See if the travellers have acted sessibly. Support your idea.
a) give me a walking tour every time; you can't beat (hitch-) hiking; need you take so much luggage? b) to get to wild, uninhabited places; to be hardly able to go on; to be nearly drowned in a swamp; unimaginable hardships; to overcome the obstacles; c) there was a turn in the weather, it was pouring; flashes of lightning, rolls of thunder, I wish I were in a railway carriage now!; d) to climb the steepest rocks; to face the danger of...; to get to places where no man's foot has ever stepped; e) to reach the top in safety, to be hardly able to believe one's eyes; you could knock me down with a feather.
STUDIES OF WRITTEN ENGLISH
VIII
Different patterns of writing (see "Studies" in Unit One) seldom occur alone, more often they blend into one another, especially in letter writing.
Letter is a specific kind of written composition involving a concrete writer, message and a concrete reader. In many ways it is a free composition. A letter is in a sense, a theme, governed by the same rules of writing that govern every other kind of composition. It must be clear, well organized, coherent. And it should be interesting.
But a letter is also governed by certain other laws, or conventions of usage, which the letter writer cannot ignore.
These are the parts of a letter: the heading, the inside address, the greeting, the body of the letter, the complimentary close, the signature.
For each of these parts usage has prescribed certain set forms depending on different types of letters personal or business letters, informal or formal social notes.
The heading. The parts of a heading, written in the following order, are the street, address, the name of a city or town (the name of the state in the U.S.A.), the date, .g.
Vine Cottage Oxford Road Abingdon-on-Thames 13 May 19...
N t e: In Great Britain very often the house is not numbered but has a "proper" name, like "Vine Cottage",
The inside address. In a business letter the inside address is the address of the person written to. In personal letter the inside address is usually omitted.
In a business letter it is always correct to use a personal title with the name of the person addressed. A business title should not precede the name. Correct personal titles are: Mr., Mrs., Miss, Dr., Professor, Messrs., .g.
Dr. . Howard
Superintendent of Schools
The Greeting. The following forms are correct for business and professional letters:
Gentlemen: Ladies:
Dear Sir: Dear Madam:
My dear Sir. My dear Madam:
Dear Mr. Warren: Dear Miss Howard:
In personal letters either a colon or a comma may be used after the greeting. A comma is considered less formal. In personal letters the range of greetings is unlimited and informal, like " My own Lovey-Dovey " of Judy's "Dear Daddy Long-Legs".
The Body of the Letter. A good letter should be clear, direct, coherent, dignified and courteous.
The Complimentary Close. Correct forms for business letters are:
Yours truly, Yours very truly, Very truly yours,
Respectfully yours, Faithfully yours. Sincerely yours,
Yours sincerely, Cordially yours.
The Signature. Some of the conventions should be observed: a) neither professional titles, nor academic degress should be used with a signature; b) an unmarried woman should sign herself as Miss Laura Blank, but she may place Miss in parentheses before her name if she feels that it is necessary for proper identification; c) a married woman or a widow signs her own name, not her married name. For example, Diana Holiday Brown is her own name; Mrs. George Brown is her married name,
Here is an example of a business letter:
Dear Miss Carnaby,
Allow me to enclose a contribution to your very deserving Fund before it is finally wound up.
Yours very truly,
Hercule Poirot.
Assignments:
