Transcript 1605297

General Writing
Describing People
Describing People
Description of a person is widely used
both in fiction and in our daily writing and
speaking. If we want to describe a person
what angle we could think from:
 Eyes;
 Style of hair;
 The clothes they wear;
 The hobby;
 The things they have done.
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A. Topic sentences
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Examine the following sentences:
1. Mrs. William is the most patient person in the
neighborhood.
2. I met a surprisingly handsome young man at
the bus stop yesterday.
3. Dr. Smith is a typical middle-aged bachelor.
4. I’d like to tell you what my father looks like.
5. I’m going to describe Mr. Piper, my history
professor.
A. Topic sentences
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Every topic sentence has its own central impression except the last
two.
The central impression doesn’t only give readers a clue to what
they will read, it also controls our writing effectively.
Generally from appearance and personality
Appearance: Face facial expressions, body, clothes
Personality: Habits, interests, manners, tastes, actions
Without limitation of space, we could draw a whole picture with
both of the two aspects. However, a good description doesn’t need
everything, and you have to highlight the most different thing of the
people which could attract reader.
Always remember, you describe people according the way you feel,
so this reveals your attitude too, exactly.
B. Supporting Details
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1.Using specific details
About appearance:
Eyes: big or small; black or blue;
Nose: straight or crooked;
About person’s character:
Action: efficient or not;
Habits: positive or negative;
Manners: gentle or not
Language: rude or polite
2. Organize the paragraph in spatial order
About appearance:
From the top to bottom or from bottom to top;
From back to front or F to B;
Right to left or L to R;
Model 1
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General marks:
Marie is as beautiful as any Hollywood star.
She has long black hair that falls down to her
shoulders and surrounds her attractive face,
which is usually suntanned. She has dark
brown eyebrows over her charming eyes. Her
nose is as beautiful as you can imagine, and on
the left side of the bottom of her nose, by her
nostril, is a small mole. She has a lovely mouth,
and her teeth are straight and white. There is
nothing but extraordinary beauty in the face of
Marie.
Model 2
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Specific description:
Marie is as beautiful as any Hollywood star. Her thick, wavy, long
black hair gracefully falls down to her shoulders and surrounds her
diamond-shaped face. A golden suntan highlights her smooth,
clear complexion. Her slightly arched chestnut brown eyebrows
draw attention to her deep blue eyes. Her eyes are large with thick
eyelashes. Her nose is straight and neither too long nor too short.
A small black mole on the left side of her mouth adds to her beauty.
She has a full-lipped mouth, and her light pink lipstick adds another
touch of beauty. When she smiles, which is often, her well-formed
and even, white teeth brighten up her whole face. There is nothing
but extraordinary beauty in the face of Marie.
Model 3
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My sister is a boyish girl. Her hair is short and straight just like a
boy’s. she doesn’t like those bright colors such as red, yellow, pink
and green, but like white, black and grey best. Never caring for
skirts, stockings and stylish shoes, she loves wearing jackets and
jeans. A pair of white sneakers are always on her feet. Sometimes
she wears a men’s suit and leather shoes as if she were a
gentleman. Basketball and football are her favorite sports. She also
enjoys watching boxing and wrestling on TV. She always shouts
and cheers excitedly when she is watching football match. When
she is with her friends, she often says ”ladies first” to other girls.
The most interesting thing is that she has been mistaken for a boy
many times. And she is very pleased with that. She always says
that should have been a boy.
Model 4
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One will easily notice Mary’s shyness at the first glance.
Whenever you see her in the classroom, you find her sheltering
herself in a corner and reading a book. Putting the book on her
thighs, she buries her head completely behind the desk as if she
is allergic to light. When you call her by name, she looks up and
then immediately droops her big, black eyes again in order to avoid
meeting your gaze. As she does that, her straight, black hair hangs
down, covering both of her fair cheeks. A rather long bangs over
her forehead almost hides one third of her face like a striped
curtain. Nevertheless, you can still see her face turning red before
she begins to speak. The quiet, timid tone of her voice is so soft
that you have to strain your ears to catch her murmur. And she has
the irritating habit of biting her lower lip and at same time fidgeting
with her fingernails when speaking in class. Sometimes, you even
can not help feeling sorry for being the cause of her blushes and
self-consciousness. That is why I, a shy boy myself, always get
cold feet getting close to her, the shyest girl in the class.
Writing task
 Now,
we need to think and write:
 How well do you know me?/ the
other teacher, or your friends.
Appearance.
Personality traits in the classroom.
 Describe
you boss, family, friend…
anyone you like!
Model 5
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The most impressive thing about Tom is his
mouth. Tom’s mouth is more than one-third
bigger than ordinary boys’ with very thin lips. It
gives you the impression that the two corners
of the mouth are directly connected with the two
ears. By looking at his mouth, you can tell
whether he was plotting evil or had recently
accomplished it. If he is bent upon mischief, his
lips are all puckered up, like those of billiard
player about to make a difficult shot. After the
deed is done, the pucker is replaced by a
delicate, contented smile.
Model 6
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Douglas is a boy who drives every teacher crazy. He always strolls into the
class about eight minutes late when the class has just settled down.
Offering a polite ”Good Morning” he continues at the same slow pace
across to the far end of the room, seemingly unaware of the waiting
silence. He sits for a couple of minutes quietly as the teacher makes effort
to get going. Then, when the teacher is really into introducing the lesson,
he gets up and walks to a vacant seat as close to the teacher as possible.
If the teacher asks in a tense, controlled voice why he is disturbing the
class, he explains, again in a polite voice, that he moved because he
wished to hear him better. Later, with a sincere and puzzled look, he asks
questions every three minutes about what the teacher has just explained.
Many times, when the assignment was given and everybody else was
working on it, Douglas raised a trembling hand and whispered out a
request with apology to the teacher for pen and paper which he had
forgotten to bring; or he tried to borrow a sharpener for his broken pencil
from one of the distracted students. And it is typical of him to ask, 30
seconds before time is up, in a loud, earnest voice, “Excuse me, Sir, What
is the assignment?”
Model 7
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A Priest studying at University
Along with his student activities, Murakami continues the Buddhist
training that has been part of his life since the age of twelve. But in his
enjoyment of comedy programs, going out drinking, and karaoke, he is no
different from any other student. “People tend to think of Buddhism as a
separate world, but in fact it's not so distant from ordinary life. It might be
nice if I were the occasion for people getting interested in Buddhism," he
says mischievously, stroking his clean-shaven head. “I want to be a monk
with
an
impact.”
He is always willing to act as a guide when his club visits old temples. He
tries to explain Buddhist statues and temples in simple words, sometimes
mixing in humor, in order to communicate the profound concepts of the
Buddhist world, which he studies them very hard, in terms of the language
and sensibility of the younger generation. “If people know a little about
Buddhism, they can look at Buddhist statues and temples from various
perspectives, and it makes things more interesting. We younger monks
have the responsibility to put across what Buddhism really is to people
whose level of interest is low,” he says.
Model 7
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A Priest studying at University
The world of Buddhism, carrying on a long tradition handed down
over the generations, and the ceaselessly changing society around
it. Numberless monks in every era must have tried to connect
these two contradictory worlds. Though Murakami is just getting
started as a monk and a member of society, he has many things he
wants to promote both within Buddhism organizations and in
modern society, taking advantage of his comparatively free position
as a student. He determinedly says, “Just because I want to play
the role of a bridge between society and Buddhism, I don't want to
waste any of the time I'm spending at Waseda. When I return to my
temple, I think the most important thing will be how much I can give
back of what I've gained and how much I can retain of my present
feelings." Perhaps Murakami's true vocation is nothing other than
maintaining and persevering in this faith.
Useful expressions
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face
Broad 大的，宽的；
Who has the broad face in your memory?
Usually, the big guy has a broad face.
The first thing you could see is his red and broad face
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an angular face (削瘦的脸庞)；
When we describe the people who is very tired we could use this one.
Her angular face make you think that she may lead a miserable life.
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oblong 长方形 ;
Two small eyes on his oblong face, you could feel nothing but
uncomfortable.
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moon-shaped;
You could even tell he is an honest boy just from his moon-shaped face.
Useful expressions
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Eyes
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Beady 像珠子一样;
His beady eyes will be wider 2 times as usual, when he stares at the
money.
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bulging 鼓、胀;
Though her eyes are little bit bulging, she is still extraordinary beautiful.
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bloodshot 充血的;
I could tell that she must have not a good sleep last night.
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Empty: Occasionally, her empty eyes flicker as she listens to the song.
Sleepy: Tom always has sleepy eyes even just after 20-hour sleep.
Sad: The sad eyes on his diamond-shaped face, add her beauty, you
could not help feeling mercy.
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Useful expressions
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Eyebrows
thick;
The thick eyebrows seem to be stuck above the blue smiling narrow eyes.
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Arched 弯形的，拱形的；
Every one wants to know how did she make the arched eyebrows.
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uneven 不平坦的，不均匀的；
The uneven eyebrows remind me the monster.
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neatly plucked
Her eyebrows are neatly plucked, so you could see how does she spend on her face.
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Wavy；
The wavy is her favorite style, so she never changes it.
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blond; She is the only girl who has blond hair in my school.
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loose; His long and loose hair often becomes the clue that he was mistaken as a girl.
pigtail; ponytail;
No matter she has the pigtail or ponytail, only one thing you could tell, that he loves sports.
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curly; The curly hair neatly covered his head.
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Bald; Sometimes the bald man is kind, but sometimes he is so rude, you feel more scary due to his bald.
Useful expressions
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Mouth
Full-lipped (厚嘴唇)
thin-lipped(薄嘴唇)
turned-down(下翻的嘴唇)
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Nose
Crooked 弯曲的；
straight;
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Complexion 气色、肤色、局面 (face)
Fair 皮肤白皙；
sallow
Malarial poison had swallowed his skin. 疟疾病毒使他皮肤成灰黄色。
Ruddy 红润的，有血色的；
rosy 玫瑰红色；
freckled:
Her face was freckled all over. 她的脸长满雀斑。
She has a freckled but fair face.
Creamy 奶油色
Pale;
spotty;
Useful expressions
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Others
Cleft chin 有凹陷的下巴；
pointed chin 尖角的下巴；
protruding forehead 突出的额头
Body and build (体形)
Thick-set 短粗的；
Fat: plump 丰满的；robust 强壮的；精力
充沛的；stout, 矮胖子；
Thin: slender 纤细的，修长的；skinny皮
包骨的；
Writing tasks
 Who
do you want describe in the
classroom?
 Try to get describe sb’s
appearance and personality traits
together.
Thanks!