一、Hyperbole(夸張)

試比較以下托福聽力短對話的兩種回答方式:

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,因為a 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)或言過其實的修辭手法;其特點是對表達(dá)對象進(jìn)行有違常識或不合邏輯的夸張性描寫,以達(dá)到強烈的修辭效果。如:a river of tears(淚河)、a mountain of coal(煤山)、oceans of people(人海)...Hyperbole(夸張)在托福聽力中的運用也可謂爐火純青。

比如:

1) You are my life saver.(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'really tired to death.(我們快累死了。)

當(dāng)然,除了托福聽力,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)(一個父親的作用大于100個教師。)

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

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

二、Simile(明喻)

試比較以下兩種托福聽力表達(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和形象。因為like 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)的修辭手法在托福聽力中的運用可謂爐火純青。

比如:

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 anaimis 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 drunkenman...”(CharlesDickens)(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,定會得到意想不到的效果,常用的as結(jié)構(gòu)有:

(as) firm as a rock堅如磐石

(as) light as a feather輕如鴻毛

(as) close as anoyster守口如瓶

(as) mute as a fish噤若寒蟬

(as) strong as a horse強壯如牛

(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

上面是托福聽力常見修辭總結(jié),希望對大家有所幫助。