环境问题是当今全球关注的焦点,也是雅思写作中频繁出现的话题,无论是讨论气候变化、污染治理,还是可持续发展,如何在开头部分精准切入主题、吸引考官注意,往往决定了整篇文章的得分走向,一个优秀的开头不仅能清晰表达观点,还能展现考生的逻辑思维和语言驾驭能力。
背景引入法:用事实和数据奠定基调
在环境类议论文中,直接引用权威数据或研究报告是最具说服力的方式之一。
"According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), global temperatures have risen by 1.1°C since the pre-industrial era, primarily due to human activities such as fossil fuel combustion and deforestation."
这种开头方式不仅体现学术严谨性,还能迅速将讨论提升到全球视角,类似的可用数据包括:
- 世界卫生组织(WHO)关于空气污染的统计
- 联合国环境规划署(UNEP)的塑料污染报告
- 国际能源署(IEA)的可再生能源发展数据
进阶技巧:将数据与设问结合。
"While over 8 million metric tons of plastic enter oceans annually, can we still afford to ignore the call for sustainable consumption?"
现象描述法:以具象场景引发共鸣
通过描绘具体环境问题的影响,让抽象议题变得生动可感,例如讨论极端天气时:
"Last summer, wildfires ravaged Greece while torrential rains flooded German villages—two sides of the same coin in our changing climate."
这种写法适用于:
- 城市雾霾对日常生活的干扰
- 物种灭绝对生态链的冲击
- 海平面上升对岛国的威胁
注意:避免笼统表述如"environmental degradation",应具体到"acid rain damaging crops"或"melting glaciers disrupting water supplies"。
历史对比法:突显问题紧迫性
通过今昔对比揭示环境恶化的速度:
"In 1970, Earth Overshoot Day—when humanity exhausts nature's annual budget—fell on December 29. By 2023, this date had advanced to August 2."
适用对比维度包括:
- 同一地区过去与现在的空气质量
- 几十年间冰川覆盖面积的变化
- 传统能源与清洁能源的成本曲线
政策引述法:对接国际框架
引用国际公约或国家政策展示议题重要性:
"The Paris Agreement's goal of limiting warming to 1.5°C requires a 45% reduction in emissions by 2030, yet current national commitments remain insufficient."
可关联的政策工具:
- 碳定价机制(carbon pricing)
- 欧盟"绿色新政"(Green Deal)
- 中国"双碳"目标
个人经历法:以小见大
用亲身观察带出普遍性问题:
"When my hometown river turned opaque with algal blooms last year, I realized how agricultural runoff could devastate entire ecosystems."
适用场景:
- 垃圾分类实施前后的社区变化
- 旅行中目睹的珊瑚白化现象
- 参与环保志愿活动的启发
概念重构法:打破常规认知
通过重新定义常见概念制造思维碰撞:
"What we call 'economic growth' often translates to nature's bankruptcy—every dollar of GDP now costs 60% more in ecological terms than it did in 1990."
类似可重构的术语:
- "发展"与"可持续性"的辩证关系
- "便利性"与"一次性文化"的代价
- "技术进步"是否必然带来环境改善
未来情景法:用预测引发思考
基于科学模型展望可能后果:
"If current trends continue, by 2050 there could be more plastic than fish in the ocean by weight, according to Ellen MacArthur Foundation projections."
其他可用的未来视角:
- 气候难民数量预测
- 可再生能源占比增长曲线
- 生物多样性丧失的经济成本
解决方案导向法:逆向切入
直接从应对措施反推问题严重性:
"The fact that scientists are seriously considering solar geoengineering—a once unthinkable intervention—speaks volumes about our climate emergency."
类似切入点:
- 碳捕获技术的商业应用
- 植物基饮食的兴起
- 循环经济模式的推广
关键禁忌:避免这些开头雷区
-
空泛陈述
✘ "Environmental problems are very serious nowadays."
✔ "Coastal cities investing in flood barriers demonstrate how sea-level rise has shifted from theoretical risk to budgetary priority." -
过度情绪化
✘ "Humans are destroying the planet heartlessly!"
✔ "Anthropogenic pressures have altered 75% of land surfaces, as quantified by the IPBES Global Assessment." -
偏离题目焦点 问能源政策,勿用生物多样性案例开头
-
文化不敏感比喻
避免将污染比喻为"第三世界问题"等带有偏见的表述
实战案例解析
2023年真题:Some argue that economic development must come before environmental protection. Discuss both views.
低分开头:
"People have different opinions about economy and environment."(过于笼统)
高分开头:
"When Norway taxed carbon emissions in 1991, critics warned of economic collapse. Three decades later, its GDP per capita grew 48% while emissions fell 15%—proof that ecology and economy need not be zero-sum games."(数据对比+明确立场)
环境类作文开头的本质,是在150词内完成三个任务:建立认知框架(framing)、展示语言复杂度(lexical resource)、植入论证线索(coherence),考官期待看到的不是华丽辞藻堆砌,而是精准的问题定位与清晰的思维路径。
真正有效的开头往往产生于深度思考之后——当你能够用一句话概括整篇文章的灵魂时,那个句子就是开头最有力的候选,正如环保行动本身,优秀的写作同样拒绝浮于表面的敷衍,需要扎扎实实的认知耕耘。