议论文写到转折处，很多同学的第一反应是 but。

但”but”用多了，文章就像一条直路，拐弯全靠急刹车——生硬、单调，还显得论证没有层次。真正的高手会在大转折、小转折、时间转折之间自由切换，让读者清楚地看到：这里我让步了，那里我反转了，这个背景我承认了。

今天我们从FT一篇关于美国疾控中心（CDC）与密歇根州博弈的报道中，学习5种让步转折型逻辑衔接结构。

FT原文

来源： FT双语阅读 #120 — 《美国疾控中心敦促密歇根州封锁以抑制新冠疫情》

The head of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has urged Michigan’s governor to shut down the state instead of asking for more vaccines as a way to control a sudden jump in coronavirus cases.

Her comments mark a rare political intervention from the US public health body, which has so far largely remained happy to issue guidelines and let states set their own lockdown rules. They also reflect growing tension between Gretchen Whitmer, the state’s governor, and the federal government over how to quash a regional leap in cases which experts warn could sweep the whole country before enough people are vaccinated to stop it.

Whitmer was praised by many Democrats last year for imposing lockdown measures even in the face of public attacks from former president Donald Trump.

In recent days, however, she has resisted the call to reimpose some of those measures, asking schools to abandon in-person teaching and youth sports, but not instructing them to do so.

Instead, the Democratic governor has called for the federal government to provide her state with a larger allocation of vaccine doses over the coming weeks.

She said over the weekend: “We are seeing a surge in Michigan despite the fact that we have some of the strongest policies in place: mask mandates, capacity limits, working from home.”

“Despite all of that, we are seeing a surge because of these variants.”

The state’s jump in cases comes even as the country continues to accelerate its vaccination programme.

五个让步转折结构

1. despite + 名词：用”事实”让步，比 although 更简洁

原文出处： “Despite all of that, we are seeing a surge because of these variants.”

为什么好： despite 后面直接跟名词短语，比 although + 完整句子 更简洁有力。让步的对象是”事实”而不是”事件”时，用名词化的表达最地道。

❌ 学生初版 Although the policies are strong, the number of cases still rises.

✅ 升级版 Despite strong policies, the number of cases still rises.

💡 效果 去掉从句，让步信息压缩进名词短语，句子更紧凑，且 Despite 放句首立刻给读者”转折预告”，论证张力更强。

2. even as + 从句：让步和背景同时进行

原文出处： “The state’s jump in cases comes even as the country continues to accelerate its vaccination programme.”

为什么好： even as 表达”即使在……的同时”，比 although 多了一层时间上的同步——两个动作同时发生，让步更含蓄、更有画面感。

❌ 学生初版 Although the country is vaccinating people, the cases are still rising.

✅ 升级版 The surge in cases comes even as the country races to vaccinate its population.

💡 效果 comes even as 把”矛盾”呈现为”同时发生的两件事”，读者自己就能读出讽刺和张力，论证更有层次。

3. even in the face of + 名词：让步对象具体化

原文出处： “Whitmer was praised by many Democrats last year for imposing lockdown measures even in the face of public attacks from former president Donald Trump.”

为什么好： even in the face of（即使在……面前）把让步对象变成一个具体的”压力源”——攻击、质疑、反对——比笼统的 although it was difficult 生动得多。

❌ 学生初版 She kept the policy although many people attacked her.

✅ 升级版 She kept the policy even in the face of fierce public attacks.

💡 效果 “压力源”具象化，让步显得更有分量，读者的代入感更强——这正是议论文需要的”让对手显得强大，你的坚持才显得可贵”。

4. However 放句中：小转折的高级位置

原文出处： “In recent days, however, she has resisted the call to reimpose some of those measures…”

为什么好： however 放在句中（主语后），比句首更正式、更老练。新闻写作中常用这种位置，让转折和前后文衔接得更自然。

❌ 学生初版 However, she refused to reimpose the measures.

✅ 升级版 In recent days, however, she has resisted the call to reimpose those measures.

💡 效果 however 从”句首的路标”变成”句中的润滑剂”，句子不再千篇一律地以转折词开头，阅读节奏立刻高级起来。

5. Instead 开新句：从”否定前文”到”给出新方案”

原文出处： “Instead, the Democratic governor has called for the federal government to provide her state with a larger allocation of vaccine doses.”

为什么好： 用 Instead 单独开启新句，是”先否定前文方案、再亮出自己方案”的标准动作——比 but she wanted... 干净利落，且转折逻辑更清晰。

❌ 学生初版 But she wanted the government to give more vaccines to her state.

✅ 升级版 Instead, the governor called on the federal government to allocate her state a larger share of vaccine doses.

💡 效果 Instead 直接把读者从”旧方案”带到”新方案”，省去 but she wanted 的拖沓，转折干脆有力。

写作建议

这一组结构的共同点是：让步不是为了认输，而是为了让你后面的转折更有力量。 学生写作时，建议每次只用一个让步结构（despite 或 even as），再用 However 或 Instead 完成反转——一个让步 + 一个转折，论证就立体了。

另外可以留意 FT 原文里 as a way to（作为一种……的方式）和 before + 完整句（在……之前）这两个衔接结构，它们负责把”手段”和”时间条件”交代清楚，下一篇我们会专门讲因果与目的型衔接。

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