地圖

作為流程圖的一種衍生圖表，地圖在雅思寫(xiě)作考試中也時(shí)常會(huì)見(jiàn)到。地圖分為：變遷類(lèi)和選址類(lèi)。變遷類(lèi)地圖，顧名思義，是一種描寫(xiě)某個(gè)地方前后幾十年間地理變化的圖表。在題中會(huì)看到兩幅差異巨大的地圖，前者發(fā)生在一個(gè)較早的年份，圖中顯示出較為落后的狀況；而后者的發(fā)生時(shí)間離現(xiàn)在較近，具有不少現(xiàn)代化的特征。題目的要求其實(shí)就是讓考生把兩幅地圖的異同點(diǎn)（similarities and differences）描寫(xiě)出來(lái)，而重點(diǎn)當(dāng)然是其中的differences。

請(qǐng)看下面一道非常典型的地圖題：

The diagrams show the development of a small fishing village and its surrounding area into a large European tourist resort.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the diagrams.

很顯然，該地在1974年時(shí)只是一個(gè)人口僅為12，000人的小漁村（a small fishing village），基本看不到現(xiàn)代化的痕跡，而且經(jīng)濟(jì)以漁業(yè)、林業(yè)和畜牧業(yè)為主。到了2004年，該地一躍成為一個(gè)大型的歐洲度假勝地（a large European tourist resort），許多新興事物涌現(xiàn)出來(lái)，包括居民住房（homes of locals）、旅游商店（tourist shops）、成排的酒店（hotels）、海灘（beach）和高爾夫球場(chǎng)（golf course）等。

了解了該題的基本概貌之后，我們來(lái)介紹一下地圖的分段方式。與其他類(lèi)型圖表不同的是，其主體段并不該按照年份分成上下兩個(gè)自然段：MB1描寫(xiě)1974年的情況，MB2描寫(xiě)2004年的變化。這種分段方式不夠理想，因?yàn)榘涯攴萑绱朔珠_(kāi)的描寫(xiě)方式并沒(méi)有讓讀者近距離地看到前后30年間的巨大變化；相反，考生需要仔細(xì)對(duì)比上下兩段才能看清兩者的差異?？傊?，這種描寫(xiě)方式不夠直接。

對(duì)于地圖來(lái)說(shuō)，最理想的分段方式是把每個(gè)圖分成東、西、南、北、中等若干塊，然后以這些地理板塊為線索，對(duì)上下兩幅圖加以對(duì)比。這樣的話(huà)，考生才能清晰地看到地圖中每一部分的前后巨變，而把這些巨變用方位信號(hào)詞串接起來(lái)時(shí)，該地整個(gè)的變化全貌就躍然紙上了。

我們先從地圖的西面開(kāi)始看吧：

【原創(chuàng)范例】

In 1974，there was a large tract of woodland on the west side of the fishing village.In 2004，however, this area was changed into a huge golf course that extended towards the beach near the sea.

與流程圖相似的是，關(guān)鍵動(dòng)詞的引入是地圖的寫(xiě)作要點(diǎn)。這里除了用there be的句型介紹1974年的woodland以外，還使用了be changed into以及extend towards等動(dòng)詞詞組，把前后的變化生動(dòng)地描寫(xiě)出來(lái)。另外，方位表達(dá)方式on the west side of, the beach near the sea以及高端量詞a large tract of也為這一部分的描述增色不少。

接下來(lái)，我們把視線轉(zhuǎn)向北部和中部：

【原創(chuàng)范例】

While a lot of tourist shops emerged and were connected with a small village in the north in 2004，the original olive area in the middle was converted to a piece of farmland to supply fruit and vegetables to the hotels.

該句用While……的句型把北部和中部的變化進(jìn)行了對(duì)比。在動(dòng)詞使用方面，emerge, be connected with, be converted to, supply……to……都是非常地道和恰如其分的表達(dá)。在時(shí)間表達(dá)上，original一詞就替代了1974這一年份。

然后我們又注意到地圖的東邊也有一些重要的變化：

【原創(chuàng)范例】

On the east side, not only did the grazing land for sheep and goats disappear and become incorporated into another small village under the mountains, but also a new road appeared in 2004，starting from the beach hotels, running through the eastern village and meandering across the mountains.

該句運(yùn)用not only……，but also……的擴(kuò)展句型，把東部的兩大變化同時(shí)引出：第一是牧羊場(chǎng)（the grazing land for sheep and goats）的消失及融入東邊的另一個(gè)小村莊；第二是一條新路的出現(xiàn)，從海灘邊的酒店，穿過(guò)村莊，然后蜿蜒越過(guò)重山。這里使用了更多的動(dòng)詞：disappear, become incorporated into, appear, start, run through, meander across等，并且最后三個(gè)動(dòng)詞出現(xiàn)了分詞的并列使用，把該新路的來(lái)龍去脈刻畫(huà)得十分清晰。

最后我們來(lái)分析一下變化最大的部分——整個(gè)地圖的南部地區(qū)。這里我們不僅看到原先的fishing village被大量密集的homes of locals所吞并，更重要的是原來(lái)的seaside成了大片的beach，并且林立的hotels沿著beach的兩翼蓬勃展開(kāi)。

【原創(chuàng)范例】

It is not surprising to see that the old fishing village in the middle south had been reduced to only a few rows of houses by 2004，and that a considerable number of high-density homes of locals took most of its place.Moreover, the boats and harbor area all became part of the history of the tourist resort, where two long strips of beach expanded from the original village to both the east and west.Most significantly, skyscraping hotels were seen here and there along the beaches to accommodate the growing number of tourists.

此段一共有三句話(huà)，其中第一句以句型It is not surprising to see that……帶出，指出the old fishing village被縮減為2004年的only a few rows of houses，并引出原因：原來(lái)是許多高密度的居民房屋（high-density homes of locals）占領(lǐng)了其地盤(pán)。

第二句話(huà)用Moreover，……（從句）表示遞進(jìn)，指出原來(lái)的boats and harbor area都已經(jīng)成為歷史（became part of the history），并以where引導(dǎo)的定語(yǔ)從句描寫(xiě)兩條長(zhǎng)海灘從original village各自向東西方向延展。

第三句話(huà)用Most significantly，……（從句）繼續(xù)遞進(jìn)，指出高聳入云的酒店（sky-scraping hotels）在海灘上隨處可見(jiàn)，其目的就是來(lái)接納不斷增長(zhǎng)的游客數(shù)量（to accommodate the growing number of tourists）。

如果把上述四個(gè)范例的所有句子連接起來(lái)，就構(gòu)成了一個(gè)完整的主體段，充分地把這個(gè)地圖各個(gè)方位的變化特征一步步描寫(xiě)了出來(lái)。

值得指出的是，為使文章有一個(gè)漂亮的結(jié)尾，我們有必要在最后的conclusion中把從1974年到2004年的人口變化（包括50000個(gè)游客床位的增加）寫(xiě)上一筆。

In conclusion, the great transformation of the fishing village was also reflected in this sharply rising population. While there were only 12，000 people in 1974，the total population of the large resort reached an astonishing 80，000 in 2004，including 50，000 tourist beds.

我們?cè)賮?lái)看一道非常典型的選址類(lèi)地圖：

The map below is of the town of Garlsdon.A new supermarket（S）is planned for the town.The map shows two possible sites for the supermarket.Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

這是一道選址類(lèi)地圖，題目的要求是要為一個(gè)叫S的超市選出合適的位置，備選方案有S1和S2，需要寫(xiě)出這兩個(gè)地點(diǎn)的優(yōu)缺點(diǎn)（注意題目中的標(biāo)識(shí)、數(shù)字等細(xì)節(jié)）。請(qǐng)看其中的一段描述。

【原創(chuàng)范例】

Looking at the information in more detail, S1 is in the countryside to the north west of Garlsdon, but it is close to the residential area of the town.S2 is also close to the housing area, which surrounds the town centre.

這是文章的主體段，前兩段分別是轉(zhuǎn)化題目?jī)?nèi)容和描述圖表大意。這是第三段，所以是從Looking at the information in more detail這個(gè)詞組開(kāi)始，表示要進(jìn)一步描述圖表細(xì)節(jié)。接著比較S1和S2的地理位置，地理位置是選址考慮的首要方面。

【原創(chuàng)范例】

There are main roads from Hindon, Bransdon and Cransdon to Garlsdon town centre, but this is a no-traffic zone, so there would be no access to S2 by car.By contrast, S1 lies on the main road to Hindon, but it would be more difficult to reach from Bransdon and Cransdon.Both supermarket sites are close to the railway that runs through Garlsdon from Hindon to Cransdon.

文章的第四段進(jìn)一步展開(kāi)S1和S2的優(yōu)缺點(diǎn)，S2有通向三個(gè)地區(qū)的主干道路，但是沒(méi)有交通地帶，因此進(jìn)出不便；然而S1在Hindon有主干道路，卻離另外兩個(gè)地方更遠(yuǎn)。最后表示，兩個(gè)地區(qū)離鐵路都近。

地圖練習(xí)

A.

The two maps below show road access to a city hospital in 2007 and in 2010.Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

B.

The plans below show the layout of a university’s sports centre now, and how it will look after redevelopment.Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

地圖范文

The diagrams below show the changes that have taken place at Queen Mary Hospital since its construction in 1960.Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

The diagrams show Queen Mary Hospital at three different stages in its development：1960，1980 and 2000.

In 1960，the hospital was built close to a main road and next to a shopping centre. A large area behind the hospital was turned into a car park, while the area behind the shopping centre was farmland.

By 1980，the shopping centre had been demolished in order to make way for two additional hospital buildings which became a pharmacy and a cancer centre.Furthermore, the hospital gained the farmland and converted it into a nursing school.

In 2000，the main hospital building remained unchanged but the cancer centre was extended to cover the entire nursing school. As a result of this, the original car park was divided into two so that it provided a smaller car park and a small nursing school.

During this period, the hospital has increased in size and, in addition to a new nursing school, a cancer centre has been created and extended.Hence the capacity of the car park has been reduced by a half.

地圖小貼士

地圖通常描寫(xiě)一個(gè)地方在一段時(shí)間內(nèi)所經(jīng)歷的變化，并要求對(duì)一個(gè)地區(qū)不同時(shí)期的地理和建筑風(fēng)貌進(jìn)行比較，或者對(duì)于某一地區(qū)的選址比較優(yōu)劣。在遇到第一種地圖題時(shí)，在寫(xiě)作中要始終謹(jǐn)記以“變化描寫(xiě)”為主、以“方位順序描寫(xiě)”為輔。在進(jìn)行變化描寫(xiě)時(shí)，一些常用的動(dòng)詞或動(dòng)詞詞組必須熟知，比如change, convert, transform, turn into, be replaced by等，舉例如下：

·In 1860，it was a small forest by the river, but it is now transformed to a large farming land with a lot of cattle and sheep.

·The original harbor area has been converted into several prosperous housing development districts during the 80-year period.

·It can also be seen from the two maps that the church in the middle of the town 20 years ago is now replaced by a spacious square that features a high monument and a group of statues.

此外，方位詞的描寫(xiě)也是一個(gè)要點(diǎn)，所以考生必須掌握在使用不同的方位詞時(shí)的介詞表達(dá)方式，比如：

in the north further towards the east

on the east edge of……on the right side of……

at the southwest corner across the middle of……