例證說明:永恆的美-Eternal Beauty
永恆的美
【內容提示】
美，人人都愛。當我們來到一個名勝景點，看到蔚藍色的天空、蔥綠的青山、清凌凌的水時，我們說這是一種美；我們讀到一首新穎的詩歌，一篇優美的散文或奇妙的文章時，也會讚嘆這是一種美。美，處處皆是，但是，我們最崇敬的是心靈美和人品的美。請你寫一篇文章，用一個具體事例說明這種美。
【作文示範】
Eternal Beauty
When you get to a scenic spot and see the blue sky, the green mountain and clear water, maybe you will say this is beauty. When you read a fresh poem, graceful prose① or a wonderful article, perhaps you will sag that is beauty…. Beauty exists everywhere and everyone likes beauty. This story is about beauty of another kind----that of an ordinary woman, Yao Xinxin.
Once, my grandmother was on a bus. Suddenly she felt sick and wanted to throw up②, but she was afraid to make the bus dirty. The moment Ms Yao saw this, she handed her own clean mug③ to my grandma and said,“Don't worry, granny. You can use this mug. ”Grandma was very grateful, but she was so weak that she suddenly fell down in a faint④.Without delay Ms Yao asked the driver to drive the bus over to a hospital nearby. After an examination, the doctor told Ms Yao that my grandma must stay in hospital for a day or two. Ms Yao paid the fee⑤ for my grandma and sat by the bed for a day.
In the meantime⑥, my family were searching everywhere for Grandma. How we wished we could see dear Grandma again. Just when we were much worried, the next day Grandma appeared before us supported by a stranger. As you can guess, it was Ms Yao. We were wondering about this when Grandma said,“Without the kind conductor, I might not have been able to see you any more.” We thanked Ms Yao again and again, tears in our eyes.
（選自1987年9月15日《上海學生英文報》）
【詞語解釋】
①graceful['greisful] prose[pr uz] 優美的散文
②throw up 嘔吐
③mug[m)g] n．大杯
④faint[feint] n．昏厥 fall(down) in a faint昏倒
⑤fee[fi:] n．費
⑥meantime['mi:ntaim] n．其間
【寫法指要】
本文引言段使用的是隱含篇題（implied thesis），即作者沒有把篇題說出來，而是讓讀者自己通過閱讀全文去歸納：這是一種心靈的美和人品的美。這一點我們可以通過作者使用的例證（illustration），即感人肺腑的真實故事體會出來。此外，作者在敘述文中的人物時也是用的含蓄手法：開始我們只知道好心人名叫Yao Yinxin，並不知道她是乾什麼的，直到最後才通過 Grandma 的話道出來，這就造成了一種人物身分的懸念，發人深省。
例證說明:永恆的美-Eternal Beauty