GRE寫作ISSUE作文怎么用類比?
ISSUE是立論文,也就是說,我們需要用理由或例子去支持自己的觀點(diǎn)。在英語中有個(gè)單詞叫comparable,直譯的話是可比較的,其實(shí)它等同于similar(相似的)這個(gè)單詞,因?yàn)樵谖鞣轿幕?,只有相似的東西才具有可比較性。因此相似性也就成為了整個(gè)類比關(guān)系的前提和基礎(chǔ)。
個(gè)人認(rèn)為,類比(Analogy)在上述提到的五種論據(jù)方法中是最有邏輯性的,使用得當(dāng)可以省力又出彩地證明觀點(diǎn)。它有點(diǎn)像中學(xué)時(shí)代所學(xué)的幾何題,解題的關(guān)鍵不在論證的過程,而是添加一條輔助線。只要找到合適的輔助線,論證就是水到渠成的事了。當(dāng)我們想論證一個(gè)抽象復(fù)雜的命題A——B時(shí),我們可以選擇一個(gè)具體形象并且不需要證明的——D來作為輔助線,然后就把原本復(fù)雜的A——B的論證過程替代為論述AB和CD之間的相似性就可以了。這里需要指出的是,所謂具體形象且不需要證明的CD其實(shí)指的就是事實(shí)或常識(shí)。所以類比關(guān)系建立的難點(diǎn)就在與選擇合適的CD.我們來看個(gè)例子。
The Negro has callus growing on his soul and it’s getting harder and harder to hurt him there. That’s simple law of nature. Like a callus on the foot in a shoe that’s too tight. The foot is nature’s and that shoe was put on by man. The tight shoe will pinch your foot and make you holler and scream. But sooner or later,if you don’t take the shoe off,a callus will form on the foot and begin to wear out the shoe.
It’s the same with the Negro in America. That shoe—the white man’s system—has pinched and rubbed and squeezed his soul until it almost destroyed him. But it didn’t. And now a callus has formed on his soul, and unless that system is adjusted to fit him too,that callus is going to wear out that system.
很顯然在這段文字中,作者想證明的是全文第二段的最后一句話:And now a callus has formed on his soul, and unless that system is adjusted to fit him too,that callus is going to wear out that system。(現(xiàn)在黑人的靈魂中已經(jīng)產(chǎn)生了老繭,除非白人的統(tǒng)治體系能調(diào)整以適合他們,否則老繭將使這個(gè)體系土崩瓦解。)簡而言之,就是黑人終將沖破白人統(tǒng)治。
黑人反抗白人統(tǒng)治獲得解放這無疑是個(gè)非常抽象復(fù)雜的命題。采用一般的例證法,學(xué)生們都不約而同能想馬丁路德金。且不管例子雷同與否,事實(shí)上,很少有人能真正清楚又準(zhǔn)確地寫出馬丁路德金的具體事跡來證明這個(gè)觀點(diǎn)。甚至還有學(xué)生會(huì)想到曼德拉或奧巴馬來證明,實(shí)在有失偏頗。
再來看上面這段文字。作者很巧妙地找了CD,即foot(nature)——shoe(put on by man)之間的關(guān)系。鞋子小了,腳穿著會(huì)疼,如果不及時(shí)脫掉或調(diào)整,腳上會(huì)產(chǎn)生老繭。如果鞋子繼續(xù)對(duì)腳進(jìn)行禁錮,那么總有一天,腳會(huì)把鞋子穿破。這是一個(gè)再平常不過的道理,不需要再花時(shí)間進(jìn)行論證,括號(hào)里的就是AB和CD間的相似性,輕松論證了這個(gè)復(fù)雜的命題,這就是類比的魅力。
下面再給大家一段文字來體會(huì)類比的妙用。
“It is unrealistic to expect individual nations to make,independently,the sacrifices necessary to conserve energy. International leadership and worldwide cooperation are essential if we expect to protect the world’s energy resources for future generations.”
Another reason why an international effort is required is that other problems of an international nature have also required global cooperation. For example,has each nation independently recognized the folly of nuclear weapons proliferation and voluntarily disarmed? No. Only by way of an international effort,based largely on coercion of strong leaders against detractors,along with an appeal to self-interest,have we made some progress. By the same token,efforts of individual nations to thwart international drug trafficking have proven largely futile,because efforts have not been internationally based. Similarly,the problem of energy conservation transcends national borders in that either all nations must cooperate,or all will ultimately suffer.
類比,這種說理手段對(duì)大家而言其實(shí)并不陌生。在中國古文中如《老子》,《莊子》等都很擅長把深刻的道理用顯而易見的故事來講述出來,比如刻舟求劍等。另一方面,在詩歌中也會(huì)采用大量類比或比喻的手段來把抽象的意境具體化地表現(xiàn)出來。這里選用幾句Tagore(泰戈?duì)?飛鳥集中的句子來賞析一下希望能給大家些靈感:
Her wishful face haunts my dreams like the rain at night.她的熱切的臉,如夜雨似的,攪擾著我的夢(mèng)魂。
Woman, when you move about in your household service your limbs sing like a hill stream among its pebbles.(婦人,你在料理家務(wù)的時(shí)候,你的手足歌唱著,正如山間的溪水歌唱著在小石中流過。
The touch of the nameless days clings to my heart like mosses round the old tree.無名的日子的感觸,攀緣在我的心上,正象那綠色的苔蘚,攀緣在老樹的周身。
GRE寫作ARGUMENT如何運(yùn)用類比思維?
我們知道Argument是駁論性文章,也就是找一段文字中的錯(cuò)誤,進(jìn)行有理有據(jù)的駁斥。Argument比issue容易些,因?yàn)殄e(cuò)誤的類別其實(shí)很固定的,俗稱“七宗罪”。在這七宗罪中就有三宗是跟類比有關(guān)系的,分別是:misapplied generalization(概括誤用,即以大推小);hasty generalization(匆忙概括,即以小推大);faulty analogy(錯(cuò)誤類比)。不管是哪一種錯(cuò)誤,只要是跟類比扯上關(guān)系,在駁斥時(shí),我們都可以把它簡化成一件事——找相異性。因?yàn)閷?duì)于類比關(guān)系而言,它成立的前提和基礎(chǔ)就是相似性,所以只要找到所比較兩者間的相異性,那么再有邏輯的推理也是不成立的。我們舉個(gè)很簡單的例子來說明這個(gè)道理。如有這樣一個(gè)觀點(diǎn):
你應(yīng)該請(qǐng)?jiān)诎@锟说呐蓪?duì)中請(qǐng)的那支相同的樂隊(duì),因?yàn)樗麄兒馨簟?/p>
在進(jìn)行駁斥時(shí),千萬不要花時(shí)間去論證埃里克所請(qǐng)的那支樂隊(duì)是否很棒,這不是問題的關(guān)鍵。關(guān)鍵是找到兩個(gè)派對(duì)的相異性,只要能證明這兩個(gè)派對(duì)沒有可比性,那么無論那支樂隊(duì)棒或不棒,都不該請(qǐng)。我們可以從派對(duì)參與人數(shù)(比如你的派對(duì)1000人,埃里克只有10人),派對(duì)參與對(duì)象(你的派對(duì)全是年輕人,埃的派對(duì)平均年齡88),派對(duì)場(chǎng)所(你的派對(duì)在戶外大廣場(chǎng),埃的在室內(nèi))等等方面提出假設(shè),進(jìn)行駁斥。