評論
打印
In this passage ，an African American novelists recalls his reading experience as a teenager in California after having spent his first fifteen years in Louisiana.
……
I wanted to smell that Louisiana earth， feel that Louisiana sun， sit under the shade of one of those Louisiana oaks next to one of Louisiana bayous. I want to see on paper those black parents going to work before the sun came up and coming back home to take care of their children after the sun went down. I want to read about the true relationship between whites and blacks—about the people that I had known.
Which of the following rhetorical devices does the author use in the final paragraph of the passage？
A personification
B understatement
C irony
D simile
E repetition
定位行數中不斷重復的“Louisiana”。由此我們可以選擇E選項。但是有學生疑惑問及，該定位也有Parallelism的修辭用法，因為定位句子的“I want to…”引導的句子。其實確實如此，重復和排比的修辭手法經常是在英文中一起使用。比如在二戰中，丘吉爾有名的演講中的句子就是排比辭格和重復辭格的交織使用：We shall fight him by land， we shall fight him by sea， we shall fight him in the air. 那么遇到這樣的情況該如何處理呢。其實試圖上對推辭格的考查本著基礎的原則，并沒有將類似辭格混在一塊為考點。所以考生可以放心。一般一段話中有幾種明顯的辭格，考題方向只會定在一種。所以自然不會在選項中涉及段落中都有的辭格。因為那樣的涉及，考題也會變的沒有意義。
④Analogy（類比）
Analogy is based on comparison between two subjects. It draws a parallel between two unlike things that have several common qualities or points of resemblance.類比是基于兩事物的比較。在不同的事物之間找到相同點，建立聯系。
Eg：1.Teachers who possess power and exert it to conduct class play a similar role as business managers.
老師和經理扮演著同樣的角色，他們都有權利并且使用權利。
此例子中，老師和經理就是兩種身份的人，他們共同有的是角色的扮演，兩者都有權利并且可以使用權利。即這也是他們的共同點。
2. The man who keeps silent in the face of tyranny is as guilty as him who notices a fire and fails to raise the alarm.
在暴政面前沉默不語的人，他的愧疚感就如同一個人看到了火災但是不去拉響警鈴。
此例子中涉及兩種人，共同點是愧疚感。
通過以上例子不難看出，判斷類比的關鍵也就是在于是否能在句子中看到兩事物的共同點，本著這個原則看到歷年的真題中。
真題（2009年1月sec3）
Questions 9-10 are based on the following passages .
“ Think of menhaden as the liver of a bay. Just as your body needs its liver to filter out toxins， ecosystems also need those natural filters.”
7 the quotation in lines 10-12 contains an example of which rhetorical device ？
A Personification
B Understatement
C Wordplay
D Paradox
E Analogy
分析理解：鯡魚猶如海灣的肝臟一樣。正如同你的身體需要肝臟來排毒。生態系統也需要一個天然的排毒器。不難看出此句話描述兩個毫不相關的東西，一個是海灣的鯡魚，一個是人的肝臟，但是原文突出其兩者的共同點為排毒。所以這是類比辭格的用法。即此題選E。
最后筆者想講解另外一種修辭，此修辭格雖然不是SAT考察的最基本辭格，但是歷年試題頻繁出現在選項之中。并且在歷年的考題中，以其他的題型方式考過。
⑤Understatement（低調陳述）
Understatement的意思是：a statement that is not strong enough to express facts or feelings with full force（語氣不夠強，不足以表達事實或感情的陳述）。A Dictionary of Literary Terms 所給的解釋是：A figure of speech which contains an understatement of emphasis， and therefore the opposite of hyperbole. Often used in everyday speech and usually with laconic or ironic intentions.也就說，這種修辭格式故意使用有節制的修辭來陳述事實，故意清描淡寫，借低調與弱化語言形式來表示強調。所以Understatement故意采取“低調”，化大為小，是deliberately minimize the importance 和play down。一般說來，英語Understatement并無固定格式，通常可以通過詞典和語法手段體現。
