Try to compare the following two TOEFL listening expressions:
1) is not a bargain. )
2) Some bargains. (He doesn't count! )
Obviously, the second expression is more ironic than the first one. Because the second part uses irony rhetoric. Irony means irony. English comes from the Greek eironeia, which means to cover up. It is a rhetorical device, which achieves satire and humor through irony or irony. Due to the particularity of irony, in TOEFL listening, in addition to contextual cues, certain tone and intonation are generally used to help achieve the effect of irony.
Irony (irony) is most suitable for TOEFL listening.
For example, (the underlined part is ironic)
Lucky than me! I hope your boy is luckier! ? )
2) You are a great help! You are really helpful! )
3) Only free every minute! ("just" every minute of free time. )
4) You are telling a story! What you said is "beautiful"! )
Of course, in addition to TOEFL listening, there are countless classic examples of irony rhetoric in English language and literature:
1) The public is surprisingly tolerant-they forgive everything except genius. (Oscar Wilde) The world is surprisingly tolerant-they forgive everything except genius. )
We send missionaries to China so that China people can go to heaven, but we don't let them into our country. (Pearl Buck) We sent missionaries to China so that China people could go to heaven, but we didn't let them into our country. )
Note: Irony is a consistent investigation mode in TOEFL listening. Because of certain pronunciation characteristics, when listening to the topic, don't just understand the meaning of the sentence and ignore the great indicating functions such as tone and intonation.
In the first two articles of TOEFL listening "Rhetoric Art", we learned four rhetorical methods: exaggeration, simile, metaphor and irony. Now let's look at the other two.
Rhetorical methods commonly used in TOEFL listening;
Euphemism (euphemism)
Try to compare the following two TOEFL listening expressions:
I don't feel well today. I am sick today. )
I don't feel well today. He is not feeling well today. )
Obviously, the second expression is more euphemistic than the first one. Because the second one uses euphemism (euphemism) rhetoric. Euphemism in English comes from the Greek euphemismos, which means to speak appropriately, that is, to use more elegant, pleasant or euphemistic expressions instead of rude or straightforward ones.
The application of euphemism in TOEFL listening is perfect.
For example:
1. Disease description:
1) look bad (look bad, actually refers to physical illness)
2) Under the weather (in bad weather conditions, it actually refers to poor health)
3) Not all there (insanity, actually refers to mental illness)
4) Chronic illness (in fact, cancer),
5) Social diseases (actually AIDS)
Euphemisms commonly used in English to replace illness or disease are: situation, disorder, problem, trouble and so on.
2. The performance of aging:
1) advanced age (advanced age)
After the heyday
3) Feel your age (feel old)
4) Golden Age (Golden Years)
5) Sunset year (sunset year)
In English, "old people" can be used to mean elderly citizens and people who live a long life.
Parallelism (parallelism)
Try to compare the following two TOEFL listening expressions:
I like the feeling of sailing on the lake. I like the feeling of sailing on the lake. )
I like sailing on the lake. It's refreshing to feel the wind blowing in.
The water in my hair and face. I like the feeling that when sailing on the lake, the breeze blows through my hair and my cheeks. )
Obviously, the second expression is more vivid and beautiful than the first one, just like an ink-and-wash landscape painting, because the second one uses the rhetoric of parallelism. This is one of the most commonly used figures of speech in English, which is widely used in English poems, novels, essays, plays and speeches. The specific method is to juxtapose the language components with the same or similar structure, related or equal meaning and consistent tone, so as to achieve the effect of neat structure, distinct rhythm and enhanced tone. In other words, the beauty of language content is better expressed through the formal beauty of language.
The application of parallelism in TOEFL listening can be described as perfect.
For example:
The words 1. are parallel.
1) I prefer non-fiction: history, social commentary and so on. I prefer non-fiction works: history, editorial and so on. )
2) British people sit and think; The French stand and think; An American, pacing; Later he became Irish. (o'malley)
The British sit and think, the French stand and think, the Americans walk and think, and the Irish think later. )
Phrase parallelism
We can acquire knowledge by reading, thinking, observing or practicing.
There are many ways to learn, either reading, recalling, observing or practicing. )
I like sailing on the lake. I feel that the wind in my hair and the water on my face are so refreshing.
I like the feeling of the breeze blowing through my hair and cheeks when sailing on the lake. )
3. Sentence parallelism
The world is listening. The whole world is watching. The world is waiting to see what we will do. The world is listening, the world is watching, and the world is waiting for us to do something. )
2) We talked; We sing; We danced. (We chatted; We sing; We dance. )