一: 英文书信写作介绍
书信是一种重要的书面交流工具。 英文书信可按照写信对象的不同分为正式信函和非正式信函。 前者多半写给不认识的人, 如日常所说的问询信,申请信和投诉信等, 后者则为与家人或亲戚朋友之间的书信往来。通常,一封完整的英文书信按排列的顺序,包括如下六个部分:
• 信头 ( Heading)
• 收信人地址 (Inside address)
• 称呼 (Salutation)
• 正文 (Body)
• 结束语 (Complimentary close)
• 署名 (Signature)
本章中只介绍以左边齐行 (left-indented) 为特点的 block form 形式信件的写作。
具体解释如下:
• 信头
信头通常位于信纸的左上角。包括两项内容: ( 1 ) 发信人地址, ( 2 ) 写信日期。
不论是正式英语信函,还是非正式信函, 都需要写上发信人的地址和发信的日期。 需要注意的是, 英语书信和汉语书信在地址和日期的写法上都有很大的不同。汉语书信中的地址是从大到小依次排列, 而在英语书信中则恰恰相反。例如,
中国北京市海淀区学院路 37 号 ,
写在英文信件中则为,
37 Xueyuan Road, Haidian District, Beijing, PR China 。
英文书信中日期的写法共有四种,顺序为月日年或日月年,日子可用基数词或序数词。
如, 2001 年 4 月 30 日, 可以用下面四种表达方式:
April 30, 2001 , 30 th April, 2001
30 April, 2001/5/8 April 30 th , 2001/5/8
在写日期的时候, 需要注意逢 1 , 2 , 3 , 21 , 22 , 23 和 31 几位数字, 如果使用
序数词, 分别为 1st , 2 nd , 3 rd , 21 st , 22 nd , 23 rd 和 31 st 。
• 收信人地址
在非正式信函中, 可以不写收信人的地址, 但是在正式信函中, 则必须包括这一项内容。收信人地址的写法与发信人地址的写法相同,也是从小到大。但是收信人的地址要排在发信人的地址和日期之后。
• 称呼
非正式英语书信中,多半是在 Dear 后直呼其名或在 My dear 后加上称呼, 如 Dear John, My dear father 等。 但在正式英语信件中, 则要根据收信人是谁而进行相应的变动。因为从英美人的名字可以看出对方的性别,如果知道收信人的名字是 Michael Byram , 则称呼 Dear Mr. Byram. 。如果对方为女士, 名字叫 Barbara Johns ,为稳妥起见, 可以称呼对方为 Dear Ms. Johns 。如果不知道收信人的名字, 那么称呼可以是如下几种: Dear Sir or Madam, Dear Sirs, Gentlemen 等等。
• 正文
英语书信的正文通常包括三个部分: (一)写此信的目的, (二)具体要表达的内容, (三)表示希望或祝福祝愿的话。具体详见下列给出的信件示例。
• 结束语
结束语通常位于正文下面, 与正文左对齐的地方,写法需要根据称呼而定。 在非正式信函中, 可以用 Love, Sincerely 等; 在正式信函中, 如果称呼为 Dear Mr…. 或 Dear Ms…. , 结束语用 Yours Sincerely; 如果称呼为 Dear Sir or Madam, Dear Sirs, Gentlemen , 则用 Yours Faithfully 或 Yours Truly 。
• 署名
署名的位置位于结束语的正下方。 如果是非正式信函, 只需要署上名字即可; 在正式信函中,要签上姓和名。
二: 邀请信的写法
请看下面两封信
例 1 :
15 Xueyuan Rd.
Haidian District
Beijing
PR China
100083
April 30 th , 2001
Dear Lisa,
Thanks so much for your letter, which arrived yesterday. I'm very happy to hear you are coming to China this summer. You say that your holiday will last a month, so I hope that you will be able to come and see us.
We have a spare room, so there is no problem about putting you up and you are welcome to stay for as long as you like. We are not going away this summer, so there is no problem about arranging dates.
Please write soon and tell me if you can come. My best wishes to you and your family.
Love
Helen
例 2 :
46 Cranford Street
London
NW3 5PQ
28 th April, 2001
Dear Martin,
I am sorry that I haven't written to you for such a long time. I have been so busy at the university. But now something has come up that would give us a chance to meet. Our former classmates from Wesbiton comprehensive school are planning a reunion in honor of Mr. Winston Hills, who is retiring. I know that he is your favorite teacher. Would you like to join us?
We are planning to have the reunion on Saturday, May 12 th at Half Moon restaurant. It would be lovely to see you then if you were free.
Could you let me know before May 8 th if you would like to come. In any case, we hope that we can meet at the day.
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely
David
上面两封信都是私人邀请信。 第一封信中, Helen 请国外的朋友 Lisa 度假时来自己家做客。因为是收到 Lisa 来信之后的回信, 所以在正文部分以“ Thanks so much for your letter, which arrived yesterday 。”开始, 第二封信中, David 邀请昔日的同学 Martin 参加为老师退休而举办的聚会, 因为很久没有联系了, 以“ I am sorry that I haven't written to you for such a long time. ”开始。 但是两封信的共同点在于都包括三部分内容: 第一段讲明写信的目的; 第二段具体的安排; 第三段重复开始的内容并表达祝福和祝愿。
例 3 是邀请一位教授到国外做访问学者的正式信函。
Department of Psychology
The University of Reading
Whiteknights
P.O.Box 217 , Reading
United Kingdom
RG6 6AH
December 22, 2000
Prof. Li Yun
School of Humanities
Beijing University of Aeronautics
& Astronautics
Beijing , PR China
100083
Dear Prof. Li,
It is a pleasure for me to invite you on behalf of the Department of Psychology to accept an appointment as a visiting professor at the University of Reading from January 1,2001 to June 30, 2001. The University of Reading will pay you a salary of € 1250 per month and reimburse your travel expenses. We hope that you can accept this invitation and we ask you to contact Dr. Valerie Peterson with respect to details of your research and lecturing activities during your stay in Reading .
Yours Sincerely
Timothy Clarks
Chairman
Dept. of Psychology
例 4 :是邀请某位教授参加计算机年会的信函。
Dept. of Foreign Computer Science
Beijing University of Aeronautics
& Astronautics
Beijing , PR China 10083
March 15 th , 2001
Prof. Woodrow Bushy
Dept. of Computer
New York University
New York
USA
Dear Prof. Bushy,
It is with great pleasure that I invite you to the 11 th Annual Computer Society Conference. This year's conference will be held at Beijing from September 23 through September 27.
We are offering a valuable program with industry-wide applications, speakers who are recognized experts in their field and topics with many implications for the future. Ample time is scheduled for discussion periods. In addition, tours to two large computer companies have been arranged.
Enclosed please find information on accommodations, transportation and registration.
If you have any questions, please call the session coordinator, Julie Han at 8610-82316661.
Yours Sincerely
Wang Qiang
Chairman
Dept. of Computer Science
由上述四封邀请信可以看出, 私人信函的语言要随意一些, 正式信函的语言则比较严谨。 在正式邀请信中, 不能使用缩写方式, 如 I'm, I'll 和 I'd like to 等。
练习
• 给一位国外的朋友写一封邀请信, 请他 / 她到中国来度假。
• 给某一位知名教授写信。 邀请他 / 她来参加某一大型活动, 如某学科知识竞赛,系列专业讲座等等。
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英语作文