第一節
描寫某個地方（Describing a place）
美文欣賞（Enjoy Reading）
Santa Fe, the capital of New Mexico, U.S.A., is in the central part of the state, on the Santa Fe River, which flows into the Rio Grande 35 kilometers west of the city. More than two thousand meters above sea level, it lies in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains with the Ortiz Mountains to the southeast. Santa Fe was founded in 1609 by the Spanish on an old Indian village. In 1680 the Indians seized the place but only held it for twelve years before the Spanish retook it. the city remained under Spanish rule until Mexico won its independence in 1821. From then on it was a Mexican city until 1846 when it was taken over by U.S.A. troops.
With a population of 48,953,Santa Fe is now the second largest city in the state. Because of its sunny weather, rich history and surrounding mountains, it is a good place for holiday makers. Besides hunting and skating in the mountains people enjoy shopping in the Indian and Spanish shops, which brings a large income to the city every year. In summer there is an international opera season when operas are shown in a partly- roofed, openair theatre daily for people from all over the world. (Adapted from MET1993)
本篇文段選自1993年高考閱讀理解部分。全文僅用205個單詞就向讀者清晰地描畫了Santa Fe這個地方的地理位置、人口狀況、資源特色，特別是用較大篇幅敘述了此處的歷史變遷等地方特征。全文有詳有略，重點突出。
文中追溯歷史的片段（劃線部分）尤其值得借鑒；學習時請注意其中表示時間的連詞、介詞，幾個動詞的用法以及主動、被動時態交互應用的特色。
另外，同位語the capital of New Mexico, U.S.A.,介詞結構With a population of, Because of, besides等的使用亦使文段顯得緊湊、連貫。
推薦背誦文段
常用表達法(Useful expressions)
1.所處位置（Location）
Our school lies near/behind/in front of/by the side of…/between/among…
The temple stands at the foot of/on the top of…
Standing on the top of the mountain, the temple has experienced many changes in this area.
There stands an old temple near the river.
2.周邊環境（Surroundings）
The beautiful town is located/situated on the west of the lake/to the west of the mountain/in the west of the province.
West of the city stands a tall building.
Surrounded by mountains on three sides, the small village faces a clear river on the east.
3.人口（Population）
Japan has a small population of …China is a developing country ,with a population of 130 million.
The population here is increasing year by year.
Eighty percent of the population here are farmers.
4.面積（Area）
Tiananmen Square, the largest square in the world, covers an area of …
Tiananmen Square, covering an area of…,is the largest square in the world.
This square is 2000 meters long and 1500 meters wide.
Our school , which takes up 63 thousand square kilometers, is very large in size.
5.歷史（History）
China has a history of over 5000 years.
Egypt is an Arabian country with a long history.
Built in the16th century, the castle has witnessed too much coming and going in history.
6.名勝（Places of interest）
In Sydney, there are many places of interest , such as the Opera House.
The Opera House in Sydney is one of the most well-known places of interest in the world.
Sydney is the biggest city in Australia, which has many places of interest, among which is the Opera House.
7.特色(Something Special)
Development,
best season
寫作練習
根據以下內容寫一篇100詞左右的說明文，標題為“Australia”。
1)、澳大利亞位于太平洋的西側，是大洋洲（Oceania）最大的國家，面積760萬平方公里。
2)、人口稀少，只有1，000多萬，多數集中在東部沿海地區。
3)、首都堪培拉（Canberra）風景秀麗。
4)、悉尼（Sydney）是澳大利亞最大城市。有許多名勝，其中悉尼歌劇院（Opera House）聞名于世。2000年奧運會就是在悉尼舉行的。
習作點評
Australia, to the west of the Pacific Ocean, is the largest country in Oceania, which is about 7,600,000 square kilometers.
Although Australia is so large a country, it has a sparse population, which is only more than 10 million. And most of the people live together in the East Part by the sea.
Australia is an attractive place. Canberra is the capital, and it has very charming scenery. But it is not the largest city in Australia. In fact, Sydney is the largest one. There are a lot of places of intrest. Especially the Opera House is so famous that almost everybody living in the world knows it. And the 24th Olympic Games was held in Sydney in 2000.So you can see that how important the Sydney is.
In a word, if you want to travel abroad，Australia is a right place. 應加上標題Australia
此句后應加上in size
together為贅詞
此處But及下文In fact過渡自然巧妙
interest拼寫錯誤
準確
簡潔
was held應為were held
專有名詞Sydney前不應加the
結尾自然
參考范文
Australia, the largest country in Oceania, lies on the west coast of the Pacific. It covers an area of 7.6 million square kilometers. It has a small population of over 10 million. Most of its population live in the east of the country by the sea. Canberra, the capital of Australia, is a beautiful city. Sydney is the biggest city in Australia, which has many places of interest. The Opera House is well known all over the world. The 2000 Olympic Games were held in Sydney.