删繁就简 抽丝剥茧——谈阅读文本中长难句的简化

宁夏 魏 勇

在高考英语试题中，文本阅读是考查学生英文能力的重要手段。文本，是指语言的书面表现形式，通常是具有完整、系统含义的一个句子或多个句子的组合。一个文本可以是一个句子、一个段落或者一个篇章。在高中阶段，英语阅读文本的呈现形式为阅读理解、“七选五”、完形填空、语法填空和短文改错。而文本阅读，即对根据一定的语言衔接和语义连贯规则而组成的整体语句或语句系统进行分析和解读。

在进行文本阅读时，学生最常见的问题之一就是如何正确理解长难句。长难句往往句式复杂，且含有较多词汇。学生对句子结构的理解稍有偏差，就会导致其对整个文本的理解出现错误。下面，笔者谈一谈如何指导学生有效地分析和简化阅读文本中的长难句。

一、简化长难句的必备知识

谈到简化，教师首先要让学生了解以下两个方面的内容：

（一）基本句型

英语的基本句型：1.主谓句；2.主谓宾句；3.主系表句；4.主谓宾宾句；5.主谓宾补句；6.存在句。具体而言，主谓句是名词/代词+不及物动词；主谓宾句是名词/代词+及物动词+名词/代词；主系表句是名词/代词+系动词+其他成分（名词、形容词、数词等）；主谓宾宾句是名词/代词+及物动词+人+物；主谓宾补句是名词/代词+及物动词+名词/代词+其他成分（名词、形容词等）；存在句是there be 句型。

（二）句子分类

根据句式的功能，可以把句子分为陈述句、疑问句和祈使句。陈述句往往阐述一个事实；疑问句用来质疑；祈使句往往没有主语，表示一种祝愿、请求或者命令等。

当学生了解这些基本要点后，简化长难句就像抽丝剥茧，自然手到擒来。任何一个长难句，只要保留其基本成分，使其符合基本句型即可，但句子要有意义。下面，笔者结合高考阅读文本中的长难句，阐述简化长难句的具体方法。

二、简化长难句的具体方法

（一）删除定语

定语是用来对名词或代词进行修饰和限制的成分。它可以是简单的形容词，也可以是复杂的定语从句。教师可以先引导学生简化汉语中含有定语的长难句。例如，元代著名戏曲作家关汉卿有一句名言：“我是个蒸不烂、煮不熟、捶不匾、炒不爆、响王当 王当一粒铜豌豆”，通过删除定语可简化为主系表句“我是豌豆”。同样，通过删除定语，歌手李春波《小芳》的歌词中“村里有个姑娘叫小芳，长得好看又善良，一双美丽的大眼睛，辫子粗又长”可简化为“小芳好看又善良”。有了上述铺垫，教师可以逐步引导学生简化英语中含有定语的长难句。

【例1】（2017 年全国卷Ⅲ 阅读理解B）Bradford sold the building and land to a local development firm,which plans to build a shopping complex on the land where the theater is located.

分析：local development 为firm 的前置定语；which 引导非限定性定语从句，修饰前面的名词firm；where 为定语从句中所包含的定语从句，修饰前面的名词land。

简化：Bradford sold the building and land to a firm.

句意：Bradford 把建筑物和土地卖给了一家公司。

【例2】（2019 年全国卷Ⅰ 完形填空）Further up,the weather changes—low clouds envelope the mountainsides,which are covered with thick grass.

分析：low 为前置定语，修饰名词clouds；which 引导定语从句，修饰名词mountainsides。

简化：The weather changes—clouds envelope the mountainsides.

句意：天气发生了变化——云团笼罩着山坡。

【例3】（2016 年全国卷Ⅲ 语法填空）Some people think that the great Chinese scholar Confucius,who lived from roughly 551 to 479 B.C.,influenced the development of chopsticks.

分析：句中that 引导一个宾语从句，在宾语从句中the great Chinese scholar 是前置定语，修饰名词Confucius；who lived from roughly 551 to 479 B.C.为非限定性定语从句，是Confucius 的后置定语。

简化：Some people think that Confucius influenced the development of chopsticks.

句意：一些人认为孔子影响了筷子的发展。

（二）删除状语

状语是用来修饰整个句子或动词的部分，表示程度、原因、让步、假设、时间、地点、伴随、方式等。状语既可以是副词、介词短语、非谓语动词短语，也可以是各种状语从句。同样，简化句子时，把附加成分全部删除，保留基本句型即可。教师可以先引导学生简化汉语中含有状语的长难句。例如，林志颖的歌曲《十七岁的雨季》中有这样一句歌词：“当我还是小孩子，门前有许多的茉莉花，散发着淡淡的清香”。其中“当我还是小孩子”是时间状语，“散发着淡淡的清香”是伴随状语，这句歌词简化后为一个存在句“门前有茉莉花”。又如，网络小说《雪中悍刀行》中有这样一句话“天不生我李淳罡，剑道万古如长夜！”，其中“天不生我李淳罡”是条件状语，简化后这句话是简单的主系表句“剑道如夜”。有了上述铺垫，教师可以逐步引导学生简化英语中含有状语的长难句。

【例1】（2017年全国卷Ⅲ阅读理解D）The Intelligent Transport team at Newcastle University have turned an electric car into a mobile laboratory named“DriveLAB”in order to understand the challenges faced by older drivers and to discover where the key stress points are.

分析：Intelligent Transport 为前置定语；at Newcastle University 为地点状语；named“DriveLAB”为后置定语；in order to understand the challenges faced by older drivers and to discover where the key stress points are 为目的状语。

简化：The team have turned an electric car into a mobile laboratory.

句意：该团队已经把电动汽车转变为移动实验室。

【例2】（2019 年全国卷Ⅲ 阅读理解B）Earlier this year,the China Through A Looking Glass exhibition in New York exhibited 140 pieces of China-inspired fashionable clothing alongside Chinese works of art,with the aim of exploring the influence of Chinese aesthetics(美学)on Western fashion and how China has fueled the fashionable imagination for centuries.

分析：Earlier this year 为时间状语；China Through A Looking Glass 为前置定语；in New York 为地点状语；with the aim of exploring the influence of Chinese aesthetics(美学)on Western fashion and how China has fueled the fashionable imagination for centuries 为伴随状语。

简化：The exhibition exhibited 140 pieces of China-inspired fashionable clothing alongside Chinese works of art.

句意：这个展览展出了140件中国风时装和中国艺术品。

【例3】（2016 年全国卷Ⅱ 完形填空）The woman sitting at the desk,seeing my madness,sympathetically jumped up.

分析：sitting at the desk 为非谓语动词短语作后置定语；seeing my madness 为非谓语动词作原因状语；sympathetically 为方式状语，修饰动词jumped。

简化：The woman jumped up.

句意：那位女士跳了起来。

【例4】（2019 年全国卷Ⅱ“七选五”）Another way of setting realistic goals is to analyze your short and long term objectives,keeping in mind your beliefs,values and strengths.

分析：of setting realistic goals 为后置定语，修饰名词way；your short and long term 为前置定语，修饰名词objectives；keeping in mind your beliefs,values and strengths为现在分词作伴随状语。

简化：Another way is to analyze objectives.

句意：还有一种方法是分析目标。

（三）删除同位语、独立主格

有时，为了使句子生动、完整，作者会使用同位语或独立主格结构，教师可以指导学生将其删除来简化长难句。

【例1】（2016 年全国卷Ⅱ 阅读理解D）Frank Hurley,a confident and gifted Australian photographer who knew the Antarctic,was hired to make the images,most of which have never before been published.

分析：a confident and gifted Australian photographer 是Frank Hurley 的同位语；who 引导定语从句，修饰名词photographer；to make the images 为目的状语；most of which have never before been published 为非限定性定语从句。

简化：Frank Hurley was hired.

句意：Frank Hurley 被雇佣了。

【例2】（2017 年全国卷Ⅱ 阅读理解B）We shared the belief that if you’re fortunate enough to have success,you should put something back—he with his Newman’s Own food and his Hole in the Wall camps for kids who are seriously ill,and me with Sundance and the institute and the festival.

分析：that if you’re fortunate enough to have success,you should put something back—he with his Newman’s Own food and his Hole in the Wall camps for kids who are seriously ill,and me with Sundance and the institute and the festival 是名词belief 的同位语。

简化：We shared the belief.

句意：我们有着这样的信念。

【例3】（2017 年全国卷Ⅱ 阅读理解D）Back in 1983,two scientists,Jack Schultz and Ian Baldwin,reported that young maple trees getting bitten by insects send out a particular smell that neighboring plants can get.

分析：Back in 1983 为时间状语；Jack Schultz and Ian Baldwin 为同位语；getting bitten by insects 为后置定语，修饰名词trees；that neighboring plants can get 为定语从句，修饰名词smell。

简化：Two scientists reported that young maple trees send out a particular smell.

句意：两位科学家报道说年轻枫树会释放一种特殊气味。

三、牛刀小试，一举两得

在教授学生简化长难句的必备知识并讲解简化长难句的具体方法后，教师要给学生布置相关的练习，以提升学生简化长难句的能力，从而更好地进行文本阅读并顺利地解答相关试题。下面是学生按照笔者教授的方法，对2018 年高考英语全国卷Ⅰ阅读理解C 进行简化的结果（画线部分为简化长难句后留下的文章主要内容）：

①Languages have been coming and going for thousands of years,but in recent times there has been less coming and a lot more going.（删除时间状语）②When the world was still populated by hunter-gatherers,small,tightly knit(联系)groups developed their own patterns of speech independent of each other.（删除时间状语、定语）③Some language experts believe that 10 000 years ago,when the world had just five to ten million people,they spoke perhaps 12 000 languages between them.（删除定语、时间状语、定语从句、范围状语）

④Soon afterwards,many of those people started settling down to become farmers,and their languages too became more settled and fewer in number.（删除时间状语、定语、目的状语、程度状语、范围状语）⑤In recent centuries,trade,industrialisation,the development of the nation-state and the spread of universal compulsory education,especially globalisation and better communications in the past few decades,all have caused many languages to disappear,and dominant languages such as English,Spanish and Chinese are increasingly taking over.（删除时间状语、定语、同位语、程度状语）

⑥At present,the world has about 6 800 languages.⑦The distribution of these languages is hugely uneven.⑧The general rule is that mild zones have relatively few languages,often spoken by many people,while hot,wet zones have lots,often spoken by small numbers.（删除定语）⑨Europe has only around 200 languages;the Americas about 1 000;Africa 2 400;and Asia and the Pacific perhaps 3 200,of which Papua New Guinea alone accounts for well over 800.（删除定语和程度状语）⑩The median number(中位数)of speakers is a mere 6 000,which means that half the world’s languages are spoken by fewer people than that.（删除定语从句）

2018 年高考英语全国卷Ⅰ阅读理解C 是一篇说明文，介绍了世界上语言的消失。全文共304 词，12 句话，平均每句25 词，几乎句句都是长难句，可以说学生对这些句子的简化事关文本阅读及解题的成败。此外，对长难句进行简化的过程中会调用定语从句、状语从句、同位语从句、独立主格等语法知识，这无形中也夯实了学生的相关基础知识。

综上所述，在进行文本阅读时，教师要指导学生先找到句子中的主语和谓语，以确定句子的结构；再确定修饰名词的前置定语或后置定语，以及修饰动词或整个句子的状语，在文本有意义的前提下迅速简化长难句，从而快速了解文本大意，准确解题。