人类和AI的关系的初级版本讨论就是人类和电子设备,或者更早的人类和机器之间的关系,所以这会是一个持续和发展中的话题。
最近的来看,ChatGPT 等chatbot 哪怕在未来有了更升级版本的文字创造能力,更多适用的是一些不在乎文字原创的场合,比如回复email,写个通知,列一个presentation 的提纲等。在一些测试人类写作能力的场合,比如考试,作业等,只要ChatGPT 还是被划到作弊的行列,就还是需要人类自己去写的。所以目前来说,该写的还是得写,该提高的语言能力还是要提高。
提高绝对写作能力,大致有两个维度,一个是关于写作相关的,比如基本的词法,特别是句法一定要了解。一个是阅读相关的,很多时候我们写不出来的东西,是因为存储的内容不够,那自然比较难产生输出。
以下就这两个方面分别展开下。
# 写作方面
如果接受国内语法教学体系比较多的,一般会对于词法比较了解,比如时态,语态,主谓一致等。通过选择题的练习,一般这部分知识会很扎实,但因为缺少长篇章的写方面的实践,所以句法的部分,比如副词不能连接两句话,或者哪怕一些词法的知识点,比如代词的明确指代等往往会意识不够,如果有这方面短板的,相关的知识点要注意下。
如果是接受国外的语法教学体系比较多的,一般学校老师对于涉及语言使用的句法的反馈都是比较多的,只是看同学的消化和吸收。一般同学构建句子可能问题不大,但是句间关系会比较乱,容易前后句没有关系。如果有类似这个问题的,可以看下下面这个知识点(来自于 The Elements of Style)
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As a rule, begin each paragraph with a topic sentence, end it in conformity with the beginning. 如何写主题句
Again, the object is to aid the reader. (文章的最高宗旨是reader friendly) The practice here recommended enables him to discover the purpose of each paragraph as he begins to read it, and to retain this purpose in mind as he ends it. (段落从第一句到最后一句,都围绕同一个主题来展开) For this reason, the most generally useful kind of paragraph, particularly in exposition and argument, is that in which
(a) the topic sentence comes at or near the beginning; Topic Sentence 建议放在第一句
(b) the succeeding sentences explain or establish or develop the statement made in the topic sentence; 第一句开始解释或者展开第一句
and (c) the final sentence either emphasizes the thought of the topic sentence or states some important consequence. 最后一句重申第一句
Ending with a digression, or with an unimportant detail, is particularly to be avoided.(最后一句不要写新的、无关信息)
According to the writer's purpose, he may, as indicated above, relate the body of the paragraph to the topic sentence in one or more of several different ways. (从第二句话开始的展开方式有很多种) He may make the meaning of the topic sentence clearer by restating it in other forms (可以做类比), by defining its terms (可以定义), by denying the contrary (可以做对比), by giving illustrations or specific instances (可以举例子); he may establish it by proofs (可以说理); or he may develop it by showing its implications and consequences (可以“因果”展开). In a long paragraph, he may carry out several of these processes.(在一个长段落里,以上方法可以综合使用)
例子:
1 It was chiefly in the eighteenth century that a very different conception of history grew up. 2 Historians then came to believe that their task was not so much to paint a picture as to solve a problem; to explain or illustrate the successive phases of national growth, prosperity, and adversity. 3 The history of morals, of industry, of intellect, and of art; the changes that take place in manners or beliefs; the dominant ideas that prevailed in successive periods; the rise, fall, and modification of political constitutions; in a word, all the conditions of national well-being became the subject of their works. 4 They sought rather to write a history of peoples than a history of kings. 5 They looked especially in history for the chain of causes and effects. 6 They undertook to study in the past the physiology of nations, and hoped by applying the experimental method on a large scale to deduce some lessons of real value about the conditions on which the welfare of society mainly depend.
1 Topic sentence. 主题句
2 The meaning of the topic sentence made clearer; the new conception of history defined.
具体展开第一句里的different conception of history
3 The definition expanded. 对于第二句里的solve a problem 进行展开,列举了各种problems
4 The definition explained by contrast. 用对比的方式展开:历史觉得开始研究peoples,而不是kings
5 The definition supplemented: another element in the new conception of history. 前一个history 的conception 是用history 解决问题;这一句话说的是在里面寻找因果报应
6 Conclusion: an important consequence of the new conception of history. 最后一句强调第一句里面提到的different conception of history 可能产生的实际意义
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如果从词,到句,到句间,到段落的写部分的知识点,自己都是掌握的不错的,那么我们缺少的可能是信息的输入了。
信息的输入方式当然有很多,阅读和听力都可以是不错的信息输入方式,对于大多数人来说,比较高效的信息输入方式是阅读。下面说下针对提高写作方面,可以怎么去刻意阅读。
# 阅读方面
为了写作的话,阅读时候可以注意积累下 1. 语料 2.文本结构 3. 文本表达
以下以机构 的文章为例
## 语料
文章讲的是现在孩子普遍相比于以前在大人面前没有那么拘束了,甚至有些会做出老一辈觉得不合规矩的行为。但是研究显示这说明了现在的孩子生活在了一个他们觉得安全的环境,因为只有在安全的环境下,在被尊重的环境下,孩子才敢表达真实的自我想法。 全文有很多内容适合和parenting 有关的题目。
Excerpts
We all know friends or relatives who would unequivocally say, “yes.” In their generation, they say, children knew their place and respected their elders. I certainly try to teach my kids about respect, and we talk ad nauseam about table manners and saying “please” and “thank you.” Still, the relationship many parents today have with their kids feels substantially different from parent-child relationships decades ago.
Much has been written about the shift in recent years toward more intensive, child-centered parenting, and one byproduct is that many parents today are less likely to bark out orders and punish their kids. They are more likely to empathize and engage in dialogue. Because of this, many children today feel more comfortable around adults, and they are more willing to challenge them and speak up when they feel the impulse.
...
“It can manifest as kids being a bit more assertive and opinionated, and maybe even more argumentative, and I think that the challenge is to not interpret that as a bad thing, but as an important and necessary process,” said Emily Loeb,
这个段落适合以下今昔对比的题目; 也适合类似现在做家长比较难了的话题。
考场题目
Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Nowadays, young people (ages 12- 18) behave badly (for example, by being Impolite or unkind) more often than young people did fifty years ago.
Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? It is much easier for parents to raise children today than it was 50 years ago.
Excerpts
Children of authoritarian parents are at an increased risk for anxiety and depression, exhibit more disruptive behavior and are more likely than other kids to have low self-esteem, studies have found.
“The science says that over time, fearing your parents makes you less confident in yourselfand more in need of external validation,”
...
One of Dr. Loeb’s recent studies, which followed kids from ages 13 to 32, found that children whose parents were psychologically controlling were less academically successful and less liked by their peers in adolescence compared with kids whose parents were not psychologically controlling.
适合类似家长要不要管太多,太严厉的题目
考场题目
Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Parents must have strict rules if they want their children to be successful in life.
Do you agree or disagree with the following statement?
Parents today spend too much time trying to help determine the futures of their children; children should be allowed to make their own choices.
Some children prefer to socialize (get together and have fun) after school with very little involvement from parents or teachers; for example, they enjoy games or activities that they can organize and play safely without help from adults. Other children prefer to socialize after school by joining groups or participating in programs organized and monitored by adults. Which way of socializing after school do you think is most helpful for children's development? Why?
## 结构性的表达
in the short term... in the long term 的对比
e.g. In the short term, sure, kids might be better behaved. In the long term, children suffer.
This is not to say that 表示让步
...
e.g.This is not to say that children don’t need rules, limits or consequences — they certainly do. So-called “permissive” parenting can pose problems, too, and has been linked to child self-centeredness and poor impulse control.
## 其他语言点
sow the seeds for... 为什么... 播下种子
e.g. Ultimately, what the research suggests is that harsh, strict parenting does not sow the seeds for healthy development...
take a toll 产生严重的不良影响
e.g. Battles in the classroom — over mask mandates and critical race theory — have also taken a toll, said Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, the country’s second-biggest teachers’ union.
大致的关于提高绝对写作能力的一个梳理。
了解了以后,下一步就是多读,多写了。