很多同學(xué)在寫作時(shí)往往不善于對(duì)單詞進(jìn)行變化,很少有意識(shí)地將同一個(gè)意思用不同的方式表達(dá)出來,這會(huì)使文章顯得單調(diào)乏味。如果不是為了修辭需要(比如排比和強(qiáng)調(diào)),我們應(yīng)該盡量減少寫作中的重復(fù)用詞。具體來講,我們可以通過以下這幾種方法實(shí)現(xiàn)用詞多樣化: (1)同義詞替換 這是最簡(jiǎn)單的一種替換方法,當(dāng)句子或段落中一個(gè)詞出現(xiàn)太多次時(shí),我們可以用單詞的同義詞來替換。舉兩個(gè)《經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)人》的例子:
為了表達(dá)“彌補(bǔ),替換”這一意思,作者用了make up for / stand in for / substitute for 這三個(gè)同義表達(dá),這能夠讓句子更加變化多樣。此外,a lack of / missing / patchy 都能表達(dá)“缺失,不完善”的意思。
對(duì)于“與……競(jìng)爭(zhēng)”這一意思,作者在一句話里面用了take on / be matched against / prove its mettle against 這幾種不同說法,實(shí)現(xiàn)了用詞多樣。 我們可以通過查同義詞典來尋找同義詞替換(詞典介紹可見市面上有哪些優(yōu)秀的同義詞辨析詞典?),也可以使用同義詞網(wǎng)站,比如https://www. 網(wǎng)站上可以查到很多替換說法,比如搜索'complain',可以找到同義表達(dá)fret / sound off / take exception to 需要注意的一點(diǎn)是,我們不能在同義詞典中找到一個(gè)詞就生硬搬進(jìn)來,因?yàn)橛锌赡軙?huì)用詞不當(dāng)。為了保險(xiǎn)起見,我們可以在詞典中反查這些替換表達(dá),學(xué)習(xí)其例句用法,確保單詞使用符合語(yǔ)境 (2)詞性變換 寫作中可以利用英語(yǔ)中同一個(gè)意思可能有名詞、形容詞和副詞等形式來增加單詞變化。舉個(gè)例子: Online shopping is becoming more and more popular among young people. The main reason why it is so popular is better and wider access to the Internet. 這里出現(xiàn)了兩個(gè)popular,我們可以用popularity來對(duì)其中一個(gè)進(jìn)行替換: Online shopping is growing in popularity among young people. The main reason why it is so popular is better and wider access to the Internet. 或者: Online shopping is becoming more and more popular among young people. The main reason why it enjoys great popularity is better and wider access to the Internet. (3)使用上義詞和下義詞 所謂的上義詞是指對(duì)事物的概括性、抽象性說明,而下義詞是事物的具體表現(xiàn)形式或更為具體的說明。舉個(gè)例子,fish, horse, snake, cat這些單詞的上義詞是animal,而animal的下義詞則是fish, horse, snake, cat這些具體的例子。在寫作中我們可以靈活使用上下義詞進(jìn)行替換。 舉個(gè)例子,在寫關(guān)于人口老齡化的作文中,要表達(dá)“老年人”這個(gè)概念,除了可以說elderly people/older people/senior citizens,還可以使用“老年人”的下義詞retired people/retirees/pensioners/the over 60s/people over 60 等等。 又比如在關(guān)于年輕人的話題中,我們可以用students/teenagers/adolescents 這些下義詞來代替young people,在描述交通擁堵問題時(shí)可以用traffic problems這一上義詞來代替traffic congestion/traffic jams,在描述手機(jī)時(shí)可以用上義詞digital devices/gadgets來代替mobile phones這一具體概念。 (4)代詞 使用代詞不僅能使句子之間的連接更加緊密,還可以減少用詞的重復(fù)度。舉個(gè)例子: Young children can be negatively affected by too much time spent on the computer every day. This is partly because sitting in front of a screen for too long can be damaging to both their eyes and physical posture, regardless of what they are using the computer for. 這里使用their來代替young children's, 使用they來代替young children 我們還可以使用代詞one來代替重復(fù)的單詞,比如: Many graduates have to choose between working for a large company or a small company. 句子可以修改為: Many graduates have to choose between working for a large company or a small one. 另外,還有幾個(gè)詞也能起到代詞的效果,比如former/latter/counterpart,舉兩個(gè)例子: (1) Belgian officials are discussing this with French officials. (2) Children in the city can enjoy better educational opportunities than children in rural areas. 句子可以改為: (1) Belgian officials are discussing this with their French counterparts. (2) Children in the city can enjoy better educational opportunities than their rural counterparts. 又比如: Of these two options, the former is less expensive, while the latter is less risky. (4)省略 省略可以減少不必要的用詞,使句子結(jié)構(gòu)更加緊湊。句子中可以省略的部分包括名詞、動(dòng)詞和形容詞等。例如培根關(guān)于讀書的名言:
這里是省略了be動(dòng)詞,還原后是: Some books are to be tasted, others (are) to be swallowed, and some few (are) to be chewed and digested; that is, some books are to be read only in parts; others (are) to be read, but not curiously; and some few are to be read wholly, and with diligence and attention. 在比較句中省略手法也被大量使用,例如: Some argue that modern children grow up to be more independent and mature than in the past. 句子省略了children,相當(dāng)于: Some argue that modern children grow up to be more independent and mature than (children) in the past. (5)句式合并 有時(shí)候我們也可以通過合并短句來避免單詞重復(fù),舉個(gè)例子: Early in World War II, British workers broke a world record for building a bomber from scratch. This programme traces six of the workers. One of the workers was only 14 years old. 句子可以合并為: Early in World War II, British workers broke a world record for building a bomber from scratch. This programme traces six of the workers, one of whom was only 14 years old. 在寫作中我們可以綜合以上幾種方法減少重復(fù)用詞,除此之外,多讀外刊和原版書,積累地道英文中的多樣化表達(dá)也是提高寫作技巧的重要方法。 |
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