对等比较:城乡生活-Life in the City and in the Country

城乡生活
【内容提示】
假定你是农村学生，又在城里住了几年。通过比较你认为农村和城市生活各有各的好处。请按下列要点写一篇文章。
①农村人不多，空气新鲜，环境优美，寂静美好。
②农村的人待人友好，乐于助人。
③住在农村生活费用低廉，食品便宜。
④在城市，每时每刻都有令人感兴趣的事情，可供选择的活动很多。
⑤电影，戏剧可供选择的范围很广。
⑥在城市，样样事情都很便利，因为学校、商店很近；交通也很便利。
【作文示范】
Life in the City and in the Country
I have lived in this city for two years, but before that I lived with my family in a village about a hundred miles away from here. life is very different in the two places, but there are things that I like about each of them.
In the country it is quiet and beautiful since there are not many people. The air is clean, and there is beautiful scenery all around. The people who live in the country seem friendly and helpful to their neighbors. The cost of living is low there, because food is usually cheap. I like living in the city, too. In the city there are interesting things to do all the time. People have a big choice of activities. There is a wide selection of movies, and most of the theatres are good. Everything is convenient here, since in the city you live close to grocery stores① and schools. Traffic is efficient② with regular schedules③, so it is easy to get from one place to another.
I was happy in the country, but there are good chances for work and study in the city, so I will probably stay here for a period of time and there for another period of time.
【词语解释】
①grocery store['gr+s+ri st&:]食品杂货店
②efficient[i'fiM+nt] a．效率高的
③schedule['Medju:l] n．时间表；日程表
【写法指要】
1）本文从两种事物各自的优点出发作比较，认为农村、城市各有优势，所以作者对两种生活环境都喜欢。文章在第一段提出篇题，第二段前半部分写农村生活的优点，后半部分写城市生活的好处。该段的段落主题句是出现在中间的“I like living in the city, too.”。在对比分析的说明文中，如果对比的两种事物容纳在一个段落中时，经常采用段中主题句。文章的第三段又重复了文章的主题“I like living in the country as well as in the city.”。 所以，全文的每个段落都在重复同一主题，但却用的是不同的表达方式和句法。
2）文中用了好多描写城乡不同情况的形容词，如“quiet, beautiful, clean, friendly, helpful, cheap; wide, good, convenient, close, efficient, regular, easy, happy”等。这样做可以使表达的内容具体、生动。