《英语修辞》作业

I. Transference of Terms of Rhetorical Devices

1. Transference of Terms of Rhetorical Devices from English to Chinese Simile------ Allusion------ Personification------ Parallelism------ Synaesthesia------ Oxymoron------ Synecdoche------ Anticlimax------ Euphemism------ Alliteration------ Metaphor------ Antithesis------ Transferred Epithet------ Paradox------ Metonymy------ climax------ Understatement------ Repetition------ Hyperbole------ Assonance------

2. Transference of Terms of Rhetorical Devices from Chinese to English 隐喻------ 对照------ 移就------ 隽语------ 转喻------ 层递------ 低调陈述------ 重复------ 夸张------ 元韵------ 明喻------ 引喻------ 拟人------ 平行------ 通感------ 矛盾修饰---- 提喻------ 突降------ 委婉语------ 头韵------

II. Identify the rhetorical devices according to the given definitions.

1. It’s repetition of an initial sound, usually of a consonant or cluster, in two or more words of a phrase, line of poetry, etc.

A. Parallelism B. Metonymy C. Alliteration D. Metaphor

2. It’s a figure of speech containing an implied comparison, in which a word or phrase ordinarily and primarily used of one thing is applied to another.

A. Metaphor B. Hyperbole C. Simile D. Personification

3. It’s the humorous use of words, or of words which are formed or sounded alike but have different meanings, in such a way as to play on two or more of the possible applications; a play on words.

A. Allusion B. Pun C. Climax D. Oxymoron

4. It’s a figure of speech that consists in using the name of one thing for that of something else with which it is associated.

A. Parallelism B. Metonymy C. Alliteration D. Metaphor

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5. It’s a statement that is not strong enough to express facts or feelings with full force; or It’s a statement that expresses an idea, etc, too weakly.

A. Parallelism B. Climax C. Rhetorical Question D. Understatement

6. It’s a figure of speech in which something of an unpleasant, distressing, or indelicate nature is described in less offensive terms, as in the expressions “under the weather” for “ill” or “passed away” for died”. A. Metaphor B. Hyperbole C. Euphemism D. Parallelism 7. It’s usually an implicit reference, perhaps to another work of literature or art, to a person or an event. A. Allusion B. Simile C. Metaphor D. Synecdoche

8. It’s a figure of speech that consists of phrases or sentences of similar construction and meaning placed side by side, balancing each other.

A. Parallelism B. Antithesis C. Irony D. Repetition

9. It’s a figure of speech that combines incongruous and apparently contradictory words and meaning for a special effect. A. Allusion B. Pun C. Climax D. Oxymoron

10. It is a sentence in which the last part expresses something lower than the first. In fact, a bathetic declension from a noble tone to one less exalted. The effect can be comic and is often intended to be so. A. Repetition B. Anticlimax C. Paradox D. Climax

11. It’s a figure of speech in which one thing is likened to another, in such a way as to clarify and enhance an image. It is an explicit comparison.

A. Metaphor B. Hyperbole C. Simile D. Personification

12. It’s a figure of speech in which human qualities and abilities are attributed to inanimate objects, animals, abstractions, and events

A. Metaphor B. Hyperbole C. Simile D. Personification

13. It’s a figure of speech in which a sensation produced in one modality when a stimulus is applied to another modality, as when the hearing of a certain sound induces the visualization of a certain color A. Synaesthesia B. Antithesis C. Oxymoron D. Metonymy

14. It’s a figure of speech in which a part is used for a whole, an individual for a class, a material for thing, or reverse of any of these.

A. Simile B. Metaphor C. Allusion D. Synecdoche 15. It’s a figure of speech that greatly exaggerates the truth.

A. Metaphor B. Hyperbole C. Simile D. Personification

16. The rhetorical opposing or contrasting of ideas by means of grammatically paralleled arrangements of words, clauses, or sentences

A. Synaesthesia B. Antithesis C. Oxymoron D. Metonymy

17. It refers to the repeating of any element in an utterance, including sound… a word or phrase, a pattern of accents.. or an arrangement of lines…

A. Repetition B. Antithesis C. Alliteration D. Parallelism

18. It’s a method of humorous or subtly sarcastic expression in which the intended meaning of the words used is the

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direct opposite of their usual sense.

A. Metaphor B. Hyperbole C. Irony D. Simile

19. It’s a literary or artistic work that imitates the characteristic style of an author or a work for comic effect or ridicule. A. Metaphor B. Pun C. Simile D. Parody

20. A figure of speech in which a single word, usually a verb or adjective, is syntactically related to two or more words, with only one of which it seems logically connected.

A. Repetition B. Antithesis C. Zeugma D. Parallelism

III. Identify the rhetorical devices employed by the boldfaced words in the following sentences. 1. O dear! O dear! What shall I do? I have lost my love and my lipstick too.

A. Repetition B. Anticlimax C. Paradox D. Climax 2. Australia is so kind, just tickle her with a hoe, and she laughs with harvest.

A. Metaphor B. Hyperbole C. Simile D. Personification 3. My heart is like a singing bird.

A. Metaphor B. Parody C. Simile D. Oxymoron

4. When Della had finished crying, she went to the window and looked out sadly at a grey cat walking along a grey fence in a grey back-yard.

A. Parallelism B. Antithesis C. Irony D. Repetition

5. On the 14th of March, at a quarter to three in the afternoon, the great living thinker ceased to think. He had been left alone for scarcely two minutes, and when we came back we found him in his armchair, peacefully gone to sleep but---- forever.

A. Metaphor B. Hyperbole C. Euphemism D. Parallelism 6. O, wind, if winter comes, can spring be far behind?

A. Parallelism B. Climax C. Rhetorical Question D. Understatement 7. Of all the students in the class I like him the best.

A. Anastrophe B. Anticlimax C. Rhetorical Question D. Understatement 8. You can ask him for the meaning of the word. He is like a walking dictionary. A. Metaphor B. Hyperbole C. Simile D. Oxymoron 9. Books are the ever-burning lamps.

A. Metaphor B. Hyperbole C. Simile D. Oxymoron 10. Money makes the mare go.

A. Paradox B. Assonance C. Alliteration D. Simile 11. There was an audible stillness, in which the common voice sounded strange. A. Metaphor B. Hyperbole C. Simile D. Oxymoron 12. Praise is like sunlight to the human spirit we cannot flower and grow without it. A. Metaphor B. Hyperbole C. Simile D. Oxymoron

13. One teacher writes that instead of drowning students’ compositions in critical red ink, the teacher will get far more constructive results by finding one or two things which have been done better than last time, and commenting favorably

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on them.

A. Parallelism B. Transferred Epithet C. Alliteration D. Metaphor 14. He looked at me with a bitter look.

A. Synaesthesia B. Antithesis C. Oxymoron D. Metaphor 15. ---Why are Sunday and Saturday the strongest days in a week? ---Because the rest are week (weak) days.

A. Metaphor B. Pun C. Simile D. Irony 16. All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players.

A. Antithesis B. Hyperbole C. Simile D. Personification 17. ---Why can you never expect a fisherman to be generous? ---Because his business make him sell fish (selfish).

A. Metaphor B. Pun C. Simile D. Irony

18. Women were running out to the line of march, crying and laughing and kissing the men good-bye. A. Antithesis B. Hyperbole C. Repetition D. Parallelism 19. Money is a bottomless sea, in which honor, conscience, and truth may be drowned. A. Metaphor B. Pun C. Simile D. Irony 20.I wish I could write better.

A. Pun B. Hyperbole C. Climax D. Understatement IV. Identify the rhetorical devices employed in the following sentences.

1. Praise is like sunlight to the human spirit we cannot flower and grow without it. ( )

2. One teacher writes that instead of drowning students’ compositions in critical red ink, the teacher will get far more constructive results by finding one or two things which have been done better than last time, and commenting favorably on them. ( )

3. And, it being low water he went out with the tide.( ) 4. They were short of hands at harvest time. ( )

5. In the dock, she found scores of arrows piercing her chest. ( )

6. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day. ( )

7. The drunkard smashed the glasses, upturned the table, and hit an old woman. ( )

8. One mad action is not enough to prove a man mad. ( )

9. He intended to take an opportunity this afternoon of speaking to Irene. A word in time saves nine. ( )

10. No X in Nixon. ( )

11. All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players. ( ) 12. He looked at me with a bitter look. ( )

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13. The man is no fool. ( )

14. You want your pound of flesh, don’t you? ( ) 15. The child is father of the man. ( ) 16. Perhaps, perhaps Mera might come. ( ) 17. A professor tapped on his desk and shouted, “Gentlemen, order!” The entire class yelled, “Beer.” ( )

18. I used to organize my father’s tools, my mother’s kitchen utensils, my sister’s boyfriends. ( )

19. A man from the continent was traveling in England. He had caught a very bad cold. He coughed day and night… He put on his coat and hat and went to a chemist’s. When asked what he wanted, the traveler said, “I want something for my cow, please.” ( )

20. Have you ever been to an Irish Wedding? I have just returned from one… 21. Wit without learning is like a tree without fruit. ( ) 22. I fall upon the thorns of life! I bleed! ( )

23. The senator pledged to oppose war, fight poverty, protect individual freedom and name a new state flower. ( )

24. It is a quarter to five in the morning, the sun has already climbed above the horizon; the birds are busy celebrating the new day and have eagerly been in search of food. ( )

25. Who wouldn’t have dreamed of becoming rich overnight? ( ) 26. What she had said I didn’t hear. ( )

V. Two or more than two rhetorical devices are used in the following sentences. Read and select the rhetorical devices in each sentence.

1. Time is like a fashionable host, that slightly shakes his passing guest by the band; and with his arms stretched, as he would fly, grasps in the comer. The welcomes ever smile, and farewell goes out sighing. A. Metaphor B. Hyperbole C. Simile D. Personification 2. The seed ye sow, another reaps; The wealth ye find, another keeps; The robes ye weave, another wears; The arms ye forge, another bears.

A. Parallelism B. Antithesis C. Alliteration D. Repetition

3. Every man has in himself a continent of undiscovered character. Happy is he who acts the Columbus to his own soul. A. Simile B. Metaphor C. Allusion D. Synecdoche 4. Miss Bolo went straight home in a flood of tears and a sedan chair.

A. Metaphor B. Hyperbole C. Simile D. Syllepsis 5. These little thoughts are the rustles of leaves; they have their whisper of joy in my mind. A. Metaphor B. Hyperbole C. Simile D. Personification 6. A drop of ink may make a million think.

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A. Pun B. Antithesis C. Alliteration D. Metonymy 7. How soon hath Time, the subtle thief of youth, stolen on his wing my three and twentieth year! A. Metaphor B. Hyperbole C. Simile D. Personification

8. She did experiments after experiments. There was failure, success, more failure, a little success, a little more success. A. Metonymy B. Climax C. Hyperbole D. Repetition 9. The mother is undergoing the joyful pain, and the painful joy of childbirth.

A. Hyperbole B. Antithesis C. Oxymoron D. Metonymy

10. Why are lawyers all uneasy sleepers? Because they lie first on one side and then on the other, and remain wide wake all the time.

A. Pun B. Anticlimax C. Rhetorical Question D. Understatement 11. A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes. A. Metaphor B. Hyperbole C. Simile D. Personification

12. It is useless for the sheep to pass resolutions in favor of vegetarianism while the wolf remains of a different opinion. A. Metaphor B. Hyperbole C. Simile D. Personification

13. He was such a marvelous teacher that whenever he recognized a spark of genius you could be sure he’d water it. A. Metaphor B. Understatement C. Irony D. Paradox

14. Polly, I love you. You are the whole world to me, and the moon and the stars and the constellation of out space. A. Pun B. Hyperbole C. Climax D. Understatement

15. Then Night, like some great loving mother, gently lays her hand at our fevered head, and turns our little tear-stained face up to hers, and smiles.

A. Metaphor B. Hyperbole C. Simile D. Personification 16. On Sunday they pray for you and on Monday they prey on you. A. Antithesis B. Parallelism C. Alliteration D. Pun VI. Revise the following sentences with the given rhetorical devices. 1. David’s beloved grandfather passed away last week. 2. He looked at me with a sad look.

3. Sorry, my pocket can’t afford such a pair of shoes.

4. I never believe until then that any meal could defeat me, but on that day I met my Waterloo. 5. Her hostility melted.

6. She is lovely, kind-hearted and has a quick mind.

7. I was knocked down by a motorcycle, but it was not serious.

8. He is a man of wide experience and who is also very popular with the farmers. 9. To chew carefully and eating slowly are necessary for good digestion.

10. On the train I met with a girl from my hometown and who just graduated from Tianjin University with MA degree. 11. My heart is like a singing bird. 12. She is as cool as a cucumber..

13. They were short of hands at harvest time.

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14. The bad news was a dagger into her heart. 15. They stormed the speaker with questions. 16. He looked at me with a bitter look 17. You want your pound of flesh?

18. He doesn’t have an idea of his own. He just parrots what other people say. 19. His grandfather passed away recently. 20. Her happiness vanished like the morning dew.

VII. Find the rhetorical devices employed in the following passage.

A

A Dream of Rainbow

(1) When I was small, I often gazed into the sky, It was bright blue, with a few sheets of cloud floating. Especially after a rain, after a rain, there would appear a splendid and glamorous rainbow, which was like a great bridge hung in the sky. How I wished I had been an eagle soaring up to the bridge! I was obsessed with it. Grandma told me that in the heaven lived supernatural beings, and that it was the kind-hearted and well-behaved people who could step into the heaven through the rainbow. She taught me to be a good boy; then I would have a chance to walk on the rainbow some day.

(2) It was a beautiful dream. Gradually, I grew up to be a high school student. However, I buried myself in lesson, exercises and even boring tests all day long. Day in and day out. Such a pressing routine has deprived me of my interest as well as my chance to gaze into the sky.

(3) In the summer of 1998,after finished the college entrance examination, I had time for relaxing myself at last. One day, shortly after a heavy thundershower, I opened the window and then pleasant smells of the earth greeted me. I couldn’t help breathing deeply with my eyes closed. After some while, I opened my eyes satisfactorily. Just guess what I saw. The blue sky! Or rather the blue-gray sky. It seemed that I met an old friend, who had changed so much that I could hardly recognize him. I craned my head out to look for the rainbow of which I have a deep love. But to my disappointment, she didn’t appear in the sky. Why could it be that!

(4) Now, I come to understand it is the pollution that made the rainbow so strange to me and compelled her to be away from me. In the past few years, economic prosperity has been greatly promoted at the cost of air and environmental pollution. As result, while people are enjoying the prosperity, they are suffering a great deal from pollution. No wonder scientists say this is the revenge of nature! It is never too late to mend anyhow. Now more and more people have become coolly aware of its harmful consequences; and effective measures have been taken for anti-pollution. I believe that pollution will be able to disappear in the near future and our sky will be able to renew its bright blue as it used to.

(5) Last night, I dreamed a beautiful dream: I saw a rainbow that has been never seen for ages. Then I flew in the sky to the rainbow as lf I had wings. When I landed on such a gorgeous bridge, all supernatural beings gave me a warm welcome…

Rhetorical Devices used:

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Paragraph (2)_____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ Paragraph (3)_____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ Paragraph (4)_____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ Paragraph (5)___________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________

B

The Olympic Aspiration of an Ordinary Chinese Farmer

(1) The Beijing’s bid for the 2008 Olympics reflects the common aspiration of the 1.3 billion Chinese people. Apart from Beijing, every city of China has been launching a series of rich and varied supporting activities. However, the country folks are no less enthusiastic than the town people, and they have their own way. Comparatively speaking, the events in cities are tremendous in power and grandeur; while the activities in the countryside are like a gentle breeze and a mild rain. The earnest aspiration of rural resident for the Olympic bid can be mirrored just from an ordinary Chinese farmer -----my uncle, who is 68 years old, living in a small village about 100km east of Shijiazhuang, Hebei Privine.

(2) During the week-long Labour Day holiday, I went to see him. I was very happy to find him hale and hearty. But nine years ago, he suffered from severe T.B. Ever since his recovery a year later, he has taken exercise: doing Taijiquan, kicking shuttlecock, especially having a long walk every morning at all seasons. His good health is attributed to his regular physical exercise, and he thus realize what an important role it plays in building up the health of a person as well as that of the whole nation.

(3) Last year, when he heard the news on TV that Beijing decided to participate in the bid for hosting the 2008 Olympic Games, he felt quite excited and threw himself into fervent support. Since then, reading newspapers becomes a must every day. He has accumulated an intimate knowledge of the Olympics, such as its brief history, its creed, its motto,

(4) My visit to him was turned into a sole conversation about the Olympics. After a comprehensive analysis, he told me that he has one gratification and one anxiety about the Beijing’s bid. His gratification is that the Beijing’s bid enjoys worldwide support, and most countries in the world favor Beijing as a host of the 2008 Summer Games. As to his anxiety, that is Paris and Toronto are the two most formidable rivals for Beijing. Over 90 per cent of all 123 IOC members have ever been to Paris, but only 40 per cent have been to Beijing. More unfavorably, the US congress created all sorts of obstacles in an attempt to block China’s bidding wheel. “What does it matter if we meet some difficulties? ” he said resolutely. “ I am still confident of the final success.” He expressed his hope that he would go to Beijing to watch the Games in 7 years.

(5) Now, the rural areas have seen a steadily growing economy. The great majority of farmers enjoy a high standard of living. They know that the hosting of the Games will be a boost to the country’s economic prosperity and tourism, and can bring them a better life. At the same time, people from all over the world can get a good opportunity to see through sport a real China ----its honest and hospitable people, its ancient and splendid culture, its 300-year-old and vitalizing capital, its rural scenery, its historical sites, its scenic attraction…

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(6) The Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics is being longed for by all Chinese people from as high as state leaders to as country folks like my uncle.

Rhetorical Devices used:

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C

An Unforgettable Trip

(1) The train was cracking for Qinhuangdao -----a beautiful city which I had been longing for, and which often appeared in my dreams. My thoughts had already flown out to the sea: the red sun shining in the sky, millions of shells and pebbles on the beach, lots of people playing in the water, and the waves breaking and foaming. With the dreamlike scene, smile crept up and stayed on my face. Four hours passed, and we arrived at our destination late at night.

(2) We set out very early the next morning. Just several minutes later, the wind brought us the scent of the sea, and the sea greeted us. Jumping off the car, I ran wildly along the shore. I was amazed at the vast surface and the blue water, which were far more magnificent than I had imaged. Some birds were flying above and singing beautiful songs; A couple of ships were sailing at a distance; the sea and the sky converged in the distance so that I couldn’t tell one from another. Throwing off my shoes, I stepped into the water -----waves lightly patting my legs, gentle breeze kissing my checks, fresh air penetrating my lungs. I couldn’t help shouting loudly to release my deep depression.

(3) Just a month ago, I failed the postgraduate entrance exam against 3 points. God treated me so unfairly that I almost lost my confidence in the future. But now facing the vast sea , I felt how small I was, and how insignificant my personal gains and losses were. The grandeur of nature relaxed me a lot and gave me much inspiration. The world isn’t as dismal as I thought. Before this I had only seen the dark side of the coin instead of both. It is true that I often met with troubles, but worries, troubles, even misfortune are not everything. Life is beautiful yet transient so that I shouldn’t sink into depression all the time. Instead, as a youth, I should embrace life and enjoy life. I once read a philosophical saying from a book : “ Yesterday is an invalid check; tomorrow is a kind of deposit which can’t be used; today is the money in front of you.” So I must value today and let yesterday go and let all gloominess go. Woken up from the meditation by gust of hailing, I found the sun jumping above sea, it lights made everything bright. I cried, “ A new day is coming.”

(4) Now, I have learned to love life. I can find happiness and beauty from my surrounding: the bright sun, the blue

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sky, the green grass, the beautiful flowers, the singing bird, the smiling faces---all can bring me joy and satisfaction. Oh, an unforgettable trip.

Rhetorical Devices used:

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D

Singers Shouldn’t Earn More Than Composers

(1) With the steady growth in the county’s economy as well as the people’s living standard, people attach more importance to the colorful cultural life. As a result, many pop stars rise to fame overnight, even making a huge fortune a year. On the other hand, the composers of popular songs that make these singers famous earn only a small fraction of what these “ noted stars” earn. Recently, this phenomenon has aroused wide concern, and heated public debate has arisen.

(2) The pains and gains of the so-called stars are not matched. One hour’s performance may bring them thousand of yuan, while the composers are too far behind to catch up, so it is unfair and discouraging. Most of the composers, as we know, are musicians and experts in music who devote themselves to research and composition of knowledge. Singing stars are always the idols of youngsters. Many of them get rich quick without toil and sweat, thereby making youngsters disbelieve in the maxim “ No pains, no gains”; some of them even have an extravagant and wasteful way of living, which is tremendously tempting and misleading.

(3) Of course, every thing has two faces. It goes without saying that the stars enrich people’s entertainment and make our life colorful; anyhow, the bright side should not keep us from criticizing its dark one.

(4) All in all, I should say that the pop stars do not deserve such high payment than composers do. The government should levy heavier income tax on these stars in order to narrow the gap between the income of so-called pop stars and that of composers.

Rhetorical Devices used:

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