聚焦高考和教材中的it

杨武

it是一个很活跃的词，是代词学习的重点、难点。在高中教科书和高考试卷中，it出现的频率很高（特别是在阅读材料中），意义也很广泛。首先我们来看看近几年高考题中有关it的内容。

1. If it werent for Rachel Carson， the environmental movement might not exist today. （2016年全国I卷， A篇）

2. By the time the group got up to leave， it was pouring outside. （2016年全国III卷 ，B篇）

3. It is not surprising that young people are likely to burst out， particularly when there are reasons to do so.（2016年北京卷，D篇）

4. As Muhammad Ali puts it， “Champions arent made in gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them.” （2016年江苏卷，D篇）

5. Here they are learning to get in touch with their true feelings. It isnt always easy. （2015 年全国 I卷，A篇）

6. More students than ever before are taking a gap year（间隔年） before going to university. It used to be called the “year off” between school and university. （2015 年全国 II卷，C篇）

7. It seemed that something clicked with the girls between Saturday and Sunday. （2015年 全国 II卷，完形填空）

8. Late in the evening， the phone rang. It was a stranger. （2014 年全国 II卷，A篇）

下面，我们结合教科书中的典型例句从七个方面对it的用法进行简要的归纳和总结，以帮助同学们更好地学习和掌握it的用法。

1. 用来指代时间、天气、距离、地点、自然环境等。如：

（1） It is toward the end of the nineteenth century and gold has just been discovered in Alaska.（必修4，P18 ）

（2） It is a beautiful day here and I am sitting under the big tree at the end of the garden. （选修 6，P18 ）

（3） It is pouring with rain and cab whistles are blowing in all directions. （选修 8，P29 ）

（4） Its approximately four hundred kilometres northeast of Toronto， so it would take too long. （必修3，P38）

2. 用来指代人，说明做某事的人或某人的身份或指代一个不知其性别的人。如：

It is Henry Adams， an American businessman， who is lost in London and does not know what he should do. （必修 3，P17）

3. 指代前面提到的一件东西或一件事情。如：

（1） By the time California elected to become the thirty-first federal state of the USA in 1850， it was already a multicultural society. （选修8，P2）

（2） It is world-famous for having the most length in the smallest space. （必修 4，P34）

（3） Remove clothing using scissors if necessary unless it is stuck to the burn. （必修 5，P34）

4. 泛指一般情况或在某些结构中用作无具体意义的主语。如：

（1）...if we hadnt taken it easy， ... （必修 6，P10 ）

（2）Believe it or not， there is no such thing as standard English. （必修1，P13 ）

（3）Thirdly， it would be a good idea if ... （必修 1，P 7）

（4）It was all my fault. I didnt know whether I could survive until morning. （必修 3，P18）

（5）It was the truth. Black people could not vote or choose their leaders. （必修 1，P34）

（6）Suddenly it hit me how difficult it was for a woman to get medical training at that time. （必修4，P6）

5. 用作形式主语或形式宾语，指代一个由不定式、动名词短语或是从句表示的主语，目的是使原来的这些主语位于句后，避免句子前大后小，头重脚轻。如：

（1）It seemed that she had been very busy in her chosen career， travelling abroad to study as well as writing books and articles. （必修4，P6 ）

（2）It is possible to “read” others around us， even if they do not intend for us to catch their unspoken communication. （必修 4，P30）

（3）We can often be wrong about each other， so it is an amazing thing that we understand each other as well as we do！ （必修 4，P30 ）

（4）However， it is likely that Native Americans were living in California at least fifteen thousand years ago. （选修 8，P2 ）

特别提示：it 指代从句的几种常见句型。

（1） It seems （happened， appeared， turned out） + that...如：

It seemed there was a surprise waiting for me around every corner as I explored small caves， shelves and narrow passages with my underwater flashlight... （选修 7，P24）

（2） It is （was） /seems（seemed） + adj. +that... 如：

① But it was evident that ideas were changing in the 13th century when painters like Giotto di Bondone began to paint religious scenes in a more realistic way. （选修 6，P2）

② It is amazing that so many great works of art from the late 19th century to the 21st century are housed in the same museum. （选修 6，P6）

③ It seems amazing that at my age I am still fit enough to cycle 20 kilometers in an afternoon. （选修 6，P18）

能用于这种句型的形容词常常是strange， natural， surprising， obvious， true， good， wonderful， funny， fortunate， clear， unusual等。

（3） It is （was） + 名词（词组） + that（how...） 如：

It is a pity that the industrial cities built in the nineteenth century do not attract visitors. （必修 5，P10 ）

能用于这一句型的名词词组还有a shame， an honor， a wonder， a good thing， good news等。

（4） It is （ was/ has been…） + 过去分词+ that... 如：

① For example， it can be proved that China has more people than any other country in the world. This is a fact. （必修2，P5 ）

② It is said that this boy， who had a great gift for languages and persuasion， is the father of the Manchu people. （选修 6，P39）

③ It is believed that before long the mix of nationalities will be so great that there will be no distinct major racial or cultural groups，... （选修8，P3）

能用于这一句型的过去分词还有announced， decided， said， hoped， expected， told， suggested等。

6. 用来引导强调结构。

it引导的强调结构句型是It + is（was） +被强调部分 + that（who， whom） +其他。如：

（1） It is only when the disease has progressed to AIDS that a person begins to look sick. （选修 6，P22 ）

（2） It was then that Claire realized that Tony had opened the curtains of the front window. Her guests had seen everything ！ （选修 7，P12）

（3） ... it was the building of the rail network from the west to the east coast that brought even larger numbers to California in the 1860s.（选修8，P2 ）

（4） It was my sister who first had the idea to cycle along the entire Mekong River from where it begins to where it ends. （必修 1，P18）

（5） Its in the Summer Olympics that you have the running races， together with swimming， sailing and all the team sports. （修2，P10）

（6） However， it was not until the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries that the exploration of the botanical world began on a large scale. （选修9，P32 ）

在这一句型中要注意几点：

① it 不可以用this 或that替代。

② 若被强调部分是人，引导词可以是who（若被强调部分的人是作宾语，也可用whom）或that，除此之外，引导词一律用that，不可以用when， where等。如：

It was Jack who broke the window.

It was in Sydney that the 27th Olympic Games were held.

It was in March 2003 that the Iraq War broke out.

特别提醒： 要注意区别强调句与带有it的时间或地点的句型。请看以下句子：

It was in Waterloo _________ Napoleon was completely defeated.

It was Waterloo __________ Napoleon was completely defeated.

这两个句子之间只有一词之差，但空格处要填入的词却不相同。前一空应填that， 后一空要填 where。前者是强调句，因为在去掉强调部分 It was...that之后，这个句子仍然成立即“Napoleon was completely defeated in Waterloo. ”而后者在去掉It was...where后却不行，不能说 Napoleon was completely defeated Waterloo。又如：

It is usually in January or in February that we celebrate Spring Festival.

It is usually January or February when we celebrate Spring Festival.

7. 常见的由it引导的时间句型。如：

It is （was） + the first （second， third…） time + that...

这一句型表示一种时间经历。关于这个句型的考点是：that从句中的动词时态形式。正确的形式是：

It is ... that +现在完成时……； It was... that +过去完成时…… 如：

（1） It was the first time she had ever left her motherland. （选修 7，P38）

（2） ... it was the first time in a year and a half that Id seen the night face to face... （必修 1，P2 ）

说明：这里的it也可以由this或that替代。

八、巩固性练习

（一）理解下列各句意思并用汉语写出各句画线部分的意思。

1. “Oh， dear！ Its me”.

2. In 1900， the average American life span （寿命） was only 47 years， but today it is 75 years！

3. When it comes to the selling of houses， businesses also use highly rewarding tactics.

4. It was so noisy that we couldnt hear ourselves speak.

5. The Office of Residence Life may change the door lock combination at any time at the expense of the resident if it is found that the student has shared the combination with others.

6. As it happened， the bite was virtually painless： more the kind of small bite you might get from a naughty child.

7. It turned out that among other things， he was an eighty-year-old writer.

8. It was assumed that those people for whom the role of volunteer was most part of their personal identity would also be most likely to continue volunteer work.

9. And it is not just robins that are being kept awake by artificial light.

10. It wasnt until her friend was badly hurt that Kerry became aware of her habit of finding fault.

（二）语法填空

One day， Nick invited his friends to supper. He was cooking some delicious food in the kitchen. Suddenly， he 11 （find） that he had run out of salt. So Nick called to his son， “Go to the village and buy some salt， but pay a fair price for it： neither too much 12 too little.”

His son looked surprised. “I can understand why shouldnt pay too much， Father， but if I can pay less， 13 not save a bit of money？”

“That would be a very 14 （reason） thing to do in a big city， but it could destroy a small village like ours，” Nick said.

Nicks guest， 15 had heard their conversation， asked why they should not buy salt more cheaply if they could. Nick replied， “The only reason a man would sell salt 16 a lower price would be because he was desperate for money. And anyone who took advantage of that situation would be showing a lack of respect 17 the sweat and struggle of the man who worked very hard to produce it.”

“But such a small thing couldnt 18 （possible） destroy a village.”

“In the beginning， there was only 19 very small amount of unfairness in the world， but everyone added a little， always 20 （think） that it was only small and not very important， and look where we have ended up today.”