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在英语写作中,最好避免在一句话中出现单词和短语的重复,甚至在相邻的句子中也应尽量避免重复。然而,非英语母语学者在进行英语写作时,有时很难避免相同的词汇用好几次。本文分享了一些技巧,教你如何在写作中避免使用相同的词汇,提高论文可读性。
使用同义词
一个有用的方法是找到意思相同或相似的替代词或短语,即同义词。英语和多数其他语言一样,词汇量巨大,有多种方法来表达同一事物。
注意:可以用同义词典查找同义词。但是此方法要谨慎采用,因为字典中的同义词不一定都能简洁或确切地替换原词,在学术写作中尤为如此。替换同义词时,最好查看相关的例句,来判断它是否适合你想表达的语境。
例如,字典中会把“crystal”作为“transparent”的同义词之一,但它们也能表达完全不同的意思。同样,“see-through”也是“transparent” 的同义词,但相对而言,它是非正式用语,意思也很不准确。
语义替换
减少重复的一个重要方法是使用语义替换。通常是代之以更简明的单词或短语,使语义保持清晰。
The containers were cleaned using deionised water to remove any remaining salts from the containers. The containers were then dried in an oven at 60°C.
上面这段话读起来很拗口,改成下面这样会更好:
The containers were cleaned using deionised water to remove any remaining salts from them. They were then dried in an oven at 60°C.
此处,名词(containers)被两个不同的代词(them和they)所取代,意思没有改变,句子读起来更流畅了。这个方法也适用于短语:
Extracting the themes from the interview transcripts can be a slow process. However, it is an essential step towards understanding the problem.
此处,用“it”代指了七个单词。
“to do so”也是个很有用的结构,可以用来代指前文的动词短语,例如:
Polar bears generally catch and consume seals, but they are often unable to do so in the winter months.
在这个例子中,也可以发现用“they”替换了“polar bears”。
删除重复
多数情况下,重复的短语可以直接删除而保持句意不变。当罗列两个及以上有关联的事物时,通常采取这种做法,例如:
Both the steady-state rheological properties and dynamic rheological properties of the gas were examined.
在这句话中,删除第一个“rheological properties”,句意没有改变:
Both the steady-state and dynamic rheological properties of the gas were examined.
同样,下面这句话中,去掉前两个“the experiment”,能使之更加通顺:
The blood pressure of each participant was measured before the experiment, during the experiment and after the experiment.
减少冗余
当重复无法避免时,可以用尽可能短的词语进行替换,使重复没那么显眼。
An increase in the velocity was found to lead to a decrease in the oscillation.
这句话可以通过简单的改写来减少重复:
The oscillation was found to decrease with increasing velocity.
有时候,可以用“utilise”来替换“use”,用“advancements”替换“advances”。用“in order to”来代替“to”也是一样的道理。如何找到化繁为简的表达方法,值得我们深入思考。
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