“肯定形式”表示“否定含义”三种形式

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　　在日常交流中，直接的否定在表达情感和观点时显得浅显易懂，尽管它们有的时候并不那么符合语法要求。比如，好久不见(long time no see);或者，没钱什么都不行(no money, no good);再比如，世上最快乐的人未必拥有最好的东西，他们只是使身边的一切跟随自己的意愿。(The happiest of people don’t necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way.)
        　　而含蓄的否定因为没有明显的否定词语，使得否定的情感和态度在表达时更加委婉得体。比如，一无所知(be in the dark);又如，眼不见，心不烦(out of sight, out of mind);再如，不知所措(be at a loss)。这些表达不禁让我们想起这样一句话：委婉并晦涩着!想要真正领悟这些委婉的否定表达，需要理解英语的思维方式、文化背景和生活习惯。在这里，我们仅仅针对今年高考北京卷阅读理解来学习这种频繁出现的语言形式——以委婉(肯定)形式表达否定含义的现象。
        　　形式一：几乎不，几乎没有(hardly, seldom, few, little)
        　　例1：(2009北京，A)
        　　①When we were leaving I thought about all the places I was going to see--the strange and magical places I had known only from books and pictures. ②The country I was leaving never to come back was hardly in my head then.
        　　题目：
        　　Upon leaving for America the author felt _____.
        　　A. confused B. excited C. worried D. amazed
        　　第二句中hardly表明作者即将离开的国家几乎不会出现在脑海中，结合第一句很容易判断出来，作者对目的地充满了期待和憧憬。所以，此题正确答案是B。
        　　例2：(2010北京， A)
        　　①She was so unsettled during those first few days. ②She hardly ate anything and had such an air of sadness about her.
        　　题目：
        　　In her first few days at the author’s house, Goldie_____.
        　　A. felt worried B. was angry C. ate a little D. sat by the fire
        　　第二句中hardly表明Goldie几乎什么都不吃而且感到很忧伤。C选项中a little表明Goldie吃了一些东西，与文章矛盾，排除。B和D未提及，也排除，A选项自然浮现。如果同学们根据词根词缀的知识，能够理解单词unsettled是否定词缀un-和settled(安定的)组合在一起的意思，即为“不安的”意思，此题亦可轻松选出A项。可见，积累常见否定词根词缀的意义在高考阅读中非常明显。
        　　例3：
        　　①The days of the hunter are almost over in India. ②This is partly be-cause there is practically nothing left to kill, and partly because some steps have been taken, mainly by banning tiger-shooting, to protect those animals which still survive.
        　　题目：
        　　There is no more hunting in India now partly because_____.
        　　A. it is dangerous to hunt there
        　　B. hunting is already out of date
        　　C. hunters want to protect animals
        　　D. there are few animals left to hunt
        　　第二句说明结束打猎的两个原因，一方面没有什么动物可以猎杀，另一方面相关法律的颁布保护了动物，免于猎杀。只有D选项中的few表明几乎没有动物可以猎杀，是原文中nothing的完美对应，所以正解为D。

gkfour

分页标题#e#
        　　形式二：而不是(raher than, instead of)
        　　例1：(2009北京，E)
        　　①Choose a campsite with privacy and minimum influence on others and the environment. ② Try to use an area where people have obviously camped before rather than creating a new spot.
        　　题目：
        　　The author thinks that a good campsite is one_____.
        　　A. with easy access
        　　B. used previously
        　　C. with modern conveniences
        　　D. far away from beaches
        　　第二句中rather than表明选择营地时要使用人们之前用过的地方而不是创造一个新的营地。答案非常明确B。
        　　例2：(2005北京，B)
        　　●power tools rather than having to use muscle(肌肉)power
        　　题目：
        　　Which of the following describes a well-designed tool?
        　　A. It’s kept close to the body.
        　　B. It fully uses muscle power.
        　　C. It makes users feel relaxed.
        　　D. It’s operated with less force.
        　　如果理解了rather than表示否定意义，那么在运用排除法做这道题时，B选项可以轻易排除。如果要得出正解，必须结合文中其它信息，此处只要理解rather than表示而不是即可。
        　　例3：(2005北京，D)
        　　①Actually, we will save endangered species only if we save their habitats and put an end to the reasons people kill them. ②Instead of supporting zoos, we should support groups that work to protect animals’ natural habitats.
        　　题目：
        　　What does the author try to argue in the passage?
        　　A. Zoos are not worth the public support.
        　　B. Zoos fail in their attempt to save animals.
        　　C. Zoos should treat animals as human beings.
        　　D. Zoos use animals as a means of entertainment.
        　　在第二句中，作者使用instead of表达了不要支持动物园的意思，那么A选项正是这一句的同义改写，当选。这是一道主旨题，必然要结合其它信息选择，此处不再赘述。

gkfive

分页标题#e#
        　　形式三：免于(prevent…from…, protect…from…, keep…from…, free from…)
        　　例1：(2008北京，D)
        　　Diet foods can indirectly harm our bodies because consuming them instead of healthy foods means we are preventing our bodies from having basic nutrients(营养成分).
        　　题目：
        　　Diet products indirectly harm people physically because such products_____.
        　　A. are over-consumed
        　　B. lack basic nutrients
        　　C. are short of chemicals
        　　D. provide too much energy
        　　原文中prevent from表明消耗减肥食品而不吃健康食品意味着阻止身体吸收基本的营养成分，B选项中lack是prevent from的对应，当选。
        　　例2：(2011北京，B)
        　　①Interruptions by technology often break concentration and allow for too much dependence on outside information for ideas.② I want students to dig deep within themselves for inspiration and ideas.③ I want them to push each other to think differently and make connections between the course the material and the class discussion.
        　　题目：
        　　According to the author, the use of technology in the classroom may_____.
        　　A. keep students from doing independent thinking
        　　B. encourage students to have in-depth conversations
        　　C. help students to better understand complex themes
        　　D. affect students’ concentration on course evaluation
        　　根据第一句中的含义，由科技导致的干扰经常会扰乱注意力并且让学生过于依赖外界信息。A选项中的keep…from…表达了使学生免于(不)进行独立思考，是原文的同义改写，因此是正确选项。
        　　除了上述所说的三种形式之外，像without，too…to…, fail to do等结构也经常表示否定含义，同学们在学习中若能多加留意，必能从容应对考试。