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六级讲座听力之英语报道详析

2017-02-01来源:和谐英语

一、结构特点 

新闻播报不同于其他形式的听力材料,它在结构上有自身的特点。VOA 和BBC 等广播之声的英语新闻播报在形式和结构上大多采用“倒金字塔法”(the inverted pyramid form)或“时间顺序法”(chronological style)。熟悉这两种写作方法,对于听懂新闻广播会有很大的帮助。 

所谓“倒金字塔体”,也称为倒叙法,即按新闻事实重要性的程度由要点到细节逐步扩展,安排全文。把最重要的事实置于全文的第一个句子中,这个句子被称为新闻导语(the news lead)。它告知听众最关心最重要的事实,如事件(what)、时间(when)、地点(where)、人物(who),以及原因和方式(why,how)。新闻导语包含了我们常说的五个WH和一个H构成的“新闻六大要素”。新闻导语是整条新闻的高度浓缩形式,听懂了导语,也就听懂了新闻的主要内容。当然,由于新闻报道的侧重点不同,有时新闻导语也可能只包含其中几个要素。

所谓“时间顺序法”,顾名思义就是按照时间的先后顺序来报道。这一体裁多用于体育比赛、文艺演出、灾难、交通事故以及犯罪案件等等。按此结构写出的报道通常由开头(导语部分)、按时间顺序叙述的一系列新闻事实(events in sequence)和结尾(ending)几个部分组成。这种报导方式的重要之处在于其主题一般放在最后,所以听者必须认真听其中的每一句话,才能更好地把握新闻事实,了解全部新闻内容。 

 

二、词言特点 

新闻报道涵盖面广,有政治的、经济的、环保的、灾难的,不一而足。因此,其使用的词汇范围较广,词汇量较大。除一般常用词汇外,还有大量专业术语及专有名词,包括人名、地名、国家、政党组织、传媒机构、宗教、武器装备等。例如:

The 2010 Global Hunger Index report was released today by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). It notes that, in recent years, experts have come to the conclusion that undernourishment between conception and a child’s second birthday can have serious and long-lasting impacts. 

Undernourishment during this approximately 1,000-day window can seriously check the growth and development of children and render them more likely to get sick and die than well-fed children. Preventing hunger allows children to develop both physically and mentally. 

Says IFPRI’s Marie Ruel, “They will be more likely to perform well in school. They will stay in school longer. And then at adulthood, IFPRI has actually demonstrated that children who were better nourished have higher wages, by a pretty large margin, by 46 percent.”

Ruel says that means the productivity of a nation’s future generations depends in a large part on the first 1,000 days of life.

“This is why we’re all on board in focusing on those thousand days to improve nutrition. After that, the damage is done and is highly irreversible.”

The data on nutrition and childhood development has been slowly coming together for decades. But Ruel says scientific consensus alone will not solve the problem. 

“It’s not enough that nutritionists know you have to intervene then, if we don’t have the politicians on board, and also the...people that implement [programs] in the field.”

Ruel says there are encouraging signs that politicians and implementers are beginning to get on board. Many major donors and the United Nations are targeting hunger-relief programs at pregnant women and young children. They focus on improving diets or providing micro-food supplements. They improve access to pre-birth care and encourage exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of a child’s life. 

Ruel says in the 1980s Thailand was able to reduce child undernourishment by recruiting a large number of volunteers to travel the countryside teaching about health and nutrition.

“They really did very active promotion of diversity in the diet and good eating habits. So they were providing more food to people, but also educating people on how to use them, and also educating people on how to feed their young children.”

Ruel says countries may take different approaches to reducing child undernutrition. But she says nations will not make progress fighting hunger and poverty until they begin to focus on those critical first thousand days. (CET 6官方样题二)

上面这段样题是关于婴儿营养问题的报道,其中和医疗保健有关的专业词汇包括“undernourishment”、“conception”、“1,000-day window”、“hunger-relief program”、“micro-food supplements”、“pre-birth care”、“breastfeeding”、“undernutrition”等。这些专业术语基本都是通过派生或复合而来的新词。派生是通过添加词缀(前缀、后缀)的方式构造新词,如“undernourishment”中的前缀“under-”表示“下方、低于”,后缀“-ment”构成名词,结合词根“nourish”可推测出词义“营养不良”。“pre-birth care”中前缀“pre-”表示“之前”,结合后面的常见词“birth”和“care”,可知该词组表示“产前保健、产前照顾”。复合是将几个独立的词组合起来构成新词,如“hunger-relief program”。这几个词的意思相互组合,就是它们复合而成的词或词组的意思。“hunger-relief program”这一术语的意思就是“饥饿救济方案”。通过分析内部构词成分,再结合上下文,很容易猜出这些词的意思。除专业术语外,上例报道中还有一些专有名词,如“Global Hunger Index report”、“International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)”、“Marie Ruel”以及“the United Nations”。这些专有名词通常能够帮助我们把握报道主题,往往也是重点出题点,意义重大。除了专业术语和专有名词外,报道在用词方面突出的特点还有偏好使用短小词汇、缩写词,常常创造和使用新词,借用人物名称指代政府机构。

1. 短小词汇

英语新闻力求用有限的字数来表达新闻的内容,因此,选词尽可能经济达意、简短明了。新闻用语偏爱选用那些短小精悍或字母最少的动词,一般为单音节词,比较生动灵活。新闻英语称这类词为synonyms of all work(万能同义词),如back(支持),ban(禁止);再如表示“破坏”或“损坏”意义的动词,英语新闻一般不用damage,而用一些较之简短的词,如hit,harm,hurt,ruin或wreck等。又如表示“爆炸”意义时,一般不用explode,而用blast,crash,ram或smash等词。简而言之,英语新闻大都喜欢选用字形短小、音节少而意义又比较广泛的词。下面是英语新闻报道中常用的短词:

ace = champion 得胜者

aid = assistance 帮助;援助

axe = dismiss/reduce 解雇/减少

ban = prohibit/forbid 禁止

bid = attempt 努力

blast = explosion 爆炸

boost = increase 增加;提高

clash = disagree strongly 发生分歧;争议

deal = agreement/transaction 协议/交易

fake = counterfeit 假货

feud = strong dispute 严重分歧

flop = failure 失败

foe = opponent 对手

foil = prevent from 阻止

freeze = stabilization 冻结;平抑

grill = investigate 调查

gut = destroy 摧毁

head = direct 率领

laud = praise 赞扬

link = connection 连接

map = work out 制定

mark = celebrate 庆祝

name = appoint/nominate 命名/提名

nod = approval 许可;批准

oust = expel 驱逐

pact = agreement/treaty 条约/协议

peril = endanger 危害

probe = investigation 调查

raid = attack 攻击

rift = separation 隔离;分离

row = quarrel 争论

soar = skyrocket 急剧上升

spur = encourage 激励

sway = influence 影响

ties = (diplomatic) relations (外交)关系

vie = compete 竞争

vow = determine 决心、发誓

weigh = consider 考虑

2. 借用人、物名称

新闻报道中借用各国首都、大城市等地名、著名建筑物名称以及政府首脑姓名,来替代该国或其政府及有关机构。有时还借用某个物名来表示某个意思,使新闻报道更活泼更富有色彩,这实属新闻英语的一个独创。由于这类名词都有丰富的特殊内涵,又广为人知,因此记者使用这些词语不仅会使新闻报道的行文简介明快,还会使其更具新闻性和通俗性。听众一听到这些色彩鲜明、生动形象的名词就知道整篇报道的大体内容了。例如:

America’s trading partners in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade(GATT) formally charged Washington today with violating the rules of the trading agreement with its l5 percent surtax on imports.美国在关贸总协定的贸易伙伴今天正式指控美国政府破坏了贸易协定的原则,对进口商品征收 15%的附加税。

上句中的Washington(华盛顿)代指美国政府。类似的例子还有:

Big Board (纽约证券交易所的大行情板)纽约证券所;纽约股市

Broadway (百老汇大街)美国或纽约市商业性戏剧(业)

Capitol/Capitol Hill/Hill (美国国会所在地“国会山”)美国国会

Foggy Bottom (美国国务院等政府机构所在地“雾谷”)美国政府

Hollywood (好莱坞)美国电影业;美国电影界

Madison Avenue (美国广告业中心“麦迪逊大街”) 美国广告业;美国商业

Pentagon/Penta (五角大楼)美国国防部

Uncle Sam (山姆大叔)美国政府;美国人

Wall Street (华尔街)美国金融界;美国金融市场

White House (白宫)美国政府;美国总统

Buckingham palace (英国王宫“白金汉宫”)英国皇室

the City (英国首都伦敦市中心“伦敦城”) 英国商业界;英国金融界

Downing Street No.10 (英国首相官邸和一些主要政府部门所在地“唐宁街10号”) 英国首相;英国政府

Fleet Street (舰队街)英国新闻

Scotland Yard (苏格兰场)伦敦警察局;伦敦警方

Elysee (法国总统官邱“爱丽舍宫”) 法国政府;法国总统

Horn of Africa (非洲之角)索马里和埃塞俄比亚

Zhongnanhai (中南海)中国政府 

3. 创造和采用新词 

新闻往往跑在时代的最前面,反映并记载了世界的发展和变迁。每逢新事物出现,与之相关的新词便会率先在新闻中露面,然后再流行于世的。这些词在达到相当程度的普遍性后,便被逐渐吸收进词典里,正式成为现代英语的一部分。例如:

1969年7月20日,美国阿波罗号(Apollo) 宇宙飞船登月成功,许多国家的媒体竞相报道,由此也产生了大量有关的新词,现都已广泛使用在日常英语中,如moonwalk(月面行走),moonman (登月飞行员;月球飞行研究者),moonfall(登月),moonscape(月面景色),moonrock(月球岩石), mooncraft(月球飞船),moonport(月球火箭发射场),moonset(月落),moonship(月球飞船),moon shoot(<火箭、宇宙飞船等>向月球发射;月射),earthrise(地出),space sickness(宇航病),space suit (宇航服),space travel(太空旅行),spacewalk(太空行走),spaceflight(宇宙飞行),Space Age(航天时代;太空时代),space cadet(宇宙飞行迷),space colony(宇宙空间移民区),space industry(航天工业),spacelift(宇宙运输),space race(太空竞争),space science(航天科学),等等。

类似的例子还有non-aligned country(不结盟国家),artificial breeding (人工受精),ATM(自动柜员机),euthanasia(安乐死), AIDS(艾滋病),elevated highways (高架道路),information superhighway(信息高速公路),beeper (无线传呼机,俗称“拷机”、BP机),cellular phone(移动电话),value-added tax(增值税),latchkey child (挂钥匙的孩子),CD〔compact disc(光盘),hula hoop(呼拉圈),surfing (冲浪运动),talk show(访谈节目;谈话类节目),karaoke (卡拉OK)等新词,这些新词无一不是通过英语新闻传播后而为人们所熟知的。 

4.频繁使用缩略词 

由于各种机构、组织、条约等的全称比较长,所以在英语新闻中经常使用缩略词。例如,UN 指“the United Nations”,是“联合国”的缩写;IMF 指International Monetary Fund,是“国际货币基金组织”的缩写,还有OECD(Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development 经济合作和开发组织),OPEC(Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries 石油输出国组织)等。对于这些缩略词既要了解意思又要知道正确读音。英语新闻中经常出现的缩写词主要分为三类:

组织机构等专有名称:

UNESCO=United Nations Educational, Scientific And Cultural Organization(联合国教科文组织)

IMF=International Monetary Fund(国际货币基金组织)

ASEAN=Association Of Southeast Asian Nations(东南亚国家联盟;“东盟”)

GATT=General Agreement On Tariffs And Trade(关贸总协定)

WTO=World Trade Organization(世界贸易组织)

OPEC=Organization Of Petroleum Exporting Countries(石油输出国组织;“欧佩克”)

PLO=Palestine Liberation Organization(巴勒斯坦解放组织;“巴解”)

IOC=International Olympic Committee(国际奥林匹克委员会)

NASA=National Aeronautics And Space Administration[(美国)国家宇航局]

WHO=World Health Organization(世界卫生组织)

AU=African Union(非洲联盟)

IFPRI =International Food Policy Research Institute (国际粮食政策研究所)

常见事物的名称:

UFO=Unidentified Flying Object(不明飞行物;“飞碟”)

DJI=Dow-Jones Index(道?琼斯指数)

PC=Personal Computer(个人电脑)

ABM=Anti-Ballistic Missile(反弹道导弹)

PT=Public Relations(公共关系)

SALT=Strategic Arms Limitation Talks(限制战略武器会谈)

SDI=Strategic Defence Initiative(战略防御措施)

GMT=Greenwich Mean Time(格林威治标准时间)

职业、职务或职称的名词:

PM=Prime Minister(总理;首相)   

GM=General Manager(总经理)

VIP=Very Important Person(贵宾;要人)

TP=Traffic Policeman(交通警察)

PA=Personal Assistant(私人助理)