托福聽力中出現(xiàn)的修辭
Hyperbole(夸張)
試比較以下TOEFL聽力短對話的兩種回答方式：
Have you asked your brother to do the dishes?
1)Yes, many times.(很多遍了。)
2)Yes, a thousand times.(無數(shù)次了。)
很明顯，第一種回答方式不如第二種生動，因為a thousand times(無數(shù)次)使用了Hyperbole(夸張)的修辭手法。Hyperbole一詞源于希臘語的huperbole，意思是exceed(超過)，是一種故意夸大其詞(overstatement)或言過其實的修辭手法;其特點是對表達對象進行有違常識或不合邏輯的夸張性描寫，以達到強烈的修辭效果。如：a river of tears (淚河)、a mountain of coal (煤山)、oceans of people (人海)...Hyperbole(夸張)在TOEFL聽力中的運用也可謂爐火純青。
比如：
1)You are my lifesaver.(你是我的“救命恩人”。)
2)You are 100% right.(你“百分之百”的正確。)
3)My back killed me.(我的腰痛的厲害。)
4)You make me feel guilty. (你讓我感覺像是在犯罪。)
5)I haven't seen you for ages. (好久不見了呀!)
6)I could sleep for a whole year. (我太困了。)
7)We're all tired to death. (我們快累死了。)
當然，除了TOEFL聽力，Hyperbole(夸張)的修辭手法在英語語言文學中的經(jīng)典范例不勝枚舉：
1)One father is more than a hundred schoolmasters. (George Herbert) (一個父親的作用大于100個教師。)
2)It's a crime to stay inside on such a beautiful day. (今天陽光明媚，躲在家中實在太遺憾了。)
3)A drop of ink may make a million think.(George G Byron)(一滴墨水寫成的文字可讓千萬人思索。)
Simile(明喻)
試比較以下兩種TOEFL聽力表達方式：
1)He spent a lot of money.(他花了大筆的錢。)
2)He spent a lot of money, like water.(他花錢如流水。)
很明顯，第二種表達方式比第一種更加生動和形象。因為like water(如流水)使用了Simile(明喻)的修辭手法，這樣以來，無疑使語言更加精彩和完美，聽力考試也不再單純是一門考試，而變成了一種享受。Simile(明喻)一詞源于拉丁語similes,其意為like(象)。他借助人們的想象力，使用一定的比喻詞如：like, as等加以連接，從而清楚的表明兩種事物之間的相似之處，使得表達更加新鮮有趣。其典型形式是A is like B.Simile(明喻)的修辭手法在TOEFL聽力中的運用可謂爐火純青。
比如：(劃線部分為明喻之處)
1.Like引導
1) He sweats like a pig.(他像豬一樣流汗。)
2) They slept like babies.(他們像嬰兒一樣熟睡著。)
3) Living without an aim is like sailing without a compass.(John Ruskin)(生活沒有目標猶如航行沒有指南針。)
4) Records fell like ripe apples on a windy day.(E.B. White)(被打破的記錄猶如刮風天成熟的蘋果——紛紛墜落。)
2.As引導
1)She is as beautiful as a flower.(她像花一樣的美麗。)
2)“I am as light as a feather, I am as happy as am angel, I am as merry as a schoolboy. I am as giddy as a drunken man...”(Charles Dickens)(我像羽毛一樣輕，我像天使一樣幸福，我像小學生一樣快活，我像喝醉了酒的人一樣飄飄然……)
3)The first time I read an excellent book, it is to me as if I had gained a new friend.
(我頭一回讀到一本好書，對我來說好象交了一位新朋友。)
注意：As引導的as...as結(jié)構(gòu)在英語中得到了廣泛應(yīng)用，若能在口語交流或各種作文考試(如：TWE等)中用上一個，定會得到意想不到的效果，常用的as結(jié)構(gòu)有：
(as) firm as a rock堅如磐石
(as) light as a feather輕如鴻毛
(as) close as an oyster守口如瓶
(as) mute as a fish噤若寒蟬
(as) strong as a horse強壯如牛
(as) cool as a cucumber泰然自若
(as) sober as a judge十分清醒
(as) sure as a gun千真萬確
