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1、Description of a PlaceDescriptions of places often appear in different types of writings for different purposes. When they appear in travel brochures or tourist magazines, the purpose is to guide the tourists or to attract more tourists. So the focus of these descriptions will be on the best selling
2、 points of the places being described. When they appear in a narrative, the purpose is usually to help achieve certain purposes of the author such as building a certain atmosphere, specifying the location of an incident or enhancing the characterization of a certain character. In this case, the desc
3、ription needs to meet the need of the narrative. The language used in the description of a place should also be varied according to the purpose. If it is an official introduction to a certain location, the language should be formal; if it is for advertising for a tourist resort, the language can be
4、informal. Since different angles (or perspectives) will make the same place look different, clear and appropriate, a proper angle is a must for the description of a place. For instance, to describe a house, the writer may choose to describe it from the outside or from the inside or both according to
5、 the purpose; he may also choose to describe it from the owners perspective or from a visitors perspective.Reading AThe Middle Eastern BazaarThe Middle Eastern bazaar takes you back hundreds-even thousands-of years. The one I am thinking of particularly is entered by a Gothic-arched gateway of aged
6、brick and stone. You pass from the heat and glare of a big, open square into a cool, dark cavern which extends as far as the eye can see, losing itself in the shadowy distance. Little donkeys with harmoniously tinkling bells thread their way among the throngs of people entering and leaving the bazaa
7、r. The roadway is about twelve feet wide, but it is narrowed every few yards by little stalls where goods of every conceivable kind are sold. The din of the stall-holders crying their wares, of donkey- boys and porters clearing away for themselves by shouting vigorously, and of would- be purchasers
8、arguing and bargaining is continuous and makes you dizzy. Then as you penetrate deeper into the bazaar, the noise of the entrance fades away, and you come to the muted cloth-market. The earthen floor, beaten hard by countless feet, deadens the sound of footsteps, and the vaulted mud-brick walls and
9、roof have hardly any sounds to echo. The shop-keepers speak in slow, measured tones, and the buyers, overwhelmed by the sepulchral atmosphere, follow suit. One of the peculiarities of the Eastern bazaar is that shopkeepers dealing in the same kind of goods do not scatter themselves over the bazaar,
10、in order to avoid competition, but collect in the same area, so that purchasers can know where to find them, and so that they can form a closely knit guild against injustice or persecution. In the cloth-market, for instance, all the sellers of material for clothes, curtains, chaircovers and so on li
11、ne the roadway on both sides, each openfronted shop having a trestle table for display and shelves for storage. Bargaining is the order of the day, and veiled women move at a leisurely pace from shop to shop, selecting, pricing and doing a little preliminary bargaining before they narrow down their
12、choice and begin the really serious business of beating the price down. It is a point of honour with the customer not to let the shopkeeper guess what it is she really likes and wants until the last moment. If he does guess correctly, he will price the item high, and yield little in the bargaining.
13、The seller, on the other hand, makes a point of protesting that the price he is charging is depriving him of all profit, and that he is sacrificing this because of his personal regard for the customer. Bargaining can go on the whole day, or even several days, with the customer coming and going at in
14、tervals. One of the most picturesque and impressive parts of the bazaar is the copper- smiths market. As you approach it, a tinkling and banging and clashing begins to impinge on your ear. It grows louder and more distinct, until you round a corner and see a fairyland of dancing flashes, as the burn
15、ished copper catches the light of innumerable lamps and braziers. In each shop sit the apprentices-boys and youths, some of them incredibly young-hammering away at copper vessels of all shapes and sizes, while the shop-owner instructs, and sometimes takes a hand with a hammer himself. In the backgro
16、und, a tiny apprentice blows a big charcoal fire with a huge leather bellows worked by a string attached to his big toe - the red of the live coals glowing bright and then dimming rhythmically to the strokes of the bellows. Here you can find beautiful pots and bowls engraved with delicate and intricate traditional designs, or the simple, everyday kitchenware used in this country, pleasing in form, but undecorated and strictly fun
