1、书信 书信是人们在日常生活和工作中进行交际的工具。由于民族语言和习惯上的差异，英语 信件在书写格式及表达方式上与汉语不大一样，有些地方迥然不同。英文书信分为两大类： 公务信件和私人信件。公务信件是单位与单位或单位与个人之间来往的书信，可能是推荐 信、求职信、入学申请书、邀请信，或询问、答复、反映意见（如投诉信）等的信件。私 人信件是指亲戚朋友之间的通信。这两类书信各有自己的格式。一般说来，私人信件不拘 形式，信文多用手写，也可打印；公务信件要求比较严格，必须遵循一定的格式，信文一 定要打印。 一般格式 英文书信的构成可分为 7 个部分： 信头(Heading), 日期(Date), 收信人姓名
2、及地址(Inside Name and Address), 称呼 (Salutation), 信文(Body of the letter), 结束语(Complimentary close), 署名(Signature) 信头(Heading) 信头是指发信人的单位名称或地址。一般情况下发信人只需把自己的地址写(打字，手 写均可) 在信的右上角，离开信纸的顶头约 1 英寸，占二三行或四行均可，格式如下： 齐头式 缩进式 地址的书写顺序由小到大：门牌号、街道、城市、省（州） 、邮编、国名，最后写发信日期。 私人信件一般只写寄信日期即可。 Example: 123 Tianhe Road Tian
3、he District Guangzhou 510620 Guangdong Province P. R. C. Jan. 8, 2010 日期(Date): 年份应写全，例如不能用“99”来代替“1999”； 月份应写英文名称，除 May, July 外，可用缩写，如：Sep., Oct.。但不要用数字 来代替，如 74 99 或 7， 4， 99，因为在英国此日期代表 7th April，1999，而美国则代表 4th July，1999。 日期可用 1，2 ，3，411，1221，2231 等，也可用 lst， 2nd，3rd，4th11th，21th22nd31st 等。 日期的几种写
4、法：aJuly 7，1998 b1st October, 1998 c 30 Nov., 1997 dSep. 3rd, 1999 特别注意英文书信日期应紧接着写信人地址下一行，不能像写中文书信那样写在书信签 名之后。 收信人姓名及地址(Inside Name and Address) 写信人的地址和日期写好以后，接着就要写收信人的姓名和地址，一般的事务信件或 给较生疏的朋友的信件要写，而在给极熟的朋友的信中则可省去。这一项写在日期下一行 的左上角。收信人姓名写一行，收信人地址可分两行或三行写，和写信人的地址一样，上 下可取齐，也可以向右缩进。在姓名前一般要加上称号，称号因人而异。 对普通男子
5、用 Mr；对未婚女子用 Miss；对已婚女子用 Mrs，对婚姻状况不明确 的通常用 Ms(后跟本人姓)；对男子用 Master；对教授或博士(医生)用 Prof或 Dr 称呼(Salutation) 称呼指的是信文开头的那种称呼，如 Dear , Mr, Uncle，各种称呼因人而异。称呼直 接写在收信人地址的正下方，中间空一至二行。在称呼后面一般是用逗号，但也有用冒号 的。现归纳如下：对父母、兄弟、姐妹等；aFather, bMy dear Mother, c. Dear Sister, d. Dear Tom, 对亲戚： a My dear Auntie, bDear Cousin, cM
6、y dear Cousin, 对朋友、同学 aMy dear friend, bDear Mr Jackson, cMy dear Mr Jackson, dDear Sir, 对未婚女子：aDear Miss Luce, bMy dear Miss Luce, 对一般女子，不论是否结婚：aMadame, bDear Madame, 对已婚女子：aDear Mrs Helen Jackson, bMy dear Mrs Helen Jackson, 对公司、工厂、学校等：aDear Sirs, bSirs, cGentlemen, 如果不知收信人的性别: Dear Sir or Madam 信
7、文(Body of the letter) 信文是信件的主体部分，也就是信的内容。正文应在称呼下两行开始。信的开头第一个 字母通常和称呼开头第一个词平齐。也有往后退四个或八个字母的。正文是书信的主体。 与中文信件不同的是，英文书信的正文的开头不是先写一些问候语，再阐明写信的目的， 而是直接说明写信人的身份及写信的目的，然后提出写信人的情况、想法或要求，并加以 必要的解释或说明。英文书信陈述目的时，应该直截了当，意思明确，层次清楚，言简意 赅。 书信正文的第一句话或第一段，通常被称为起首语。一般说来，人们习惯用一些客套的 写法作为书信正文的起始，即先将对方来信的日期、主题加以简单描述，以便使对方
8、一看 便知该信是回答哪一封信的。如果是第一次给别人写信，也可用开头语作必要的自我介绍， 并表明自己写信的主要目的。 下面介绍一些开头语和结尾语。 开头语 相当于中文的 “敬君者”。 aI beg to inform you that bI beg to take this opportunity to inform you that cI have the honor to address you that d I write in a hurry to inform you that e I have the pleasure to tell you that f. Im very much
9、 delighted to inform you that 相当于中文的“接读某月某日来信，一切知悉”。 aI thank you very much for your letter of May 20th bYour letter of May 20th has been received with thanks. cIt gives me great pleasure to receive your kind of May 20th. dIn answer to your kind letter of May 20th, I deeply regret that e I have rece
10、ived your kind letter of May 20th. fWords cant express my delight on finding your favor of yesterday on my desk this morning. gYour letter dated May 20th has been received. 结尾语 采用三种方法： 采用分词短语：句末用逗号，不用句号。例如： aWaiting for your good news, bLooking forward to your early reply, cHoping to hear from you s
11、oon, dHoping you are enjoying good health, e Regretting that I cant give you a more favorite reply, fRegretting the trouble Im causing you, gWishing you every success, hWishing you a pleasant journey, iWishing you a happy New Year, 采用介词短语，例如： aWith best regards, bWith kind regards to your family, cW
12、ith best wishes to you and yours, dWith best wishes for your success and happiness, e With best wishes for your success in your new field of work, fWith best regards and wishing you all success, gWith warmest regards, hWith best regards to you and your family, iWith the seasons greetings, 采用完整句子： aW
13、e are waiting for your good news. bI hope to receive your early reply. cWe look forward to your reply at your earliest convenience. dI thank you very much for your services, and wish your continued success. 结束语(Complimentary Close) 结尾套语写在签名上面一行，第一个字母要大写，套语结尾后面要加逗号。 结束语的一般写法如下： 业务书信常用：Yours faithfull
14、y, Faithfully yours, Yours truly, Truly yours, Sincerely yours, 公函常用：Yours respectfully, Respectfully yours, Yours sincerely, 私人书信常用：Sincerely yours, Yours very sincerely, Yours affectionately, Yours ever, 给亲戚朋友的信常用：Love, All my love, Your(ever)loving son/daughter/cousin , etc. Your affectionate nep
15、hew, lovingly, Lovingly yours, 署名(Signature) 写信人的签名常位于结尾礼词正下方一二行。除非是给很熟悉的人写信，签名一般须写出 全名。签名常常较潦草，不易辨认，因此在签名的正下方须打印出全名。如果是用打字机 或电脑写的信，在写信人签名的上方，同样应该打上写信人的姓名。 下面是署名的例子： 个人署名：truly, W. J. Watson ,Yours faithfully, 公司署名：Legend Computer Company, Wang Lin ,Sales Manager 除以上七个部分外，有时一些英语书信还包括： （1）附件 (Enclosu
16、re)，以 Enc. 表示，如“附有。证明”应写为 EncCertificate；（2）附言 (Postscript)，以 P.S. 表示；发信人有时在写完信后又想起 一件比较重要的事没有说，可以在信末署名下面几行写上， P. S.，然后将要补充的话写上。 不过要注意写信时最好将事情一次讲清楚，尽量少用或不用 P.S.。 （3）抄送件(Carbon Copy to)，以 c.c. 表示，说明一式多份抄送其他有关人员。这些都 是次要的补充部分。 P.S. 主要在私人信件中使用，事务信件中应避免使用，以免造成写信人粗心大意的印象。 Enc.和 c.c. 大都用在商贸信函中。 信封（envelope
17、）。英语的信封和中文的一样，有三部分组成，即发信人地址、收信人地 址和邮票。只不过英语信封的格式除了邮票所贴的位置（信封的右上角）和中文的一样外， 英语信封上要写的发信人和收信人的地址和中文的大不一样。发信人的地址应写在信封的 左上角，收信人的地址应写在信封偏中右偏下处，如下： 2书写款式 英语书信的款式一般有两种：齐头式 (Block Style) 和折衷式 (Semi-Block Style)。齐头 式常常在商贸、官方以及一些正式的信件中使用，以显示信件内容的严肃性，真实性， 可靠性。而折衷式则显的比较随便，主要用于家人、朋友、私人之间来往的信件。如果两 人之间不是第一次通信，相互比较了解
18、，可以省略信内的双方地址。 以下分别介绍齐头式和折衷式信件两种款式。 A: 齐头式信件款式： 注：用齐头式信件写信，其正文与称呼之间空一至二行。每段的第一句句子不需要空 格，但段与段之间需要空一至二行。齐头式信件的信尾客套话和签名可以有两种款式。第 一种写在左下方，这是最常用也是最正式的。另外也可以写在右下方，这种形式则表示写 信人与收信人之间的关系比较熟悉随便。下面是另一种齐头式信件的格式。 齐头式信件款式： B: 折衷式信件款式： 用折衷式书写信件，其正文与称呼之间空一至二行。第一段第一句的第一个单词必须在 Dear 称呼的直接下面。以后每段开头都要与第一段第一个字对齐。信尾的客套话和签名
19、都 写在右下方。朋友之间写信一般都使用折衷式，而且称呼与正文之间一般不空行。具体款 式和要求参见后面的一些信件。 以下是一封折衷式信件。 3.书信写作常用套句 It is so great to hear from you again. It is a great pleasure for me to With great delight I learned that I must apologize for not writing to you sooner. 建议：In my experience, it seems that _ would make sense in your situ
20、ation In my opinion, it would be wise for you to take the following actions: 感谢：I truly appreciate your kindness. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for. 道歉：I apologize most sincerely for. I am so sorry to have put you through so much trouble. 邀请：We would be honored to have you there with us. I w
21、ill cover all the expense involved. 抱怨：I very much regret to have to inform you that. We will appreciate your willingness to make up for the loss I hope that the above situation will be improved as soon as possible 咨询：I would like to request some information about. Should I need to send further mate
22、rials, please let me know. 求职：In anwser to your advertisement a post as in your office. I hope I may be granted an interview 4. 各类常用信件例子 1）感谢信 2）祝贺信 3）邀请信 4）一般信件 5）商业信件 5. 书信作文的出题形式和写作要领 2001 年 6 月四级考试的作文题： Directions: For this part, you are allowed thirty minutes to write a letter. Suppose you are
23、Zhang Ying. Write a letter to Xiao Wang, a schoolmate of yours who is going to visit you during the week-long holiday. You should write at least 120 words according to the suggestion given below in Chinese: 1. 表示欢迎 2. 提出对度假安排的建议 3. 提醒应注意的事项 A Letter to a Schoolmate June 23, 2001 Dear Xiao Wang, _ _
24、_. Yours, Zhang Ying 从上面的例子可见，书信作文不仅给出正文部分的内容的提纲，而且还给出书信各部 分的结构的框架。也就是说，我们只要考虑如何表达提纲部分的内容，而不用考虑书信的 结构。 在写书信作文时，首先要把书信正文的提纲内容细化，扩展成更细的英文提纲，然后 用简洁、明了、礼貌、正确和得体的语言表达出细化了的提纲内容。例如前面的那封信就 可以列出下面的提纲： Topic: A Letter to a SchoolmateQuestion: What are the holiday arrangements and points for attention? Outline
25、:I. Extending my welcomeII. Holiday schedule1. 1st day campus2. 2nd day the art gallery later I studied other subjects related to textile manufacture, and in 1991 I obtained the Diploma in Textiles. After completing my studies, I joined the Top Clothing Company where I worked until 1996. In that yea
26、r I moved to Prior Productions, who was pleased with my work, and as a result, in 1998, I was promoted to Assistant Works Manager there. I enjoy my work, and I am prepared to work hard. Moreover, I am sure that Prior Productions would give me an excellent reference. I therefore feel that my applicat
27、ion deserves your serious consideration. I look forward to hearing from you. Yours faithfully, Mary Ma Useful Expressions: I would like to apply for . . . I wish to apply for the position of . . . If you need any other information concerning my background, . . . I am writing to you to apply for admi
28、ttance to your university as a visiting scholar. I hope it would be possible for me to take some training courses and work in your laboratory. I believe that with your help I would make progress in my career. Should you think favorably of my application, kindly grant me an interview. An early respon
29、se will be very much appreciated. Enclosed please find a resume and a list of my publications. 四、投诉/抱怨信 15 April 2006 Dear Sir, I saw your advertisement for “the perfect lighter“ in Sunday Times last week and immediately sent off a 2 postal order and the completed form for the lighter. Imagine my su
30、rprise when all I got in return was a box of matches! I could understand a mistake. I might even pardon a joke. But in this case, your advertisement is a deliberate lie since a friend of mine who also sent the coupon got the same result. I think its a shame to promise an economical lighter when in f
31、act you are not selling a lighter a1 all. Instead of saying it works quickly, you should admit that you are offering matches. And what about “only“ 2: I usually pay 10 pennies for a box of matches, and they are often given away free. I regard your advertisement as a serious deception and demand that
32、 you send me my money back immediately. Otherwise I will take active steps to make sure the Consumers Association hear about it. Yours faithfully, Peter Li Sample Writing 2: 12 March 2006 Dear Sir, I am highly disappointed in the proposed 2004-05 budget cuts to educa1ion. Taking away basic aid statu
33、s and slashing our school budgets is a recipe for educational disaster in our school. The future lies with our children. They must have access to high quality educa1ion. My husband and I have worked hard to be able to live in a school district that provides high quality education for our children. C
34、utting funding in districts like ours will have a negative impact on property values. The school that my daughter attends is hardly wha1 I would describe as a “rich“ school. Parents are asked to pay for books for all the classes, science supplies and for their students to participate in the performi
35、ng arts among other items. If our school is to remain a world leader in technological development, cutting our school funds is the worst possible choice to make. Education funds should not be diverted away from education. Yours faithfully, Tom Williams Useful Expressions: I am highly disappointed in
36、 . . . I am writing to place a complaint against. . . I am sorry to inform you that. . . I am writing to draw your attention to . . . Please make sure that appropriate measures are taken to solve the problem. I hope you will look into the matter and give me an immediate reply. If our demand is not a
37、ccepted and put into practice, we would resort to other measures. 五、邀请函 Sample Writing 1 16 May 2006 Dear Mr. Williams, Thank you for your letter of congratulation on my exam results. I was very pleased to hear from you. The results were a great relief. I did much better than I thought I would. We a
38、re having a celebration party on Saturday 22 May and we shall be pleased if you can come. It is a party for me, but my parents and some of their old friends are joining in, so you will find “real people“ as well as teenagers to talk to. The party starts at half past six drinks, and a buffet supper l
39、ater. You said in your letter that youve given up driving, so my father will meet you with the car at San Mateo station. Please let me know what time your train arrives. There is a good train back to San Palo at 10:30 and well arrange transport for you to catch that. I hope that wont be too late for
40、 you. It would be a pity if you had to leave while the party was still in full swing. I do hope that you will be able to come. Yours sincerely, Lily Chen Sample Writing 2: 12 September 2006 Dear Mr. Wang, I am pleased to invite you to a luncheon, to be held by the Monterey Institute of International
41、 Studies on October 12, 2006 at noon, commemorating the 75th anniversary of the death of General Stilwell and in honor of his daughter, Mrs. Nancy Stilwell Easterbrook. Mrs. Easterbrook was a member of the Board of Trustees of the Monterey Institute and founder of the Stilwell Scholarship, which is
42、dedicated to supporting students from China. For many years until she passed away, Nancy had served as a goodwill ambassador of the American people who made unremitting efforts to promote exchanges between the United States and China. The Stilwell Scholarship she founded helps support deserving stud
43、ents from China who have come to the Monterey Institute to pursue professional degrees in translation and interpretation, international policy studies, language teaching and business management. I hope you will be able to join us. Mr. Chuanyun Boo, Dean of the Graduate School of Translation and Inte
44、rpretation, will be calling you soon to discuss this event further. Yours sincerely, Tom Burton Useful Expressions: I am pleased to invite you to . . . Is there any chance of your coming. . . I was wondering if you could come. . . I would like to invite you to . I wonder if you would like to come. .
45、 . I would be very happy if you could come. . . Please accept my invitation. 六、描述信 12 Mary 2006 Dear Tom, Thanks for your letter which finally caught up with me in London. I suppose youre keen to hear how the trip has been so far. So heres a description of whats happened. Well, you remember we left
46、Sydney on Monday and arrived in London 24 hours later. After such a long and exhausting flight the first thing we did was to have a good, long sleep. And after thata good meal to make up for all that horrible airline stuff! The first real day of our holiday was spent just walking around London to ge
47、t a feel of the place. After that, however, we were more particular and planned each day carefully. First, we looked at all the historical sights, such as the Tower of London, the Houses of Parliament, the British Museum and the National Gallery. Then we visited some other famous places, such as Kew
48、 Gardens and Hampstead Heath. Finally, we took a one-day trip to Oxford, which is really the most marvelous town. You should make sure to go there when you visit England. After we had seen a lot of London, we flew to Paris. A t first, we didnt like the place I suppose because it was so different from London. Later, though, we began to really love it and started to appreciate its differentness. The final stage of our trip is a visit to Rome, after which we will be staying in Singapore for two days before returning to Australia. Hope everyone is well. See you
