我们都知道，《新概念英语》是一套经典的英语教材，从上世纪七十年代进入中国大陆，在中国已经哺育了几代学子。无数人通过这套教材掌握了英语，因为这套教材对学习者的听、说、读、写、译都有莫大的帮助。

　　以英语写作为例，许多同学视英语写作为畏途。不少学生在考场上面对一道作文题目，提起笔来往往感觉腹中空空，搜肠刮肚也不知从何说起。诚然万事开头难，写作更是如此。但是如果你能背诵一些《新概念英语》中的一些经典篇章，写作时往往会文思汩汩，一些妙词佳句一时涌上心头。这时写英语作文就不会绞尽脑汁无话可说了。例如，《新概念英语》第三册第7课Mutilated Ladies的开头段是这样的：

　　Has it ever happened to you? Have you ever put your trousers in the washing machine and then remembered there was a large bank note in your back pocket? When you rescued your trousers, did note in your back pocket? When you rescued your trousers, did you find the note was whiter than white? People who live in Britain needn't despair when they made mistakes like this (and a lot of people do)! Fortunately for them, the Bank of England has a team called Mutilated Ladies which deals with claims from people who fed their money to a machine or to their dog. Dogs, it seems, love to chew up money!

　　这篇课文的开头一连提了三个问题，并把读者称作you，这样既拉近了与读者的距离，又能唤起了读者的阅读兴趣。我们如果把这篇课文熟读成诵，在英语写作中就可以化用这种提问法开头。例如2012年6月大学英语四级考试作文：

　　Directions: For this part you are allowed 30 minutes to write a short essay entitled On Excessive Packaging following the outline below. You should write at least 120 words but no more than 180 words.

　　1.目前许多商品存在过度包装的现象

　　2.出现这一现象的原因

　　3.我对这一现象的看法和建议

　　这篇作文论述的是过度包装现象，我们不妨模仿Mutilated Ladies的开头方法，作文开头可以这样写：

　　On Excessive Packaging

　　Has it ever happened to you? Have you ever bought a small thing that is wrapped in a massive package? If your answer is yes, you are among millions of others who are confronted with a growing problem in China --- excessive packaging.

　　这篇作文开篇就向读者发问：你是否遇到过这种情况?你是否曾买过一个小东西却被包装在一个巨大的包装盒里?这样我们就顺利地引出了本文讨论的话题 ------ 过度包装。

　　再请看2013年6月大学英语六级考试作文：

　　Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write an essay commenting on the remark “Good habits result from resisting temptation.” You can cite examples to illustrate your point. You should write at least 150 words but no more than 200 words.

　　这道作文试题要求考生通过评论一句俗语来写一篇作文。这种作文要论证一个抽象的道理，所以其写法迥异于分析一个社会现象的作文。但引言段仍可以模仿第三册第7课中所学到的提问法开头，开篇向读者提两个问题：你是否遇到过这种情况?你是否曾一连节食数月却因不能抵御冰淇淋的诱惑而前功尽弃呢?这样，我们既引出了讨论的话题，又能唤起读者的阅读兴趣。参考写法如下：

　　Good habits result from resisting temptation

　　Has it ever happened to you? Have you ever been on a diet for months only to give up for failing to resist the temptation of ice-cream? If your answer is yes, you are among millions of others who find it hard to develop good habits because of their vulnerability to temptation.

　　总之，《新概念英语》从一册到四册是一个语言的宝库，里面有无穷的瑰宝等待着大家去挖掘。我们今天给大家撷取了一朵下浪花，希望大家在学习中多多背诵，多多领会吧。