托福聽力中出現(xiàn)的修辭

為了透徹理解TOEFL聽力修辭語言的話外音，我們有必要對(duì)近年來TOEFL聽力中出現(xiàn)的各種美語修辭手法做一個(gè)分析和總結(jié)，以有利于考生究其根本，從而順利、快捷的解題。

Hyperbole(夸張)

試比較以下TOEFL聽力短對(duì)話的兩種回答方式：

Have you asked your brother to do the dishes?

1)Yes, many times.(很多遍了。)

2)Yes, a thousand times.(無數(shù)次了。)

很明顯，第一種回答方式不如第二種生動(dòng)，因?yàn)閍 thousand times(無數(shù)次)使用了Hyperbole(夸張)的修辭手法。Hyperbole一詞源于希臘語的huperbole，意思是exceed(超過)，是一種故意夸大其詞(overstatement)或言過其實(shí)的修辭手法;其特點(diǎn)是對(duì)表達(dá)對(duì)象進(jìn)行有違常識(shí)或不合邏輯的夸張性描寫，以達(dá)到強(qiáng)烈的修辭效果。如：a river of tears (淚河)、a mountain of coal (煤山)、oceans of people (人海)...Hyperbole(夸張)在TOEFL聽力中的運(yùn)用也可謂爐火純青。

比如：

1)You are my lifesaver.(你是我的“救命恩人”。)

2)You are 100% right.(你“百分之百”的正確。)

3)My back killed me.(我的腰痛的厲害。)

4)You make me feel guilty. (你讓我感覺像是在犯罪。)

5)I haven't seen you for ages. (好久不見了呀!)

6)I could sleep for a whole year. (我太困了。)

7)We're all tired to death. (我們快累死了。)

當(dāng)然，除了TOEFL聽力，Hyperbole(夸張)的修辭手法在英語語言文學(xué)中的經(jīng)典范例不勝枚舉：

1)One father is more than a hundred schoolmasters. (George Herbert) (一個(gè)父親的作用大于100個(gè)教師。)

2)It's a crime to stay inside on such a beautiful day. (今天陽光明媚，躲在家中實(shí)在太遺憾了。)

3)A drop of ink may make a million think.(George G Byron)(一滴墨水寫成的文字可讓千萬人思索。)

Simile(明喻)

試比較以下兩種TOEFL聽力表達(dá)方式：

1)He spent a lot of money.(他花了大筆的錢。)

2)He spent a lot of money, like water.(他花錢如流水。)

很明顯，第二種表達(dá)方式比第一種更加生動(dòng)和形象。因?yàn)閘ike water(如流水)使用了Simile(明喻)的修辭手法，這樣以來，無疑使語言更加精彩和完美，聽力考試也不再單純是一門考試，而變成了一種享受。Simile(明喻)一詞源于拉丁語similes,其意為like(象)。他借助人們的想象力，使用一定的比喻詞如：like, as等加以連接，從而清楚的表明兩種事物之間的相似之處，使得表達(dá)更加新鮮有趣。其典型形式是A is like B.Simile(明喻)的修辭手法在TOEFL聽力中的運(yùn)用可謂爐火純青。

比如：(劃線部分為明喻之處)

1.Like引導(dǎo)

1) He sweats like a pig.(他像豬一樣流汗。)

2) They slept like babies.(他們像嬰兒一樣熟睡著。)

3) Living without an aim is like sailing without a compass.(John Ruskin)(生活沒有目標(biāo)猶如航行沒有指南針。)

4) Records fell like ripe apples on a windy day.(E.B. White)(被打破的記錄猶如刮風(fēng)天成熟的蘋果——紛紛墜落。)

2.As引導(dǎo)

1)She is as beautiful as a flower.(她像花一樣的美麗。)

2)“I am as light as a feather, I am as happy as am angel, I am as merry as a schoolboy. I am as giddy as a drunken man...”(Charles Dickens)(我像羽毛一樣輕，我像天使一樣幸福，我像小學(xué)生一樣快活，我像喝醉了酒的人一樣飄飄然……)

3)The first time I read an excellent book, it is to me as if I had gained a new friend.

(我頭一回讀到一本好書，對(duì)我來說好象交了一位新朋友。)

注意：As引導(dǎo)的as...as結(jié)構(gòu)在英語中得到了廣泛應(yīng)用，若能在口語交流或各種作文考試(如：TWE等)中用上一個(gè)，定會(huì)得到意想不到的效果，常用的as結(jié)構(gòu)有：

(as) firm as a rock堅(jiān)如磐石

(as) light as a feather輕如鴻毛

(as) close as an oyster守口如瓶

(as) mute as a fish噤若寒蟬

(as) strong as a horse強(qiáng)壯如牛

(as) cool as a cucumber泰然自若

(as) sober as a judge十分清醒

(as) sure as a gun千真萬確