Question

阅读下面短文，根据其内容写一篇60词左右的内容概要。(注意：写作时不得照抄原文原句。)

American English began in the 17th century. At the beginning of the 17th century, the English language was brought to North America by colonists (殖民者) from England. They used the language spoken in England, that is, Elizabethan English, the language used by Shakespeare.

In order to find new resources in America, British colonists settled down there and from 1607 to 1732 set up thirteen colonies, including Virginia, North Carolina, New York, and New Jersey. In these thirteen areas, English was a common language used by all people. The first colonists established the English form in America.

As time went by, the English language gradually changed on both sides of the Atlantic. Foreigners longing for wealth set foot on the coastal area to trade. Americans borrowed many words from foreign languages and invented numerous new words to meet their commercial needs.

Following American Independence, famous people like Thomas Jefferson, the President, began to consider that the country should have a language of its own. Noah Webster compiled (编撰) three elementary books on English. Later, he expressed the idea that as an independent nation, America should have a system of its own in language as well as in government.

Since the rise of the United States to a position of world importance, American English has been developing and changing. There is no doubt that American English will enrich the English language greatly. With the rapid development of modem mass media and the common needs of economic, cultural and political exchanges, American English is more widely used in the world than British English.

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Answer

American English was born in the 17th century. At first, English was brought to America by the British colonists and then changed gradually with the development of economy. It was after American Independence that American English was finally formed. Nowadays, American English is becoming more influential due to its important position in world affairs.

【解析】

这是一篇概要写作作文。

写作步骤

1）细读原文。首先要仔细阅读短文，掌握文章主旨。文章主要说明了美国英语诞生于17世纪。英语最初是由英国殖民者带到美国的，后来随着经济的发展逐渐发生了变化。美国独立后，美国英语才最终形成。如今，美式英语由于在世界事务中的重要地位而变得越来越有影响力。

2）弄清结构，归纳段意。概要写作是写全文概要，不是写某一部分的概要，或者就某些问题写出要点。因此一定要弄清文章结构，归纳文章各段大意。

3）列出原文要点。分析原文的内容和结构，将内容分项扼要表述并注意在结构上的顺序。在此基础上选出与文章主题密切相关的部分。

4）在写作时要特别注意下面几点：

（1）概要应包括原文中的主要事实，略去不必要的细节。

（2）安排好篇幅的比例，概要应同原文保持协调，即用较多的文字写重要内容，用较少的文字写次要内容。

（3）注意要点之间的衔接，要用适当的关联词语贯通全文，切忌只简单地写出一些互不相干的句子，但也不要每两句之间都加关联词语，以免显得生硬。

（4）不排斥用原文的某些词句，但不要照搬原文的句子，如果不能完全用自己的话语表达，至少对原文句子做一些同义词替换，如果结构上也能有一些转换会更好。

（5）计算词数，看是否符合规定的词数要求。