“指代”難點剖析

呂吉爾

以“refer to”為標志的指代理解題是高考英語必考點。指代是一種非常普遍的語言現象。為了行文簡練，避免重復，英文中經常會用一些替代詞語來表示提到過的人或事物。然而，筆者發現，許多同學做題時對it，he，them，that，this，one，so，there之類的指代詞往往很少注意，甚至“視而不見”，結果導致理解偏差，答題失誤。

筆者認為，指代理解題的難點主要有四個。只要攻克了這些難點，指代題也就迎刃而解了。

難點1： “后指”現象

在英語復合句中，一般都是主句用名詞，從句用代詞指代主句中的名詞。如果從句在前，主句在后，就會出現“后指”現象。而按照漢語的表達習慣，一般都是先提名詞，后用代詞指代前面提到過的名詞，即“前指”。因此，“后指”給同學們正確理解語篇的指代關系帶來了障礙。

例1Although he （Nicolaus Copernicus) had tried to ignore them, all his mathematical calculations led to the same conclusion: that the earth was not the centre of the solar system. Only if you put the sun there did the movements of the other planets in the sky make sense.

What does the word “them” refer to?

A. His mathematical calculations

B. The earth and the solar system

C. The movements

D. The other planets

解析： 答案為A。根據“從句中用代詞指代主句中的名詞”的英語表達習慣以及英語的“后指”現象可知，本段中的them指代all his mathe-

matical calculations。

難點2： “鏈式”指代

有的指代關系比較復雜，指代詞指代一個名詞，而被指代的名詞又指代另一個更具體的詞語甚至句子，層層指代，形成一個指代“鏈”，從而阻礙了同學們對指代關系的理解。

例2 The Jet dEau together with the Flower Watch are the main attractions every year for the tourists visiting Geneva. The Jet dEau has become the symbol of Geneva for a long time. This is a 140 meters high water monument with a rich history. Eight 13,500-watt projectors light the grand column of the fountain（噴泉） in the evening， from early March until the second Sunday of October.

The Jet dEau in the paragraph refers to _______.

A. the water fountain

B. the English Garden

C. a new scene with electric lighting

D. the name of a famous watchmaker

解析： 答案為A。本段第3句的主語This明顯指代第1句的主語The Jet dEau，而第3句本身表明This = water monument，第4句中的the fountain無疑是指第3句中的water monument。這樣，就形成了一個指代“鏈”：The Jet dEau = This = water monument = the fountain。

難點3： “分隔”指代

指代關系通常發生在本句內部或相鄰句子之間，但有時指代詞與指代對象之間被別的句子分隔。筆者把這種現象稱之為“分隔”指代。

例3The German shepherd runs off and noses around in the grass of Kenyas Laikipia Plateau. “OK, Oakley,” the dogs handler orders. “Find it.” Oakley sniffs until he comes to a bush, then stops, sits, and looks up at his handler. She bends to see what he has found: the waste of an endangered African wild dog.

Who does the underlined word “She” refer to?

A. The German shepherd.

B. The Laikipia Plateau.

C. Oakley.

D. The dogs handler.

解析： 答案為D。 文章表明，the dogs handler命令Oakley 去Find it，然后She bends to see what he has found可知，she應指the dogs handler。

難點4： “隱形”指代

有的指代詞所指的對象并沒有在上下文中直接顯示出來，而是隱含在字里行間，給解題增加了難度，需要同學們細心地體會、推理、判斷。

例4 Schipper, now a 17-year-old from Brisbane with a bright future of going to Athens for her first Olympics, yesterday recalled her time with Shane Gould five years ago.

“I was at a national youth camp on the Gold Coast and Shane had come along to talk to us and watch us train,” Schipper explained. “It seemed as if we had long been good friends. I dont know why. We just started talking and it went from there.”

The underlined word “it” probably refers to _______.

A. the Olympics

B. the youth camp

C. the friendship

D. the talk

解析： 答案為C。上述四個選項中，the Olympics和the youth camp不可能是it指代的對象。雖然it前面剛剛提到過talking，但實際上后面的there是指代talking的，也就是說，it是從那次談話開始的。結合上文以及前一句的主題詞good friends，可以推測出it指代的是we had long been good friends一句中隱含的friendship之意。

【小結】

解答指代理解題的關鍵是理清人物及事物之間的邏輯關系，找準指代詞所指代的對象。根據“指代”的定義，指代詞和指代對象是同一人物或同一事物，牢記這一點對于破解指代題至關重要。解題時，可遵循以下三個步驟：

1. 確定方向：首先根據句意和語境確定是“前指”還是“后指”。首先得“方向”正確，否則是找不到正確答案的。

2. 尋找對象：以指代詞為出發點，順著所指“方向”尋找指代對象，直至找到可與指代詞畫等號或隱含指代詞意義的詞語，借以確定選項中的正確答案。如找不到合適的對象，須重新確定“方向”再次尋找。

3. 驗證所指：找到代表指代對象的詞語后，將該詞語（指“指代對象”）代入“指代詞”所處位置，若符合句意和邏輯，則該詞語即為正確答案。

總之，同學們在平時的學習和閱讀中，對指代詞要非常敏感。解題時，要注意上下文，通過詞語之間的語法關系、語意關系和語言邏輯來辨明指代關系，正確理解語段的行文邏輯，正確答題。