1. 尽量避免重复使用同样的词汇。或者有的时候虽然词汇没有重复,但意思却有重复。这时候可以做一些简化的工作。例如下面这个例子:
The farm my grandfather grew up on was large in size.
large 对一个farm来说就是size方面的large,所以in size可以去掉,改为:
The farm my grandfather grew up on was large.
更简洁的表达方式为:
My grandfather grew up on a large farm.
2. 有时一个词组可以用一个更简单的单词来替换,例如:
My grandfather has said over and over again that he had to work on his parents’ farm.
这里的over and over again就可以改为repeatedly,显得更为简洁:
My grandfather has said repeatedly that he had to work on his parents’ farm.
3. 把从句改为短语或单词。例如:
Dairy cows were raised on the farm, which was located100 kilometers from the nearest university and was in an area that was remote.
简介的表达方式为:
The dairy farm was located in a remote area, 100 kilometers to the nearest university.
4. 仅在需要强调宾语而不是主语的时候,才使用被动语态。例如:
In the fall, not only did the cows have to be milked, but also the hay was mowed and stacked by my grandfather’s family.
本句不够简洁的原因是本句的重心应该是“忙碌的家庭-my grandfather’s family”,而使用了被动语态后,仿佛重心变成了cows和hay。下面的表达方式是主动语态,相对来说更简洁一些:
In the fall, my grandfather’s family not only milked the cow but also mowed and stacked the hay.
5. 用更为精确的一个动词来代替动词短语,例如下面这句话:
My grandfather didn’t have time to stand around doing nothing with his school friends.
Stand around doing nothing其实可以用一个动词来表达,即loiter:
My grandfather didn’t have time to loiter with his school friends.www.Examw.com
6. 有时两句话的信息经过组合完全可以用一句话来简练地表达,例如:
Profits from the farm were not large. Sometimes they were too small to meet the expenses of running a farm. They were not sufficient to pay for a university degree.
两句话的信息可以合并为下面这句更为简洁的句子:
Profits from the farm were sometimes too small to meet operational expenses, let alone pay for a university degree.
简单并不代表没有难度,一篇好的托福作文,必须逻辑清晰、词汇和句式运用恰当。如果考生对长句没有太大的把握,那么不妨拆成更有把握的短句,一样能获得高分。