常用英语辞格揽胜

常用英语辞格揽胜

英语同汉语一样，也是很讲究修辞的语言。有些名篇佳句就是因为使用了修辞手法，才产生了美妙绝伦的效果。如果我们在英语写作中也适当地运用修辞，同样可以增加文章的文采、提升文章的可读性。学习英语修辞首先应从欣赏和模仿开始，然后创作出含有修辞成分的习作来。下面介绍几种比较容易掌握的修辞格。

一、明喻(Simile)

明喻是指将具有某种共同特征的两种不同事物加以对比，用另一种事物比喻所要说明的事物。从结构上看，明喻包括“本体”，“喻体”和“比喻词”。本体指被比喻的对象，喻体指用来做比喻的对象，比喻词用在本体和喻体之间起连接作用。常见的比喻词有like，just like，as，just as，as if，as though和as．．．as．．．等。下面请欣赏一些含有明喻的句子:

(1) Records fell like ripe apples on a windy day.

(2) Marriage is like a beleaguered(被包围的) fortress: those who are outside want to get in，and those inside want to get out.

(3) Reading without reflecting is like eating without digesting.

(4) To marry a woman for her beauty is like buying a house for its paints.

(5) Bob looks so unhappy，almost like a child who's lost his piece of candy.

(6) When we returned home with the groceries，my sisters and I were like a pack of hungry wolves tearing through the bag.

(7) Wealth is like sea-water: the more we drink，the thirstier we become; and the same is true of fame.

(8) When a man speaks or acts with good intention，then happiness follows him like his shadow that never leaves him.

(9) Learning in old age is like writing on sand; learning in youth is like engraving (雕刻) on stone.

(10) In Beijing in the 1980s，we felt like birds in a cage．．．．In my memory，Beijing was like a black-and-white photograph．．．．But when I stepped off the plane in Beijing on 20 September 2001，the black-and-white photograph exploded(突变) into bright color and came to life．．．．Is this Beijing，I wondered，or Hong Kong? I walked and gawked(惊呆了)，like a peasant visiting the city for the first time.

(11) In the supermarket，the shoppers are just like sharks in search of food.

(12) American dreams come in different sizes just like French fries.(美国梦大小不一，就像炸薯条，有大有下。)

(13) When the propeller(螺旋桨) turns，it pushes the ship forward as a woodscrew(木钻) goes into a piece of wood when it is turned.

(14) The message is clear: Just as tea and banana cannot go together，nor should the son in a low-class family expect to marry the daughter of a nobleman.(意思很明确:就像茶和香蕉不搭配一样，一个出身卑微的小子不应该妄想娶一个贵族小姐为妻。)

(15) I can remember how we waited for payday as if it were a holiday.

(16) Dream as if you'll live forever. Live as if you'll die today.

(17) The wave dashed(撞击) on the rocks as if in anger.

(18) I felt as though the ground were slipping(滑动) beneath my feet.

(19) When it comes to(当谈及到) eating，I am lucky; I can eat like an elephant and stay as thin as a snake.

(20) as plentiful as blackberries(多如牛毛)

明喻还有一个较为复杂的表达形式，即使用“A(本体)+ be+ to+ B(本体)+ what/as+ C(喻体)+ be+ to+ D(喻体)”句型，表示“A与B的关系就如同C与D的关系一样”。例如:

(1) Wisdom is to the soul what health is to the body.(智慧之于灵魂就像健康之于身体。)

(2) Judicious praise is to children what the sun is to flowers.(明智的表扬对孩子的作用，就如同阳光对于花朵。)

(3) Lungs are to the animal what leaves are to the plant.

(4) The man who cannot be trusted is to society what a bit of rotten timber is to a house.

(5) Wit and humor are to conversation what salt is to food.

下面是从我国学生习作中选出的含有明喻的句子。

(1) The day when I stepped into the university，I felt like a poor man who never went out of his village but suddenly found himself in a big city.

(2) We are all like a piece of blank paper，so we will work hard to draw the most beautiful paintings on it.

(3) I got lost on campus. I was so afraid that I felt just like a baby who couldn't find his mother.

(4) I am tired just like a balloon with its air let out.

(5) I also sang some songs though they were tuneless as if a saw sawed another saw.

(6) Life without happiness is like a severe winter without the sun.

(7) A person without health is just like a skyscraper without solid foundation.

(8) I feel as happy as a bird set free from its cage.

(9) After I realized that I had entered the wrong classroom，I stood up and went out，with my face turning as red as an apple.

(10) When the bell rings at12 o'clock every day，my classmates and I rush to the dining hall as quickly as we can as if a tiger is running after us. Then，when we get our meals，we eat like hungry wolves with no table manners at all.

(11) Fear is like a beast: the more you are worried about it，the more it becomes threatening.

(12) A smile is to a person what a window is to a house.

(13) Passion is to success what fuel is to a car．

(14) The Internet is tome what salt is to a dish.

(15) Volunteers are to our country what water is to a fish.

二、暗喻(Metaphor)

暗喻也是一种比喻，但它与明喻不同的是，明喻把本体和喻体说成是相似的，而暗喻不使用比喻词，直接就把本体说成是喻体。下面请欣赏一些含有暗喻的句子:

(1) College is a comma in a sentence of life.

(2) The library and the Internet are a vast sea of knowledge waiting to be tapped(获取)．

(3) The world is a book，and those who do not travel read only a page.

(4) Behavior is amirr or in which everyone shows his image.

(5) Diplomacy is the art of putting your feet down without stepping on any body's toes.

(6) A book that is shut is but a block.

(7) Music is the medicine of the breaking heart.

(8) Hope is our most effective“drug”in treating cancer.

(9) Money is a bottomless sea，in which honor，conscience，and truth may be drowned.

(10) Marriage is war.

下列自然段中既有明喻又有暗喻，你能找到吗?

The economy is sort of like a balloon: blow in too much air，and it pops. But with too little air，it falls to the floor. Greenspan(格林斯潘) helps decide when to blow more air into the economy. In this case，the air in a balloon is the amount of money in economy. Greenspan can make the economy grow by increasing the money supply，or keep the economy from inflating(通货膨胀) too much by decreasing the money supply.

下面是从我国学生习作中选出的含有暗喻的句子。

(1) The university is a stage for us to perform on.

(2) Our university is an old tree with its roots in the deep earth and its branches in the blue sky.

(3) College is the cradle of love．

(4) A true friend is the cool breeze in a hot summer and the warm sunshine in a cold winter.

(5) Life is a colorful picture. Life is a magnificent symphony.

(6) Laziness is a hotbed of failure.

(7) Books are the master key that opens the gates of better future.

(8) Children are the hope of families，flowers of spring，and future of the nation.

(9) Marriage is a gamble: you won't know the result until you tie the knot.

(10) Hope is the light that can illuminate our road.

小结:明喻与暗喻并无优劣之分，例如:我们既可以说The parks of our city are like human lungs.也可以说The parks are the lungs of our city.在写作中适当地使用明喻或暗喻，能使我们的语言简练、生动、形象、富有想象力和感染力。同时我们还应注意，在使用明喻时要力争明而不俗，在使用暗喻时要做到隐而不晦。

三、拟人(Personification)

拟人顾名思义就是把原本属于人的特性、品质、行为赋于其它有生命或无生命的东西。恰当地使用拟人手法，可使被描写对象栩栩如生、活灵活现，很容易让读者产生共鸣。请看例句:

(1) Money talks.

(2) Australia is so kind，just tickle(胳肢) her with a hoe(锄头)，and she laughs with a harvest.

(3) The eighteenth century saw the extinction of thirty-six animals.

(4) Spring 1979 sae the birth of Stephen and Jane's third child，Timothy.

(5) It was a perfectly lovely Tuesday morning in Panama City. The sun danced across the waves of the Pacific as the town came to work.

(6) The sun kisses the green fields.

(7) Dialogue opens many doors to compromise.

(8) My stomach becomes excited as I breathe in the delicious air.

(9) A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.(当真理刚刚穿上鞋子，谎言就可能已经走过了半个世界。)

(10) The flames ate up the house.(大火吞噬了房屋。)

下面是从我国学生习作中选出的含有拟人修辞格的句子。

(1) Spring wakes up the sleeping earth.

(2) If you know nothing about what you will do，success will not knock on your door.

(3) An optimist always looks on the cheerful side of life. He believes that if he smiles to the mirror of life，it will smile back to him.

(4) Covered by lots of colorful flowers，the mountain seems to have dressed up.

(5) In the fall，golden crops are nodding their heads in breeze to people.

(6) The cloud-kissing trees watched me riding a bicycle.

(7) The tree stands silently in the yard corner.

(8) Spring beautifies herself with flowers; I enrich myself with knowledge．

(9) The noise from the alarm clock dragged me out of my dream.

(10) A student always has a busy life. Early in the morning，he gets up hurriedly，rushes to the cafeteria，and then goes to the classroom to study. Late in the evening，only the moon and the stars follow him home.

请你尝试着将下面这句话用拟人手法翻译出来:

2001年9月11日美国遭受到了恐怖主义分子的袭击。

参考答案:

Sept. 11^th，2001 saw the terrorist attacks in America. Or: Sept. 11^th，2001 saw terrorists attack America. Or: Sept. 11^th，2001 found America attacked by terrorists.

四、仿拟(Parody)

仿拟是指有意模仿一些成语、谚语、名言、警句或俗语等，通过改动其中的部分词语，表达出一种新的思想。仿拟修辞的运用可给人们带来耳目一新、旧貌换新颜的感觉。请看例句:

续表

下面是从我国学生习作中选出的含有仿拟修辞格的句子，边阅读边找出这些仿拟句的原文是什么。

(1) Enthusiasm is the mother of success.

(2) All roads lead to environmental protection.

(3) No competition，no progress.

(4) To continue my study or to find a job，that's the question.

(5) A book in hand is a friend indeed.

(6) A forest can not be planted in a day.

(7) Where there is perseverance，there is a miracle.

(8) One is never too late to protect the environment.

(9) Hard road，take me to success.

(10) A walk after a meal every day keeps the doctor away.

现在让我们也来尝试一下。你能将下面的汉语句子译成含有仿拟修辞格的句子吗?

(1)终身学习的方法有千万种。

(2)百闻不如一用。

(3)手机是人们生活中的好朋友。

(4)掌握英语非一日之功。

(5)一日一个鸡蛋，疾病不再来捣蛋。

参考答案:

(1) All roads lead to lifelong learning.

(2) Using is believing.

(3) A cell phone in hand is a friend in life.

(4) English can not be mastered in a day.

(5) An egg a day keeps the doctor away.

五、移就(Transferred epithet)

移就也称转移修饰语，是把本来用于修饰甲事物的修饰语用来修饰乙事物，通常是把修饰人的修饰语用来修饰物。移就修辞格运用得当，可产生言简意丰的效果。请看例句:

On that cold and lonely night，I recalled a lot of things from the past.

在以上例句中，把用于形容人的词lonely放在了night前面，看似违反常规，不合逻辑，但在具体语言环境中却恰到好处，能引起读者的丰富联想，有出人意外、引人入胜之妙。

请阅读下列含有移就修辞格的短语和句子，并仔细品味它们是如何加强语言表现力的:

(1) Thirsty City

(2) He kept a respectful distance from her.(他对她敬而远之。)

(3) Mother simply couldn't fall asleep on her painful pillow.

(4) After a few days' nervous waiting，Val is informed that he is hired.

(5) She answered with a help less smile.

(6)“Help，let me in，please let me in!”But the houses were cold，closed， unfriendly．．．．”

(7) He is now again seated in his usual sleepy corner.

(8) After the concert，I was in such a good mood that I couldn't just return to my lonely hotel room.

(9) I spoke to them in hesitant French.

(10) He had some cheerful wine at the party.

(11) The skyscraper has a dizzy height，and you see it has150 floors.

(12) My father paid me a surprising visit.

(13) In order to guarantee a painless annual visit to your dentist，you should clean your teeth with a brush and dental floss after every meal，and cut down significantly on sugar consumption.

(14) My stomach becomes excited as I breathe in the delicious air.

(15) An absent-minded moment of his hand caused the cup to fall.

下面是从我国学生习作中选出的含有移就修辞格的句子。你是怎样理解这些话的呢?

(1) That was a romantic，sleepless，and fragrant night.

(2) I wrote to my mother a thoughtful and chatty letter.

(3) Mathematics is a painful course.

(4) Autumn is a delicious season，for it produces all kinds of fruit.

(5) Worried about the test，he had a sleepless night.

(6) What I was afraid of would not be the criticism from my teacher，but the disappointed eyes of my mother.

(7) When we learn that our research paper has been published，the whole lab turns into a cheerful place.

(8) I spent an anxious night before I made the decision.

(9) He gave me a sympathetic hug.

(10) Churches are happy places because a lot of couples tie the knot there.

六、对比(Antithesis)

对比也称对照，是把两个结构相同或相似、语义相反或相对的语言单位并列在一起，以求得到一种均衡的形式美和强烈的对比效果。

(1) Less is more.(简单就是美。)

(2) A poet is born，not made.

(3) Will we look up in hope or down in despair?

(4) They were weak in number but strong in pride.

(5) It matters not how a man dies，but how he lives.

(6) To day we observe a widespread decline in physical activity and an increase in obesity.

(7) The world is moved not only by the mighty muscles of our heroes but also by the tiny pushes of each honest worker.

(8) A lot of American junk food like potato chips and soda(碳酸饮料) is high in calories but low in nutrition.

(9) I find it easiest to look forwards by looking back.

(10) Hope for the best，and prepare for the worst.

(11) Stuff today and starve tomorrow.(今天大吃大喝，明天忍饥挨饿。)

(12) When I'm right，nobody ever notices; when I'm wrong，nobody ever forgets.(我做了好事无人赞扬，做了错事却无人原谅。)

下面是从我国学生习作中选出的含有对比修辞格的句子。

(1) For some college students，campus romances may start with fantasy but end in failure.

(2) I'm confident in my studies but frustrated by love.

(3) When the students pass the exam，they jump with joy; if they fail it，they groan with despair.

(4) It's difficult to make money，but it's easy to lose happiness.

(5) Obstacles are challenges for winners but excuses for losers.

(6) Life is full of barriers. Life is full of hopes.

(7) To lose weight，I will eat less chocolate and do more exercise every day.

(8) To hire a person，think about his weaknesses; to fire a person，think about his strengths.

(9) Beijing is a city full of hopes and disappointments.

(10) Today's failure is tomorrow's success.

七、音韵反复(Repetitions of sounds)

音韵反复是指由于押韵而产生的某一声音的重复出现。在写作过程中，如果我们在选词时还能兼顾该词的音韵效果，不但能产生和谐悦耳的节奏感，而且能还唤起读者的注意。常见的音韵反复形式有以下三种:

1.头韵，指两个或两个以上邻近的词在词头的押韵。请看例句:

(1) Passion and Pain

(2) Pride and pain of a champion

(3) Beauty and the B east

(4) as busy as bees

(5) Practice makes perfect.

(6) Without wisdom wealth is worthless.

(7) No sweet without sweat.

(8) Safe and sound.

(9) Fortune favors the fool.(人儍命好。)

(10) Her career mattered more to her than anything－her home，her husband.

(11) A friend without faults will never be found.(没有十全十美的朋友。)

(12) Ned needs an eat net.

(13) She sells sea－shell on the sea sh ore.

(14) Six silly sleepers slept softly on silk sheets.

(15) Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled pepper.

2.尾韵，指两个或两个以上邻近的词在词尾的押韵。请看例句:

(1) The sooner，the better.

(2) Survival on arrival

(3) When it comes to winning，you need the skill and the will.

(4) Haste makes waste.

(5) When the cat's a way，the mice will play.

(6) An apple a day keeps the doctor a way.

(7) Ea st or we st，home is be st.

(8) Good adv ice is beyond all pr ice.

(9) Sh op till you drop.(购物到筋疲力尽。)

(10) First comes love，then comes the marriage，then comes Ken pushing a baby carriage.

(11) A fall into a p it，a gain in your wit.(吃一堑，长一智。)

(12) The first wealth is health.

(13) Don't follow his fellow who is hollow.

(14) Genius is one per cent inspiration and ninety-nine per cent perspiration.

(15) The master teaches the trade，but the apprentice's skill is self-made.(师傅领进门，修行靠个人。)

尾韵常见于诗歌当中。下面是美国现代著名诗人罗伯特·弗洛斯特(Robert Frost，1874～1963)写的一首名为《雪夜林前驻马》的诗，你能找到它的尾韵规律吗?

Stopping by woods on a Snowy Evening 　　　

Whose woods these are I think I know. 　　　

His house is in the village though;　　　　

He will not see me stopping here　　　　　　

To watch his woods fill up with snow. 　　　

My little horse must think it queer(奇怪的)

To stop without a farmhouse near 　　　　　

Between the woods and frozen lake　　　　　

The darkest evening of the year. 　　　　　

He gives his harness(马具) bells a shake 　

To ask if there is some mistake. 　　　　　

The only other sound's the sweep 　　　　　

Of easy wind and downy flake(绒毛般的雪花).

The woods are lovely，dark and deep, 　　　

But I have promises to keep,　　　　　　　　

And miles to go before I sleep, 　　　　　　

And miles to go before I sleep.　　　　　　

3.综合，指一个短语或句子中有些词押头韵，而有些词押尾韵。现在请你来找找下面这些短语或句子中，押头韵的词和押尾韵的词分别在什么地方。

(1) tit for tat

(2) Publish or perish?

(3) The Titanic: Unsinkable or Unthinkable?

(4) Many a little makes a mickle.

(5) Jack and Jill went up the hill.

(6) The morning to the mountain，the evening to the fountain.

(7) A man of words and not of deeds is like a garden full of weeds.

(8) Early to bed，and early to rise，makes am an healthy，wealthy and wise.

(9) No context，no content.

(10) Birds of a feather flock together.(物以类聚，人以群分。)

＊＊＊＊＊

下面请你运用有关音韵反复的知识回答两个问题:

(1)用英语表达“傲慢”之义时可选用arrogance，pride和conceit;在表达“偏见”之义时可选用prejudice和bias。但是为什么《傲慢与偏见》的作者选用的是pride和prejudice这两个词呢?

(2)为什么用英语说“圣诞快乐!”是Merry Christmas!而不是Happy Christmas!呢?

参考答案:

(1) pride与p rejudice产生头韵。

(2) Merry中的m与Christ m as中的m可产生“韵味”。

＊＊＊＊＊

请将下列英语短语或句子译成汉语:

(1) brain drain，brain gain

(2) Make a mountain out of a molehill(鼹鼠丘)．

(3) Employment is enjoyment.

参考答案:

(1)人才流失，人才引进

(2)小题大做。

(3)就业常乐。