-
第六章
被动与主动
(Passive
vs
.
Active)
p>
被动语态在英语里是一种常见的语法现象。
在某些文体中,
使用被动句几乎成了一种表
达习惯
(passi
ve habit)
。
S
.
Baker
在
“
The
Practical Stylist
”
一书中指出:
“
Our massed
,
scientific
,
and
bureaucratic society is so addicted to the passive
voice that you must constantly alert yourself
against its drowsy, impersonal pomp
.
’
’被动句促成了物称倾向,物称倾向也滋长
了被动句。
英语常用被动句,主要有以下几方面的原因:
p>
一、施事的原因。人们表达思想的时候,通常使用主动句。但当主动句的施事
(agent)
由于以下的原因而不需要或不可能指明时,英语往往采用被动句
:
1
.施事未知而难以言明,如:
The murderer
was caught yesterday
,
and it
is said that he will be hanged.
凶手已于昨天被捕,据说他将会被绞死。
2
.施事从上下文中可以不言自明,
如:
She told me
that her master had dismissed
her
.
No reason had been
assigned; no objection had
been made to
her conduct. She had been forbidden to appeal to
her mistress
.
她告诉
我,她的男主人已解雇了她。男主人没有讲明任何理由,对她的行为没有任何异议,
也不
许她向女主人申诉。
3
.施事不如受
事重要,或受事需要强调,如:
Her only son
was run over by a
car
.她的独子被汽车轧了。
有时为了隐去含糊的人称主语
(vague pronoun
subject)
,也用被动句
:
At the tea party they served only tea
and cake
.
At the
tea party only tea and cake were
served
.
茶会上只供应茶和饼。
4
p>
.由于特殊的原因而不要指明施事,如为了使叙述显得圆通、得体,或为了表达某种
微妙的情绪
(tact or delicacy of
sentiment)
,例如:
Some things have been said here tonight
that ought not to have been
spoken
.
今晚有人在此讲了些不该讲的话。
p>
二、句法的要求。英语重形合,注重句法结构和表达形式。当主动式不便于表达时,出于造<
/p>
句的需要或修辞的考虑,往往采用被动式:
p>
1
.为了使句子承上启下、前后连贯、便于衔接,如:
Some
kinds
of
plastics
can
be
forced
through
machines
which
separate
them
into
long
,
thin
strings
,
called
p>
“
fibres
”
, and these fibres can be made into
cloth
.
有几种
塑料可以压入机器并分离成细长的纤维,这种纤维可以用来织布。
p>
2
.为了使句子平衡,保持末端中心
(en
d
focus)
和末端重量
(end
weight)
,以符合主语简
短、谓
语复杂的表达习惯,如:
1 was astounded
that he was prepared to give me a
job
.
他准备给我一份工作,这使我大吃一惊。
三、
修辞的考虑。
< br>英语修辞学主张不要过分使用被动句,
但适当使用被动句可以使表达方法
灵活多变,避免句型单调,达到一定的修辞效果。例如使用被动式可以减少以填补词“
it
”
、
“
there
”引导的句式,使句子比较干脆、有力。试比较:
There are many ways to vary the
basic English sentence pattern of subject
—
verb
—
object
.
有许多方法可以变换英语“主一动一宾”基本句型。
The basic English sentence pattern of s
ubject
—
vetb
—
object can be varied in many ways
.
英语“主一动一宾”基本句型可以用许多方法加以变换。
p>
四、文体的需要。某些文体较多使用被动句,以迎合其表达的需要。
R
.
Quirk
等人指出:
There is a notable
difference in the frequency with which the active
and passive voices are
used
.
The
active
is
generally
the
more
common
,
but
there
is
considerable
variation
among
individual
texts
.
The passive has been
found to be as much as ten times more frequent in
one text
another
.
The major
stylistic factor determining its frequency seems
to be related to the distinction
between
informative
and
imaginative
prose
rather
than
to
a
difference
of
subject
matter
or
of
spoken and
written English
.
The passive
is generally more commonly used in informative
than in
imaginative
writing
,
notably in the
objective
,
non-personal style
of scientific articles and news
items
.
p>
这类信息性的
(informative)
文体主要指科技文体、新闻文体、公文文体及论述文体。科
技论文注重事理和活动的客观
叙述
(impersonal
activity
seen
objectively)
,力戒作者的主观臆
断,因而常常避免提及施事。
J
.
Perlmutter
指出,
< br>“
It
’
s
traditional among technical writers to
keep
themselves
in
the
background
.
to
exclude
personal
pronouns
and
emphasize
their
work
instead
.
”新闻报道注重口气客观、间接,叙事翔实、冷静
(calm fact
—
teller)
,施事往往难以
p>
言明,也不宜言明。公文则注重叙述公正、无私,口气客观、正式。
R
.
Ahick
对此曾作如
下解释:
The
passive
voice
allows
one
to
express
ideas
without
attributing
them
to
a
specific
individual
source
.
That
is
why
it
is
so
widely
used
in
government
communications
,
in
which
decisions and opinions
are presumed to be those of the bureau or agency
as a whole and not of
individual
officials
.
But legitimate use
can easily turn into
abuse
.
While the convention
by which
governmental edicts come from
an impersonal entity can be
defended
,
the indiscriminate
use of
the passive as a grammatical
camouflage can also be a sign of moral
weakness
.
Anyone who does
not wish to assume personal
responsibility for his statements finds an
“
out
”
by writing
“
it is
directed that
”
instead of
“
I
direct that
,
”
or
“
it is the opinion of the
firm
”
instead of
“
I
think
”
.
The weak passive is used in newspaper
writing for the same reason for which it is used
in
governmental
correspondence
:
to achieve
the impersonal note
,
and
thus
,
in many
instances
。
to
disclaim direct responsibility for
statements that are based on
hearsay
.
p>
英语有过分使用被动语态的倾向,
正式文体尤其如此。
英美语言学者都主张多用主动语
态,不要滥用被动语态。许多学者认为被动语
态虽有不少用处,但显得罗唆
(wordy)
、间接
(indirect)
、无力
(weak)
、隐晦
(oracular)
,故弄玄虚
p>
(mysterious)
而深不可测
(i
mpenetrable)
,使
交际者之间隔着一层被动的烟幕
(passive smoke-screen)
。
R
.
Quirk
曾引用<
/p>
D
.
Senior
攻击被
动语态的话,
说它是
“
half the
dilatoriness
,
the passing of
the bucks
,
the shirking of
responsibility
,
the lazy-
mindedness
,
and the want of i
nitiative
?”
.从众多语言学者批评滥用被动语态这
一事
实来看,
英语作者出于各种考虑和需要,
< br>确实广泛使用着被动语态,
尤其常用于上述的科技
文章<
/p>
(technical writing)
、报刊文章
(newspaperese)
和官方文章
(bu
reaucratese)
。
英语的结构被动句
(syntactic
passive)
远比意义被动句
(notional pas
sive)
多。一般地说,绝大多
数的及物动词和相当于及物动
词的短语都有被动式。
被动式可借助形态变化来表示,
因而形<
/p>
式很多:
有限定动词多种时态的被动式,
也有非限定动词
(
不定式、
分词、
p>
动名词
)
的被动式;
有非人称被动式
(impersonal
passive)
,如
it is
believed
等,也有双重被动式
(double
passive)
,
如
The
date is expected to be announced soon
,等
等。这些结构被动式不仅应用范围很广,而
且使用的频率也很高。意义被动式,即用主动
的形式表达被动的意义,在英语里比较少见
:
1)These
products sell like hot cakes(= are
so1d)
.
这些产品十分畅销。
2)The clock winds up at the back(=can
be wound up)
.
这个钟在背面上发条。
3)She
dresses beautifully (=is
dressed)
.
她穿得很漂亮。
4)The room filled rapidly(=was
filled)
.
房间很快就挤满了。
5)This
kind of cloth washes very well(=can be
washed)
.
这种布很经洗。
6)The book is printing(=is being
printed)
.
这本书正在印刷。
7)The plan is working out(=is being
worked out)
.
这项计划正在制定。
英语有些被动意义可用词汇手段来表达,如:
名词
(
短语
)
:
examinee(=person examined)
受审查者;受试人;考生
referee(=to whom a question is
referred)
受委托者
his astonishment(=he was
astonished)
他感到惊讶
the man
’
s
trial(=the man was tried)
那个人受审问
the imprisonment of the murderer(=the
murderer was imprisoned)
凶手被监禁
形容词:
eatable(=fit
to be eaten)
可吃的
desirable(=to be desired)
想要的
visible(=that can be seen)
可以看见的
respectable(=deserving
respect)
值得尊敬的
介词短语:
in one
’
s
possession
/
in the possession
of someone(= owned
,
held
,
kept or controlled by
someone)
为某人所有,在某人的控制之下
under the influence (of
alcoho1)(=drunk
;
affected by
alcohol)
酒醉
尽管英语的被动意义有时可以不用被动式来表达,
但总的说来,
英语常用结构被动式,
少用
意义被动式。与此相反,汉语则常用意义被动式,少用结构被动式。这一差异主要是因为:
一、
汉语被动式的使用受到限制。
古代汉
语的被动式是用“为”字或“为??所”结构来表示的
(
如《论
语》
“不为酒困”
、杜
甫诗题
“茅屋为秋风所破”
)
,
没有
“被字式”
,
被动意义一般借助
主动式来表示。
到了近代,
汉语才有了“被字式”
。
“被”字是从“遭受”的意义演变而来的
(
如《后汉书
?
贾复传》
“身
被十二创”
)
。
“被字式”曾被称为“不幸语态”
(inflictive voice)
p>
,主要用以表达对主语而言
是不如意或不企望的事
< br>(unpleasant or undesirable)
,
< br>如
“被捕”
、
“被杀”
、
“被剥削”
、
“被压
迫”
等。现代汉语受西方语言的影响,
“被字式”的使用范围有
所扩大,有时也可以用来表达并
非不如意的事,
如
“被选为工会主席”
、
“被评为先进工作者”
等,
但大多数被动意义不用
“被
字式”
。按照汉语的习惯,如果句中无须指出施事,主动意义与被动意义又不
致发生混淆,
一般就不用结构被动式
(
用介词或介词结构作状语
)
,而用意义被动式。试比较:
It was done
.这件事已做了。
(
不说“这件事已被做了”
)
It was well done
.这件事做得好。
(
不说“这件事已被做得好”
)
It was poorly done
.这件事做得不好。/这件事搞坏了。/这件事被弄坏了。/这件事给弄
糟了。
英语表
达这三种意义都可以用被动式,
但汉语却用主动式,
只有第三种
意义才用被动式。
除了“被”字之外,
“让”
、
“给”
、
“叫”
、
“挨”
、
p>
“受”
、
“遭”
、
“蒙”等也可构成被动式,
但也大多表达类似“被字式”的不如
意或不企望的事,如:
1)
庄稼让大水冲跑了。
The crops were washed away by the
flood
.
2)
这股敌人全给游击队消灭了。
The whole horde of enemy soldiers was
wiped out by the guerrillas
.
3)
叫你猜对了。
You
’
ve guessed
right
.
4)
这家工厂在地震中遭到严重破坏。
This factory was seriously damaged
during the earthquake
.
p>
与汉语相比,
英语的被动式所表达的意义不受此类限制,
它可以表达不如意的事,
也可
以表达如意的事,还
可以表达中性的意义,其应用的范围要比汉语广得多。
此外,
英
语的被
动式是由系表结构演变而来的,可以表示动作
(
动句
)
,也可以表示状态
(
静旬
)
,而汉语的被
动式却不是由系表结构演变而来的,一般只表示动作,而不表示状态。比较:
The glass is broken
.
< br>(
静句
)
玻璃杯
破了。
(
不用被动式
)
The glass was broken by my brother
.
(
动句
)
p>
玻璃杯被我弟弟打破了。
(
被动式
)
玻璃杯是我弟弟打破的。
(
被动式的转换式
)
The house is
surrounded by trees
.
(
静句
)
房子周围都是树。
(
不用被动式
)
The
enemy was soon surrounded by our troops
.
(
动句
)
敌人很
快被我军包围了。
(
被动式
)
汉语的被动式除了受到意义的限制之外,还受到形式的限制。
王力指出,
“中国正常的被动
式是必须把主事者说出的。
’
’吕叔湘、朱德熙也认为,
“在形式上,<
/p>
‘被’字底下一般要有宾
语,
表示主动者
。
”
这种限制使得许多难以说出施事
者的句子不能变成被动式,
虽然现代汉
语有突破这种限制的倾向
。与此相反,英语大多数被动句却不必说出施事者。
R
.
Quirk
等
人指出,
“
Unlike the active
subject
,
the agent phrase is
optional
.
1n
fact
,
approximately four out
of five English passive sentences have
no expressed (surface) agent
.
R
.
Zandvoort
也认为,<
/p>
“
The
passive is
especially used in sentences in which it is
unnecessary or undesirable to mention the
agent
,
though the
agent may be expressed by means of an adjunct with
by
”
. O
.
Jespersen
也有
类似的观点。由于英汉这一表达形式
的差异,英语被动式的使用比汉语自由得多了。
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
上一篇:小学三年级英语教学设计模板
下一篇:小学三年级健康课课件