Things about Me

 　　本文语言简洁朴实、文理清晰，叙述性地介绍了符合由表及里的认知规律，给读者留下清晰的印象。第一段描写外貌。第二段介绍职业。第三段介绍兴趣爱好。第四段简述性格特征。第五段分说喜爱与憎恶的事。第六段强调家庭对自己的重要性。第七段叙说朋友与友谊，并由此总结自己的生活。第一段的第二个句子，其余各段的首句总领各段，为段落中心，又彼此并列，共同构成一个完整的“我”。

　　I am Andrea. Perhaps the word “average” can best describe me. I am of average height, average weight and of average complexion¹. I have a thin face, double-lid eyes and a pointed² nose. My hair is black, short and straight. I have never worn my hair long. I look like both my mother and my father, but I have inherited their best parts.

　　I am a teacher, and I like my job. I believe a teacher can sometimes be taught by her or his students. Actually I have learnt a lot from my own teaching experience and my students. One particularly good thing about being a teacher is that I am learning something new each day and thus making progress each day. This is wonderful. Of course the income is modest, but on the other hand, quite stable. I keep growing all the time. I find great reward both monetarily³ and mentally.

　　I have many hobbies: reading books, raising pets, making dresses, etc. I like volleyball very much, but I can’t play it very often, because it is a team sport. It is difficult to get enough people to play volleyball with me. It’s a shame. I derive⁴ great pleasure out of my hobbies.

　　Generally speaking, I am open, honest and easygoing. I hate hypocrisy⁵ and injustice⁶. Fairness is very important to me. I try to be fair in everything I do. I have great appreciation⁷ for physical and spiritual independence. I am a bit disorganized and impatient sometimes.

　　What can make me happy? Well, many things, a good book, a chat with a friend, a gift, a delicious meal, a new hair style, a lovely dress, a letter from a distant friend, bright sunshine in winter morning… What can make me upset? Err⁸, being kept waiting, noisy surroundings, lies, rude remarks… long queues, unexpected visits…

　　My home is very important to me. I would do anything in my power to keep my family intact, happy, healthy and loving. My home is where I can get refreshed and relaxed.

　　I don’t have many friends, but I do have a few. I have both male and female friends. We do sports together, go shopping together; and we exchange our views and ideas and share happiness and sadness. Of course we help each other if necessary. My best friend is Gerald, as a matter of fact, he is my hero. He is sociable⁹, artistic¹⁰, generous and resourceful with a delight sense of humor and excellent taste. I admire him with good reasons. I always consider myself a lucky person. I am lucky in my family, I am lucky in my career, I am lucky in my friendship, I am lucky in many things. In one word, I am luck in life. I am really grateful for all these.

　　背景介绍：

　　在日常生活中，人们常常需要作自我介绍，口头上的或书面形式的。本文作者从自己的外貌、职业、爱好、性格、家庭以及朋友等方面进行了简洁而鲜活的自我刻画。语言简朴真实而个性鲜明突出，一个真实的“我”给人留下深刻印象。

　　参考译文：

　　自我介绍

　　我叫安德里亚。也许“平凡”一词最能形容我。我中等身材，不胖也不瘦，不白也不黑。我有一张瘦削的脸，双眼皮，翘鼻子，我乌黑的头发又短又直，我从未留过长发。我长得既像妈妈又像爸爸，不过我继承了他们的优点。

　　我现在是一名教师，我热爱我的工作。我认为，一个老师有时也能从他（她）的学生那儿学到知识。事实上，从我的教书经历，从我的学生们那里，我学到了许多许多。当老师的一件特别棒的事情就是我每天都在学习新的东西，并因此而每天取得进步。这真是棒极了。当然，收入并不高。然而换个角度看，收入却是相当稳定的。我一直都在不断进步成长，在金钱方面，在精神方面我都得到丰厚的回报。

　　我的兴趣爱好广泛，比如：读书，养宠物，制作服装，等等。虽然我非常喜欢打排球，但是由于这是一项团队运动，我不能经常去打。要找到足够多的人同我一起打排球是很难的。真遗憾！兴趣和爱好给我带来无穷的乐趣。

　　总的说来，我是一个外向、诚实而随和的人。我对任何虚伪和不公正都深恶痛绝。我极为珍视公平和公正，我所做的每一件事，我都尽力做到公允。我崇尚物质上和精神上的独立。不过，我有那么一点儿不善计划，有时还会急躁、无耐性。

　　有什么事情能让我高兴呢？嗯，很多事情，一本好书，与朋友的一次交谈，一份礼物，一顿美餐，一个新发型，一件漂亮的衣服，远方友人的一封来信，冬日清晨明媚的阳光……那么又有什么会让我心情沮丧呢？嗯，漫长的等候，嘈杂的环境，谎言，粗鲁的言辞，……排长队，不速之客……

　　我的家庭对我而言至关重要。为了使家庭完整和睦，幸福美满，家人健康友爱，我将尽我所能。家使我恢复精力、放松身心的港湾。

　　我朋友不多，却颇有几个相知好友，其中有男性也有女性。我和朋友们一起进行体育运动；一起逛街购物。我们交换各自的观点看法，共享欢乐，分担忧愁。当然，如若需要，我们必定相互帮助。杰拉尔德是我最好的朋友，事实上，他是我心中的英雄。他爱交朋友，极具艺术修养，慷慨大方，机智聪慧。他幽默开朗而不失高雅的品味。我有充分的理由崇拜他。我一直都觉得自己失一个幸运的人。在家庭方面，在事业上，在交友方面，在许许多多方面，我都是幸运的。总之，我的生活是幸运的，我真的非常感谢这一切的一切。

1 complexion   

n.肤色；情况，局面；气质，性格

参考例句：

• Red does not suit with her complexion.红色与她的肤色不协调。
• Her resignation puts a different complexion on things.她一辞职局面就全变了。

2 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

3 monetarily   

adv.金融地

参考例句：

4 derive   

v.取得；导出；引申；来自；源自；出自

参考例句：

• We derive our sustenance from the land.我们从土地获取食物。
• We shall derive much benefit from reading good novels.我们将从优秀小说中获得很大好处。

5 hypocrisy   

n.伪善，虚伪

参考例句：

• He railed against hypocrisy and greed.他痛斥伪善和贪婪的行为。
• He accused newspapers of hypocrisy in their treatment of the story.他指责了报纸在报道该新闻时的虚伪。

6 injustice   

n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利

参考例句：

• They complained of injustice in the way they had been treated.他们抱怨受到不公平的对待。
• All his life he has been struggling against injustice.他一生都在与不公正现象作斗争。

7 appreciation   

n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨

参考例句：

• I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。
• I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。

8 err   

vi.犯错误，出差错

参考例句：

• He did not err by a hair's breadth in his calculation.他的计算结果一丝不差。
• The arrows err not from their aim.箭无虚发。

9 sociable   

adj.好交际的，友好的，合群的

参考例句：

• Roger is a very sociable person.罗杰是个非常好交际的人。
• Some children have more sociable personalities than others.有些孩子比其他孩子更善于交际。

10 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。