“指代”难点剖析

吕吉尔

以“refer to”为标志的指代理解题是高考英语必考点。指代是一种非常普遍的语言现象。为了行文简练，避免重复，英文中经常会用一些替代词语来表示提到过的人或事物。然而，笔者发现，许多同学做题时对it，he，them，that，this，one，so，there之类的指代词往往很少注意，甚至“视而不见”，结果导致理解偏差，答题失误。

笔者认为，指代理解题的难点主要有四个。只要攻克了这些难点，指代题也就迎刃而解了。

难点1： “后指”现象

在英语复合句中，一般都是主句用名词，从句用代词指代主句中的名词。如果从句在前，主句在后，就会出现“后指”现象。而按照汉语的表达习惯，一般都是先提名词，后用代词指代前面提到过的名词，即“前指”。因此，“后指”给同学们正确理解语篇的指代关系带来了障碍。

例1Although he （Nicolaus Copernicus) had tried to ignore them, all his mathematical calculations led to the same conclusion: that the earth was not the centre of the solar system. Only if you put the sun there did the movements of the other planets in the sky make sense.

What does the word “them” refer to?

A. His mathematical calculations

B. The earth and the solar system

C. The movements

D. The other planets

解析： 答案为A。根据“从句中用代词指代主句中的名词”的英语表达习惯以及英语的“后指”现象可知，本段中的them指代all his mathe-

matical calculations。

难点2： “链式”指代

有的指代关系比较复杂，指代词指代一个名词，而被指代的名词又指代另一个更具体的词语甚至句子，层层指代，形成一个指代“链”，从而阻碍了同学们对指代关系的理解。

例2 The Jet dEau together with the Flower Watch are the main attractions every year for the tourists visiting Geneva. The Jet dEau has become the symbol of Geneva for a long time. This is a 140 meters high water monument with a rich history. Eight 13,500-watt projectors light the grand column of the fountain（喷泉） in the evening， from early March until the second Sunday of October.

The Jet dEau in the paragraph refers to _______.

A. the water fountain

B. the English Garden

C. a new scene with electric lighting

D. the name of a famous watchmaker

解析： 答案为A。本段第3句的主语This明显指代第1句的主语The Jet dEau，而第3句本身表明This = water monument，第4句中的the fountain无疑是指第3句中的water monument。这样，就形成了一个指代“链”：The Jet dEau = This = water monument = the fountain。

难点3： “分隔”指代

指代关系通常发生在本句内部或相邻句子之间，但有时指代词与指代对象之间被别的句子分隔。笔者把这种现象称之为“分隔”指代。

例3The German shepherd runs off and noses around in the grass of Kenyas Laikipia Plateau. “OK, Oakley,” the dogs handler orders. “Find it.” Oakley sniffs until he comes to a bush, then stops, sits, and looks up at his handler. She bends to see what he has found: the waste of an endangered African wild dog.

Who does the underlined word “She” refer to?

A. The German shepherd.

B. The Laikipia Plateau.

C. Oakley.

D. The dogs handler.

解析： 答案为D。 文章表明，the dogs handler命令Oakley 去Find it，然后She bends to see what he has found可知，she应指the dogs handler。

难点4： “隐形”指代

有的指代词所指的对象并没有在上下文中直接显示出来，而是隐含在字里行间，给解题增加了难度，需要同学们细心地体会、推理、判断。

例4 Schipper, now a 17-year-old from Brisbane with a bright future of going to Athens for her first Olympics, yesterday recalled her time with Shane Gould five years ago.

“I was at a national youth camp on the Gold Coast and Shane had come along to talk to us and watch us train,” Schipper explained. “It seemed as if we had long been good friends. I dont know why. We just started talking and it went from there.”

The underlined word “it” probably refers to _______.

A. the Olympics

B. the youth camp

C. the friendship

D. the talk

解析： 答案为C。上述四个选项中，the Olympics和the youth camp不可能是it指代的对象。虽然it前面刚刚提到过talking，但实际上后面的there是指代talking的，也就是说，it是从那次谈话开始的。结合上文以及前一句的主题词good friends，可以推测出it指代的是we had long been good friends一句中隐含的friendship之意。

【小结】

解答指代理解题的关键是理清人物及事物之间的逻辑关系，找准指代词所指代的对象。根据“指代”的定义，指代词和指代对象是同一人物或同一事物，牢记这一点对于破解指代题至关重要。解题时，可遵循以下三个步骤：

1. 确定方向：首先根据句意和语境确定是“前指”还是“后指”。首先得“方向”正确，否则是找不到正确答案的。

2. 寻找对象：以指代词为出发点，顺着所指“方向”寻找指代对象，直至找到可与指代词画等号或隐含指代词意义的词语，借以确定选项中的正确答案。如找不到合适的对象，须重新确定“方向”再次寻找。

3. 验证所指：找到代表指代对象的词语后，将该词语（指“指代对象”）代入“指代词”所处位置，若符合句意和逻辑，则该词语即为正确答案。

总之，同学们在平时的学习和阅读中，对指代词要非常敏感。解题时，要注意上下文，通过词语之间的语法关系、语意关系和语言逻辑来辨明指代关系，正确理解语段的行文逻辑，正确答题。