集合名词以单数形式出现，却常常表达复数的含义。一般来说，当这类名词用来表达整体概念时，后面的动词用单数；而当它们被用来指其组织成员时，谓语就用复数。这类集合名词主要有：audience, family, class, herd, crowd, troop, team, crew等。由于这类词搭配比较复杂，所以在这类词做主语时，学生往往在主谓一致问题上出错。如: 错误：The family has agreed to go to the Great Wall on National Day. 正确：The family have agreed to go to the Great Wall on National Day. 错误：My family never intend to have anything to do with business. 正确：My family never intends to have anything to do with business. 4. 修饰语错误
学生在修饰语的运用上出现的问题主要是两方面：修饰语误置和悬垂修饰语。 修饰语误置指的是由于修饰语放置的位置有误，而使它错误地修饰了作者表达意图之外的词语。这种错误往往会不同程度地影响作者的表达意图，导致句子的语义发生混乱，让读者迷惑不解。如：
错误：Mr. Smith left a magazine in the taxi which he had been reading.
这句话中的定语从句“which he had not been reading‖ 误置，修饰的成分不明确。 正确：In the taxi, Mr. Smith left a magazine which he had been reading. 错误：The hunter killed the wolf that attacked him with a gun.
修饰语“with a gun‖ 错位，应修饰hunter 而不是wolf 。 正确：With a gun the hunter killed the wolf that attacked him.
要避免这种错误，最有效的办法就是尽量把修饰语同它的修饰对象放在一起。
所谓的“修饰语悬垂”就是如果修饰语放在句首，它的修饰对象必须紧跟其后，否则，这修饰语就失去了“依靠”。而作者的表达意思也会被歪曲，变的模糊不清。纠正这种错误，可以有三种方法：1.对句子结构作必要的改动，使状语和逻辑主语一致；2.给状语加上一个适当的逻辑主语，使之成为一个独立结构；3.将状语改成一个从句。如： 错误：While talking on the telephone, the chicken soup boiled over.
这一句看上去就是“鸡汤”在打电话。修饰语 while talking on the phone脱离了被修饰语就被“悬”起来了。这种错误的出现也是受到了汉语“意合”的表达方式的影响，忘了英语对“形合”的严格要求。
正确：While I was talking on the telephone, the chicken soup boiled over.
再如：
错误：Looking out of the window, the grassland stretches as far as the eye can reach. 正确：Looking out of the window, the grassland stretches as far as the eye can reach. 错误：To swim properly, a course of instruction is necessary.
正确：To swim properly, one needs a course of instruction.或: If one wants to swim properly, a
course of instruction is necessary. 5.错用平行结构
平行结构要求对并列的部分在结构上和意义层次上必须完全相同，如同为形容词、分词、动词、动名词等。若干个平行部分中如果有一个与其他不尽相同，就破坏了平行结构，成为有问题的句子。如：
错误：Tom enjoys playing football, swimming and to read novels.
“to read novels‖破坏了句子的平行结构。
正确：Tom enjoys playing football, swimming and reading novels.
错误：When I saw my friend Tom with my former girlfriend, I felt worried, angry and
embarrassment as well.
正确：When I saw Tom with my former girlfriend, I felt worried, angry and embarrassed as well. 6.代词指代不明
代词按其语法功能是用来代替上下文提到过的名词（短语）的，它使考生在写作中避免许多不必要的词语重复。因此，遵循英语写作简洁这一原则，充分利用代词无疑是很必要的。但在代词的使用上必须注意避免指代不明的问题。如：
错误：He was knocked down by a bicycle, but it was not serious. 代词it所指的对象不明确。
正确：He was knocked down by a bicycle, but was not seriously hurt. 错误：He asked his brother whether he could send the girl home.
该句交代不清究竟是他要求哥哥把女孩送回家，还是他请求他哥哥同意让自己去送。句中代词he指代不明。
正确：He asked his brother to send the girl back home. 或
He asked his brother to allow him to send the girl back home .
第三章 四级写作主流题型扫雷训练
如果按作文体裁分类，英语作文通常包括记叙文（Narrative），描写文（Descriptive），说明文(Expositive)和议论文(Argumentative)。大学英语四级作文最常采用的是记叙文，议论文和说明文。但是，考试形式往往是几种形式的混合体。从往年命题范围看，四级作文通常划分为以下几种：（一）提纲式作文 ，（二）图表式作文，（三）情景式作文，（四）关键词作文，（五）段首句作文。以下我们对各种题型分别进行论述：
第一节 怎样写提纲式作文
提纲式作文，即给出汉语概要，并要求据此写出不少于100或120字的作文。这种类型的作文占90％多，从1990年1月到2002年6月只有六次没有使用这种题型（1990年1月为段首句作文，1991年6月、1992年1月、2002年6月为图表式作文， 2001年6月、2002年1月为应用文）。本题型完全对应大纲要求，同时借鉴了托福作文的考试方法，既利于学生发挥，又利于教师客观评卷，是一种比较成熟的题型。故一般比较稳定，也是我们准备的重点。
这类作文往往给出英文题目和中文提纲（outline）,要求按提纲写作。提纲式作文给出的提纲一般包括三条内容，有时候是两条。因此，提纲式作文一般都写成三段。当然，在有些题里，为了使文章显的更完整，也可以在后面加上一小段作为结尾。这种题型在四级写作考试中出现率最高，为了写好这类文章我们应该从以下几个方面来考虑：
1. 认真研读提纲，以提纲为线索组织材料。一般来说，命题给出的提示比较符合大多数人的逻辑思维，所以组织起资料来相对容易一些。但对考生来说写这类文章还是有一定难度的：一是所提供的提纲是中文的，而且一般是不完整句，还需要考生依据它来确定主题句；二是考生必须自行选择强有力的证据来说明自己的主题句。
2. 作文时，最好以“开门见山”的方式开头，这样有助于直接切入主题。另外每段开头和结尾处最好有一个主题句（topic sentence）,从而使条理、层次更清晰，使阅卷人一目了然。这也是写其他类型的文章应该遵循的一条重要原则。
3. 仔细全面，切莫遗漏任何一条提示，这一点是非常重要的。 4. 特别值得一提的是，这类文章给出了提纲，那么每个人的思路几乎都是顺着提纲发展，要想出类拔萃，就得在词语、句子、段落上下功夫。同一词语最好不要在一篇文章中出现三次，同时要注意句子的多样性。若整篇文章都使用同一句型，即使没有语病，也会给人一种
千篇一律、单调乏味之感。段与段之间的衔接一定要连贯，过渡词的使用要恰到好处。 下面我们看一下1994年1月的原题及样文 Directions:
For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a composition on the topic The World Is Getting Smaller and Smaller. You should write at less than 100 words and you should base your composition on the outline (given in Chinese) below:
1. 现代化的交通工具越来越发达； 4. 人与人之间的交往越来越频繁； 5. 结论
例文：
The World Is Becoming Smaller and Smaller
Most of us may have such experiences. When you go to some place far away from the city you live in and think you know nobody there, you are surprised to find that you should run into one of old classmates on the street! Perhaps both of you would cry out, ―What a small world!‖
Why is the world getting smaller and smaller? For one thing, modern technology has made various means of transportation more and more advanced. Buses, trains, planes, taxis, ships are available in most cities of the world. They carry goods and passengers to and from every corner of the world. For another thing, with the development of modern society, people are contacting with one another more frequently. Everyday we must deal with a lot of people known or unknown to us. The more advanced a society is, the more contacts with others we make.
So we draw the conclusion that as long as technology makes progress, the world will be getting smaller and smaller. 评析：
这是一篇议论文。作者在文章的开头通过讲述一件在我们周围经常发生的事，作为文章的开场白，然后引出论题“为什么世界变得越来越小？”通过列举事实，究其原因是现代化的交通工具越来越发达，人与人的交往越来越频繁，最后作者归纳出结论：只要科学技术进步，世界就会变得越来越小。本文切中题意，内容丰富，思想表达清楚，语言文字通顺，用词恰到好处，基本无语法错误。其中“as long as, the more…the more…, draw to, For one thing, For another thing, run into, deal with, various means of”等词语都用得比较漂亮，可以称为“闪光点”。
第二节 怎样写图表式作文
图表作文是采用统计数据表（Table）、坐标曲线图（Graph）或圆形饼图（Pie Chart）等资料数据来阐述论点的作文。图表作文也是属于控制性作文的一种，是科技文献中常用的一种手段。
图表式作文在历年的四级考试作文题里所占的比例相对来说比较小（四级考试中出现的图表式作文主要是表格类），也是其中相对来说比较难的题型。不过只要掌握了图标式作文的特点和写作的注意事项，克服自己的恐惧心理，写图表式作文也就能得心应手了。
图表式作文就是命题者向考生提供图画、图表信息，要求考生完整、准确无误地表达图画、图表信息的大意，这样既考查了学生的写作能力，又考查了学生的观察能力和想象能力。它需要考生结合图表前的标题对所给图表进行分析、研究，阅读其中的文字和说明，弄清图表所包含的各种信息以及信息之间的关系；然后将这些信息进行比较、概括和归纳；最后提炼和归纳文章的中心思想。对大多数考生来讲，图表作文是相当令人头疼的，一旦你没有看清题意，那么整篇文章，你就无法下手。为此，考生应注意以下几点：
1. 胆大心细，看到这类题目不要害怕，静下心来仔细观察图画或图表，把握每个细节和情节。心细重在观察数据，以及数据相应的时间，看看它们说明了什么问题。通常情况下，图表给出的数值中的极值以及曲线在方向上突然发生变化等等，这往往是所给图表的中心意思所在。
2. 注意图文一致，切忌文字脱离图表。在写作文时，适当引用一些图表中的文字或者数字，既有一定的说服力，又能给人一种“由图而发”的感觉。 3. 对于这类文章的开头我们可以套用下列句型：
1) It can be seen from the/we can see from the/it has been shown from the chart (diagram, table, graph, figures, statistics…) that…
2) The chart (graph, table…) shows that… 3) According to the chart (graph, table…) 4) As is shown in the chart (graph, table…)
5) The chart shows/indicates/presents a sudden (slow, sharp, dramatic, steady, gradual, rapid…) increase (rise, decrease, decline, reduction, drop, fall…)
6) Therefore, we can conclude (see, infer…) from the table (graph, chart, pie, curve…) 如果考生能做到以上三点，就自然地使图变成了文。例：
Directions:
For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a composition about “What Students Need English For?” according to the contents given in the table below. Your part of the composition should be no less than 100 words, not including the word given. Remember to write clearly. Opening sentence:
Today, English is becoming more and more popular. Many countries have made English taught as their second language in schools. .
Table: Survey on the purpose of learning English made in a university
例文：
Purpose Reading text books Reading journals Reading business letters Writing reports Writing letters Attending lectures Attending seminars Talking to English-speaking visitors % of students Economics Engineering 80 60 40 25 5 60 5 6 90 70 20 10 7 40 10 8 What Students Need English For?
Today, English is becoming more and more popular. Many countries have made English taught as the second language in schools. But do students need English? If they do need, what do they need for? A survey made by a teacher at a university answers the two questions.
The result of the survey suggests that almost all students need English and they need it for different purposes. Most of the students need English because they need to read English textbooks or journals and attend English lectures, while only a few students need to use it to talk to English-speaking visitors, attend seminars, write letters, etc. There is also some difference between economic students and engineering students: Compared with engineering students, more economic students need to read business letters or write business reports in English.
From the result of the survey, we can see that students learn English for different purposes, which vary with different students. Whatever the purposes are, one thing is certain: Students need English, and English teaching should be strengthened in universities.
评析：
这篇文章以问句形式展开，阐述主题，作者通过图表中给定的资料数据，进行了深入的分析，举例论证学生学习英语的不同目的，通过列举一系列事实，在结尾段得出结论：无论学习的目的是什么，所有学生都需要英语，英语教学应该进一步加强。作者采用多种连接词，如“if, because, while, whatever”等，使文章自然流畅。还有一些词语用的也比较好，如：“survey, suggests, need to use it to talk to English-speaking visitors, Compared with, From the results of, we can see, vary with”等。
第三节 怎样写情景式作文
所谓“情景”作文，是指按照作文考卷上所规定题目、情景和提示的信息要点，例如时间、地点、人物、自然情况等，充分发挥自己的想象力，写出情景真切、生动具体、简明流畅、赏心悦目的文章。
情景作文尽管在大学英语四级作文考试的《大纲》中早已作出了明确规定和要求，但是自从1987年以来，这方面的作文考题还不太常见。随着今后高等学校外语教学的不断发展，这类作文是有可能出现的。
这种作文多见于托福考试中。这类作文通常给予内容提示，题材暗示，是控制性较强的一种考试形式。这类作文比提纲式作文难写，它需要考生根据提示自拟提纲，而不像提纲式作文那样有纲可依。具体应试技巧如下：
1） 仔细研究给出的提示文字，找出关键词。 2） 根据提示的内容及找出的关键词拟定提纲。 3） 把提纲转化为主题句。 4） 发挥主题句，连句成篇。 例：
Directions:
For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a composition about “New Year’s Celebration”. You should write a passage with the facts given below and it should be no less than 120 words
Using the facts given below: The lunar New Year’s celebration is coming, I am certainly looking to it, for it has been my favorite time of the year. 例文：
New Year’s Celebration
I am certainly looking forward to the Chinese Lunar New Year’s celebration coming up soon! It has been my favorite time of the year. The markets and stores are beginning to fill up with crowds of people, who are buying everything they need before the celebration begins.
When I was a child, the New Year’s celebration was so exciting to me. In the crowed