对中国外语教师群“有问必答”的问题商榷(之四)
刘永科
◆近来,我有幸读到中国外语教师群的“有问必答”,是中国外语教育专家张鑫友教授,针对教师群里老师们的问题所作的解答。看了几期之后,感觉受益匪浅。
◆不过,有些问题,张教授可能一时疏忽,解答得不够准确,甚至出现错误。我觉得,有必要把它们指出来,并阐明我自己的观点。以期更好地为老师们答疑解惑,为英语教学服务。
◆“有问必答”,新浪网、搜狐网上都有过转载,在百度可以搜索到。
以下问答,来自FLTA外语教师联盟、中国外语教师群“有问必答”(第1期)
【问】The science of medicine, _____ progress has been very lately, is perhaps the most important of all the sciences.
a. to which
b. in which
c. which
d. with which
【答】张老师点评:
此题在以下四个可供的答案中只有B是正确的,但progress前通常应加定冠词,我现把此句变换另一种形式,可能就会知道为什么。此句可改写为:
The science of medicine is the most important of aIl the sciences. Its progress has.../The science of medicine,whose progress has…
此句中的which在句中不是作定语,而是作介词宾语,这儿的in which 可用whose替代,亦可用of which 替代。你以下的照像内容(如which time,which case等)中的which的确在句中作定语;若就你提供的第3题progress前不加定冠词(即原题),这儿的答案只能是C,which 在这儿作progress 的定语,这儿直接把whose放上去替代即可。从以下一句的英译可见其用法的区别:“坏了窗子的房子是空房”可译为:The house whose windows are broken is unoccupied.或The house of which the windows are …或The house the windows of which are…或The house,which windows are…最后一个句子不多见,其前必须加逗号。
【我的观点】
首先,这个句子缺少成分,在been之后漏掉了made。very lately是个时间副词作状语,不是表语。添上漏掉的成分后,句子应该是:
The science of medicine, in which progress has been made very lately, is perhaps the most important of all the sciences.
【分析】in which progress has been made/rapid very lately,是“非限制性定语从句”。which指代前面的The science of medicine,而in 表示方面,说明“进步在......方面被取得”。如果改为一个简单句,那么就是:
Progress has been made in the science of medicine very lately.
虽然答案选对了,但从张教授的解释来看,是把in which看成progress的定语,相当于whose。而且,还认为progress之前通常加定冠词,这也是不正确的。progress 是不可数名词,表示“取得进步”是不需要特指的,不加任何冠词。例如:
We have made progress in the science of medicine. →Progress has been made in the science of medicine
此外,张教授用以下句子作类比,显然也不正确:
The house whose windows are broken is unoccupied.
或The house of which the windows are broken…
或The house the windows of which are broken…
很明显,以上句子whose 表示“所属关系”, of也表示所属关系,所以我们可以用of which替换它。
但in which则无法表达“所属关系”。其实,in 在此表示“方面关系”。
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