I am twentyfive years old， graduated from China Communication University two years ago， where I completed all the courses with a good academic record， and then I attended an intensive oneyear secretarial course at Expert Training School， passing the examinations of BEC3， office practice (advanced) and computer wordprocessing.
I am now a secretary with Xinhua Advanced Technology Company， and have spent two very happy years there， but the company is small and I wish to widen my experience.
My present employer knows that I am applying to you to gain further experience. He will be happy to give me a reference and has kindly agreed to give further details should they be needed.
I enjoy the kind of work I am doing， but wish to continue it in circumstances that offer better prospects. I shall be glad to get a call for an interview at any time.
Yours faithfully，
Mary Huang
范文3
Dear Professor Cooper，
I have read the annual prospectus issued by your school and found that it has the best graduate program of crosscultural studies， which you are currently presiding over. I am greatly interested in the program and hope that I may do my MA work under you r instructions.
I am 25 years old and now working in the Chinese People"s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries， in charge of affairs in the Pacific areas I love my work， as it brings me into contact with all kinds of people. At the same time， I feel urgent need to improve myself and update my knowledge so that I can do my work better.
I graduated from Beijing Foreign Studies University in 2003， majoring in English and minoring in crosscultural communications. In college I took such courses as World History， American Society and Culture， Introduction to European Culture， and Cultural Exchanges Between East and West， which were all conducted in English. So I believe I will have no difficulty in my MA studies.
I have broad interests in various fields such as history， literature， music， and photography. I love sports， too. I joined the Liberty Society in college and was also on the English Department"s volleyball team.
I have discussed my application with three of my former professors， who have encouraged me to apply and have kindly written letters of recommendation for me， which I enclose with the letter.
I would be grateful if you could send me the necessary application forms and any information about your scholarships or teaching assistantships.
I look forward very much to hearing from you soon.
Sincerely yours，
Jim Lampson
（第六节）摘要
一、摘要的写法
1.摘要的特点
摘要（summary）用简洁精练的语言来概述一篇文章或一本书的主要内容、观点或事实等。分陈述性的（descriptive）和资料性的（informational）两类。陈述性摘要只陈述书籍或文章的主题，不介绍内容。资料性的摘要除了介绍主题外，还应介绍文章的要点和各个要点的主要内容。它可以包括三个组成部分：①点明主题，解析文章或书籍的目的或意图；②介绍主要内容，使读者迅速了解文章或书籍的概貌；③提出结论或建议，以供读者参考。
2.摘要的写作技巧
(1)摘要的作用
摘要是一种特殊的作文形式，作者写作忠于原文，但不照抄原文，掌握正确的写作方法，对于提高学生的阅读理解能力和写作能力都会有很大的帮助。这是因为学生只有在完全理解文章的基础上，才能归纳重点，对文章进行正确的概括。同时对提高学生的写作能力也会很有帮助，因为学生在写摘要的过程中，会吸收原文在用词造句、句型结构及文章展开等方面的优点。此外，摘要写作还具有实际意义。迅速准确地找到文章的重点，并用简洁清晰的话语概括，这种能力对于我们今后的工作和学习是非常必要的。所以摘要写作既要准确理解原文，也要综合概括，既能培养欣赏能力，又能训练书面表达能力。
(2) 英文摘要的具体写作可以分为读、写和修改三个步骤。
①读。
读是摘要写作的前提和基础。首先要通读全文，对作品进行整体分析，掌握原文的写作主旨和框架结构，明确各段的段落大意。读的遍数越多，对文章就会越熟悉，就越能深入地了解文章的主题。然后，为自己的摘要定个题目。可以选用某几个单词或短语甚至原文的主题句来概括原文。合适的题目可以帮助我们概括原文的主题。第三，通过阅读，找出原文各部分的要点，分析原文的结构，将内容分项扼要表述并注意结构上的顺序，并在此基础上判断哪一部分是与文章主题密切相关的。
②写。
写是摘要写作中最为重要的一部分。首先弄清要求。搞清楚是写全文概要，还是写某一部分的概要，或者就某些问题写出要点，同时注意英文摘要写作的具体要求，如字数的要求和语言的要求以及符合原文的逻辑结构等要求。其次是摘要写作应包括原文中的主要事实而略去不必要的细节；要简化描写的部分，并删除重复的部分：要将原文中的长句压缩为短语或单词；尽量用抽象名词或集合名词代替原文中具体的单词；将对话部分改成间接引语进行概括；删除描述性词语。第三，要安排好篇幅的比例。摘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。第四，注意段落的连贯和句子的衔接，切忌只简单地写出一些互不相干的句子。要用适当的连接词语贯通全文，但是一定要尽量使用短的连接词。
举例说明：
◆ 将长句压缩为短语或单词
His courage in battle might without exaggeration be called lion-like.
Summarized： He was brave in battle.
The account the witness gave of the incident made everyone that heard it laugh.
Summarized： The witness"s story was absurd.
◆ 使用抽象名词代替具体名词
She brought home several Chinese and English novels， a few copies of Time and Newsweek， and some textbooks. She intended to read all of them during the winter vacation.
Summarized： She brought home a lot of books and magazines to read during the vacation.
◆ 将对话改为间接引语
Kate looked at Paul disapprovingly， “You use too much salt on your food， Paul-it"s not good for you！”Paul put down his knife and frowned. “Why on earth not！If you didn"t have salt on your food it would taste awful... like eating cardboard or sand... just imagine bread without salt in it， or potatoes or pasta cooked without salt！”Kate was patient： She didn"t want to quarrel with Paul. She wanted to persuade him. She said firmly， “But too much salt is bad for you. It causes high blood pressure and later on， heartattacks. It also disguises the tastes of food， the real tastes， which are much more subtle than salt， and which we have lost the sensitivity to appreciate more.”
Summarized： Kate suggested Paul that he should eat less salt. She thought that eating too much salt would do harm to Paul"s health and that it could reduce the real taste of food. But Paul disagreed. He said that food without salt would be tasteless.
③修改。
认真修改写好的摘要，并与原文比较，注意是否包括了原文中的主要观点和内容。如果摘要在篇幅上仍很长，就应该继续压缩，删除不必要的细节，达到语言的高度概括性。同时，检查语法、拼写、搭配和标点符号的错误，并及时改正。
范文1
原文：A third kind of thinking is stimulated when anyone questions our beliefs and opinions. We sometimes find ourselves changing our minds without any resistance or heavy emotion， but if we are told that We are wrong we resent the imputation and harden our hearts. We are incredibly heedless in the formation of our beliefs， but find ourselves filled with all illicit passion for them when anyone proposes to rob us of their companionship. It is obviously not the ideas themselves they are dear to us， but our selfesteem， which is threatened. We are by nature stubbornly pledged to defend our own attack， whether it be our person， our family， our property， or our opinion. We may surrender， but rarely confess ourselves vanquished. In the intellectual world at least， peace is without victory.
