英语讲义【164】怎样使句子流畅易解

　　有写作经验的人都知道，一篇好的文章条件甚多，其中主要的有四点：

　　一、内容丰富；二、段落严密；三、句子流畅；四、词汇贴切。

　　这里只谈句子流畅易解问题。

　　第一，避免一连串的名词。

　　当名词一个接一个地连用，互相修饰、互相依赖时，句子的结构容易模糊不清。例子（1）看起来吃力、讲出来费气、听起来难解，最好透过介词或动词来化解。

　　（1） Government income tax reform scheme.

　（2） The Government scheme for income tax reforms. / Income tax reform scheme by the government. / The scheme to reform the governments income tax.

　　第二，避免一连串的介词词组。

　　一个介词组紧接着另一个介词词组一口气排列下去，听起来费解，看起来伤神。例如（3）和（4）都含有太多介词词组，应该分别改为（5）和（6）：

　　（3） He took the opportunity for a talk on the need for the improvement of the relations between the two superpowers.

　　（4） We have learnt of the success of the people of the southern regions of New Zealand.

　　（5） He took the opportunity to talk about the need for improving the relations between the two super powers.

　　（6） We know how the people in the southern regions of New Zealand succeed.

　　第三，避免一连串结构相似的句子。

　　句子结构变化多，一两个结构相似的句子在一起没关系，但是一连串处在胶着状态，就单调乏味，必须避免。例如：三四个并列句（Coordinate Clauses）在一起或几个简单句（Simple sentences）排排坐，那是多么没滋味的句法啊！应该把一两个并列句变成复杂句（Complex Sentences），也可以用适当的短语将简单句贯串起来。

　　第四，必须多用节缩句。

　　大多数情况下，形容词从句（例（7））、副词从句（例（8））以及名词从句（例（9））都可缩短为短语。

　　（7） The force which holds the solar system together is called gravitation. The force holding the solar system together is called gravitation.

　　（8） A medical drug would not be effective if it was kept too long. The medical drug would not be effective if kept too long.

　　（9） It happened that he was away at that time. He happened to be away at that time.

　　五、多用对句法

　　尽量用同类型的句子成份把同等地位的概念排列着，使外表划一。例如：

　　（10） Anyone wishing to write effectively must learn to think about points logically, organise ideas coherently, and express thoughts explicitly.

　　（11） The teacher told a foreign scholar that he should be familiar with the local environment, that he needed to have a room with good lighting, and that he must arrange specific hours for self-study.