SAT閱讀中修辭手法的使用：低調陳述.

　　在SAT閱讀題型之中，不能完全意義上的區(qū)分題型，因為題型之間會有交叉點。但是無論題型怎么千變萬化，只要熟知考點，縱使題型“改頭換面”依然破題得分。所以筆者在此提出一種修辭手法:Understatement(低調陳述)，希望考生引起注意。那么什么是低調陳述呢，我們一起來學習一下。

　　Understatement(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 therore the opposite of hyper. 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(jié)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?？梢酝ㄟ^詞典和語法手段體現(xiàn)。

　　1 用詞匯手段來體現(xiàn)

　　According to the newspaper， the driver， who was returning from a wedding， seemed puzzled. “I only had two bottle of beer and a cocktail.”

　　據(jù)報道，那位參加完一個婚禮后往回趕的司機一臉迷惑地說：“我只不過喝了兩瓶啤酒，一杯雞尾酒罷了?！?/p>

　　此句話中的seemd puzzled 以及only 把酒后駕車司機的那種不負責任的態(tài)度刻畫的淋漓盡致，令人厭惡。

　　2 用語法手段來體現(xiàn)

　　“ Don’t you figure out that I might have had something to do with it?” said Soapy， not without sarcasm， but friendly， as one greets good fortune.

　　(O.Henry： The Cop and the Anthem)

　　“難道你看不出我可能跟這件事有關嗎?” 蘇比說，口氣不是沒有譏諷，但態(tài)度卻友好，仿佛一個要交好運的人。

　　此例是以雙重否定體現(xiàn)understatement， not without sarcasm 就是with sarcasm(語帶譏諷)。

　　簡而言之，understatement(低調陳述)的要點就是清描淡寫地陳述一種想法。

　　真題(2006年1月sec9)

　　Questions 7-19 are based on the following passage.

　　The following passage is from a 1979 essay by a Native American writer.

　　Bore she had finished her sentence the beaver had flipped over in the water and dragged himself onto the bank， where he lay half dead. The porcupine woman managed to make the shore too. and climbed up onto a bear path. When she had caught her breath， she turned on the beaver and quilled him to death.“The Tanaina live in an environment that could euphe-mistically be described as “difficult.” Survival， especially in the wild， is always precarious. Further， they were， in the prccontact period， a nonlitcrate people.

　　11. The sentence in which “difficult” appears (lines 54-55) indicates that the author considers the word to be

　　(A) an exaggeration

　　(B) an estimate

　　(C) an understatement

　　(D) a contradiction

　　(E) a preconception

　　題干分析：作者認為54-55行所描述的“困難”一詞是什么。有原文分析可知：T所在的環(huán)境可以被委婉的描述成“困難”。并且聯(lián)系下文Survival， especially in the wild， is always precarious.(特別是在荒野之地，生存下來不可能的。)由此判斷這里明顯非常困難，而原文委婉說困難。此句中情態(tài)動詞的表達could euphe-mistically be 體現(xiàn)了understatement的運用。

　　此題并不是一個修辭題的考題，但是考點涉及到修辭中understatement的運用。

　　修辭手法題很容易和其他的題型(例如寫作手法題)混在一塊考。這也是為什么有些題干會明顯有rhetorical device 的提示詞，如真題2009年1月的題目：the quotation in lines 10-12 contains an example of which rhetorical device ? 而有的題干沒有rhetorical device 的提示詞，但是選項中又有修辭格。如真題2009年1月的題目：In lines 9-11( “A miniseries ….television.”) ， the author makes use of which of the following? 其實那是因為選項中涉及部分的修辭手法，還涉及部分的寫作手法。寫作手法的講解會在該題型講解中詳述。在這里就不多講了。

　　通過講解Understatement(低調陳述)修辭手法在SAT閱讀中的運用，筆者希望考生能足夠重視到深層挖掘考題背后的核心思維，有以不變應萬變的能力，才能夠攻克SAT閱讀難關，才是得高分的舉措。