蛇
【内容提示】
请你选择一种你所熟悉的动物作一描写。内容要点如下：
①该动物的外观及形体；
②该动物的习性；
③其生活特性；
④其食物构成；
⑤人们对它的态度；
⑥它的益处或害处。
【作文示范】
Snakes
The snake is a long and thin animal that lives in grass or other dark places. A snake has no legs or feet, but it can move very fast on its stomach. Snakes usually have green, yellow or black skins, which make them difficult for their enemies to find them. Some kinds of snakes live in water. They can swim as freely as fish.
Snakes are cold-blooded animals. In winter they hibernate ① in holes which are narrow enough only to hold the snakes＇ bodies. The snakes can sleep through a whole winter without eating and moving. They can not feel any pain. The hibernation ② period lasts about five months. When spring comes, the snakes come out and begin their normal life.
Snakes can take many things as food, such as mice, sparrows, frogs,birds＇ eggs, pests ③ and so on. People sometimes can see a snake eat a sparrow. First it moves close to the sparrow, then it puts out its tongue and brings the sparrow into its mouth and swallows it, which makes a lump ④ in the snake＇s body. After some time the lump disappears.
As snakes are dreadful-looking ⑤, people are afraid of them. Many people drive them away whenever they see snakes. But in Chinese fairy tales, snakes are by no means bad. They seem to have human feelings. They can change into pretty girls. People like and respect them. The most well-known is the story about the White Snake and the Blue Snake.
In fact, snakes are not as dreadful as they look. They can help us to kill mice and pests. They can provide us with delicious meat. Their blood is a good drink. Poisonous snakes are especially useful. We can make valuable drugs with them.
（选自《英语画刊》高中版1996年第7期）
【词语解释】
①hibernate [＇haib+:neit] v. 冬眠
②hibernation [?haib+:＇neiM+n] n. 越冬；冬眠
③pest [pest] n. 害虫
④lump [l)mp] n. 隆起
⑤dreadful-looking [＇dredful ＇lukiR] a. 看起来可怕的
【写法指要】
作文是社会经验积累的产物，本文充分说明了这一点。作者对事物观察得非常仔细，把蛇这种不易接近的动物的方方面面都了解到了。
文章从五个方面描写了蛇这一动物：蛇的外貌和习性、生活特征、食物结构、人们对它的态度及蛇的益处。
文章中关于“蛇”一词有the snake，a snake，snakes，the snakes 四种表达形式。这是一个词在文中多次出现时为避免冗繁而采用的很好方法，应注意观察其用法，学会运用。