英語中長句和短句的獨特韻味

摘要：本文以實例，說明了英語長句和短句的特點，探討了長句和短句的適用語境，闡述了在寫作中使用英語長句和短句的個人見解。

關鍵詞：英語 " 長句 " 短句

在作文教學中，筆者總是引導學生多寫“高級”句式，因為筆者認為多使用“高級”句式，能夠豐富作文內容，錦上添花，高分自然收入囊中。但是，筆者對“高級”句式的理解是，少一點簡單句，多一些從句、非謂語動詞（含獨立主格結構）的運用，以及適當地運用特殊句式，強調句型和倒裝句等。

轉眼又到了高三，偶然間，筆者看到了兩篇文章，動搖了自己最初的想法，原來句子宜長宜短，皆有獨特的韻味。如：

Bad luck is no stranger to this 44- year- old man. His mother died of cancer， and his weak father had to give up 11- year- old David to the care of the state. Things seemed always to go from bad to worse. Two years ago， his beloved guide dog pulled him out of the path of a truck. David was not hurt. The dog died.

這篇文章按照時間的順序，讓我們見證了身殘志堅的David飽經疾苦，仍笑對人生，堅持排除萬難，實現自我價值。文章并非贅述種種人間疾苦，而是運用了短小精悍的句子，讓筆者一邊讀，一邊感受短句帶來的震撼。“David was not hurt. The dog died”，當讀到這句話時，筆者油然而生的感受是：strong and powerful。

后來，筆者在《When Someone grieves》 中又一次體會到了短句的妙用。如：

I was sitting， torn by grief. He just sat with me for an hour or more， listened when I said something， answered briefly， prayed simply， and left. I was moved. I was comforted. I hated to see him go.

這篇文章除了小短句之外，還使用了恰當的副詞，為文章增添色彩。其實，形容詞和副詞就像我們手中的油畫棒，為句子增色添彩，使簡單的文章充滿情感色彩。

與短句的短小、精悍、有力相比，長句子可能更容易獲得我們的關注，它信息量大，能夠體現較高的英語水準。

下面，筆者結合實例，詳細地闡述了長句子的運用。如：

Driving a car is not just handling controls and judging speed and distance. It requires you to predict what other road users will do and get ready to react to something unexpected. ①When alcohol is consumed， it enters your bloodstream and acts as a depressant， damaging eyesight， judgment and co-ordination ，slowing down reaction time and greatly increasing the risk of accidents.

Alcohol may take a few minutes to be absorbed into the bloodstream and start action on the brain. ②Absorption rate is increased when drinking on an empty stomach or when consuming drinks mixed with fruit juice.

本文給我們提供了涵蓋信息量大的非謂語動詞的多種變形形式。①句精彩地體現了非謂語中多層次的表現，即非謂語動詞的連用和動名詞短語連用;②中更多地體現了非謂語與疑問詞的連用，雖然言簡意賅，但信息全面。

綜上所述，短句適用于敘事性的文體，它娓娓道來，短而有力，引人深思;長句則適用于說明性和說理性的文章，它能以排山倒海之勢，以理服人。

（作者單位：山東省德州市第一中學英語組）