理解托福听力中的“修辞艺术”2
Simile(明喻)的修辞手法在TOEFL听力中的运用可谓炉火纯青。
比如:(划线部分为明喻之处)
1.Like引导
1) He sweats like a pig.(他像猪一样流汗。)
2) They slept like babies.(他们像婴儿一样熟睡着。)
3) Living without an aim is like sailing without a compass.(John Ruskin)
(生活没有目标犹如航行没有指南针。)
4) Records fell like ripe apples on a windy day.(E.B. White)(被打破的记录犹如刮风天成熟的苹果——纷纷坠落。)
2.As引导
1)She is as beautiful as a flower.(她像花一样的美丽。)
2)“I am as light as a feather, I am as happy as am angel, I am as merry as a school boy. I am as giddy as a drunken man...”(Charles Dickens)
(我像羽毛一样轻,我像天使一样幸福,我像小学生一样快活,我像喝醉了酒的人一样飘飘然……)
3)The first time I read an excellent book, it is to me as if I had gained a new friend.
(我头一回读到一本好书,对我来说好象交了一位新朋友。)
注意:As引导的as...as结构在英语中得到了广泛应用,若能在口语交流或各种作文考试(如:TWE等)中用上一个,定会得到意想不到的效果,常用的as结构有:
(as) firm as a rock坚如磐石
(as) light as a feather轻如鸿毛
(as) close as an oyster守口如瓶
(as) mute as a fish噤若寒蝉
(as) strong as a horse强壮如牛
(as) cool as a cucumber泰然自若
(as) sober as a judge十分清醒
(as) sure as a gun千真万确
在托福听力之“修辞艺术”(上篇)中,我着重给大家介绍了夸张(Hyperbole)和明喻(Simile),今天我们来着讨一下暗喻(Metaphor)和Irony(反语):
Metaphor(暗喻)
试比较以下两种TOEFL听力表达方式:
1)He is very nice.(他人很好。)
2)He really has a heart of gold.(他有一颗金子般的心。)
很明显,第二种表达方式比第一种更加栩栩如生。因为第二种使用了Metaphor(隐喻的修辞手法。顾名思义,Metaphor(隐喻)也是一种比喻,但不同于Simile(明喻)的是:
Metaphor(隐喻)因为不借助比喻词的帮助而更显精练,其典型形式是A is B.
Simile(明喻)的修辞手法在TOEFL听力中的运用可谓炉火纯青。
比如:(划线部分为明喻之处)
1) A good book is a good friend. (好书是益友。)
2) He has a voice of gold. (他有个金嗓子。)
3) Experience is the best teacher.(经验是最好的老师。)
4) She has a photographic memory for detail.(她对细节有照相机般的记忆力。)
当然,除了TOEFL听力,Metaphor(隐喻)的修辞手法在英语语言文学中的经典范例不胜枚举:
1)All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players.
(William Shakespeare)(整个世界是座舞台,男男女女,演员而已。)
2)Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.
(William B. Yeats)(教育不是注满一桶水,而是点燃一把火。)
3)He has the microwave smile that warms another person without heat.
(Time, October 29, 1979)(他有一种微波微笑,能不加热而使别人温暖。)
注意:由于Metaphor(隐喻)具有隐蔽性,故在TOEFL听力中要特别小心今年来不断出现的Metaphor(隐喻)结构,抓住其引申含义,以免造成误解;这也是TOEFL听力难度增加的表现。