Note-Writing 1
Notes can be considered as simplified letters in specific situations. Notes can be classified into many types according to different purposes such as invitation, apology, appointment, thank-you, borrowing, asking for leave, etc. 英语专业四级考试大纲 TEM 4 写便条的要求是, 根据提示写大约 50-60 单词的通知 便条 请贴等 要求格式正确, 语言得体 考试时间 10 分钟 2
I. Introduction Key Elements of a Note Date (usu. top right) Salutation( 称呼, flush left, usually very casual ) Body (the message itself, usu. paragraph indent) Complimentary close ( 结束敬语,usu. flush right, but flush left if the body starts from the left margin) Signature ( 署名, usu. flush right, but flush left if the complimentary close is flush left.) 3
Key Features of Note-Writing Simple in language forms Informal in style Brief and precise in content 便条的形式和内容简洁, 故可以用几句话概括 语言尽量通俗口语化, 简单扼要, 直截了当, 无需使用客套语言 便条虽简单, 但中心务必突出, 更要注明活动的时间及地点 4
Tips: Complimentary Close for Letters Yours sincerely,sincerely yours,sincerely Yours respectfully, Respectfully yours Yours,Love,With love, All my love, Yours affectionately, Lovingly yours, Yours lovingly,your loving son Best wishes,best regards, Best 5
II. Samples of Note-Writing 1. A Note of Appointments June 3 Jane, We d like to have an outing at 8 o clock a.m. on Saturday, June 4. Could you join us and enjoy the spring on Mount Baiyun? Drinks and dessert are ready. Just remember to bring an umbrella. Fisherman 6
2. Thank-you Notes Dear Pam & Sam, 28 July I m writing to thank you for the lovely dinner yesterday. We enjoyed the evening greatly. It was most kind of you to introduce some new friends to us. We loved to meet those interesting people. Please accept our warmest thanks. Cathy 7
A Note of Thanks Johnson, Sept. 24 I d like to express my great gratitude towards your warm hospitality during my short stay in Shaoguan. I enjoyed the visit very much. Looking forward to your visit to my hometown next summer holiday. Give my sincere regards to your whole family! Cosine 8
感谢 You have been to a thanks giving party given by your friend George. Write him a thank-you note and explain why. 9
Dear George, Oct. 29 th, 2010 I m writing to show my gratitude for your invitation to the thanks giving party. That was a really wonderful party. I appreciate your considerate arrangement and the wonderful food you prepared. It also offered me a chance to learn about the American culture. I really enjoyed that night. Sincerely yours, Frank 10
3. Note of Congratulation Your friend Emily has just won a full scholarship to study in an American university. Write her a note to congratulate her on that. 11
Dear Emily, April 2nd, 2011 I am so excited to hear that you have won the scholarship to study literature in Kansas University. Warm congratulations on the realization of your dream. Years of your hard work has finally paid off and you can really be proud of yourself. Best wishes to you. Yours, Ann 12
August 20 Dear Rosemary, The news of your music scholarship to the University made my day. No one could have been more deserving. How exciting it must be to realize your dream after all those years of faithful practice and proficient performance. Your diligence combined with your innate talents indicates a dynamic future. I wish you all the best in your college years. make sb s day: make sb. happy Kate 13
4. Notes of Appointment Dear Sydney, 15 May I d like to discuss with you about our new project. Could we meet for about an hour at the Cooper s on Monday afternoon at 3 o clock? If you are otherwise engaged, please ring me to make another time. Thank you. Paul 14
A Note of Appointment Andy, Fred is now with us. He is going to New York tomorrow morning to pursue his graduate study and we will not be able to see him for a long time. We are having a dinner party at 7 p.m. this evening at my home. It would be nice if you could come over and see him. Michael 15
5. A Note of Apologies Jan. 4 Betty, I d like to express my apologies for not being able to take part in your birthday party, for it happens to be my turn to be on duty and will have to work till 8 o clock tomorrow morning. Happy birthday to you! May every day be sunny for you in the coming year! John 16
6. A Note of Invitation Tuesday Dear Li, As the Spring Festival is drawing near, I'm very glad to invite you to come to a dinner party with several other friends of ours. I'm sure we will have a very happy time and enjoy ourselves thoroughly. Would you like to come on time at 5:00 p.m. today, to Room 6 of Lijing Hotel? Yours always, Jiayang 17
Dear Professor Jones, Dec. 20, 2010 To celebrate the coming of the new year, our class will have a party on December 31th, in the Multi-function Hall in College Students Activities Center. It will start at 7:00 p.m. We will be very glad to have you join us. I am sure we will have a good time. Please let me know if you can make it. Yours, Amy 18
A Note of Informal Invitations Dr. David, May 3 We are to hold an English speech contest in Room 506, Building 2 at 2 p.m. on Friday, May 4. The contest would last about 3 hours. We would be very happy if you could be one of the judges. Foreign Languages Dept. 19
A note of even more informal invitation To: Attend: Time: Address: Inviter: 20
接受邀请 Your friend Betty has invited you to her birthday party, write her a note and tell her your plan to get there. 21
March 15 th, 2011 Dear Betty, It s so kind of you to invite me to your birthday party, and I would love to come. I will come to your apartment right after my class around 5:30. Thank you again for your hospitality and I am looking forward to seeing you. Yours, Lily 22
7. A Note of Requests July 14 Prof. Smith, I d like to know your comments on the outline of my academic paper before I begin my first draft. Could you give me some suggestions by email or post your comments on the Guestbook on your Web Page? Looking forward to your reply. Thank you! Li Nan 23
8. A Note of Messages Oct. 15 Alison, A Mr. Ted left a rose for you at the Service Desk. He said he wouldn t lose heart although you refused to let him in. He would come tomorrow and the day after tomorrow until you accept his rose and heart. Butterfly 24
9. A Note for Saying Good-bye Nov. 23 Dear Betty, I will leave for Shanghai at 8:00 a.m. this morning. It is a pity that I can t see you to say goodbye before leaving for home. I have enjoyed my stay here, thank you very much for the kindness, hospitality and the trouble you have taken on my behalf. Please remember me to your husband. Yours ever, Green 25
10. A Note of Borrowing Tuesday Dear Xiao Wang: I wonder if I could borrow your electronic dictionary for a few days. Now I am translating some important articles. There are many new words which I have to look up in a dictionary. I just have a printed dictionary, but of course it s not as convenient as the electronic one, which has a bad effect upon my velocity (speed) of translating. So I think your electronic dictionary is more suitable for me to complete my work. I promise that I must be very careful with your dictionary and ensure no damage done to it. Thank you very much! Yours ever 26
11. Notes Asking for Leave Write your teacher Dr. Kevin Orwell a note asking for a sick leave. Explain why and how long you will be absent. 27
April 13rd, 2011 Dear Dr. Orwell, I am terribly sorry that I won t be able to come to your cross-culture communication class this morning. I came down with a flu last night and the doctor suggested me to stay in bed for a couple or days. I should come to your class Friday. I will ask my classmate for notes of your lecture and do any homework you assign. Yours sincerely, Eric 28
1) Jan. 10th Dear Ms. Jiang, I am terribly sorry that I shall be unable to attend this morning's two periods of English Class due to a bad cold and high fever. Enclosed is a certificate from the doctor who said I must stay in bed for a few days. I will go back to school as soon as I recover. Yours respectfully, Tian Ye 29
To Dean s Office Monday Dear Mr. Black: I am terribly sorry to inform you that I am unable to go to school today owing to a severe headache. I enclose a certificate from the doctor who is attending on me, as she fears it will be two days before I shall be able to resume my study. Could you kindly excuse my absence on Monday and Tuesday? Thanks. Yours sincerely, Peter Ma 30
Ask for leave for another person Miss Boffin, Please excuse Tom s absence from school this morning. He caught a bad cold and had a high fever last night and could not fall asleep until midnight. I felt it would not be fair to the other children to allow her to attend school. So I am writing to ask you for a three-day sick leave for him, and will let him resume his study if he feels better. Yours sincerely, Steven 31
IOU 留下字据, 表示欠某人某物 条据上需写明钱物名称和数量 立据人及日期 不得涂改 32
Sept. 16th, 2002 Borrowed from the Foreign Language Department Reference Library three books as follows: A copy of English History and Anthology of English Literature by Wu Weiren, a copy of A Survey of American Literature by Chang Yaoxin, a copy of World Literature by Jiang Chengen. Wu Zhuo Office of Social Science Department 33
Notice Writing A notice is often to inform sb. of the information or a declaration of a lecture or a meeting. 34
The main components in a notice: 1) Time: the date (month. date) and information like Sunday or Saturday etc. 2) Exact place and address; 3) Theme of the meeting, and the participants. 4) Office Name 5) Writing date 35
Notice 写作要点 : 1) 语言要求规范简短, 具体明确. 选用正式或普通的语域 ; 2) 一般要写明发布通知的单位和时间 ; 单位常在通知的下面的右下角, 而发布通知的时间常常在单位下面的左下角 当然, 单位也可能在通知的前面, 比如对于某个单位经常使用的通知格式而言, 就可能在通知前面习惯性地用上了单位的名称 3) 正文要明确写出通知的人员范围, 活动内容, 活动时间和地点 ; 4) 必要时还应写明活动方式及注意事项等. 36
Follow-Up Practice Directions: 以公司行政办公室的名义, 按通知的格式和要求写一份于 2005 年 6 月 30 日公布的通知, 包括以下内容 : 1) 时间 :7 月 7 日星期五下午 2:00 2) 会议地点 : 公司办公大楼会议厅 3) 会议内容 : 讨论财务计划 4) 出席人员 : 各部门负责人 5) 要求 : 每人准备一份建议书 Words for reference: Financial program 财务计划 Office Building Department head 37
Sample 1 Meeting Notice Subject: Financial program of the company Participants: Heads of all sections Time: 2:00 p.m. July 7, Friday Place: Meeting Hall of Office Building Note: Each participant is required to hand in a written proposal. The Administrative Office June 30, 2005 38
Sample 2 Notice ( 通知 ) ( 日期 ) ( 落款 ) See..\ 英语应用文写作教案 \Chapter 6 Writing Notices, Memoranda and Minutes.doc for more. 39
Real Tasks From TEM 4 Note writing tasks in TEM 4 (1997-2010) 40
1997 You are Peter/Mary. You had a party at your home recently, but you unintentionally neglected to invite a close friend of yours Victoria. Write her a note apologizing for this and explaining how the mistake came about. 41
1998 You are Mark or Sally. You have got a ticket to a computer fair, but you now find that you are unable to go. Write a note to your friend, George, explaining why you are sending the enclosed ticket to him and telling him briefly how to get there. 42
1999 You've learned that your friend Jimmy is ill these days. Write him a note expressing your concern, asking after his health and giving your best wishes. 43
2000 You've read on the notice board that the university library is looking for a part-time library assistant who can work at weekends. You think that your classmate, George, is a suitable person for this vacancy. Write him a note, telling him what you know about the vacancy and trying to persuade him to go for an interview. 44
2001 Yesterday you failed to turn up for the appointment with your teacher. Professor Wang. Write him a note of apology and make a request for another meeting. You should also suggest the time for the requested meeting. 45
2002 You have heard that your friend, Jack, wishes to sell his walkman. Write him a note expressing your interest in it, asking him about its condition and offering a price for it. 46
2003 Your friend Clare has invited you to her house-warming party this weekend. However, you will be away then. Write her a note politely declining her invitation and expressing your best wishes to her. 47
2003 年 5 月专业四级考试 : SECTION B NOTE-WRITING [10 MIN.] Write a note of about 50-60 words based on the following situation: You have heard that your friend, Jack, wishes to sell his walkman. Write him a note expressing your interest in it, asking him about its condition and offering a price for it. Marks will be awarded for content, organization, grammar and appropriateness. 48
2004 Your friend, Jane, has failed in the final exam, and is feeling very unhappy about it. Write a note to comfort her and give her some encouragement. 49
2005 You have got two tickets to a concert given by a famous pop band/orchestra. Write a note to your friend, Hilda/Mike, describing briefly what it is and inviting her/him to come with you. 50
2006 You have got to know that you classmates, Michael,is organizing a weekend excursion for the class. And you are thinking of joining the trip, write him a note expressing your interest in the excursion and asking for information on two details related to the excursion. 51
2007 Your classmate, Jimmy, is head of the university s swimming club. He has invited you to join the club, but you like some other sport. Write him a note, declining and explaining why. 52
2008 Jane, your classmate, is thinking of subscribing to an English-language newspaper. And you would like to recommend one to her. Write a note, telling her which newspaper it is and describing two features of the paper. 53
2009 Lily, your roommate, is looking for a part-time job in the coming summer vacation. You saw an ad for a private English tutor for a schoolboy. Write her a note, telling her what the job is and strongly recommending it to her. 54
2010 Your good friend John, is thinking of organizing an end-of-the-term party. Write him a note telling him you like his idea and offer to help him. You have to be specific about how you can help him. 55