很多學生都有這個經歷：如果英文閱讀理解考題出得特別難，
如何幫中間那群同學進入高分區域？
下面是我跟還沒開竅的學生，
考題
How does the writer use language here to describe the hyena’s appearance?
You could include the writer’s choice of:
• words and phrases
• language features and techniques
• sentence forms
Passage to be read
I am not one to hold a prejudice against any animal, but it is a plain fact that the spotted hyena is not well served by its appearance. It is ugly beyond redemption. Its shaggy, coarse coat is a bungled mix of colours, with the spots having none of the classy ostentation of a leopard’s, they look rather like the symptoms of a skin disease. The head is broad and too massive, with a high forehead, like that of a bear, but suffering from a receding hairline, and with ears that look ridiculously mouse-like, large and round, when they haven’t been torn off in battle. The mouth is forever open and panting. The nostrils are too big. The tail is scraggly and unwagging. All the parts put together look doglike, but like no dog anyone would want as a pet.
Student’s response
The writer says the hyena is ugly. They use words like “shaggy” and “coarse” to describe its fur. The writer also says its ears are “mouse-like,” which makes it sound silly. The writer talks about different body parts like its mouth and tail to show it looks bad.
My response
By beginning his description of the hyena with a thoroughly unforgiving statement – “it is ugly beyond redemption” – the writer is preparing the reader for an all out attack on its appearance.
The use of contrast – the hyena’s spots have ““none of the classy ostentation of leopard” – emphasizes its lack of grace and refinement, while the use of simile – its spots looks like “the symptoms of a skin disease” – draws attention to its repulsiveness. In addition, the use of alliteration when portraying its coat – “coarse coat is a bungled mix of colors” – makes its rough look register more strongly on the reader. The word “bungled” implies God made a mistake in creating the hyena.
I like especially the author’s use of metaphor (“suffering from a receding hairline”) when describing the hyena’s forehead. Among many middle-aged men, the receding hairline is so feared – it signals the loss of youth – that some spend a fortune on hair transplant to hide the condition. Connecting this much-feared physical trait to the hyena’s head further intensifies the creature’s ugliness.
Also notable is the writer’s seemingly random mingling of simple sentences (“The mouth is forever open and panting”; “The nostrils are too big”) with compound ones (“The head is broad and too massive, with a high forehead, like that of a bear, but suffering from a receding hairline, and with ears that look ridiculously mouse-like, large and round, when they haven’t been torn off in battle”). The dizzying effect of this technique echoes the lack of symmetry in the hyena’s appearance.
Equally effective is the author’s use of irony. He admits the hyena’s semblance to man’s best friend, but goes on to stress it is not a “dog anyone would want as a pet,” due to ts odd proportions (it has a head that’s “too massive”) and vicious nature (they get into fights so easily that their ears are often “torn off in battle.”). It is as if the hyena were a deformed version of the dog and should never have existed in the first place.
Michelle Ng
英國牛津大學畢業，前《蘋果日報》和《眾新聞》專欄作家，現在身在楓葉國，心繫中國大陸和香港。
聯絡方式： michelleng.coach@proton.me
個人網站： https://michellengwritings.com
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