短文写作 > 知识学习 > 作文的三个主要部分 >
The Beginning（开头）
Most compositions are made up of a beginning, a middle, and an end. We usually write one paragraph each for the beginning (the introduction) and the end (the conclusion), but for the middle (the body), often more paragraphs are needed.
The beginning rouses（激起）the readers’ interest and draws their attention to the subject matter of the paper and/or provides necessary background information（背景信息）. Though it is usually short, it is often the most difficult part for us to write, because we have to decide from what point to start, and in which direction to go.
There are a number of possible ways to begin a paper, and for different types of writing, some approaches are often better than others. For example, a narrative（记叙文）such as “Neighbors Are Dearer than Distant Relatives” may begin, as we see in the original, with
1. relevant background material:（相关背景资料）
• My neighbors were getting ready to move away...
But it is also possible to begin the composition with one of the following:
2. the time and place of the event to be described:（要描述的事件发生的时间和地点）
• It was on the morning/evening/afternoon of... that I learned Lili and her family were moving.
3. a quotation:（引用）
• As a Chinese saying goes, “Neighbors are dearer than distant relatives”, …
4. a question:（疑问句）
• Have you done anything that you regret ever after?...
5. a statement:（陈述句）
• Getting more information is learning, and so is coming to understand what you did not understand before.
We may also use the following to begin an essay:
6. figures or statistics:（数字或数据）
• According to recent statistics, the population of the elderly in China has reached ...
7. a definition:（定义）
• An “aged” country or region is one in which 10 percent of its population are 60 years of age or older, or 7 percent of its population are 65 years old or over.