[摘要]
(3)“强”调结构:段落中出现not only A, but also B和not A but B时用来强调后者,而出现A as well as B、A rather/other than B、 A instead of B或A more than B的结构时则与之相反,强调前者。这些结构有助于确定话题(topic),考生务必把此类结构背得烂熟于胸。(请参见“必杀技”之三的例题)
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(3)“强”调结构:段落中出现not only A, but also B和not A but B时用来强调后者,而出现A as well as B、A rather/other than B、 A instead of B或A more than B的结构时则与之相反,强调前者。这些结构有助于确定话题(topic),考生务必把此类结构背得烂熟于胸。(请参见“必杀技”之三的例题)
(4)“强”调句型:出现次数虽不及其他“强”类语汇频繁,但是只要一出现,无一不是主题句。
2、“必杀技”之二:“新”字诀
带有new、latest、contemporary等词的句子往往会是关于新科技,新发明或者新事物的议论文的主题句所在,这些类型的文章在中口中的比重一直颇高。值得注意的是,这个特点在高级口译的文章中更是体现得淋漓尽致。
例如:(2001年3月第一篇)
Some children do not like school. So what is new? But in Japan that familiar aversion has reached alarming proportions. About 50,000 unhappy youngsters a year (out of a total school-age population of 20 million) suffer what Japanese behavior experts call school phobia……
评析:new引出主题,即日本学生患恐学症的人数已到警戒线。后文果然就围绕这个新现象展开了论述,用举例子、列数字、下定义等方法来支持主题。
3、“必杀技” 之三:“奇”字诀
unusual、extraordinary、exceptional、strange、unique、striking这类词出现在新闻评论类文章是几乎都和主题脱不了干系。新闻的使命是挖掘有新闻价值的事,称得上“奇”的必然值得报道和探究。
例如:(2003年9月第四篇)
The strange fact is that the last hundred years have seen not only the dehumanizing of manual work with the introduction of mass-production method and scientific management and a consequent reduction in the satisfaction which an individual can derive from the performance of a skilled craft, but also universal acceptance of the idea that everyone ought to work,even though they may have no absolute economic necessity to do so……
评析:此句是中口历年考题中较长的一句话,考生若逐字翻译咀嚼,则生词恐怕马上会成为妨碍理解的拦路虎。可是,只要结合“强”字诀中的“强”调结构,我们不难找到主题。首先strange预示着这个问题的本质值得探讨,而当not only A,but also B结构映入眼帘的时候则眼前顿时豁然开朗,主题已昭然若揭:人人应该工作的观念为什么会那么深入人心?这就是作者在后文要探究的“奇”事
4、“必杀技”之四:“真”字诀
(1)“真”发现:中口文章往往会谈到科研成果,所以出现researches/ survey / interview等研究工作show / reveal / demonstrate或者 expert / specialists / professor / doctor这样的专业人士find / say / argue / suggest等词,往往预示着新发现或真道理,考生也应该格外留意。
(2)“真”观点:议论文有“先破后立”的写法,作者会先批判错误观点,继而用indeed、in fact、actually等副词或real 、true等形容词来揭示主题。
例如:(1997年3月第六篇)
One of the most difficult questions to answer is how much a job is worth……
Another factor we must take into account is now socially useful a man’s work is……
Indeed, this whole question of just reward can be turned in its head. You can argue that a man who does a job which brings him personal satisfaction is already receiving part of his reward in the form of a so-called “psychic wage”……
评析:首段主题由most difficult question引出,可见其后的内容都是围绕工资展开。第二段的主题句也很明显,显然就是对影响工资的另一个因素的讨论。而第三段indeed后面引出的才是作者真正的观点,即人的工资的有一部分是“精神工资”,只有算上这部分工资,才能衡量一个人真正应得的报酬。
5、“必杀技”之五:“并”字诀
从最近两年的考题来看,中口文章似乎迷上“并”字诀,即作者在文章的前3段内提出主题句,后面的段落少则3段、多则6段,段段并列,分别谈论这个主题的方方面面。