高级医学英语阅读与写作Chapter two
2012-06-02 22:49:01   来源：37度医学网   作者：  评论：0 点击：

cause and effect. In a paragraph of it, we can show why things happen. The development is arranged in several patterns: in some paragraph, the cause comes first; in another paragraph, the effect precedes the cause; and in some others, the cause and effect are each other.  

Sample A
Cause: mechanization
 
 
Effect: unemployment
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
     Mechanization has gradually eliminated many of the ranching and agricultural jobs once available to the Indians. In any case, many Indians remain untrained for skilled jobs. Thus today, the unemployment rate among the Blackfeet approaches 50 percent. During the winter, when the temperature reaches 50 degrees below zero, 80 percent of the people must rely on some forms of government assistance. Practically every business on the reservation is owned by a white man.

Sample B
 

Effect
 
Cause
 
 
 
 
 
 
      
      
       A geyser is the resultof underground water under the combined conditions of high temperatures and increased pressure beneath the surface of the earth. Since temperature rises approximately one degree F. for every sixty feet under earth's surface, and pressure increases with depth, water that seeps down in cracks and fissures until it reaches very hot rocks in the earth's interior becomes heated to a temperature in excess of 290 degrees F. Because of the greater pressure, it shoots out of the surface in the form of steam and hot water. The result is a geyser.

Sample C
 

Effect
 
Causes
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The fantastic water clarity of the Mount Gambier sinkholes results from several factors.The holes are fed from aquifers holding rainwater that fell decades – even centuries – ago, and that has been filtered through miles of limestone. The high level of calcium that limestone adds caused the silty detritus from dead plants and animals to cling together and settle quickly to the bottom. Abundant bottom vegetation in the shallow sinkholes also helps bind the silt. And the rapid turnover of water prohibits stagnation.

                        ―Hillary Hauser, “ Exploring a Sinkhole Realm in Australia”
 
Sample D
 

Effect: more old people
 
Cause 1 →
       There are more old people in the world today because of an increase in medical services in the world. Today, more people can get medical services from
       Effect 1(cause2)→
 
       Effect 2(cause 3)→
 
 
 
       Effect 3
 
doctors and nurses in hospitals and clinics. As a result, fewer people get fatal diseases such as yellow fever, malaria, cholera, and typhoid. This decrease in fatal diseases causes a decrease in the number of people who die from these diseases. Because of this decrease in the number of deaths, people can live longer today. As a result, there has been an increase in the number of old people living in the world today.

 
The patterns are summarized as follows:
 
A．              cause →effect                      Mechanization →unemployment
cause →effect 1                   
→effect 2
 
       B.  effect ←cause               A geyser ←underground water
       effect ←cause 1
←cause 2
←cause 3
 
C. cause →effect(cause) →effect(cause) →effect
Medical service →decrease in fatal disease →decrease in death →increase in the number of old people
 
Also many indicators of cause and effect may serve the development.
 
Conj.                  Verb.                 Adv.                     Phrase
because           lead to         consequently    on account of
as               result in        accordingly     thanks to
now that          contribute to    hence          due to
so               come from      therefore       owning to
for               stem from      thus           as a result
                                                 responsible for
                                                 because of
                                                 the result of
 
        The above words often used to link ideas showing cause and effect roughly fall into four categories with different structures. Their cause/effect relations may vary from category to category.
 
1.      The indicator of cause and effect is the verb in the sentence, with the cause in the subject position.
 
         cause                                                                           effect
                                                        leads to
                                                        contributes to
The high cost of living               results in                     women having to work
                                                        is the reason(for)           outside the home.
                                                        is responsible(for)
 
2.   The indicator of cause and effect is the verb in the sentence, with the effect in the subject position.
 
              effect                                                                           cause
                                                 comes from
                                                 stems from
                                                 results from
Women working                is the result of            financial necessity.
             outside the home         is due to
                                                 is a consequence of
 
3.      The indicator of cause and effect joins two independent clauses, and in this group, notice the punctuation.
 
                 cause                                                                        effect
                                                         consequently,
                                                         therefore,
       Many women have financial    thus,                         they go back
                 difficulties;(,)                 hence,                       to work.
                                                         and so
 
     Many women have financial      and that is why       they go back
                 difficulties,                            so                              to work.
 
                                                         For this reason,
     Many women have financial      That is why                     they go back
                 difficulties.                            Accordingly,            to work.
 
4.   In this group, the indicator joins a subordinate clause. Again, notice the punctuation. Remember also that the subordinate clause can be either at the beginning or at the end of the sentence.
 
                 cause                                                   effect