识别阅读中的参照关系与省略

阅读技巧:识别阅读中的参照关系与省略

一、参照关系

在阅读中，注意词语之间的相互参照关系，可以帮助我们理解所读的内容。根据英语语法规则，常见的参照( Reference)有“人称参照”和“指示参照”两种。

1)人称参照是指用人称代词表示的参照关系。与汉语相比，英语中使用人称代词的频率要高得多。有时可以先出现代词，再出现被照应的词。如果不了解英语中人称参照这一特点，就会给阅读理解带来困难。如:

I thought they would have their own idea．So I would never have believed it．They have accepted the whole scheme without any words．

这里人称代词it，指代的并不是前文的idea，而是后面的句子They have．．．any words．

又如:

For the first time they can remember，farmers in China are relieved of the constant fear of droughts and floods．

句中they照应的是farmers in China。

2)指示参照是指用指示代词( this/ these，that/ those)以及定冠词the来表示的一种照应关系。指示代词一般照应前面所出现的词语，但this也可用来照应后面的内容，如:

Drinking fine wines and eating Chinese food were his hobby as a student and these led to his investment in a large Chinese restaurant in Shanghai later in his life．

句中的these照应的是前面的drinking fine wines and eating Chinese food。

又如:

“The great difficulty is this， ”said the psychologist ， “you can move about in all directions of space，but you can't move about in time．”

句中this照应psychologist在后面所说的所有内容。在英语中，使用人称代词和指示代词的频率大大高于汉语，有时，这些代词又远离被照应的词。因此，了解并有意识地去注意学习这种照应关系，对于提高阅读能力是大有好处的。

二、省略的识别

省略是英语中的一种常见现象，但省略往往会给阅读带来困难。许多读者由于不了解所读材料某些省略的内容，而无法正确理解文章的意思。因此，识别省略( Recognition of Ellipsis)也是提高阅读效率的一种不可或缺的技巧。

在各种省略中，除去与语法相关的省略外(如定语从句简略成为分词结构等)，与阅读技巧关系最直接的是并列结构和主从结构中的承前省略。

比如:

The footmen were as ready to serve her as they were their own mistress．

此句在表示比较的主从结构中有省略，如果不省略，全句应为:

The footmen were as ready to serve her as they were ready to serve their own mistress．

又如:

They show skill in their sneak attacks and ferocity when cornered．

此句在并列结构中有省略，全句应为:

They show skill in their sneak attacks and they show ferocity when they are cornered．

一般来说，英语中并列结构和主从结构中的省略，都可以通过分析上下文信息，找到相应的语言内容加以补全。因此，只要了解并注意省略这一现象，结合一定的语法分析，便能掌握“识别省略”这一阅读技巧。