6.4        Sentences and Paragraph

Day 5    Integrated Exercises

Let’s have a quick revision of what we’ve learnt in the previous days.

Day 1: Synonyms and Paraphrases

What are synonyms?

Synonyms are the words that share similar meanings and can be used interchangeably.

同義詞是指一些有相近意思的生字，它們可相互對調來使用。

What are paraphrases?

Paraphrases are the phrases that are saying the same thing but in different ways.

釋義，意譯是透過不同手法來表達相同意思的短語。

Why do we use synonyms and paraphrases?

We use them for two reasons:

1. to avoid repetition 用來避免重複

2. to make clear the meaning of an unfamiliar word or technical term. 用來解釋清楚一些不常用的字或專門的詞語。

Day 2: The Flow of Ideas

Spatial Order – A paragraph moves from one place to another. It may describe actions or events from East to West, North to South, up to down, etc. 空間性的排列 -  一個段落包含了由一個地方移到另一個地方。可能是形容一個動作或事件由東面發生至西面，北面到南面，上至下，等等。

Chronological Order – A paragraph starts with the first event in a story, and moves in the order of the events as they happen.

時間性的排列 – 一個段落以故事中的第一件事件作開頭，然後隨事件發生的先後次序時間再一一地描述下去。

Day 3: Back Referencing

What is Back Reference?

Sometimes, writers will use some short ways (like pronouns) to refer to people or things mentioned earlier in the passage. The skill to understand what the referents refer to in a passage is called back referencing.

有些時候，作家不想重複使用詞語或短語，他們就會使用一些較簡短的方法 (如代名詞) 來指示一些已經在文章前部份被提及的人或物。那些用來指示早前的人或物的字或短語稱為指示對象 (referent)。明白那些指示對象 (referent) 所指的是甚麼，對我們明白文章是非常重要的。這種技巧是  “向後參照 ”。

To understand back reference, we should know that a referent may refer to:  要明白向後參照，我們要知道一個指示對象 (referent) 可以指示 :

-         -         a noun or noun phrase/clause 名詞或名詞短語/從句

-         -         a singular or plural noun 單數或複數的名詞

-         -         a sentence 句子

You may come across four types of referents:  你可能會遇到以下的四種指示對象 :

1. A pronoun 代名詞 (e.g. he, she, it, they, his, her, them, this, that, those, etc.) is the most common type of referent.

2. A paraphrase 釋義 (we learnt it in Day 1) is another common type of referent. It is a phrase in different words but with the

    same meaning.

3. A synonym 同義詞 (we learnt it in Day 1 as well) is sometimes used as referent. It is another word with similar meaning.

4. A summarizing noun phrase 總結的名詞短語 can also refer to a fact mentioned earlier.

Day 4: Figurative Language

There are three main forms of figurative language 以下是三大類形象式/比喻式的語言 : simile明喻，metaphor 隱喻，and personification擬人法。

1.    A simile is a direct comparison between two unlike things.

      明喻是直接比較兩件不相似的事物

2.    A metaphor is an indirect comparison between two unlike things.

       隱喻是間接比較兩件不相似的事物

3.    Personification is when a human characteristic (an action that only humans can do or a feeling only humans can have) is

       given to something non human, like an animal, an object or an idea.

       擬人法是把一些非人的東西 (如動物或死物) 說成有人的特性。