Hello, I'm Oli, from Oxford Online English.
In this lesson, we're going to look at writing an introduction to an essay or article, with a particular focus on the IELTS exam.
你們好，我是奧利。
歡迎來到牛津在線英語。本節課，我們來看看主要針對雅思考試的寫作文章開頭。
If you're writing an essay or something in English, knowing how to write a good introduction is super important, and it's something that a lot of students really find difficult.
In this lesson, you can learn how to write an effective introduction to your essay; we'll look at some simple dos and don' ts.
如果你寫論文或其他英語文章，了解如何寫好開頭很重要，而很多同學覺得很難。
你會在本課學到如何寫出有效的文章首段，我們看看什麼是可以寫的，什麼是不可以寫的。
Let's start with an example question. This question is from paper 2 of an IELTS exam.
Pause the video and read it if you need time.
讓我們看一個樣題，這個問題來自雅思考試試卷二。
如果需要時間，可以暫停視頻讀題目。
So, our question: "In cities and towns all over the world the high volume of traffic is a problem.
What are the causes of this and what actions can be taken to solve this problem?"
我們的問題是：在全世界的城鎮，擁擠的交通是一個問題。
引發的原因是什麼，該如何解決該問題？
It's from a real past IELTS exam. OK, so let's start with a question: what does a good introduction need to do?
這是以往雅思考試的一道真題。從問題入手，好的開頭應該怎麼寫？
A good introduction should do four things: grab your reader's attention and explain why your reader should care about this topic;
address the question directly;
give background information or general examples to make the topic more relevant; and four, you need to explain how you are going to approach the topic.
Let's consider these points one by one.
好的開頭包括4件事：抓住讀者注意力，解釋為什麼讀者要關心這個話題，直接提出問題，給出背景信息或事例使之與主題更相關。
第四，你要解釋如何論證該話題。一個個來考慮這些要點。
Number one: grab your reader's attention. I think this is the most important part of an introduction.
第一：抓住讀者注意力。我認為這是文章開頭最重要的部分。
If someone reads your first paragraph and doesn't care about the topic, and doesn't want to read what you have to say, you've done something wrong. After reading your introduction, your reader should want to know more about the topic and what you have to say.
如果有人讀了第一段後並不對話題感興趣，不想繼續讀下去，就是你的問題了。讀過首段後，你的讀者應更想了解該話題和你所說的。
This is important for any essay, even in an exam like IELTS. Your essay will always be marked by a human, not a robot or a computer.
這對任何寫作都重要，甚至是雅思考試。你的文章都由考官打分，而不是機器或電腦。
Think about it: if you like someone, if someone's friendly and nice to you, you'll try harder to help them, right?
In the same way, if your essay starts with an interesting introduction, your reader will want to like your essay.
想一想，如果你喜歡某人，如果某人對你很友好，你會盡力幫他們，對嗎？
同樣，如果你的文章以有趣的序言為開頭，你的讀者會喜歡你的文章。
Making a good first impression and getting your reader's attention is ALWAYS a good idea; it can only help you. So, how can you grab your reader's attention?
Here are some possibilities.
贏得好印象並引讀者的注意總是一個好主意，對你有利。如何抓住讀者的注意？
這裡有一些方法。
You could ask a question to make your reader think, for example: "All over the world, people waste hours of their lives in traffic jams.
How can we deal with this problem?"
你可以提出問題引發讀者思考，如：全世界，人類浪費了很多時間在交通擁堵上。
我們如何處理這個問題？
Another idea is to relate the topic to the reader: "Do you drive?
另一個想法是使話題與讀者相關：你開車嗎？
If so, how much time do you think you spend in traffic jams every year?"
Also, you could use an interesting statistic or fact: "In Washington D. C. , the average driver spends 68 hours a year stuck in traffic."
如果是，每年你在交通擁堵上浪費了多少時間？另外，你可以用有趣的數據或事實：在華盛頓，司機平均一年花費68小時堵在路上。
Of course, there are many other ways you could do this. The most important thing is to try to make your reader think about something, or feel something.
當然還有很多其他方式。最重要的是讓讀者思考或體會這些。
You want your reader to engage actively with your ideas, not just read them passively. Point two: address the question directly.
你要讓讀者盡力去理解你的想法，而不是被動的讀取。第二，直接提問。
This is also really important, but it can be difficult to get this right. Here are two important points: DON'T repeat the question word-for-word.
這也很重要，但是難以準確表達。有兩個要點：不要一字字的重複問題。
If you want to include the question in your introduction (or, actually, anywhere in your essay) , you should use your own words.
Point two: addressing the question does not mean answering the question.
如果你想在開頭中或文章其他部分包括問題的內容，你要用自己的話來說。
第二點，提出問題不意味著回答問題。
This is your introduction; you don't want to start answering the question yet.
So, when you write an essay, read the introduction and for every sentence ask yourself: how is this sentence relevant to the topic?
這是你的序言，你不用先回答問題。
當你寫文章時，讀一讀簡介和每句話並問自己是不是句子都能切題？
If you can't answer, that's a sign that maybe this sentence shouldn't be there. You should consider taking it out.
Let's look at some examples: "In cities and towns all over the world the high volume of traffic is a problem."
如果你回答不了，就意味著可能這句話不適合，你應考慮刪去它。
讓我們看一些例子：在全世界的城鎮，擁擠的交通是一個問題。
Not so good, because it repeats the question word-for-word. "
Traffic problems are a worldwide phenomenon, affecting millions of people in many different countries."
這樣不好，因為一字字的重複了該問題。
That's better, because you are using your own words.
My words but it's ok, you can keep it. All right, another example.
這樣更好，因為你用的是自己的詞彙。
我的話，但是沒關係，你可以用，好，看下一個例子。
"The main reason for traffic problems is that. . ." Not so good - this is trying to answer the question.
You don't want to answer the question in your introduction; you're trying to address it, discuss it, not answer it.
交通問題的主要原因是……不好，這是試圖回答問題。
你不應在開頭部分就回答問題，你要試著提出問題並討論，而不是回答。
How could we make it better?
Well: "There are many reasons why cities suffer from traffic problems, such as. . ."
我們要如何寫得更好？
為什麼城市有交通問題的原因有很多，如……
OK, that's better. You are addressing the question and giving general examples. "
Overuse of cars causes air pollution, which damages people's health."
這樣更好，你提出了問題並給出了事例。
汽車過度使用引發空氣汙染，危害人類健康。
No good, it's not relevant to the question.
The question is not about overuse of cars, or problems which that causes. How could we improve it?
不好，與問題無關。
問題不是過度使用汽車或其引出的問題。我們如何改進它呢？
How about this: "Traffic problems can cause stress, pollution and lost productivity." Better -
you are talking about traffic problems and showing why this topic is important.
這樣怎麼樣：交通問題可以引發壓力、汙染和生產力損失。好點了，你談論的是交通問題並表現出該問題的重要性。
OK, point three: give background information or general examples.
In your introduction, you don't want to go into a lot of detail, or repeat points that you are going to make later in your essay.
第三點，給出背景信息或事例。
在你的序言中，你不應涉入許多細節或重複之後文章中的論點。
However, you should add some general examples to help your reader understand the topic, and to stimulate your reader's interest.
For example, you could include a statistic: "The average commuter spends around 90 minutes a day driving to and from work."
然而，你應添加一些事例幫助讀者明白主題，激發興趣。
例如你應包括統計數據。平均通勤者一天在路上花費的時間約90分鐘」
A trend: "The frequency of traffic jams in major cities has almost doubled in the last ten years."
Or, a personal example: "In my city, the traffic is so bad that even a short journey can take two hours."
一種趨勢：在過去的10年裡，大城市的交通擁堵頻發率幾乎增了兩倍。
或用個人例子：在我的城市，交通很差，甚至短途旅行都要花兩小時。
Obviously, if you're writing in an exam, you may not be able to check statistics or other information, so for exams like IELTS, using personal examples is often a good idea. Lastly, point four: explain how you are going to approach the topic.
顯然如果你在考寫作，你不能查數據或信息，所以像在雅思考試中，使用個人例子常是一個好主意。最後第四點，解釋你如何論證該話題。
If your introduction is well-written, your reader should have an idea of what you're going to say in the rest of your essay.
This will make your essay clearer, because your reader already understands what you're going to do, and your reader can anticipate your next paragraph, your next point, which makes your essay easier to understand.
如果你的開頭寫得很好，讀者應對你之後文章寫的內容有概念。
這會讓你的文章更清晰，因為你的讀者已經明白你要講的，他可以預測到你下一段要寫的內容，你的要點，這讓你的文章更易讀懂。
To do this, of course you need to know what you're going to say in the rest of your essay, and how your ideas are going to be organised. This means you need to plan your essay before you write your introduction.
當然你要知道在文章接下來寫什麼，並且要如何構思。這意味著你需要在寫序言前計劃好你的文章。
If you're writing an academic essay, for university, for example, and time is not a problem, then it's possible to write the essay first, and then write the introduction at the end. Some people prefer this approach, and if you find it easier, use it, go for it; there's nothing wrong with it.
如果你在寫大學的學術論文，不用擔心時間問題，那麼可以先寫文章最後寫序言。有些人喜歡這種方式，如果你覺得這樣簡單就可以這麼做，沒有問題。
But, in an exam, it's probably not a good idea.
So, if you're writing an essay in an exam like in IELTS, it's really important to spend time planning your answer before you start writing, even if you just spend one minute thinking about it.
但在考試中可能不是一個好主意。
如果你要參加雅思寫作這種考試，在動筆之前花時間制定計劃很重要，即使是花一分鐘思考。
So let's look. Ask yourself: what points are you going to make in your essay? What order are you going to make your points in?
所以讓我們看看。問問自己文章的要點都是什麼？這些要點的順序是什麼？
And, what is your conclusion going to be? Your aim in the introduction is to summarise your answers to these questions.
你的結論是什麼？序言的目的是對這些問題答案的總結。
I said 'summarise' because you SHOULDN'T simply repeat yourself. For example: "In this essay, I will consider the following causes of traffic problems: 1. . .2. . .3. . .4. ."
我說的是總結，因為你不應只是重複。例如，在這篇文章裡，我將考慮交通問題的如下原因：1，2，3，4
It's not so good — you should summarise your points, rather than listing them. OK, how can we make it better?
不是很好，你應該總結你的要點，而不是列舉。好，我們要如何改進？
Well, how about: "In this essay, I will examine the many possible causes of traffic problems, such as…1. . .2. . . (examples)" OK, that's better - it's a summary.
這樣如何：在本文中，我將調查可能引發交通問題的多種原因，如1，2……（事例）。這樣的概述更好一些。
"I will discuss traffic problems and how we can solve them." Not so good. Well, it's not terrible, but it could be better.
我將討論交通問題和如何解決。不是很好，雖不是太壞，但可以更好一些。
"After analyzing the causes of traffic problems, I will consider possible solutions." This is better. Why is it better?
在分析完交通問題的成因後，我將考慮可行的解決措施。這樣更好，為什麼這樣好？
It's better because it shows your reader how your essay will be structured.
It tells your reader: "OK, first I'm going to talk about problems, then I'm going to talk about solutions."
這樣好的原因是告訴讀者文章的結構。
這告知了讀者：好，第一我要討論這個問題，然後我將討論解決方案。
"Who knows how we can solve traffic problems?" Well, no good - It's your job to answer the question and provide a conclusion, so don't put things like this in your introduction.
誰知道我們要如何解決交通問題？不好。應該是你回答問題並得出結論，所以不要寫在序言上。
OK, let's make it better: "I will attempt to show that investment in public transport can help to reduce traffic volume."
Again, this is better. It shows your reader what your conclusion will be.
好，讓我們更進一步：我將要寫出可以減少交通擁堵狀況的公共投入。
這樣更好，告訴讀者結論將是什麼。
It gives your reader an idea without going into too much detail. So remember, all of these are just examples.
告知讀者一個概念而不是太多的細節。記住這些都是例子。
In this lesson, I'm not trying to give you a system for writing, because that's impossible.
The most important thing is to think about these ideas when you are writing, and when you're planning your writing.
我不會在本課告訴你一個寫作的體系，因為這是不可能的。
最重要的是在寫作和打草稿時考慮這些思路。
Even if you aren't sure how to use these ideas at first, keep thinking about them, and it will help you to write better introductions.
If you're watching this on Youtube, you can look in the video description, and there's an example paragraph using some of the sentences from this lesson, so this is a possible introduction to the question that we've looked at.
即使你開始不確定如何使用這些想法，把它們記在心裡會有助於你寫出更好的序言。
如果你在Youtube上觀看視頻，你可以查看視頻描述，你會看到有舉例段落用到本課的句子，所以這就是針對問題得出的序言。
Also, if you're watching on YouTube, you might consider coming to our website: Oxford Online English.
You can find many other free English lessons on many other topics.
That's all for today. I really hope this lesson was useful for you.
另外，如果你在Youtube上觀看，可以訪問我們的網站：牛津在線英語。你可以看到很多免費的英語課。
今天就到這裡，希望這節課對你有幫助。
Thanks very much for watching, and I'll see you next time.
Bye bye!
感謝觀看，下次見。