夏金皆
普通高中課程標準實驗教科書英語模塊1第三單元和第五單元中有這樣兩個句子:
She gave me a determined look—the kind that said she would not change her mind. 她堅定地看了我一眼,那眼神說明她不會改變主意。
The last thirty years have seen the greatest number of laws stopping our rights and progress, until today we have reached a stage where we have almost no rights at all. 過去30年來所出現的大量法律剝奪我們的權利,阻擋我們進步,一直到今天,我們還處在幾乎什么權利都沒有的階段。
上兩例中的謂語said和have seen都屬于修辭格中的擬人用法。擬人就是把事物當作人來寫。把人的特點賦予事物或某種抽象概念。第二例中的主語The last thirty years是一個時間概念,卻被賦予了視覺,使之能“見證(have seen)許多法律阻止我們的權利和進步”。為幫助大家更好地理解這類句子和擬人的修辭手法,現將動詞擬人用法歸類分析如下:
1. bring表示“帶來”。例如:
Haste does not bring success. 欲速則不達。
Every minute or two has brought new arrivals. 每一兩分鐘都有一些人來。
Spring rains bring summer flowers. 春雨引來夏花開。
2. see, find, discover, witness等表示“見證”,give a glimpse of表示“瞥見”。例如:
The 5th century saw the end of the Roman Empire in the west. 五世紀見證了西方羅馬帝國的滅亡。(Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English,1988)
Many ancient civilisations saw the value of bringing back plants from distant lands. 許多古老文化都懂得從遙遠的地方把植物帶回來的價值。(NSEFC Book 9, Unit 4)
This old house has seen better days. 這座老房子曾有過風光的日子。
Dusk found him crying in the street because he was hungry. 黃昏時分,有人看到他餓了,在街上哭。
A phone call to Baoding discovered that Bashis parents had already searched for the “body” in 50 wells. 一個電話打到保定,結果發現八喜的父母已經在五十口井里打撈過他的尸體。
A blush witnessed her shy disposition. 她臉紅證明她個性害羞。(《英漢多功能詞典》,外研社/建宏)
The last of the 19th century witnessed the steady improvement in the means of travel. 19世紀末見證了交通方式穩定進步。
Visits to places of historic interest gave glimpses of Chinas past. 參觀名勝古跡能瞥見中國歷史。
3. 將人的動作賦予事物、動物或抽象概念。
①dance表示“跳舞”, 在擬人手法中表示“上下波動”。例如:
The waves danced in the sunlight. 波浪在陽光下起伏。(Longman Dictionary of Contem porary English, 1988)
②escape表示“逃離”,在擬人手法中,escape ones notice表示“未被注意,忽視”,escape ones memory表示“忘記”。例如:
It might have escaped your notice, but Im very busy at the moment. 也許你沒注意到,可我此刻忙得不可開交。……