英語(yǔ)修辭與寫(xiě)作·16.1　Contrast

16.1　Contrast

16.1A　Contrast的含義和形式

1） Contrast，漢譯“對(duì)照”，亦作“對(duì)比”，是突出差別的一種修辭手段。例如：

The twins are as different as two people can be. Sally, who is always hoping someone will have a party, has black hair, brown eyes, and an outgoing personality. She wants to be an actress or popular singer. Susan, more serious and studious, has blonde hair, blue eyes, and a somewhat shy manner. Since she has done well in all her classes in graphic arts and math, she plans to become an architect or an engineer.

上例中開(kāi)頭一句點(diǎn)出這對(duì)雙胞胎姐妹完全不同，接著從形象特征、興趣愛(ài)好、專長(zhǎng)和志向等方面加以對(duì)照。

2） 最基本的對(duì)照結(jié)構(gòu)由兩個(gè)成分構(gòu)成，它們之間意義上構(gòu)成反襯，結(jié)構(gòu)上互不相同。例如：

Let both sides explore what problems unite us instead of laboring those problems which divide us.

（John F. Kennedy）

Your knowledge of English “tells” you that certain strings of phonemes are permissible and others are not.

（Victoria Franklin）

上例中What problems unite us為名詞性分句，與之對(duì)照的those problems which divide us為帶后置修飾性分句的名詞短語(yǔ)；certain strings of phonemes are permissible為完整的分句結(jié)構(gòu)，與之對(duì)照的others are not為省略分句。

16.1B　Contrast的使用

1） 在實(shí)際使用中，Contrast常和Comparison密切配合，其中Comparison用于論述不同事物的相同點(diǎn)或類似點(diǎn)，Contrast用于論述不同事物的不同點(diǎn)，如人們常說(shuō)的similarities and differences, relative merits, advantages and disadvantages。例如：

Most Americans would say it is not really possible to establish an ideal society. But time after time, a small dedicated group of people will drop out of the mainstream of American society to try, once more, to live according to the group's concept of an ideal society. Most of these groups have believed in holding their property in common. Most have used the holding their property in common. Most have used the word family to refer to all members of the group. Many of these groups, however, have differed widely in their attitudes toward sex and marriage.

（Conlin）

從整個(gè)段落看，首先是most Americans和a small dedicated group of people之間的對(duì)照，然后是most of these groups的比較（common property, group as “family”）和對(duì)照（attitudes toward sex and marriage），結(jié)構(gòu)嚴(yán)謹(jǐn)，思路清晰。

2） “對(duì)比”兼有對(duì)照與比較兩種意思，是用來(lái)說(shuō)明道理或事實(shí)的有力手段。1960年4月下旬，周恩來(lái)總理與印度談判中印邊界問(wèn)題，印方提出一個(gè)挑釁性問(wèn)題：“西藏自古就是中國(guó)的領(lǐng)土嗎？”周恩來(lái)說(shuō)：“西藏自古就是中國(guó)的領(lǐng)土，遠(yuǎn)的不說(shuō)，至少在元代，它已經(jīng)是中國(guó)的領(lǐng)土。”對(duì)方說(shuō)：“時(shí)間太短了?！敝芏鱽?lái)說(shuō)：“中國(guó)的元代離現(xiàn)在已有700來(lái)年的歷史，如果700年都被認(rèn)為是時(shí)間短的話，那么美國(guó)到現(xiàn)在只有100多年的歷史，是不是美國(guó)不是一個(gè)國(guó)家呢？這顯然是荒謬的。”印方代表啞口無(wú)言。這里周總理用了700年與100年的對(duì)比，誰(shuí)也無(wú)法否認(rèn)前者而承認(rèn)后者。

3）不論比較或?qū)φ?，都?yīng)有共同基礎(chǔ)，即可以進(jìn)行比較或?qū)φ盏膬?nèi)容；當(dāng)然這種基礎(chǔ)或內(nèi)容有時(shí)并非一眼便可看到，而需要通過(guò)一定的分析才能得知。例如要在人和蜜蜂之間進(jìn)行比較或?qū)φ?，乍一?tīng)似乎是荒唐的，但事實(shí)并非如此，因?yàn)閮烧唠m然在智能和身體結(jié)構(gòu)等方面有天壤之別，卻都屬群居動(dòng)物，并有自己的社會(huì)分工，這就構(gòu)成比較或?qū)φ盏幕A(chǔ)。當(dāng)兩個(gè)對(duì)象十分類似時(shí)，就需要通過(guò)對(duì)照找出不同點(diǎn)，以便加以識(shí)別；當(dāng)兩個(gè)對(duì)象不太相似時(shí)，則可以通過(guò)比較發(fā)現(xiàn)共同點(diǎn)，以便從總的方面去把握，所謂同中見(jiàn)異，異中求同，這既是分析和了解客觀事物的方法，也是文章寫(xiě)作的方法。