新聞英語寫作開頭的主旨很重要，它是整篇文章的關鍵，因此寫作時必須掌握幾個關鍵。
Main clause – who and what
People – human angle
Descriptions and titles – forget the unnecessary name
Time element – don’t begin with time
Keep it short and bright
Tenses – rules of reported speech (usually yesterday)
主旨有幾個種類，主要和文章型態有關，以下列出常見的類型：
1. Summary leads: 主旨通常在前一兩行。記者扮演讀者的眼睛和耳朵，從他們的心態著手，並且簡單敘述時間地點，讓讀者更快掌握重點。
2. Indirect leads: 主旨通常在第二、三段，第一段鋪陳敘述，通常用在軟性新聞上、比較複雜的新聞(ex. Science / Financial Stories) 和廣泛已知的新聞上。
3. Special leads:
-Narrative / anecdotal leads: 用在一些特色或是敘述趨勢的新聞上。
-Contrast: 告訴讀者過去和現在的不同。
-Staccato: 斷音式的，文章內藏有用詞起伏。
-Question: 用問題開頭，吸引讀者目光及反思。
一些範例
Summary leads:
OPPOSITION leader Anwar Ibrahim was arrested in a dramatic fashion yesterday by policemen who stopped his car and hauled him out over allegations that he sexually attacked a male aide.
PRIME Minister Lee Hsien Loong's son Li Hongyi, who is serving his national service, has been reprimanded by the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) for not following proper procedures in e-mailing a letter of complaint to many other servicemen.
Indirect leads:
SHE was a great-looking Singapore girl who rubbed shoulders with royalty, movie stars and statesmen.
People paid to sip tea with her, and countless others liked nothing better than to be photographed next to her.
So when Ah Meng the orangutan died yesterday, aged 48, it marked the end of an era at the Singapore Zoo.
Question leads
IT COST $7 million to stage and had 25 productions on its main programme, but what happened to the audiences at this year's Singapore Arts Festival?
Only 22,047 tickets were sold, the lowest number since 1980.
That left one in four seats empty during the month-long festival, which ended its 31st run on Sunday. Average attendance - which included people who had free tickets - slipped from last year's 81.2 per cent to 74.2 per cent.
主旨完成後，接著就進入文章主體。寫英文新聞像到金字塔一樣，越前面越廣泛，接著再進入細節，循序漸進。一開始會介紹背景知識，中間會穿插段落重點以及引用不同人的話，這個部分主要是支持主旨，並且加上歸因，強調文章論點。最後在文章結尾處，通常用發人省思的一段話，或者言外之音，給人一種未完待續的感覺。
以下是一篇範例：
SINGTEL chief executive Lee Hsien Yang stunned corporate Singapore - and his colleagues - yesterday by announcing that he is quitting after 12 years at the helm of the country's biggest telco. -> Background and leads
Senior managers were said to have greeted the dramatic news with 'stunned silence' when Mr Lee, 48, told them of his decision late in the afternoon.
He did not give any reasons for his move, except to say at a hastily-called press conference that this was 'as good a time as any to leave'.
'Twelve years is a long time to stay on in any single role and considerably longer than most CEOs... It is an appropriate time to move on.' ->Quoted from Lee’s words
Mr Lee, who will stay on board until a new chief is found, said he did not have any immediate plans once he does step down, but firmly ruled out going into politics.
'I don't think politics is something I am suited for... I have no great interest to pursue politics,' said Mr Lee, whose older brother, Hsien Loong, is the Prime Minister. ->Another quote
He also made it clear he had 'neither solicited nor received any other job offers' in the government. -> Nut graf
Mr Lee also laughed off questions on whether he would leave Singapore, possibly for a job overseas.
The announcement yesterday was a bolt from the blue, even to SingTel senior executives. Company insiders said Mr Lee abruptly convened a conference call with senior managers here and from across the region at about 5pm to break the news. -> Background, focus on his leave
'We were absolutely shocked. In his characteristic straightforward, no-nonsense way, he told us that he was leaving, but did not offer any answers about his future plans,' said one executive. ->Another quote from other people
Mr Lee later sent an e-mail to SingTel staff in which he emphasized that 'no-one is indispensable', and said he was leaving the company in good hands.
SingTel staff paid tribute to their boss, an unassuming financial whiz who 'was always very focused on the fundamentals'.
'He had no airs. While one would accord respect obviously to Hsien Yang, it wasn't like you had to reserve the lift for him; he would take it with the other employees,' said Mr Ivan Tan, former corporate communications head. -> Attribution, support the previous paragraph
Mr Lim Chuan Poh, 50, executive vice-president of strategic investments, added: 'We are sad to see him leave. He has built SingTel up to where it is today and his name has become almost synonymous with SingTel.'
SingTel chairman Chumpol NaLamlieng praised Mr Lee as an 'outstanding CEO', saying, 'his track record speaks for itself'.
Mr Lee regards his time at SingTel as a 'very exciting period', in which he oversaw the company's growth into Singapore's largest corporation, with more than $40 billion in market capitalization and $4 billion in annual profit. -> Attribution of his great performance
He also commandeered SingTel's aggressive overseas campaign to diversify its earnings away from Singapore's tiny market.
Over the past decade or so, SingTel has spent over $17 billion to expand its empire, which stretches from Australia to India and other regional markets. It will launch an internal and global hunt for a new boss.
Mr Hugh Young, managing director at Aberdeen Asset Management in Singapore, told Reuters he expected the 'surprising news' to trigger 'an emotional, knee-jerk reaction downward' in SingTel's share price. ->Kicker
接下來，我就幾個細節討論一下。
首先，什麼是歸因？根據字典的解釋Attribution means the act of attributing, especially the act of establishing a particular person as the creator of a work of art.
維基百科上說，歸因是指觀察者為了預測和評價被觀察者的行為，對環境加以控制和對行為加以激勵或控制，而對被觀察者的行為過程所進行的因果解釋和推論。
那麼，什麼時候需要歸因？
主要是用在表達意見、表達兩方想法、保護提供新聞的人或寫手，同時也用在增加可信度的時候。換句話說，就是用另外一種角度，來寫想要傳達的訊息。
怎麼歸因？
我們可以引用一些名人的話，或用組織的名字，讓讀者了解提出如此想法是有根據的，而記者通常都會放在陳述事實的後面，或者放在角度轉換得前面，藉此做個轉折。
以下為幾個例子
The suspect, George Redoux, of Elizabeth, N.J., was arrested at his brother-in-law’s apartment in a housing project in Simpsonville, 10 miles from Greenville, according to Detective Steven Harris of the Greenville Police Department.
Authority had been alerted to Redoux’s presence by an anonymous caller, the detectives said.
其次，我們談談什麼是引用？引用顧名思義就是別人的話，通常加在重要新聞點的後面，藉此強調論點，也讓製造新聞的人可以直接和讀者對話。最常見的有兩種寫法：
Mr Jeff Yeo, an events organizer, told TNP on Sunday: “It is not the tigers' fault. Animals, being what they are, will retaliate if provoked, or if they feel they are in danger, especially in their territory.”
“There may be a small civil war, because the two sides deny they will step back,” said Wizanu Boonmarat, an analyst from Thailand's Burapha University.
最後是Nut Graf和Kicker，根據維基百科，Nut graf is a paragraph, particularly in a feature story, that explain the news value of the story，而Kicker是結尾的一段話。
舉例來說，在一篇名為「Egypt’s growing sexual revolution」中有個Nut graf，With their secret lifestyle, these three young people from Cairo’s liberal, intellectual elite are pushing at the limits set by a society dominated by traditional views.這段話暗示著，埃及人正想要掙脫傳統束縛，朝向一個正面開放的路線前進。
而這篇文章的kicker是And many other simply believe it is wrong, like Cairo University student Mohammed Esmat, 20. “I am a Muslim and in Islam sex before marriage is forbidden, so I am against it,” he said. 這段話也強烈顯示著社會大眾還存在傳統觀念，並非每個學生都有開放的思想，讓讀者有進一步省思。
以上介紹完新聞英語寫作，除了幫助記者外，也讓讀者了解寫作思維，更容易抓到新聞重點，以後讀報紙時，別忘了分析一下文章內容，相信一定可以越讀越快的。
Main clause – who and what
People – human angle
Descriptions and titles – forget the unnecessary name
Time element – don’t begin with time
Keep it short and bright
Tenses – rules of reported speech (usually yesterday)
主旨有幾個種類，主要和文章型態有關，以下列出常見的類型：
1. Summary leads: 主旨通常在前一兩行。記者扮演讀者的眼睛和耳朵，從他們的心態著手，並且簡單敘述時間地點，讓讀者更快掌握重點。
2. Indirect leads: 主旨通常在第二、三段，第一段鋪陳敘述，通常用在軟性新聞上、比較複雜的新聞(ex. Science / Financial Stories) 和廣泛已知的新聞上。
3. Special leads:
-Narrative / anecdotal leads: 用在一些特色或是敘述趨勢的新聞上。
-Contrast: 告訴讀者過去和現在的不同。
-Staccato: 斷音式的，文章內藏有用詞起伏。
-Question: 用問題開頭，吸引讀者目光及反思。
一些範例
Summary leads:
OPPOSITION leader Anwar Ibrahim was arrested in a dramatic fashion yesterday by policemen who stopped his car and hauled him out over allegations that he sexually attacked a male aide.
PRIME Minister Lee Hsien Loong's son Li Hongyi, who is serving his national service, has been reprimanded by the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) for not following proper procedures in e-mailing a letter of complaint to many other servicemen.
Indirect leads:
SHE was a great-looking Singapore girl who rubbed shoulders with royalty, movie stars and statesmen.
People paid to sip tea with her, and countless others liked nothing better than to be photographed next to her.
So when Ah Meng the orangutan died yesterday, aged 48, it marked the end of an era at the Singapore Zoo.
Question leads
IT COST $7 million to stage and had 25 productions on its main programme, but what happened to the audiences at this year's Singapore Arts Festival?
Only 22,047 tickets were sold, the lowest number since 1980.
That left one in four seats empty during the month-long festival, which ended its 31st run on Sunday. Average attendance - which included people who had free tickets - slipped from last year's 81.2 per cent to 74.2 per cent.
主旨完成後，接著就進入文章主體。寫英文新聞像到金字塔一樣，越前面越廣泛，接著再進入細節，循序漸進。一開始會介紹背景知識，中間會穿插段落重點以及引用不同人的話，這個部分主要是支持主旨，並且加上歸因，強調文章論點。最後在文章結尾處，通常用發人省思的一段話，或者言外之音，給人一種未完待續的感覺。
以下是一篇範例：
SINGTEL chief executive Lee Hsien Yang stunned corporate Singapore - and his colleagues - yesterday by announcing that he is quitting after 12 years at the helm of the country's biggest telco. -> Background and leads
Senior managers were said to have greeted the dramatic news with 'stunned silence' when Mr Lee, 48, told them of his decision late in the afternoon.
He did not give any reasons for his move, except to say at a hastily-called press conference that this was 'as good a time as any to leave'.
'Twelve years is a long time to stay on in any single role and considerably longer than most CEOs... It is an appropriate time to move on.' ->Quoted from Lee’s words
Mr Lee, who will stay on board until a new chief is found, said he did not have any immediate plans once he does step down, but firmly ruled out going into politics.
'I don't think politics is something I am suited for... I have no great interest to pursue politics,' said Mr Lee, whose older brother, Hsien Loong, is the Prime Minister. ->Another quote
He also made it clear he had 'neither solicited nor received any other job offers' in the government. -> Nut graf
Mr Lee also laughed off questions on whether he would leave Singapore, possibly for a job overseas.
The announcement yesterday was a bolt from the blue, even to SingTel senior executives. Company insiders said Mr Lee abruptly convened a conference call with senior managers here and from across the region at about 5pm to break the news. -> Background, focus on his leave
'We were absolutely shocked. In his characteristic straightforward, no-nonsense way, he told us that he was leaving, but did not offer any answers about his future plans,' said one executive. ->Another quote from other people
Mr Lee later sent an e-mail to SingTel staff in which he emphasized that 'no-one is indispensable', and said he was leaving the company in good hands.
SingTel staff paid tribute to their boss, an unassuming financial whiz who 'was always very focused on the fundamentals'.
'He had no airs. While one would accord respect obviously to Hsien Yang, it wasn't like you had to reserve the lift for him; he would take it with the other employees,' said Mr Ivan Tan, former corporate communications head. -> Attribution, support the previous paragraph
Mr Lim Chuan Poh, 50, executive vice-president of strategic investments, added: 'We are sad to see him leave. He has built SingTel up to where it is today and his name has become almost synonymous with SingTel.'
SingTel chairman Chumpol NaLamlieng praised Mr Lee as an 'outstanding CEO', saying, 'his track record speaks for itself'.
Mr Lee regards his time at SingTel as a 'very exciting period', in which he oversaw the company's growth into Singapore's largest corporation, with more than $40 billion in market capitalization and $4 billion in annual profit. -> Attribution of his great performance
He also commandeered SingTel's aggressive overseas campaign to diversify its earnings away from Singapore's tiny market.
Over the past decade or so, SingTel has spent over $17 billion to expand its empire, which stretches from Australia to India and other regional markets. It will launch an internal and global hunt for a new boss.
Mr Hugh Young, managing director at Aberdeen Asset Management in Singapore, told Reuters he expected the 'surprising news' to trigger 'an emotional, knee-jerk reaction downward' in SingTel's share price. ->Kicker
接下來，我就幾個細節討論一下。
首先，什麼是歸因？根據字典的解釋Attribution means the act of attributing, especially the act of establishing a particular person as the creator of a work of art.
維基百科上說，歸因是指觀察者為了預測和評價被觀察者的行為，對環境加以控制和對行為加以激勵或控制，而對被觀察者的行為過程所進行的因果解釋和推論。
那麼，什麼時候需要歸因？
主要是用在表達意見、表達兩方想法、保護提供新聞的人或寫手，同時也用在增加可信度的時候。換句話說，就是用另外一種角度，來寫想要傳達的訊息。
怎麼歸因？
我們可以引用一些名人的話，或用組織的名字，讓讀者了解提出如此想法是有根據的，而記者通常都會放在陳述事實的後面，或者放在角度轉換得前面，藉此做個轉折。
以下為幾個例子
The suspect, George Redoux, of Elizabeth, N.J., was arrested at his brother-in-law’s apartment in a housing project in Simpsonville, 10 miles from Greenville, according to Detective Steven Harris of the Greenville Police Department.
Authority had been alerted to Redoux’s presence by an anonymous caller, the detectives said.
其次，我們談談什麼是引用？引用顧名思義就是別人的話，通常加在重要新聞點的後面，藉此強調論點，也讓製造新聞的人可以直接和讀者對話。最常見的有兩種寫法：
Mr Jeff Yeo, an events organizer, told TNP on Sunday: “It is not the tigers' fault. Animals, being what they are, will retaliate if provoked, or if they feel they are in danger, especially in their territory.”
“There may be a small civil war, because the two sides deny they will step back,” said Wizanu Boonmarat, an analyst from Thailand's Burapha University.
最後是Nut Graf和Kicker，根據維基百科，Nut graf is a paragraph, particularly in a feature story, that explain the news value of the story，而Kicker是結尾的一段話。
舉例來說，在一篇名為「Egypt’s growing sexual revolution」中有個Nut graf，With their secret lifestyle, these three young people from Cairo’s liberal, intellectual elite are pushing at the limits set by a society dominated by traditional views.這段話暗示著，埃及人正想要掙脫傳統束縛，朝向一個正面開放的路線前進。
而這篇文章的kicker是And many other simply believe it is wrong, like Cairo University student Mohammed Esmat, 20. “I am a Muslim and in Islam sex before marriage is forbidden, so I am against it,” he said. 這段話也強烈顯示著社會大眾還存在傳統觀念，並非每個學生都有開放的思想，讓讀者有進一步省思。
以上介紹完新聞英語寫作，除了幫助記者外，也讓讀者了解寫作思維，更容易抓到新聞重點，以後讀報紙時，別忘了分析一下文章內容，相信一定可以越讀越快的。
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