試比較以下TOEFL聽力短對話的兩種回答方式: Have you asked your brother to do the dishes?
Yes, many times.(很多遍了)/Yes, a thousand times.(無數(shù)次了)
很明顯,第一種回答方式不如第二種生動,因為a thousand times(無數(shù)次)使用了Hyperbole(夸張)的修辭手法。Hyperbole一詞源于希臘語的huperbole,意思是exceed(超過),是一種故意夸大其詞(overstatement)或言過其實的修辭手法;其特點是對表達對象進行有違常識或不合邏輯的夸張性描寫,以達到強烈的修辭效果。如:a river of tears (淚河)、a mountain of coal (煤山)、oceans of people (人海)...
Hyperbole(夸張)在TOEFL聽力中的運用也可謂爐火純青。比如:
1)You are my lifesaver.(你是我的“救命恩人”。)
2)You are 100% right.(你“百分之百”的正確).
3)My back killed me.(我的腰痛的厲害。)
4)You make me feel guilty. (你讓我感覺像是在犯罪。)
5)I haven’t seen you for ages. (好久不見了呀!)
6)I could sleep for a whole year. (我太困了。)
7)We’re all tired to death.(我們快累死了。)
當然,除了TOEFL聽力,Hyperbole(夸張)的修辭手法在英語語言文學中的經(jīng)典范例不勝枚舉:
1)One father is more than a hundred schoolmasters. (George Herbert) (一個父親的作用大于100個教師。)
2)It’s a crime to stay inside on such a beautiful day. (今天陽光明媚,躲在家中實在太遺憾了。)
3)A drop of ink may make a million think.(George G Byron)(一滴墨水寫成的文字可讓千萬人思索。)
二、Simile(明喻)
試比較以下兩種TOEFL聽力表達方式:
1)He spent a lot of money.(他花了大筆的錢。)
2)He spent a lot of money, like water.(他花錢如流水。)
很明顯,第二種表達方式比第一種更加生動和形象。因為like water(如流水)使用了Simile(明喻)的修辭手法,這樣以來,無疑使語言更加精彩和完美,聽力考試也不再單純是一門考試,而變成了一種享受。Simile(明喻)一詞源于拉丁語similes,其意為like(象)。他借助人們的想象力,使用一定的比喻詞如:like, as等加以連接,從而清楚的表明兩種事物之間的相似之處,使得表達更加新鮮有趣。其典型形式是A is like B.
Simile(明喻)的修辭手法在TOEFL聽力中的運用也可謂爐火純青。比如:
1.Like 引導
1) He sweats like a pig.(他像豬一樣流汗。)
2) They slept like babies.(他們像嬰兒一樣熟睡著。)
3) Living without an aim is like sailing without a compass.(John Ruskin)(生活沒有目標猶如航行沒有指南針。)
4) Records fell like ripe apples on a windy day.(E.B. White)(被打破的記錄猶如刮風天成熟的蘋果——紛紛墜落。)
2.As 引導
1)She is as beautiful as a flower.(她像花一樣的美麗。)
2)“I am as light as a feather, I am as happy as am angel, I am as merry as a school boy. I am as giddy as a drunken man...”(Charles Dickens)(我像羽毛一樣輕,我像天使一樣幸福,我像小學生一樣快活,我像喝醉了酒的人一樣飄飄然……)
3)The first time I read an excellent book, it is to me as if I had gained a new friend. (我頭一回讀到一本好書,對我來說好象交了一位新朋友。)
注意:As引導的as...as結(jié)構在英語中得到了廣泛應用,若能在口語交流或各種作文考試(如:TWE等)中用上一個,定會得到意想不到的效果,常用的as結(jié)構有:
(as) firm as a rock堅如磐石(as) light as a feather輕如鴻毛(as) close as an oyster守口如瓶(as) mute as a fish噤若寒蟬(as) strong as a horse強壯如牛(as) cool as a cucumber泰然自若(as) sober as a judge十分清醒(as) sure as a gun千真萬確。
修辭的出現(xiàn)無形間加大了對托福聽力語言理解的難度,有時甚至“不知所云”,即使看到了聽力文字部分,也是讓大家“一頭霧水”。但如果我們真正領悟了修辭中字里行間的奧秘,不僅會幫助我們迅速解題,更會被TOEFL聽力中的經(jīng)典修辭藝術所服。