气词的运用，都可以说明这一点。所以，这就为我们将听力与口语结合学习训练提供了较好的机会和可能。

3.具体到课堂

(1)商务背景知识介绍。由于文化的差异及学生知识结构的问题，加之中外企业管理模式和操作流程的不同，致使学生不了解每个单元所涉及主题的详细内容。(2)口语的练习。在我国，对于大部分大学生而言，对英语的学习普遍存在比较突出的问题是：语法及词汇量不是问题，关键是听力及口语。针对这一现象，并结合BEC考试对口语的要求，笔者除每单元中涉及到的Speaking部分需要学生在课堂上用英语探讨以外，另外在每学期的期末考试中加入口语测试部分，要求学生在本学期学习的商务知识中，任选一个topic, 在全班同学面前做一个Presentation.。

五、考前准备

一般说来，应对BEC中级听力特别是短文听力，其备考训练必须抓住竖听和横听两点结合来进行。 所谓竖听，是指一套题目从头听到尾，从第一题听到最后一题。所谓横听，是指把相同题材和体裁的文章放在一块对照比较着听，从而迅速抓住同类型文章的规律，真正做到以不变应万变。通过这样反复对比听，可以使我们很快掌握各种题材文章的模式和考题思路，在短时间内抓住考点，做到举一反三。

在考前一个月，笔者在此提供一套具体的短文听力训练办法，考生可以从BEC中级历年考题中选取10篇以上不同题材的文章，横竖结合起来，进行精听训练，以便在考试中赢得时间，确保其准确性。

考前对于口语的训练，应注意从商务的不同角度，最少选择10个以上的topic，与同学结对训练，在注意专业词汇量积累运用的同时，尽量做到熟练，要言之有物，观点突出。

总之，BEC中级短文听力及口语并不可怕，如果我们能够宏观把握，平时坚持“用心去听”，认真练，我们肯定能够从不同角度、不同层次提高自己的商务英语语言能力，顺利通过BEC考试。

参考文献:

[1]王战平:新编剑桥商务英语精解[M].暨南大学出版社，2006．

BEC写作 篇4

BEC的全称是Business English Certificate,即剑桥商务英语证书。它是由教育部考试中心和英国剑桥大学考试委员会合作举办的权威性考试,分为BEC Preliminary(初级)、BEC Vantage(中级)和BEC Higher(高级)。该系列考试是一项水平考试,它根据商务工作的实际需要,从听、说、读、写四个方面对考生在商务和一般生活环境下使用英语的能力进行全面考查,对考试合格者由剑桥大学考试委员会颁发标准统一的证书。BEC作文不同于四六级作文,文体一般都是说明文,BEC作文文体比较复杂。第一部分的短作文是给公司内部的一位或数位同事写一个便条、留言、备忘录或电子邮件。第二部分大作文要求给公司以外的某个人(例如,顾客或供应商),写一封商务信函、一份简短的报告或者一项建议。总的来讲,第一部分的语域为中性或非正式(neutral/informal),第二部分为中性或正式(neutral/formal)。然而,两种语域根据交流对象的变化又可分为若干子语域。混淆语域的问题成为BEC写作考试考取高分的主要障碍,究其原因,主要有五点:

1.1 教师拘泥于传统的教学模式

传统的写作教学常常把培养学生的“语言能力”(词汇、语法等方面的语言知识)看成教学的目的,并且认为只要学生获得了一定的语言能力,就能自然而然地在实际交际中加以运用。此外,传统的写作实践教学就是“纠错教学”,即学生写,老师改错。辛苦地改过后,有的学生看都不看就扔在了一边。认真的同学还会看一下,但不一定能够明白,由于班级大、和教师交流的机会少,也就不了了之。

1.2 学生缺少语域意识

虽然不少同学具有一定的英语写作基本功,但却缺乏语域意识,想当然地用词。有的学生大概知道语域的正式与非正式之分,但几乎没有学生清楚各种语域的语域标志,即不知道哪些词是正式的,哪些是非正式的,也没有查阅词典等资料的意识。

1.3 学生词汇量太局限

少数学生已具有一定的语域意识,但由于所掌握的词汇量有限,即使知道某个词的语域,但因为不知道不同语域的同义词,也就凑数使用了,造成了“言不得体”的后果。

1.4 学生缺乏文体学的基本理论

专科阶段一般不开设文体学课,老师因此也不会讲解文体学理论。学生只了解或掌握基本的语法知识,对于文体学理论没有皮毛的理解。

1.5 学生缺少基本的写作理论

我们没有专门的写作课,基础阶段的写作是寄篱于综合英语课名下的,日常教学都以阅读为主。就BEC教学而言,很多教师授课的中心也是在阅读上,留给写作的时间还不到1/3。没有课程和时间作保证,学生的写作理论便无从谈起。

由于上述原因,该问题长期以来很难得到解决。笔者多次在知网等学术文库搜索相关的研究成果,结果却发现,该领域的研究几乎是空白。本文利用对比法通过实例对BEC作文的语域标志进行分析对比,并提出了问题的解决策略。

2 BEC写作教学中语域标志的识别和分析

2.1 BEC作文中语域标志的识别

语域(Register)是语言使用的场合或领域的总称。语域Register)这个概念最初是Reid在1956年研究双语现象时提出来的。[1,3]1964年,韩礼德等人(Halliday et al)在研究“语言规划框架(institutional linguistic framework)”时,对语域进行了进一步研究。他们认为语言将随着其功能的变化而变化。这种由用途区分的语言变体就是语域(a variety of language distinguished according to use)。[2]郭著章认为,适合各类场合的语言可分为三大类,即随便语(包括slang,spoken,informal,familiar languages or reginal dialects,etc.)共用核心语(common core)和书卷语(written,formal,polite,elevated languages,etc.)。语域标志是指这三大类的标志。英语的语域标志存在于语音、词汇、句子和段落四个层面。[4]

语音层的语域标志。如果包含缩略语I've,we'll,we'd like to,they're,it's,则表明该语言属于口语,随便语或非正式语。

词汇层的语域标志。按照上述语域标志的划分标准,我们可将英语词汇可划分为三大类,即普通词、正式词和非正式词。其中普通词是最常用的,他们构成了英语词汇的核心部分。众多的同义词形成各种语域。词类、词源和词的搭配的不同都可造成不同的语域标志。同根词的名词一般比动词正式,单个动词比其同义的短语要正式些。让我们用表来对比下列几组词。

概括起来说,短词(short words)、短语动词(phrasal verbs)、口语词(colloquialisms)、混合词(blends)、俚语(slangs)、行话或黑话(jargons)、日常用语(everyday words)、禁忌语(taboos)、俗语(vulgarisms)、非标准词(nonstandard words)等常见于口语体、非正式语体;书卷词(literary words)、外来词(exotic words)、难词(hard words)、抽象词(abstract words)、术语(technical terms)、大词(big words)、古词(archaic words)等常见于书面体、正式体。

句法层的语域标志。短句(short sentences)结构简单,明白易懂,节奏明快,适合于描绘连续紧张的动作和场面或充当几个长句之间的缓冲;长句(long sentences)结构复杂,叙事严谨,逻辑清楚,信息量大,适合于表达复杂的概念和事物之间的内在联系及用于正式文体的文章;松散句(loose sentences)结构松散,气氛轻松,使用方便,适合于口语体和非正式语体;被动句(passive sentences)多用于正式语体。试来比较下面的句子,如表2。

语篇层的语域标志。语言的基本功能是社会交际,语言的基本单位是语篇。语篇不是句子的任意堆砌,构成句子的语篇必须是相关的,不仅是意义上相关,而且结构上也相关,有照应手段把他们连在一起。英语中的照应手段有多种,BEC作文中主要体现在连接词上,如表2的第二组句子中的“moreover”和“plus”都是承接上文的。“plus”的意思也是“furthermore”,但是一个不正式的词。

2.2 BEC作文实例的语域标志分析对比

例一:

Student A:Due to the fact that we've won a large export order,I was asked to organize foreign language training for some of our staff.

Student B:So we'll have a task to organize the traning for some people so that our company will make success without difficulty of communication during the business period.

分析:以上两句话是笔者的两个学生在完成BEC Vantage一项memo的任务时写的。两句话都分析说明组织培训的原因。第一句话虽然是一个简单句,但从句法层面来说,介词词组due to the fact后面是一个同位语从句,修饰“the fact”,作句子的原因状语;句子的主干部分是“I was asked to organize…”。整句话是由一个含有名词性从句的原因状语的被动句,名词性从句和被动语态都是正式语体的语域标志,这样的句子结构可以用在BEC的信函当中。但我们再看看“we've”,却适合memo的语域,因为缩合形式是非正式语体的语域标志。第二句话是一个包含有目的状语从句的复杂句。“so”作为副词放在句首常常用来引出一个问题、陈述、或结论,用在口语中,是口语体(colloquial or spoken)的标志,“we'll”则可以是书面语中的非正式语域标志。当然,如果“so”是连词词性,第二个句子则是残句(sentence fragment),属语法错误。通过分析得出,两位同学英语语法基础不错,组句能力较强,但如果没有语域概念,“好钢还是不能用在刀刃上”,写不出满意的文章来。

例二:

A.Thanks for your letter.I got it 14 Sept.I've sent a copy to comp HQ along with a memo re your financial situation.I've set a meeting for 3 Oct at 11am to talk about another bank loan.So,please let us know if you can make it a.s.a.p.

B.Thank you for your letter received 14 September 2002.Acopy has been sent to the company headquarters in addition to a memorandum concerning your financial situation.A meeting has been scheduled for 3 October 2002 at 11am to discuss your request for a further bank loan.Therefore,please inform us of your availability for this meeting at the earliest opportunity.

分析:例二中是两封回复函的选段。斜体部分分别是中性或非正式的词、词组和相对应的正式成分。下划线部分分别是缩合式和完整式。表3是两段信函的语域标志在语音、词汇、句法和篇章方面的详细对比。通过分析不难看出,B符合BEC信函的语域要求,A不符合。请看表3中的对比。

另外,历届考生的一个通病就是混淆称呼语和结尾敬语的语域标志,如:有的同学在BEC信函的撰写中所用的称呼语是Dear sir,结尾敬语却是Kindest regards。前者是正式的,后者是非正式的。为此,笔者将称呼语和相对应语域的结尾敬语总结如下(按正式程度依次递减):

3 语域问题的应对策略

3.1 摆脱纠错教学法的桎梏,采用对比、比较法进行分析

根据笔者的教学经验,对比、比较法在BEC写作教学中非常有效。可对相同语体的不同例文进行比较。选择语域方面最符合答题要求的范文和最不符合答题要求的进行比较;可拿几位同学或全班同学的作文进行横向比较,如例一。对正式语体例文和非正式语体例文进行比较,如例二。比较的对象通常是两个,也可以是多个。

3.2 培养学生的语域意识和有效查阅词典的能力

培养学生有效查阅词典的能力也相当重要。据笔者的调查,一直以来多数中国学生在查阅词典时只关注所查词的中英文解释、例句和搭配,极少有同学关注词的语域标识(register labels)。所以大多数同学甚至不清楚哪些词是书面语,哪些词是口头语,更不要说子语域的细微差别了。

3.3 鼓励学生扩大词汇量

词汇是语言的基本建筑材料,扩大词汇量有很多途径。教师应鼓励学生习得准确的发音、掌握音标的基本规律,掌握基本的构词法,扩大阅读量,多听英语材料来输入词汇等。足够的词汇输入是正确选择词汇的前提。

3.4 安排文体学知识课时或讲座

在学期初专门安排至少几个学时的文体学知识课,或以课外讲座的形式开展,都会使后面的教学达到事半功倍的效果。文体学知识对于写作、翻译等活动的开展必不可少,对于BEC写作更是如此。不仅note,memo,letter,report,proposal的语域不同,同一文体的阅读对象不同,(如上级、平级或下级),所用的语域也不同。

3.5 开设写作基础课作为先修课程

学校可根据总课时在大一时开设写作基础课作为先修课程,不仅对BEC写作教学,而且对四、六级作文教学都会大有裨益。

4 结论

总之,只有把课堂教学、自主学习、教学管理相结合,才能从根本上解决问题。诚然,内因是根本原因,但引路人的作用也至关重要。只要教师改革教学方法,引导学生掌握正确的学习方法并提高语域意识,就一定会在BEC写作教学中收获累累硕果。

参考文献

[1]Ure J,Ellis F.Register in Descriptive Linguistics and Linguistic Sociology[C]//Issues in Sociolinguistics.Mouton Publishers,1977:198.

[2]Halliday M A K,Mcintosh,Angus,et,al.The linguistic Science and Language Teaching[M].London:Longman,1964:87-91.

[3]张德禄.语域理论简介[J].现代外语,1987(4):23-29.

BEC初级写作句子 篇5

无可否认，空气污染是一个极其严重的问题：城市当局应该采取有力措施来解决它。

2.An investigation shows that female workers tend to have a favorable attitude toward retirement.

一项调查显示妇女欢迎退休。

3.A proper part-time job does not occupy student’s too much time .In fact ,it is unhealthy for them to spend all of time on their study .As an old saying goes :All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy

一份适当的业余工作并不会占用学生太多的时间，事实上，把全部的时间都用到学习上并不健康，正如那句老话:只工作，不玩耍，聪明的孩子会变傻。

4.Any government which is blind to this point may pay a heavy price.

任何政府忽视这一点都将付出巨大的代价。

5.An increasing number of people are beginning to realize that education is not complete with graduation.

越来越多的人开始意识到教育不能随着毕业p;

6.When it comes to education ,the majority of people believe that education is a lifetime study.

说到教育，大部分人认为其是一个终生的学习。

7.The majority of students believe that part-time job will provide them with more opportunities to develop their interpersonal skills ,which may put them in a favorable position in the future job markets.

大部分学生相信业余工作会使他们有更多机会发展人际交往能力，而这对他们未来找工作是非常有好处的。

8.It is indisputable that there are millions of people who still have a miserable life and have to fact the dangers of starvation and exposure.

无可争辩，现在有成千上万的人仍过着挨饿受冬的痛苦生活。

9.Although this view is widely held ,this is little evidence that education can be obtained at any age and at any place.

尽管这一观点被广泛接受，很少有证据表明教育能够在任何地点任何年龄进行。

BEC写作 篇6

There-be construction, the most common sentence appearing in both literature works and colloquial speeches, has aroused among linguists heated discussions from the perspectives of syntax, semantics, and pragmatics.For example, as to the problems related to there, Quirk et al. (1972) , considered there as grammatical subject and the post-verbal NP (noun phrase) as notional subject.Functional linguists, such as Halliday (1985) , thought there was an unmarked theme, while others, headed by Fawcett (1987) and Huang Guo-wen (1997) , preferred to regard there as the thematic build-up.Chomsky (1991) developed the hypothesis of LF-affi x to explain the derivation of there.Lyons (1967) Fillmore (1968) , Anderson (1971) claimed that there derived from a locative adverbial.It can be concluded that the beginning word there issues in the controversy.In terms of the S-V concord, theoretically, there, the subject, is supposed to determine the verb number, but the fact is not so.Even if it is always believed that the number of the verb is determined by the post-verbal NP, a large number of counter-examples have been listed.All these are certainly not the whole picture.There exist other disagreements in the study of the construction.It is obvious among these disagreements that the issue of there is a linchpin and sticking point.Once it is resolved, there will be a better understanding of the construction, and naturally others will be readily solved.Therefore, it is imperative to review what has been conducted on such a subject to explore what can be done to promote unanimity.

It gives a brief account of the previous studies of there in there-be construction.Indeed, a great many efforts have been made on this issue, and considerable researches set out from different angles, so it is impossible to examine all.It has to select the most infl uential views for review in the following.

2 Formal Studies

Overseas research on there-be construction has started since early 1970s, from syntactic, semantic, pragmatic and functional perspectives.The source of there is first studied from the perspective of semantics.Lyons (1967) made his hypothesis that there derived from an adverbial place.Fillmore (1968) , Anderson (1971) , and others subsequently claimed that there in there-be construction was a syntactic remnant of a locative adverbial.Afterward, Allon (1971) asserted there was an operator, introducing the referent of the NP as a new theme, while Williams (1984) argued there was an NP, and a scope marker.Breivik (1981) also claimed, on the evidence of diachronic and cross-linguistic analysis, that existential there, inserted for syntactic and pragmatic reasons, was an NP.

Quirk et al.defi ned the construction as“existential there sentences”for the reason that it indicated the concept of existence.They stated the role of there, unstressed, as“an empty‘slot-filler’”, because they thought there was a certain awkwardness in sentences like“A book is in the cupboard”, since a subject, in general, was thematic in typically conveying given information.Hence, “There is a book in the cupboard”introduced there and postponed the indefinite noun phrase to a non-thematic position, which made the clause more legitimate.They also claimed the construction of“Subject+ (auxiliaries) +be+predication”could be transformed into that of“there+ (auxiliaries) +be+subject+predication”.To distinguish the two subjects in the transformed construction, they named the subject of the original clause the“notional”and there the“grammatical”subject.They further listed the functions of there as the subject:acting as subject in yes-no and tag questions, fi nitive and–ing clauses (3-6) , often determining a singular form of the verb (1) , alongside with a plural verb form (2) :

(1) There’s two patients in the waiting room (informal) .

(2) There are two patients in the waiting room.

(3) Is there any more soup?

(4) There’s nothing wrong, is there?

(5) I don’t want there to be any misunderstanding.

(6) He was disappointed at there being so little to do.

In their opinion, there was equivalence in effect and style between the constructions S+V and there+V+S (where S is indefi nite) .So they asserted there could“be freely omitted in sentences of the structure A place+there+V+S”, such as (7) :

(7) In front of the carriage (there) rode two men in uniform. (1972:418-421)

Most transformational-generative linguists considered there-be construction as“a result of the there-transformation” (Kolin, 1999:30) .Feigenbaum (1985:267) accounted for the transformation as two steps:step 1—moving subject after be;step 2—adding there in the subject position.In their opinion, there was meaningless, “dummy there”, or“empty there”, “anticipatory there”, introductory there”, among others.For example, Abbot (1993) argued there was purely a dummy element;Lapalombara (1976:265) named it“the expletive (fi ller word) there”.

Chomsky (1995:155) concluded three features of there as follows:a) There had the formal relation with NP in the construction, in which NP was the associate of there and allowed the appearance of there;b) S-V concord was governed by post-verbal NP, not there;c) the post-verbal NP became the subject of a new logic form after overtly raising to the initial position.

(8) There is a man in the room.

(9) There are men in the room.

(10) A man is in the room.

He further proposed, there had noun attribute[+N], but it was a defective noun, because it had no semantic meaning and could not be assigned a theta role.

Similarly, generative grammar claimed that the ES (existential sentence) , a kind of surface structure, was generated from deep structure, an underlying syntactic structure.As to how to transform deep structure to surface structure, they did not put out unifi ed theories.

Within the framework of TG, Chomsky first proposed that to satisfy the EPP (the Extended Projection Principle;namely, every syntactic predicate had a subject) , there must be inserted in the construction and the insertion was constrained by the fact that there must receive number, and take on the number of the NP coindexed with the trace in which there was inserted.There also retained the index of that trace.These assumptions accounted for the impossibility of inserting there in a clause like (11) , where there was no coindexed NP from which there could receive number.

(11) [e]is windy.

However, Chomsky (1981:188) later found that if the insertion resulted in there being coindexed with the move of the NP, the precise nature of the relationship between the two elements would then fall within the scope of the binding theory.

With the development of Case Theory, transformational grammarians conducted more analysis centered on the case requirement of expletives.They claimed that an argument, according to the Case Filter, must have Case to be visible for theta-marking at LF, and Case was assigned under the government by a Case assigner, including transitive verbs, prepositions and tensed inflections.Therefore, Chomsky advanced the hypothesis of“Case Transmission”, assuming that the expletive there and its associate formed a chain, and that there, occupying a Case-marked non-theta position, transmitted the nominative case to its associate, in a Caseless theta-marked position, and thus made it visible.

Belleti (1988) and Lasnik (1992) protested that unaccusative verbs like be optionally assigned and checked a case and analyzed the there-construction with the hypothesis of“Direct Case Assignment”.Belltti argued that be kept the property of assigning partitive Case, an inherent Case.Later, Chomsky (1991) developed an alternative view in the framework of NP.He held that there was an“LF affi x”and to fulfi ll the future checking in LF, the associate NP must rise to help check off the features of agreements.

However, the formal treatment of there-constructions usually provoked a storm of criticism.A great many linguists started in different perspectives to explore the construction.For example, Thompson presented that TG tended to discover“the rules which govern how constituents can be put together to form grammatically correct sentences, and to formulate these rules in as general a way as possible” (1996:2) , and that“each sentence is analyzed in complete isolation, both from other sentences and from the situations in which it might be used” (1996:3) .He spoke of the generative approach as a game of“hunt the Subject”, and argued that the task of a linguist went“beyond merely describing syntactic structures” (1996:5) .

Apparently formal studies have explored the problems mainly based on the forms of the construction.They have certainly offered a syntactic explanation of the relationship between the parts of the pattern.The work of Quirk, et al.described the formation, which made clear how to use the pattern.However, it, mostly restricted to the solution of“what”, has failed to explore a more crucial question of“why”.It mostly set rules and regulations, yet with so many exceptions.Moreover, the studies were confined within the domain of language itself, especially within the domain of syntax because it claimed that grammar was a self-contained system.Naturally, they faced the challenge.They all failed to involve the meaning into their research.This separation is doomed to failure of resolution, since the meaning is a necessary and indispensable element in a language, as Bolinger once said, “any word which a language permits to survive must make its semantic contribution…the natural condition of a language is to preserve one form for one meaning, and one meaning for one form.” (1977:ix–x)

Some linguists paid more attention to semantic aspects of the construction.A typical one is Bolinger.Bolinger commented, variations in surface structure, though they had the same deep structure, were not identical in respect of what mattered most in language, meaning.He believed that any syntactic construction carried its own semantic property.Therefore, he maintained that existential there was not empty but meaningful and that its semantic property was to bring something into awareness—abstract location.In his viewpoint, the absence and presence of there in (12) , (13) weren’t identical, though some linguists had claimed so.

(12) On the table is a computer.

(13) On the table there is a computer.

He stated the difference as follows:“The first one presents something on the immediate stage (brings something literally or figuratively before our presence) , whereas the second presents something to our minds (brings a piece of knowledge into consciousness) ” (1977:3) .

It, certainly, provides some clues to the semantic distinguishment of there-be construction from AVS construction.Unfortunately, there have been no useful ones to the problem of derivation of there.

3 Functional studies

In the functional studies, the focus was the functions of language and the non-linguistic factors related to language.Halliday proclaimed there-be construction as a process to represent the world, embodying one of the three language functions—the experiential meta-function (1985:45) .He identifi ed six types of processes, in which there-construction was labeled as“existential processes”.He also averred that there was an unmarked theme.Yet, his followers had something different.Thompson (1996:76, 138) believed that existential processes merely expressed the existence of an entity in essence.He also asserted not just there but there together with the verb be indicated the existence process.Therefore, he pointed out that the theme of the construction included there and be since there plus be predicted existence.Some Chinese linguists, such as Huang Guo-wen (1997) , also questioned Halliday’s analysis.Huang supported Thompson and further added that there-be was theme build-up and the theme was the NP.

Functionalists have explored underlying motivations for there-be constructions from the perspective of communication and discourse.Although they have accounted for some aspects of the construction, they have failed to take into consideration language itself, such as its semantic aspect, and their explanations are also not in complete accord.No satisfactory explanation for the construction has been made because the linguists have just concentrated on the unilateral respect.That is, they have mainly explored the form and communicative factors but they have ignored the other factors, both internal and external, such as semantic property, cognitive presentation, psychological manifestation, etc.

4 Cognitive Approach

According to the cognitive linguistics, linguistic signs were not the direct image of reality, but the intermediate between cognition and reality.Linguistic forms were generated by the external factors such as reality, physiology, cognition, knowledge, meaning and pragmatics together.What language reflected was not the real world but a conceptualized world.In other words, grammatical structures were the refl ection of conceptual structures.

Based on the above cognition, Lakoff (1987:468) made a distinction of two types of there-construction:the deictics and the existentials.

Deictic:There’s Harry, who’s my neighbor.

Existential:There was a man in the room.

He explained, in the deictic sentence, there, a location adverb, was deictic in that the location it illustrated was present to the speaker.However, in the existential case, there was not the location at issue.Analyzing the two types of there construction, Lakoff put forward that existential there and deictic there distinguished each other at least in the following ways:deictic there was a locative adverb while existential there was a pronoun;deictic there referred to a specific location and contrasted with here, while existential there indicated an abstract one;deictic there could occur independently of deictic there-construction while existential there did not exist outside of existential there-construction;deictic there was not the subject while existential there was a grammatical subject;deictic there almost always bore stress while existential there never did.

Agreeing with Bolinger, Lackoff assumed that existential there designated a mental space, a notion proposed by Facuconnier (1985) .They believed a mental space was a medium where thoughts emerged and where conceptual entities were located.Namely, existential there referred to abstract locations, which was unlike deictic there, displaying a concrete location in space.Similarly, Langacker (1991:308) also proposed that there was used to express a kind of setting—an“abstract”or unspecified setting (the setting here referred to the background which was demonstrated by adverbials denoting time or space) .In normal cases the setting was an unimportant constituent in a clause, but sometimes it could be chosen as the figure or the ground, such as the case in which the setting was the subject.The selection of the setting as the figure or ground was determined by the degree of prominence.Langacker (2000:205) later illustrated his Canonical Event Model with the terms of MF (Maximal Field) , V (Viewer) , OS (Onstage Region) and F (Focus) , and concluded that if the main fi gure was virtualized or was viewed as abstract, there and it evolved into the subject, and if the Viewer was desalinized from the Maximal Field, there-be construction was then applied in the speech.

Cognitive linguists certainly supply the analyses of the there-be construction with a fresh viewpoint.Unfortunately, they are still not unanimous in their explanation.To some extent, there are contradictory versions in their analyses.For example, they considered there as the subject, and the problem is that it was supposed to assign there the greatest prominence since it was the subject of the sentence, which ran counter to the explanation of the abstract or virtualized setting.Besides, they have touched less on the agreement, only providing that be was not in concord with the subject there but with the syntactic ground.Obviously, it violates the general rules, but there is no why.

5 Summary

In the above review, it is obvious that recent study of there-be construction is mostly confined to generative framework, which is evidently insufficient, since it has confi ned its investigation within the syntactic structure, and the utilization of complicated terminology and the application of mathematical logic have always perplexed the folk readers.At the same time, they have been continuously negating, discarding former terms and principles and then introducing new ones, which, in fact, is not becoming as economical as they have claimed.In fact, the formation of linguistic structures should not be complicated, for in the initial stage of language development human intelligence did not grow as mature as that of us today.In addition, the formation of linguistic structures comes from some simple principles or rules in which perception of external linguistic functions have performed a considerable role.It is more scientifi c to explain the formation of many linguistic structures by perceptive function, particularly the visual and mental perceptions.On the other hand, the newly-born cognitive linguistics has not yet conducted a full and agreed analysis of the construction, though it involves the aspects of reality, physiology, cognition, and etc.

BEC口试的信度评估 篇7

近年来, 英语口语能力的测量受到越来越多的关注。如何提高口试的信度是口试设计与实施的难点, 也是口试研究的焦点之一。笔者认为由剑桥大学考试委员会 (University of Cambridge Examinations Syndicate, 简称UNCLES) 开发的BEC考试可以给我们提供许多可以借鉴的做法。

BEC考试的全称为剑桥商务英语证书考试 (Cambridge Business English Certificates) , 在我国实施已有十余年。此考试的目的在于测量考生在商务环境下的英语交际能力, 每个级别都包含笔试 (听力、阅读、写作) 和口试。本文将分析UNCLES为提高BEC口试信度而采用的各种方法和举措。

二、BEC口试的特征与实施

1. 口试长度

从理论上讲, 考试越长, 其信度就越高。然而, 在实际操作时, 考试的长度是受可行性因素制约的。在2002年3月BEC考试修改之前, BEC初、中、高三个等级的口试长度分别是10、12和14分钟。修改之后, 各级口试均增加了2分钟, 这样虽然增加了考试成本, 但是可以采集到更长的话语样本。由此改动可以看出UNCLES在提高信度上所作出的努力。鉴于BEC考生人数众多、培养高质量考官队伍的难度以及费用等方面的现实因素, 这样的口试长度是切合实际的。

2. 口试形式

BEC三个级别的口试都采用面对面的直接考试形式, 由两个考官同时测试两个考生, 主考官 (interlocutor) 主持口试, 副考官 (assessor) 不参与交际, 专事评分。二对二的形式除有利于效度之外, 对提高信度有以下益处:

(1) 与考生单个应考的方法相比, 增加了互动的形式, 使考官能够采集到更多种类的话语样本。

(2) 朋友或同学结伴应试可以减少考试带来的紧张感, 口试的气氛会轻松许多。考生不必自始至终以低人一等的身份同权威人物讲话, 相反, 考官可以扮演相对被动的角色, 而让考生以较为自然的方式更自由地交谈。考生会使用他们在现实生活中多数对话场景里使用的正常语言。

(3) 双人评分可以减少冗长、乏味的面谈所带来的压力和疲劳。对一个考官来讲, 同时完成发出指令、参与交际和评分的多重任务, 难度相当之大。双人评分可以使主考官集中精力主持口试、副主考则给出细致的单项分, 这样考官主持口试的表现会更稳定, 评分也会更准确。

3. 口试结构

BEC口试每个级别都包含三个独立的部分, 每个部分都涉及不同的交互形式, 旨在引发不同形式的话语。

第一部分是提问 (Interview) , 交互形式为考官←→考生, 考官向考生提问, 引发简要的、事实性的个人信息。这一部分测试的重点是:自我介绍, 谈论家庭、爱好、工作等话题, 表达同意、不同意、喜好等方面的简单功能。第二部分为个人简短陈述 (Individual mini-presentations) , 主考官给每个考生分配一张任务卡, 考生根据自己选定的话题做一个连续的陈述, 然后由考官或另一位考生提一个相关的问题。这一部分的交互形式为考生←→考生+考官。这种个人陈述题型的交互程度较低, 但优点是可以采集到较长的话语样本, 可以测量考生的语篇能力, 即表达的连贯性、逻辑性以及准确性、得体性等。第三部分是合作任务 (Collaboration task and follow-up questions) , 主要是由两位考生按照主考官描述的情景和所给的提示进行讨论, 然后主考官提出一两个相关问题以扩展讨论, 并给说话较少的考生更多的发言机会。这一部分互动程度最高, 互动形式为考生←→考生, 考官←→考生。这里测量考生运用功能性语言和策略进行得体交际的能力。

可以看出, 口试的每一部分都是一个“新的开始” (fresh start) , 都采用不同的题型, 使用不同的互动形式, 测量口语能力的不同方面, 这种多部分的结构设计确保了考生语言行为采样的广度和多样化, 起到了提高口试信度的作用。

4. 可选试题

由于全体考生不能在同一时间参加考试, 口试题目必须保密。如果考生在考试前获得了有关口试题目的信息, 他们的分数便会偏离其真实能力, 造成测量的不准确。

这种保密工作总是需要不小的人力投入。UNCLES的措施是:提供多套可选的题目, 要求考官在每场口试时都尽量使用多种不同的试题。这样就没有必要阻止已完成口试的考生向其他考生“泄题”, 因为他们碰到同样考题的可能性极小。这种做法的好处在于不用封闭备考考生, 他们不必在备考室滞留。这样既减少了口试组织者监考方面的麻烦, 也防止考生因等待过久而产生疲劳和焦虑。但是设计多套难度对等的题目, 对出题者的专业水平要求很高, 且需要较大的人力财力的投入, 另外也给考官的评分增加了一定的难度。使用多套可选题目是否会影响考生答案的可比性, 或者造成其口试表现的差异呢?UNCLES声明, 他们的研究显示多套考题的使用没有给考生的口试表现带来显著的影响。

5. 考官指令 (interlocutor frame)

主考官在主持口试即发出指示、分派任务时必需严格遵照“考官指令”。主考官不可以随意以自己的方式讲话。当考生出现理解困难时, 考官可使用备用问题 (back-up questions) 。“考官指令”使口试过程规范化, 使每个考生都得到公平的、同等的对待。严格遵守“考官指令”可以避免任务焦点的转移和任务难度的变化。

三、BEC口试的评分程序

BEC口试中两位考官都参与评分, 主考官打总体分, 副考官打分项分。两名考官从不同的角度、彼此独立地评判考生的表现。按照规定, 他们不相互商量, 不受同伴判断的影响。

由于主考官的主要责任是主持口试和参与交际, 所以按要求他 (她) 不必关注考生话语的某些特定方面, 只需根据考生整体表现的有效程度给出一个总体分数 (0～5分) 。副考官的任务则是仔细倾听, 并按照4个详细的分项评分标准 (analytical scales) 打出4个分数 (0～5分) 。这4个分项标准是: (1) 语法与词汇:即语法与词汇形式的广度、精确度和得体程度; (2) 语篇处理:即话语的连贯性、深度以及与主题的相关性; (3) 语音语调:考生话语的流利及标准。在考试允许的范围内使考生保持良好的心理状态, 双人、独立评分以及总体、分项评分的结合可以有效地提高评分信度。

四、结束语

考试从本身来讲并无“好”“坏”之分, “最好”的考试是不存在的 (Bachman, 6) 。我们在动手设计考试之前, 应该对有关具体情况有一个全面的了解。口试的设计和实施是权衡各种因素并做积极妥协的过程。

BEC口试在考试设计、开发和实施等诸多方面为我们提供了很好的启示, 笔者希望本文的讨论有助于语言教师们设计出符合各自具体情况的高质量的口试。

摘要：口语考试的主观性给提高口试信度带来了很大的难度。BEC口试以其设计的标准化和实施的规范化在亚太地区获得了良好的声誉。从BEC口试的形式、结构、实施过程、评分标准等方面对BEC口试的信度做了较为详细的分析和评价, 希望为外语教师和测试专业人员开发高质量的口试提供有益的启示。

关键词：信度,BEC口试,口试设计,口试实施

参考文献

[1]Bachman, Lyle F and Palmer, Adrian S.Language Testing in Practice[M].Oxford:Oxford University Press.