定义方法在高考英语阅读理解解题中的运用

彭蕾

本文系江苏省教育科学“十二五”规划2013年度重点自筹课题“基于语料库的高中学生英语书面语词汇语法特征研究”（B-b/2013/02/289）和江苏省第十期教学研究重点课题“基于语料库的牛津高中教材研究”（2013JK10-Z063）成果之一。

摘 要：定义是一种常见的修辞方法，是一种重要的阐述、论证手段。本文通过语料库分析软件对高考阅读理解文本中的“定义”表达进行提取，探讨运用定义方法进行高考阅读理解解题的具体做法，并指出在高考复习中应重视常见修辞方法的教学，培养学生的修辞意识，以提高学生的阅读能力。

关键词：定义；定义方法；阅读理解；解题策略

定义是人们最常用的思维方式之一，日常的语言应用过程常常涉及定义。定义的任务就是将界定对象加以说明，使其同其他对象区分开来（廖巧云，2005）。笔者通过语料库分析软件PowerConc 1.0，对自建的2010-2017年高考阅读理解文本语料库（章玉芳，2014）进行“定义”相关文本提取和分析，探讨运用定义方法进行高考阅读理解测试中的语义题、细节题、推断题、意图题和主題题解题的具体做法。

一、文献分类

定义是一种常见的修辞方法，是一种重要的阐述、论证手段。定义常见表达包括以下几种：（1）“A是B”句式。即A（被定义的概念）+is / are+表语+定语，定语可以是从句、分词短语、介词短语等。（2）“A被叫作B”句式。该句式中的“被叫作”的常见表达有：be defined as， mean（s）， be known as， be called， refer to， be referred to， be associated with， be applied to等。这些句式均可以表达“界定为、意味着、指的是”，用来界定、解释或说明。（3）同位语和非限制性定语从句。同位语是用一个词语的形式对前面的一个范畴的内容做出说明、解释或描述。非限制性定语从句用来对先行词表达的概念加以补充说明或解释。（4）表示解释、说明的标点符号。英语的标点符号中的逗号、冒号、破折号、括号均有解释、说明的作用。

二、定义在高考阅读理解解题中的运用

阅读理解分为四个层次：字面性理解、推断性理解、评价性理解和欣赏性理解（王枫林，1994）。定义解释对于字面性理解如：辨认词义和句法结构、确认文章大意和细节等有直接的帮助，对推断性理解如：从上下文推测词义和中心思想等有间接的帮助。因此，定义方法可以用于高考英语阅读理解多选题中的词义题、语义题、信息题、意图题和主题题等的解题。阐述如下：

1.“A是B”定义表达在解题中的运用

（1）词义题

But while a shop？蒺s scent may not be outstanding compared with sights and sounds， it is certainly there. And it is proving to be an increasing powerful tool in encouraging people to purchase… Another brand store seeks to be much more than a shop， but rather a destination. And scent is just one way to achieve this.

69. The underlined word “destination” in Paragraph 5 means .

A. a platform that exhibits goods

B. a spot where travelers like to stay

C. a place where customers love to go

D. a target that a store expects to meet

解题：段落结尾句中的指示代词this指代上文中的destination，因此解题的关键在“scent is just one way to achieve this”。定位段落第一句中的主语scent，和第二句中用来代替scent的人称代词it，找到了“A是B”定义表达“Scent is proving to be an increasing powerful tool in encouraging people to purchase”，该句属于语用定义。经过对选项的语义识别，发现只有选项C中customers love to go与encourage people to purchase表达相近，判定正确选项为C。

（2）句义题

Franz Kafka wrote that “a book must be the ax（斧子） for the frozen sea inside us.”

66. The underlined words in Paragraph 1 probably mean that a book helps to .

A. realize our dreams

B. give support to our life

C. smooth away difficulties

D. awake our emotions

解题：定位句子“a book must be the axe... ”，该句为“A是B”定义表达。该句为使用了“隐喻修辞”的语用定义，ax的功能为“劈开”“打开”，引申为“唤起”，frozen sea inside us意为“我们内心冰封的情感”，选项D中awake、our emotions分别为ax、frozen sea inside us的同义表述，判定正确选项为D。endprint

（3）信息题

What kinds of emotions make sitting workers tired？... A feeling of being bored， anger， anxiety， tenseness， worry， a feeling of not being appreciated—those are the emotions that tire sitting workers.

65. According to the author， which of the following can make sitting workers tired？

A. Challenging mental work.

B. Unpleasant emotions.

C. Endless tasks.

D. Physical labor.

解题：根据题干“make sitting workers tired”找到文中最后一段的“what kinds of emotions make... those are the motions that tire sitting workers”，该句型为“A是B”式语用定义。指示代词those前面有破折号，破折号后面的内容是对前文的关键信息的解释、补充说明，those指代“a feeling of being bored， anger， anxiety， tenseness， worry， a feeling of not being appreciated”，选项B“unpleasant emotions”为上述这些情绪的概括，判定正确选项为B。

（4）结论题

Happiness isn？蒺t about what happens to us—it？蒺s about how we see what happens to us. It？蒺s the skillful way of finding a positive for every negative. Its not wishing for what we don？蒺t have， but enjoying what we do possess.

55. What can be concluded from the passage？

A. Happiness lies between the positive and the negative.

B. Each man is the master of his own fate.

C. Success leads to happiness.

D. Happy is he who is content.

解题：根据题干中的“conclude”定位文中最后一段，结论一般出现在语篇结尾段落。段落中出现了“A是B”式语用定义，经过分析综合，段落最后一句的“happiness is enjoying what we do possess”与选项D表

达最为相近，而且选项D“Happy is he who is content”本身也是“A是B”式语用定义，判定正确选项为D。

通过“A是B”式定义表达，可以找到对解题有直接帮助的定义，对解答词义题、语义题、信息题和结论题提供了丰富的解题线索。

2.“A被叫作B”定义句式在解题中的作用

（1）信息题

This corresponds to what psychologists refer to as offensive anger： the angry person moves closer in order to influence and control the person or situation causing his anger.

63. Which of the following is typical of offensive anger？

A. Approaching the source of anger.

B. Trying to control what is disliked.

C. Moving away from what is disliked.

D. Feeling helpless in the face of anger.

解题：由题干中的offensive anger定位到正文中的offensive anger段落，refer to… as…是“A被叫作B”式定义表达。题干中的“typical of offensive anger”是正文中的“what … refer to…as offensive anger”的同义表述。Offensive anger后面的冒号引出其定义解释“the angry person moves closer … to the person or situation causing his anger”，該句中的move closer、the person or situation causing his anger与题项A中的approach、the source of anger为同义表述，判定正确选项为A。

（2）写作意图题

Home to me means a sense of familiarity and nostalgia （怀旧） . ... Home is where we ran remember pain， live， and some other experiences…Sometimes when I feel lost， I lie down and shut my eyes， and I go home. …. But I don？蒺t mind， because I want to hear her say my name， which reminds me I？蒺m home.endprint

46. What is the author？蒺s purpose of writing this passage？

A. To express how much she is attached to her home.

B. To declare how much she loves her first house.

C. To describe the state of her family.

D. To look back on her childhood.

解題：这是一道写作意图题。第一段开门见山点明主题，首句的“Homes to me means a sense of familiarity and nostalgia”是“A意思是B”式定义表达。选项A中的“be attached to”意为“be full of affection for sb./sth.（依恋）”与句中的“a sense of familiarity and nostalgia（亲近和怀旧的感觉）”为同义表述。另外，在跨句的语篇层面上，重复的信息home虽然本身没有提供新的信息，但这种重复证明前面被重复的信息十分重要，需要扩展论述，被重复与重复信息共同构成了重要信息，因此排除了干扰项较强的选项C。判定正确选项为A。

通过“A被叫作B”式定义表达，找到“be referred as”、“be known as”、“means”等语句中关键性的定义解释词语，同时通过语篇中重复出现的这些语篇关键词，对于解答信息题和意图题有一定帮助。笔者在通过语料库检索时发现，这种定义表达在高考阅读理解文本中出现频率最高。

3.同位语和非限制性定语从句在解题中的运用

The cottages could be an example of the industry？蒺s odd love affair with “low technology” ， a concept associated with the natural world， and with old？鄄school craftsmanship that exists long before the Internet era.

51. Low technology is regarded as something that

.

A. is related to nature

B. is out of date today

C. consumes too much energy

D. exists in the virtual world

解题：通过题干中的“low technology is regarded as”是“A被叫作B”表达方式，定位原文中的“low technology”的同位语“a concept associated with the natural world”，同位语是对前面的一个范畴的内容做出说明、解释或描述，选项A中的“be related to”与“associated with”是同义表述，“nature”与“the natural world”属于通过词形变换的同义表述，判定正确选项为A。

4.表示解释、说明的标点符号在解题中的运用

All human beings possess a body clock. Along with other alerting systems， this governs the sleep/wake cycle and is therefore one of the main processes which govern sleep behaviour. Typically， the preferred sleep/wake cycle is delayed in adolescents， which leads to many students not feeling sleepy until much later in the evenings. This typical sleep pattern is usually referred to as the “night owl” schedule of sleep.

This is opposed to the “early bird” schedule， and is a kind of disorder where the individual tends to stay up much past midnight. Such a person has great difficulty in waking up in the mornings. Research suggests that night owls feel most alert and function best in the evenings and at night. Research findings have shown that about 20 percent of people can be classified as “night owls” and only 10 percent can be classified as “early birds” — the other 70 percent are in the middle. Although this is clearly not true for all students， for the ones who are true night owls this gives them an excellent excuse for missing their lectures which unfortunately fall before midday.endprint

46. What does the text mainly talk about？

A. Functions of the body clock.

B. The “night owl” phenomenon.

C. Human beings？蒺 sleep behaviour.

D. The school schedule of “early birds”.

解题：语篇中第一、二段通过详述、举例、对比等修辞手法来具体定义“the ‘night owl？蒺 phenomenon”。第一段结尾点题“This typical sleep pattern is usually referred to as the “night owl” schedule of sleep.”。带引号的night owl在第一段和第二段中出现了四次，引号标示着重论述的对象或具有特殊含义的词语。在跨句的语篇层面上，这种重复虽然本身没有提供新的信息，但证明前面被重复的信息十分重要，需要扩展论述，语篇文字通过扩展论述和举例解释、说明 “night owl” 现象，因此被重复与重复信息共同构成了重要信息即语篇的中心是the “night owl” phenomenon，判定正确选项为B。

三、教学启示

运用定义方法可以提高高考阅读理解的字面性理解和推断性理解层次上的阅读能力。上述分析表明，在阅读技能训练中加强同义词语及同义结构的讲解和训练有一定的意义，坚持进行词语释义和词语替换的训练，让学生学会运用同义结构来解释词语。

另外，定义是常见的修辞手段之一，常见的修辞手段还有分类、描写、对比、举例等。在高考英语复习中教师应重视常见修辞方法的教学，培养学生的修辞意识，促进学生的阅读能力的提升。

[限于篇幅，文中的语篇内容略有删节。]

参考文献：

1.廖巧云.定义的语用认知研究——一個元语言问题探讨[J].外语学刊，2005（5）：91-95.

2.王枫林.阅读理解和语篇分析[J].外语界，1994（1）：19-23.

3.章玉芳.语料库辅助的高考应用文阅读分析及教学启示[J].中小学英语教学与研究，2014（9）：65-70.

（作者单位：南京师范大学附属中学）endprint