abstract
abstract
abstract, extract和tractor有个共同词根tract(拉丁文: pull)。从论文里pull内容，就形成了摘要。
An abstract is a brief summary of a research article, thesis, review, conference proceeding, or any in-depth analysis of a particular subject and is often used to help the reader quickly ascertain the paper's purpose. When used, an abstract always appears at the beginning of a manuscript or typescript, acting as the point-of-entry for any given academic paper or patent application. Abstracting and indexing services for various academic disciplines are aimed at compiling a body of literature for that particular subject.
Academic literature uses the abstract to succinctly communicate complex research. An abstract may act as a stand-alone entity instead of a full paper. As such, an abstract is used by many organizations as the basis for selecting research that is proposed for presentation in the form of a poster, platform/oral presentation or workshop presentation at an academic conference. Most literature database search engines index only abstracts rather than providing the entire text of the paper. Full texts of scientific papers must often be purchased because of copyright and/or publisher fees and therefore the abstract is a significant selling point for the reprint or electronic form of the full text.
An abstract allows one to sift through copious numbers of papers for ones in which the researcher can have more confidence that they will be relevant to his or her research. Once papers are chosen based on the abstract, they must be read carefully to be evaluated for relevance. It is generally agreed that one must not base reference citations on the abstract alone, but the content of an entire paper.
An academic abstract typically outlines four elements relevant to the completed work:
1. The research focus (i.e. statement of the problem(s)/research issue(s) addressed);
2. The research methods used (experimental research, case studies, questionnaires, etc.);
3. The results/findings of the research; and
4. The main conclusions and recommendations
Example taken from the Journal of Biology, Volume 3, Issue 2.:
The hydrodynamics of dolphin drafting
by Daniel Weihs, Faculty of Aerospace Engineering, Technion, Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 32000, Israel.
Abstract:
Background Drafting in cetaceans is defined as the transfer of forces between individuals without actual physical contact between them. This behavior has long been surmised to explain how young dolphin calves keep up with their rapidly moving mothers. It has recently been observed that a significant number of calves become permanently separated from their mothers during chases by tuna vessels. A study of the hydrodynamics of drafting, initiated inmechanisms causing the separation of mothers and calves during fishing-related activities, is reported here.
Results Quantitative results are shown for the forces and moments around a pair of unequally sized dolphin-like slender bodies. These include two major effects. First, the so-called Bernoulli suction, which stems from the fact that the local pressure drops in areas of high speed, results in an attractive force between mother and calf. Second is the displacement effect, in which the motion of the mother causes the water in front to move forwards and radially outwards, and water behind the body to move forwards to replace the animal's mass. Thus, the calf can gain a 'free ride' in the forward-moving areas. Utilizing these effects, the neonate can gain up to 90% of the thrust needed to move alongside the mother at speeds of up to 2.4 m/s. A comparison with observations of eastern spinner dolphins (Stenella longirostris) is presented, showing savings of up to 60% in the thrust that calves require if they are to keep up with their mothers.
Conclusions A theoretical analysis, backed by observations of free-swimming dolphin schools, indicates that hydrodynamic interactions with mothers play an important role in enabling dolphin calves to keep up with rapidly moving adult school members.
© 2004 Weihs; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article: verbatim copying and redistribution of this article are permitted in all media for any purpose, provided this notice is preserved along with the article's original URL
六级/考研单词: abstract, summary, thesis, conference, seldom, ascertain, manuscript, patent, compile, entity, poster, oral, data, copyright, thereby, electron, confide, evaluate, outline, issue, journal, biology, dolphin, faculty, physics, calf, rapid, lately, perpetual, vessel, initiate, slim, stem, displace, outward, utilize, thrust
抽象这个词是抽象的。“什么叫动物？” “*像*猫和狗这样的会动的生物就是动物。” 从具体抽(pull)，得到象(形状、样子)。“然韩非之前只有象字,无像字” 服装陈列用的人体模型(mannequin)是人身体和脸庞的抽象。归纳，演绎，推断是d, i, r字头的事。i字头还有intangible，它和untouchable都与touch有关，但不是同义词。
Abstract art works are artistic works that do not attempt to represent reality or concrete subjects Abstract art uses visual language of shape, form, color and line to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. Western art had been, from the Renaissance up to the middle of the 19th century, underpinned by the logic of perspective and an attempt to reproduce an illusion of visible reality. By the end of the 19th century many artists felt a need to create a new kind of art which would encompass the fundamental changes taking place in technology, science and philosophy. The sources from which individual artists drew their theoretical arguments were diverse, and reflected the social and intellectual preoccupations in all areas of Western culture at that time. Abstraction indicates a departure from reality in depiction of imagery in art. This departure from accurate representation can be slight, partial, or complete.
六级/考研单词: abstract, compose, renaissance, logic, reproduce, illusion, diverse, intellect, depart, depict
近义词: abridge, abbreviate, compress, condense, contract, curtail, epitome, outline, shorten, summary, draw away/from, take away
How: entirely, fairly, highly, purely, rather, somewhat, very
dissertation一般指博士论文。
1. The doctoral dissertation is a consistent scholarly work based on independent research that makes an original contribution to knowledge.
2. A Masters Dissertation is a lengthy written study on a topic chosen by the student.
3. "The dissertation is a source of pride for doctoral students," Dinah Manns, PhD, faculty chair at Capella University, says.
