考研英語大作文(即看圖作文)中,經(jīng)常出現(xiàn)人物之間的對話或人物的心理活動。比如:2022年考研英語看圖作文是兩個學生討論是否應(yīng)該去聽校園講座,其中一個學生說“不是我們專業(yè)的,聽了也沒多大用”,另一個說“聽聽總會有好處”;2021年考研英語看圖作文是父子倆關(guān)于傳統(tǒng)戲曲的對話,其中兒子說“爸爸,好多同學說唱戲不好玩”,但爸爸卻說“你不是喜歡嗎?那就夠了”;2020年的考題涉及兩個人物關(guān)于工作任務(wù)的心理活動,其中女孩在想“盡早完成才放心”,男孩則在想“不到最后不動手”。
圖畫中人物的這些話語和心理活動很重要,通常點明了圖畫的主題,需要在圖畫描寫中表述出來。因此,考生需要掌握轉(zhuǎn)述人物話語和心理活動的寫作策略。
一般說來,我們有兩種基本方式來寫人物的話語和心理活動:直接引語和間接引語。直接引語將人物話語和心理放在引號里面,間接引語則沒有引號。直接引語和間接引語的區(qū)別主要體現(xiàn)在人稱代詞、時態(tài)和時間表達語等三個方面。
例1:
直接引語:One covered his face with his hand, and said hopelessly, “Everything is over!”
間接引語:One covered his face with his hand, and said hopelessly that everything was over.
該例中,直接引語放在引號中,引號中的時態(tài)用一般現(xiàn)在時,間接引語則添加了連接詞that,并將時態(tài)改為過去時。
例2:
直接引語:... the other reached out his hand to set right the bottle and said with a hopeful smile, “It’s lucky we still have some.”
間接引語:... the other reached out his hand to set right the bottle and said with a hopeful smile that it was lucky they still had some.
該例中,直接引語放在引號中,引號中時態(tài)用一般現(xiàn)在時,人稱代詞用we,間接引語則將人稱代詞改為they,并將時態(tài)改為過去時。
那么,考研寫作中,我們應(yīng)該怎么使用直接引語和間接引語呢?唐老師的建議是:如果兩個人物同時都有話語或心理活動,我們可以將其中一個人物的話語或心理活動處理為直接引語,而將另一個人物的話語或心理活動處理為間接引語。通常情況下,我們可以將自己同意的人物話語處理為直接引語,同時將自己反對的人物話語處理為間接引語。這樣做的好處有兩個:第一,直接引語顯示的是人物的原話,更加有力生動,適合用來傳達我們同意的觀點,而間接引語是經(jīng)過我們加工過后的話語,適合用來傳達我們不贊同的觀點;第二,在一篇作文中同時使用直接引語和間接引語,可以更全面地展示考生的語言使用能力,增加作文語言的多樣性,從而有利于得到更高的分數(shù)。
我們先看唐老師如何描寫2022年考題的圖畫:
From the picture, we can see two girl students standing in front of the bulletin board. The poster said there was going to be a lecture. The girl with ponytail hair on the left said indifferently that the lecture was useless because it had nothing to do with her major. The girl on the right, however, said with an enthusiastic expression on her face, “Lectures are always good to us!”
圖畫中,第一位女孩說講座沒有意義,因為與專業(yè)無關(guān),而第二位女孩說任何講座都有益處。很顯然,我們會同意第二位女孩的觀點。因此,寫作時,我們先用間接引語表達第一位女孩的話語,然后用直接引語表達第二位女孩的話語。這樣的安排一下子就突出了第二位女孩的觀點,讓整個描寫段顯得層次分明,生動形象。
再看唐老師為2021年考題創(chuàng)作的范文:
From the picture, we can see a boy and his father in a conversation. Dressed in Monkey King’s costume, and looking depressed, the boy told his father that many of his classmates did not think much of traditional Chinese operas. His father looked at him and said encouragingly, “Well, it is fine as long as you love them!”
圖畫中,小男孩說他的很多同學不喜歡唱戲,但父親則鼓勵道自己喜歡就行。這里,我們顯然傾向于同意父親的觀點。范文把小男孩的抱怨寫成間接引語,而把父親的鼓勵寫成直接引語,突出了父親話語的分量。
最后看看唐老師對2020年考題圖畫的描寫:
From the two pictures, we can see a boy and a girl are doing their homework. The boy in the right picture avoided doing his work by sitting leisurely on the sofa, trying to persuade himself that he could leave his work till the last moment. The girl in the right picture, however, kept telling herself, “I should finish my work as soon as possible!”
圖畫中,男孩說不到最后不動手,女孩說要盡快完成工作。我們無疑支持女孩的觀點,因此范文把男孩的心理活動寫成間接引語,而把女孩的心理活動寫成直接引語,以突出這個我們同意的觀點。
在以上幾段示范寫作中,大家不難發(fā)現(xiàn),這幾段圖畫描寫不僅同時使用了兩種人物話語表達方式,而且還有一個明顯的先后順序:先用間接引語寫出我們反對的那個人物的觀點,再用直接引語寫出我們支持的那個人物的觀點。這樣寫作的理由是,我們可以借此強調(diào)認可的觀點,從而順利過渡到下一段落的寫作。