Appendix 4. Some Tips on Summary Writing

Ancient Japanese Art
of Origami Thriving in San Francisco
Suli Yi

The ancient Japanese art of origami – or paper folding – is thriving today in San Francisco – thanks largely to an American scientist.

Remember how much fun it was to play with paper airplanes as a kid? Most people give up those kinds of hobbies once they grow up, but not Robert Lang.

“The biggest thing was just like this paper airplane, it was a way that you can make something with found materials, cheap paper, scraps, even trash”, said Lang.

Lang lives in the San Francisco bay area. He is a laser physicist and graduate of the California Institute of Technology, and has nearly 50 U.S. patents to his name. Eight years ago he gave up his job to pursue origami, making him one of the few professional origami artists in the country. He never stops creating, even during lunchtime.

“I'll give it to the waitress. It'll be part of the tip”, he added.

But Lang can turn bills into lots of other things besides butterflies.

“This was folded from two individual dollar bills”, he added. "I paid two dollars for the two dollar bills”.

This flower was made from six one-dollar bills. This plate was made with three, and another three for the lobster. Under his expert hands, paper of almost any type, stiffness or thickness can be turned into a work of art.

“Different papers suggest different subjects. And in some cases, the paper itself suggested what the best subject was. When I saw this paper, the Mexican paper, I immediately thought I want to fold it into a pot”, he said.

Using his understanding of complex geometric forms, Lang has played an important role in origami's evolution. Many of these models were unheard of just 10 or so years ago.

“The reason I do a lot of animals is because I'm inspired by the real thing”, he explained.

Lang's works have been displayed in the Lindsay Wildlife Museum near San Francisco for years. Loren Behr is executive director of the museum.

“It is kind of hard to believe sometimes when I look at his work to realize that one sheet of paper goes into each of the animals with all of the complexities”, she said. "All the amazing number of folds … I can't imagine that he can actually do that”.

Many countries around the world have origami traditions. But it has played a particularly important role in Japanese culture. The English term origami is a transliteration of the Japanese word. “Ori" means "to fold”, and “gami” means “paper”. San Francisco's Japantown is home to some origami masters, including Linda Tomoko Mihara.

Linda is a third-generation Japanese-American. She is famous for her origami cranes, which once played an important role in Japanese culture.

“It was tradition for the bride to fold 1,000 cranes to wish for a long and prosperous marriage, and also to demonstrate her patience and I guess her humility to show that she would be a good wife, which is a very old way of thinking, but that's how it was in that time”, she explained.

Linda's grandparents compiled the first origami handbook ever published in the United States. She began doing origami at the age of five.

She and Lang have worked together. They once created all the origami models for a 3D animated commercial.

“Everything you saw in that commercial except the car was origami. So we did buildings, city buildings, Victorian houses, even the decorations in the streets around the houses. Trash cans, potted plants, street lamps”, explained Robert Lang.

The great response that the commercial got has further spurred the two artist's passion to create. They are now hoping to one day do the first-ever origami movie.

Ссылка на статью:

http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/arts-and-entertainment/art-culture/Ancient-Japanese-Art-of-Origami-Thriving-in-San-Francisco-88230457.html

1) Итак, статья взята из раздела Art and Culture. Статья называется «Ancient Japanese Art of Origami Thriving in San Francisco».

2) Теперь бегло читаем текст и определяем основную мысль текста. В статье говорится о нарастающей популярности древнего японского искусства оригами. Можно сделать вывод, что автор восхищается способностями художников, работающих в технике оригами, поэтому использует слова, акцентирующие наше внимание на красоте этого искусства. (На этой стадии написания резюме в глаза бросаются следующие слова: thriving, pursue, inspire, amazing, create, great response, spur, passion).

3) Далее обращаем внимание на ключевые слова: art, origami models, work, create, important. Не стоит забывать и слова, отмеченные в предыдущем пункте.

На наш взгляд, самое первое предложение более полно отражает смысл статьи: «The ancient Japanese art of origami – or paper folding – is thriving today in San Francisco – thanks largely to an American scientist». Необходимо отметить важность последнего предложения «They are now hoping to one day do the first ever origami movie», так как оно может послужить неким итогом статьи. Оно, несомненно, пригодится нам для резюме.

4) Данная статья разделена на абзацы, но некоторые из них можно объединить и составить план статьи (здесь учитываем скорее не объем частей статьи, а их смысловую независимость друг от друга):

– Популярность оригами.

– Роберт Ланг решил не расставаться со своим детским увлечением.

– Ланга привлекает возможность создавать нечто из ненужной бумаги.

– Бросив успешную работу, Ланг начинает профессионально заниматься оригами.

– Ланг создает бумажные фигурки из всего, что попадает ему в руки, даже из долларовых банкнот.

– Бумага сама подсказывает ему, что из нее должно получиться.

– За время своей усиленной работы Лангу удалось создать множество авторских фигурок животных, не существовавших до него.

– В Сан-Франциско есть много художников японского происхождения, работающих в технике оригами. Линда Томоко Михара – одна из них.

– Линда рассказывает о японских традициях оригами.

– Линда и Роберт работали вместе над созданием фигурок оригами для 3D-анимации.

– Этот проект оказался очень успешным и вдохновил художников на дальнейшую работу. Они надеются однажды сделать фильм, в котором были бы задействованы фигурки оригами.

Нужно помнить, что это лишь план.

Теперь выберем из каждой части по одному ключевому предложению:

The ancient Japanese art of origami – or paper folding – is thriving today in San Francisco – thanks largely to an American scientist.

Most people give up those kinds of hobbies once they grow up, but not Robert Lang.

...you can make something with found materials, cheap paper, scraps, even trash...

Eight years ago he gave up his job to pursue origami, making him one of the few professional origami artists in the country.

Under his expert hands, paper of almost any type, stiffness or thickness can be turned into a work of art.

...the paper itself suggested what the best subject was...

Lang has played an important role in origami's evolution.

...I'm inspired by the real thing...

San Francisco's Japantown is home to some origami masters, including Linda Tomoko Mihara.

She is famous for her origami cranes, which once played an important role in Japanese culture.

She and Lang have worked together. They once created all the origami models for a 3D animated commercial.

Everything you saw in that commercial except the car was origami.

They are now hoping to one day do the first-ever origami movie.

5) Попробуем выразить смысл всей статьи в одном предложении. Получается вот что: The article describes growing popularity of origami in San Francisco. Заготовим резюме каждого абзаца, не забывая, что намеренно опускаем все детали, всю лишнюю информацию, оставляя лишь самое важное. Таким образом, получаем следующие заготовки:

Robert Lang has taken a liking for paper folding since childhood.

He is fascinated with the idea of turning seemingly useless material into something charming.

Lang has devoted his life entirely to the art of origami.

He is able to make something wonderful with any kind of paper, even with dollars.

What shape paper takes depends on paper itself.

Lang has created a lot of unique, evolutionary works of art.

He has worked together with Linda Tomoko Mihara, a Japanese-American origami master, who keeps in mind the ancient traditions of her ancestors.

Linda and Robert have worked on the models for 3D animation and created origami models of almost all the details of the commercial.

They are dreaming of creating an origami movie.

6) Приступаем к написанию самого резюме, используя заготовки. С помощью нехитрых математических вычислений приходим к выводу, что в нашем резюме должно быть около 150-210 слов (1/3 – 1/4 от объема всей статьи). В первом предложении нам нужно указать название и автора статьи, а также источник, в котором она была опубликована. Заранее позаботимся о вводных фразах, которые должны обеспечить плавный переход от одного предложения к другому:

Nowadays, firstly, secondly, as a result, consequently, finally, to sum up, in conclusion, on the one hand, on the other hand, however, yet, thus, anyway, actually, in fact, clearly, naturally, obviously, similarly, on the contrary, moreover, furthermore.

Полезными могут оказаться и следующие конструкции: it is widely known, there is no doubt that, it seems that, the article describes, shows, is devoted to и т.д.

Часто используются следующие глаголы: agree, disagree, refuse, suggest, demand, comment on, insist, critisize, analyse и их синонимы.

Итак, конечная версия резюме данной статьи выглядит так:

The article «Ancient Japanese Art of Origami Thriving in San Francisco» written by Yi Suili and published by VOA on the 17th of March 2010 describes growing popularity of origami in San Francisco.

An American scientist, Robert Lang has taken a liking for paper folding since childhood. As a result, he is fascinated with the idea of turning seemingly useless material into something charming. For the last eight years Lang has devoted his life entirely to the art of origami. Besides, this master is able to make something wonderful with any kind of paper, even with dollars. What shape paper takes depends on paper itself.

Excited with the animals Lang has created a lot of unique, evolutionary works of art. Recently, he has worked together with Linda Tomoko Mihara, a Japanese-American origami master, who keeps in mind the ancient traditions of her ancestors. Linda and Robert have worked on the models for 3D animation and created origami models of almost all the details of the commercial.

Consequently, inspired by the success they are dreaming of creating an origami movie.