王雪喬
語篇理解是高考英語考試的一個(gè)重要考查方面,具體題型包括完形填空、閱讀理解、七選五、語法填空、改錯(cuò)以及書面表達(dá)??梢钥闯?,對語篇理解的考查貫穿高考英語試卷的方方面面,以此可以看出英語語篇理解的重要性。語篇理解的重要性凸顯出對英語語篇銜接方式把握的重要性。英語語篇銜接手段主要依賴代詞、同義詞、同位詞替換和語篇的語序,以此來避免重復(fù)和保持行文的邏輯合理性。
英語行文不喜歡重復(fù),除非有特殊需要,這和漢語有較大的區(qū)別。以下,我們就從句子層面到篇章層面來考查英語是如何進(jìn)行銜接的。
1. 句子層面
句子是構(gòu)成篇章的基本單位,所以先來看句子層面上英語銜接的特點(diǎn)。
例1 Mary received a Christmas gift from her Grandmother and she liked it.
使用代詞代替上文出現(xiàn)的名詞“a Christmas gift”,避免重復(fù)。
例2 I bought two books, both of which were written by a world famous woman writer.
使用關(guān)系代詞指代先行詞“two books”,避免重復(fù),起到銜接作用。
例3 The second home-made aircraft-carrier is now being built. It is expected that she is among the most advanced in the world.
同例句1,用“she”指的是“The second home-made aircraft-carrier”,避免重復(fù)。在英
語里,船舶等交通工具可以用代詞“she”來指代。
例4 Jack had his own smart phone but he took mine as his own, which was something I felt terribly sick of.
名詞性物主代詞可以指代上文提到的名詞“smart phone”,起到上下銜接的作用。
例5 The southerners are in preference to rice while the northerners are keen on wheat.
英語里,相同的意思可以選擇不同的近義詞或者短語來表達(dá),比如該句中的“are in preference to”和“are keen on”就屬于這種情況。
例6 He expressed his pessimism that all of the efforts we took were in vain but I objected to this kind of outlook.
兩個(gè)不同的名詞,表達(dá)相同的意思,用法同上。
例7 Our unemployment rate is up, but our salary is down.
連詞起到上下文的銜接作用。
例8 My mother asked me to go to the market with her, but I didnt want to.
不定式的省略,省略了上文的“go to the market with her”,避免了重復(fù)累贅。
2. 語篇層次
關(guān)于語篇層次的銜接,本文想從兩個(gè)方面進(jìn)行展示,首先從詞的角度看英語的語篇銜接。
Jack is well-received in his class. As the monitor of the class, he often holds fascinating activities in which many students are ready to participate and make friends with each other. If one is in trouble in study or in life, the monitor always offers to lend a hand as soon as possible, which makes the boy one of the most popular students in the class. What is more, not only is he an able monitor but he has a gift for music, whose performance always arouses much admiration among the students whenever there is a party in class or in school. Now, you see, how popular Jack is!
這篇短文是介紹杰克是一個(gè)受歡迎的人。文中一共有8處涉及到這個(gè)學(xué)生,但是我們能看到,除了開頭和結(jié)尾兩句話出現(xiàn)了“Jack”,其他地方用了另外的指代方式來銜接全文,避免了從頭到底重復(fù)“Jack”,符合英語的行文特點(diǎn)。
其次,本文想從篇章內(nèi)部句子之間順序的角度來看看英語特有的銜接方式。以下例子來自《語篇銜接與翻譯》(胡明亮(2006),四川出版集團(tuán))。
a. Its the sun thats shining, the day thats perfect. The astronauts come here. The Great Hall they are just passing; hell perhaps come out to greet them, the President. No, its the admiral whos taking the ceremony.
b. The sun is shining, its a perfect day. Here come the astronauts. They are just passing the Great Hall; perhaps the President will come out to greet them. No, its the admiral whos taking the ceremony.
按照胡明亮的觀點(diǎn),a. 很難看懂,一個(gè)重要的原因是該段句子的語序銜接不合適,句子主題和焦點(diǎn)頻繁轉(zhuǎn)換,讓人迎接不暇。他認(rèn)為,第一句兩個(gè)小句子就顯得突兀。第二句“The astronauts come here.”是個(gè)主謂結(jié)構(gòu),和上文沒有聯(lián)系。第三句是賓語提前,將主題句改為“the Great Hall”,也很突兀。第四句主題又變?yōu)榱恕癶e”;最后一句“No, its the admiral whos taking the ceremony”,用“It is...who...”強(qiáng)調(diào)句的形式將“the admiral”標(biāo)為焦點(diǎn),和前邊不協(xié)調(diào)。總之,由于句子主題的頻繁轉(zhuǎn)換,造成語篇銜接混亂,不具備可讀性。相比較而言,b.的行文銜接就流暢了很多,符合英文的行文習(xí)慣。
無論是句子層面還是語篇層面,英語行文都有獨(dú)特的銜接方式。教師在平時(shí)的教學(xué)中,應(yīng)該有意識地引導(dǎo)學(xué)生去觀察英文的銜接特點(diǎn),這不僅在審美上能感受到英文之美,提高其學(xué)科的核心素養(yǎng),在實(shí)際學(xué)習(xí)中更能提高英語的應(yīng)用能力特別是閱讀能力和寫作能力。
(作者單位:河北省石家莊市鹿泉區(qū)第一中學(xué)英語組)