托福阅读中不免会出现一些长难句,要读懂托福阅读长难句,必须掌握理解长难句的基本方法和技巧。最有效的方法就是抓住本质,紧扣句型。所谓紧扣句型,就是善于从语法的角度找准主语和谓语,识别其他成分。阅读过程中遇到长难句应该反复辨别,认真分析。在阅读中紧扣句型应该注意以下几点。
一、留心省略
省略是英语中常用的修辞手法之一。如果考生能在阅读过程中留心这一现象,许多难题就会迎刃而解。例如:
In the fifteenth century there was little problem recruiting sailors to row the galleys large ships propelled by oars: guilds business associations were required to provide rowers, and through a draft system free citizens served compulsorily when called for.(TPO25-The Decline of Venetian Shipping)
这句话就用到了省略的修辞手法,省略的部分是:“free citizens served compulsorily when called for”。省略有一种情况就是:如果从句的主语和主句的主语一致,且从句的谓语含有be动词的某种形式(am/is/are/was/were),那么就可以同时省略从句的主语和be动词的某种形式。此句中在“when”后面省略了“they are”,翻译时要将省略的部分翻译出来,也就是“自由的居民必须在接到通知后义务服务”。
二、排除干扰
1. 插入句的干扰
不少英语长句常有一个用逗号隔开的插入成分出现在主语和谓语之间,影响考生对句子的理解。在处理这类句子时要善于找到插入部分,并对其采取“暂不处理”的做法。例如:
As Patrick Kirch, an American anthropologist, points out, rather than being brought by rafting South Americans, sweet potatoes might just have easily been brought back by returning Polynesian navigators who could have reached the west coast of South America.(TPO5-The Origin of the Pacific Island People)
这句话中的“rather than being brought by rafting South Americans”是一个插入句,如果我们对这部分暂不处理,就会发现这句话其实是一个简单的主谓结构,句子的主干是“sweet potatoes might just have easily been brought back by returning Polynesian navigators”。在此基础上再考虑插入部分的意义,就能进一步理解这句话的含义。这句话的意思是:“正如美国人类学家Patrick Kirch指出的那样,番薯不是由南美洲人用木筏带来的,而可能是由曾经到达南美洲西岸的波利尼西亚航海家返程时轻易带回来的。”
2. 后置定语的干扰
英语中经常会出现定语后置的情况,这在很多时候给考生的理解带来了困难。要想排除后置定语带来的干扰,我们在阅读过程中可以先略去不读,把着眼点放在句子主干上。等弄清主句结构之后,再回过头来将后置定语一并予以考虑。例如:
Of the various hypotheses attempting to account for the late Cretaceous extinctions, the one that has attracted the most attention in recent years is the asteroid-impact hypothesis first suggested by Luis and Walter Alvarez.
我们知道分词是可以作定语的,这句话中就有两处:第一处是现在分词“attempting to”做后置定语修饰前面的“the various hypotheses”,意思是“试图解释白垩纪灭绝原因的假说”;第二处是过去分词“suggested by” 做后置定语修饰前面的“the asteroid-impact hypothesis”,意思是“由Luis和Walter Alvarez首先提出的行星影响论”。明确了这一点,这句话也就不难理解了。这句话的意思是:“在众多试图解释白垩纪灭绝原因的假说中,近年来最引人瞩目的就是由Luis和Walter Alvarez首先提出的行星影响论。”
以上就是小编为大家分享的托福阅读中需要注意的句型结构,希望能给大家分析长难句带来一定的帮助。最后,小编祝愿各位考生在托福考试中取得好成绩!
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