對于很多中學英語學習者來說,背單詞、記語法或讀文章都不是難題,但是會感覺在跟來自說英語的國家的人交流時困難重重,原因之一就在于對方的話語中應用了大量的習語或者俚語。比如 “under the weather” 和 “long shot”, 學生認識每個單詞,但是合在一起的意思就未必知道了。美國習語為美式英語增添了獨有的色彩和幽默感。來自美國不同社會階層、經濟背景下的人們在口頭交際中都會大量使用習語。在中學階段,要讓學生掌握地道美語,了解美國文化,就必須將美國習語教學作為英語課堂教學的一部分。
從Ruth Gairns 和 Stuart Redman(1986) 對英語習語的定義:“An idiom is a sequence of words which operates as a single semantic unit, and like many multiword verbs the meaning of the whole cannot be deduced from an understanding of the parts.” 我們可以看出,習語是由一系列的詞構成的,它的意思并不由哪個單詞決定,學習者需要把習語當成一個整體來看。在中學英語課堂上,我們可以利用熱身階段專門來學習美國習語,幫助學生掌握原汁原味的地道美語。豐富多彩的學習形式和內容還能增強學生對英語學科的興趣。接下來筆者將舉例論述如何在中學英語課堂上開展美國習語教學。
一、Learning idioms in context
語境要素在學生學習英語詞匯、習語過程中起著至關重要的作用。根據上下文猜測詞義是我們常用的詞匯學習策略,它同樣也適用于學習美國習語。
【案例一】
Idioms: foot the bill, put one’s foot down, stand on one’s own feet
Procedures:
1. Listen to the following conversation. Can you guess the meaning of the underlined idioms from the context?
Reporter: You are still just a teenager and haven’t graduated from high school yet. What made you decide to get a job?
Teenager: I want to buy lots of things: a new cell phone, a bicycle, electronic games, and cool clothes. I have to make money by myself because my parents refuse to foot the bill. They used to get me good stuff but I wanted more. So they finally put their foot down and told me to stand on my own feet. They asked me to learn to be independent, earn my own money and buy what I want.
2. Check the students’ understanding of the idioms.
(1) “foot the bill”
A. to do sth. for the first time
B. to hesitate to act
C. to pay for all the expenses
(2)“put one’s foot down”
A. to make a firm decision and insist sb
. obey
B. not to be brave enough to do sth.
C. to make a bad mistake
(3) “stand on one’s own feet”
A. to make a good impression
B. to depend on oneself
C. to be alert
(Answers: CAB)
一個簡短的對話就能讓學生很容易地理解三個習語的含義。具體真實的語境不但能夠幫助學習者理解習語的含義,而且能夠為學習者使用習語提供可效仿的例子。
二、Learning idioms in games
“興趣是最好的老師。學生如果缺乏興趣,教學則成為死亡之吻;學生如果缺乏動機,教學不過是一種懲罰性的厭惡療法。”(魯子問,王篤勤,2006) 學習美國習語本身就是一件快樂而又有趣的事,如果能夠把習語學習和游戲相結合,相信學生的學習熱情會大大提高。高中英語人教版必修5第4單元Making the news 閱讀文章中出現了 get the facts straight, have a good nose for sth., get the wrong end of the stick 等習語,我們可以利用圖片,設計Brain Teaser 小游戲,讓學生很快掌握它們的含義。
【案例二】
Idioms: get the facts straight, have a good nose for sth., get the wrong end of the stick
Procedure:
Look at the pictures below. Can you think of an idiomatic expression to describe each picture? ZHONGXUEJIAOXUECANKAO
8. This is the countryside where I visited 3 years ago. 8.
9. Try to write as careful as you can.
9.
10. We asked him to help us and he refused. 10.
1. language 應加s2. hurry應改為 hurried3. has應改為have 4. falling應改為 fallen5.hear 應改為hearing6. their應改為her/his7. those應改為 that8. where應改為 that/which9. careful 應改為carefully 10. and應改為 but
二、漏詞
漏掉的往往是冠詞、介詞、連詞等虛詞。這又與前后詞的搭配有關。見到名詞,應考慮是否缺了冠詞,見到動詞,可注意后面是否少了應與之搭配的介詞或其他詞。
命題角度1考點1 解題思路名詞1冠詞1 名詞前是否漏冠詞不及物動詞1介詞1 不及物動詞后是否漏介詞不定式1小品詞to1 不定式中是否漏了不該省的“to”被動語態1助動詞1 被動語態中是否漏了助動詞母語遷移1詞類用法1將形容詞、副詞或介詞視作動詞使句子缺少謂語部分動詞固定搭配1習慣用法1習慣用法中是否漏了不可缺少的詞1. She is such good teacher that we all like her. 1.
2. She asked me to watch for the traffic on the roads. 2.
3. I like swimming, but I won’t be able tomorrow. 3.
4. At age of 12, he started writing his own book. 4.
5. He interested in playing computer games. 5.
6. His father not here and he had been to Shanghai. 6.
7. I against the plan that he put forward just now. 7.
8. —I like playing football. —What you? 8.
9. —Have you invited John to our party? —Yes, he has invited. 9.
10. The baby is taken good care by his grandma. 10.
1.good前加 a2.watch后加 out3. able 后加to
4. age前加the5. interested前加 is6.not 前加was
7. against前加am8. What后加about9. has后加been10. care后加of
三、多詞
多余的詞,往往是結構詞,如冠詞、介詞、代詞等。可以根據涉及的名詞、動詞的特點,搭配和含義判斷是否多了冠詞、介詞或副詞;還可以根據全句的結構和意義,判斷是否多了連詞或其他詞。
命題角度1考點1 解題思路名詞1冠詞1 抽象名詞、物質名詞泛指時是否多了冠詞動詞1介詞1 及物動詞后受母語影響是否多了介詞不定式1小品詞to1 不定式前是否多了應該省的“to”代詞1代詞 1 定語從句中是否多了代詞形容詞、副詞1比較結構1 形容詞、副詞比較結構中是否多了相似詞固定搭配1習慣用法1 固定搭配是否“畫蛇添足”1. What a fine weather it is! 1.
2. I don’t know when the plane will arrive at. 2.
3. He prefers to see films rather than to go to the park. 3.
4. The path which he took it would lead to his village. 4.
5. She is even more cleverer than her sister. 5.
6. I’ll tell him as soon as I will see him. 6.
7. You had better tell me as soon as she comes to home. 7.
8. If you don’t hurry up, and you will be late. 8.
9. The Smiths did their best to make me to feel at home. 9.
10. His father has to return back to America tomorrow. 10.
1. 除去a2. 除去at3. 除去第二個to4. 除去it5. 除去more6. 除去will7. 除去to8. 除去and9. 除去第二個to10. 除去back
總之,短文改錯能檢測考生對書面語篇的校驗能力。一篇約 100 個單詞的英語短文,要求考生對標有題號的每一行作出判斷,若有錯誤就將其改正。短文中的錯誤往往要在不同程度上借助語境來進行判斷。短文改錯的考查注意了語言知識的覆蓋面,主要有:名詞、形容詞、冠詞、連詞、動詞、介詞等。我們應該全面了解其錯誤類型,同時多加練習,方可掌握最佳的解題策略。
參考文獻
[1]教育部.普通高等學校招生全國統一考試大綱: 英語[Z].北京:人民教育出版社,2011.
[2]王 峰.高考短文改錯題的命題規律及應試策略[J]. 英語考試研究,2010(10).
[3]甘曜瑋.高中英語短文改錯100篇 [Z]. 南寧:廣西人民出版社, 2011.
(責任編輯周侯辰)