文章中的连贯性

在进行英语写作之前，除了文章本身的架构外，我们还会使用各种方法将单个的句子连在一起。这样会使我们的文章避免一些不必要的重复，读起来更加流畅自然，同时也更加有益于读者去理解我们所表达的观点。以下几点可以让我们的英语写作更加连贯、意思更加明确：

联接

当我们写作或讲话时，我们会使用某些类型的词来指代我们已经提到或解释过的事情。在这里，人称代词就发挥了非常重要的作用。具体请看以下的例子：

Hyphens are used to link words and parts of words. They are not as common today as they used to be but there are three main cases where you should use them.

如果此处没有使用代词，那么句子就会变成这样：

Hyphens are used to link words and parts of words. Hyphens are not as common today as hyphens used to be but there are three main cases where you should use hyphens.

Four uses of the noun ‘hyphen’ makes the paragraph repetitious and awkward: replacing the noun with pronouns results in a tighter and more elegant structure.

除了第一句外，后面的句子中又出现四次“hyphen”，这时整个段落就会显得啰嗦、笨重。那么，用代词取代所指名词后，整个句子就会变得更加紧凑，同时也更加自然。

总体来说，用代词来替代名词会让整篇文章更加短小精悍，文章的含义也更加明确。但是，在使用代词的时候也需要注意频次，以确保读者能够正确理解代词所指代的事情，并避免混淆。

联接

有许多词可以将一篇文章的不同部分连接在一起。这些词语会发挥各种作用，其中最重要的作用包括以下几个方面。

补充或列举不同的观点

When we are giving an explanation, for example, or developing an argument in a piece of writing, we often need to organize our points in a particular order. Using words like firstly and secondly helps indicate the relative importance of the different points, and make the piece of writing into a coherent whole. For example:

当我们在一篇文章中解释某个观点，或展开论证时，我们通常需要按次序组织我们的观点。那么，firstly和sencondly这样的词可以帮助我们按重要性罗列我们的不同观点，并让我们的写作更加连贯。比如：

The cyclists were clearly at fault: firstly in riding straight across the road and secondly in riding two abreast.

有时，虽然没有必要按照重要性对我们的不同观点进行排序，但是我们可能希望将不同的观点联系起来，比如：

I learned a lot about history, architecture, and literature. Also, as a single traveller, I met many other visitors to Paris.

其他可以将不同观点联系起来的词包括：

as well

at the same time

additionally

besides

finally

first

furthermore

in addition

last

meanwhile

moreover

next

soon

then

too

what is more

举例说明某个观点

当你希望在某篇文章中表达某个具体的观点时，你通常需要引出一个能够表明你论点的事实或细节，比如

We can find many examples of public money being wasted on projects that benefit very few people. For example, the fast ferries cost hundreds of millions of dollars and they don't even work properly.

其他具有相同含义的表达包括：

as follows

by way of illustration

namely

such as

to give an example

解释造成某件事的原因和/或结果

段落中的某句话通常与上一句话有逻辑联系，我们可以使用很多词让前后两句话有逻辑关系，比如：

No regulatory authority was established to control fares. As a result, bus companies are free to set fares at whatever level they believe will deliver a commercial return.

其他表明逻辑关系的词包括：

accordingly

as a consequence

consequently

for this reason

hence

in consequence

so

that being the case

therefore

thus

进行对照

当你希望在文章中进行对比时，比如

Replacing draughty windows with double-glazed units will save money. Alternatively, you can fit the original wooden windows with double-glazed panes.

其他可以用来表达对比含义的词包括：

all the same

alternatively

anyway

by contrast

conversely

despite this

even so

however

instead

in spite of this

nevertheless

nonetheless

rather

yet

当进行英语写作时，我们需要思考前后句子之间的关系，以及前后段落之间的关系。在确定前后句以及前后段落之间的关系后，我们就可以选择合适的表达词语。当我们的读者在阅读我们的文章时，读者可以很轻松的跟上我们的思路并了解我们所表达的中心思想。

以上文章由专业英语翻译公司-译锐翻译质控部编辑Susan整理，未经许可，不得转载。