不少同学写议论文时喜欢用firstly, secondly, thirdly…来列举论点,这种写法虽然语法上没问题,但可能不是最好的写法,我们可以用其他的说法来替换。
实际上一些英语母语人士会避免使用first, secondly, thirdly这样的说法,而是用first, second, third来代替,因为他们认为像firstly这样的说法过于累赘。
当然,除了说first, second, third…我们还可以用其他的说法,比如:
(1) First…In addition…Finally…
(2) First…Additionally…Finally…
(3) To begin with…In addition…Lastly…
(4) One reason is…Another reason is…Finally…
需要注意的一点是,在列举分论点的时候不要用at first来表示“首先,第一点”,比如我们不能说:
There are two steps to signing in to our website. At first, type your login name. Next, type in your password.
而要写成:
There are two steps to signing in to our website. First, type your login name. Next, type in your password.
我们应该用at first来表示“一开始,起先”(in or at the beginning),比如:At first I was nervous, but I soon started to relax. 起初,我感到紧张,但很快就开始放松下来。 |