以下文章来源于地球大数据国际期刊 ，作者BEDJ编辑部
英文论文中的引言通常应提供研究的背景信息，阐明研究的主题及其重要性，总结并讨论前人的研究工作，最后提出明确的研究目标。尽管很多作者已经熟练地掌握了引言的结构和要素，但是对时态的使用经常感到困惑，一些词语和短语的误用也可能会降低审稿专家的好感。本期就来讲一讲如何用地道的英语表达为引言美颜。首先，我们考虑一下应该用什么时态来撰写引言呢？
引言中的时态问题
在引言中阐述研究目的、方法、及简短的关键结果时，与撰写摘要使用时态的原则是一致的（参见“小编谈写作”第二讲 让审稿人更感兴趣的论文标题和摘要），通常会采用一般过去时或一般现在时。
01
Style 1
如果将研究视为过去的成果，则应选用一般过去时。
示例：In this study, three global land-cover products were chosen for evaluation. The confusion matrices were adjusted by accounting for the proportions of the different land-cover classes …
但是要注意在描述研究结果时，需要切换到一般现在时。
示例：The results indicate that the overall accuracy of the GlobeLand30-2010 product is the highest …
02
Style 2
如果只是从撰写这篇论文的角度思考，也可以选择一般现在时。
示例：In this paper, we evaluate three selected global land-cover products. The confusion matrices are adjusted by accounting for the proportions of the different land-cover classes.
同样地，上述原则也适用于文献综述。如果提及的是已有研究的具体过程（已发生在过去），则采用一般过去时进行描述；但是如果引用的是论文中的关联内容（这些内容现在仍然存在），则应使用一般现在时进行综述。所以，使用哪种时态还是与作者的视角和写作风格相关。我们可以从示例中更好的理解时态的使用原则：
一般过去时：
示例：For example, Yang et al. (2014) made a qualitative and quantitative analysis and comparison of the five existing kinds of land cover data for China and the surrounding areas based on a spatial consistency analysis and by sampling images in Google Earth. The results revealed large areas where there was disagreement between the five land cover datasets, and the overall consistency was low. Brovelli et al. (2016) conducted a unit-by-unit comparison test between an Italian land cover map based on a field survey and GlobeLand30 data and assessed the quality of the GlobeLand30 data classification by obtaining a confusion matrix and related statistical indicators. The authors concluded that …
也可以把上面的示例转换成一般现在时：
示例：For example, in Yang et al. (2014), a qualitative and quantitative analysis and comparison of the five existing kinds of land cover data for China and the surrounding areas is made based on a spatial consistency analysis and sampling of images in Google Earth. The results reveal large areas where there is disagreement between the five land cover datasets, and the overall consistency is low. In Brovelli et al. (2016) a unit-by-unit comparison test between an Italian land cover map based on a field survey and GlobeLand30 data is described together with an assessment of the quality of the GlobeLand30 data classification that was made by obtaining a confusion matrix and related statistical indicators. The authors conclude that …
很多作者在文献综述部分会提及“recent research”。在英语中，“recent”和“recently”通常用于现在完成时(“have done”)。这种情况也可以使用一般过去时，但是不能使用一般现在时，如：
错误：Recently, the accuracy of all of the GlobeLand30 classes are assessed both together and individually using sample-based validation or by making comparisons with existing land-cover products.
这个例子可以用现在完成时改写为：
示例：Recently, the accuracy of all of the GlobeLand30 classes have been assessed both together and individually using sample-based validation or by making comparisons with existing land-cover products.
或者可以用一般过去时改写：
示例：Recently, the accuracy of all of the GlobeLand30 classes were assessed both together and individually using sample-based validation or by making comparisons with existing land-cover products.
误用的单词或短语
01
literatures
大多数论文的引言都会包含文献综述，作者通常会引用多项不同的研究来阐述研究背景和现状。写作时需要注意“literature”是不可数名词，并没有“literatures”的说法.
错误：Methods of producing national land-cover maps from time-series of these data have been described in many literatures.
“paper”和“study”是可数名词，可用于替代“literature”：
正确：Methods of producing national land-cover maps from time-series of these data have been described in many papers [studies].
02
scholars
有些作者习惯使用“scholars”一词来指代相关研究论文的作者，例如：
错误：Many scholars have considered this problem and tried to develop methods for solving it.
尽管“scholar”可以译为学者，但是在文献综述的时候最好使用“scientists”或“researchers”：
示例：Many researchers [scientists] have considered this problem and tried to develop methods for solving it.
此外，应避免使用“scholars at home and abroad”这个短语，向国际期刊投稿时使用“国内”或“国外”这样的词汇都是不合适的：
错误：Over the years, scholars at home and abroad …
正确示例1：Over the years, researchers both inside and outside China …
正确示例2：Over the years, researchers both in China and in other countries …
03
considering
很多作者会在引言中解释他们的研究与以往研究有何不同，或是进行了何种改进：
错误：In this study, a model of [for] … based on remote sensing data considering differences in the resolution of the data sources was developed.
句中“considering”用在这里其实并不合适，“considering”的意思可以理解为“given”或者“in view of”，一般可以这样使用：
Considering the poor quality of the original data, the results obtained using this method were better than might have been expected.
Considering how poor the weather was, it was surprising how many people were out on the street.
所以，例句中的“considering”最好用“that takes into account”替换：
In this study, a model of [for] … based on remote sensing data that takes into account differences in the resolution of the data sources was developed.
或者，也可以使用“that considers”：
In this study, a model of [for] … based on remote sensing data that considers the differences in the resolution of the data sources was developed.
04
provide a reference for
这个短语经常会出现在引言结尾处的句子中，例如
错误：The results of this study will provide a reference for researchers in the field of land-use management.
其实这个短语是“为……提供参考”的直译写法，但国外审稿专家和读者很难理解其中的意思。根据作者想要表达的内容，通常可以用“information”或“support”替换：
正确示例1：The results of this study provide information that can be used by researchers in the field of land-use management.
正确示例2：The results of this study will provide support to researchers in the field of land-use management.
05
diverse
“diverse”也是常被误用的单词。“diverse”和“different”均含“不同的”之意，但是“diverse”语气较强，指性质完全不同，主要被用于强调的事物之间存在着巨大差异：
示例：The participants came from countries as diverse as China, Australia, Fiji and Mozambique.
这意味着“diverse”不应该用在下面句子中：
错误：In this study, three diverse datasets were used
即便作者想要强调数据集存在特别的不同之处，使用“very different”已经足以表达作者的意图。所以，如果只是想说明研究中使用了不同的数据集，不如这样写
正确示例1：In this study, three different datasets were used.
如果这些数据集彼此差异很大，可以写成
正确示例2：In this study, three very different datasets were used.
或者
正确示例3：In this study, three datasets with very different characteristics were used.
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