“How exactly do you #1 explain the effect and #2 the writer’s intention? These two things are very rarely taught in my school and I’ve never been able to do them well.” 一個要考 GCSE English 的學生在Reddit上問。
很多移民到英國的家長跟我說，「11 Plus or GCSE 的閱讀理解題目太難了，我自己也沒法做！」其實原因跟這個 Reddit 的 original poster 所說的一樣，香港的本地學校給的閱讀理解題目，一般只問 What （文章說甚麼），而不大問 How （作者用甚麼手法達到某個效果）。GCSE English 卻注重問 How， 所以大部分在香港接受教育的家長，要啟發孩子不容易。
我的經驗是，幫學生應對 GCSE 閱讀理解題目的方法之一，是導師先自己動手寫一篇文章，
上週我分享了我寫給我牙醫的 Thank you note, 下面是我對該文的 writer’s intention 的分析。
My thank you note to my dentist:
Since I got my dental implants, I’ve come to think of myself as having lived through the tooth fairy story in reverse. All I had to do was to slip you some money (through my banking app instead of under the pillow), and you gave me back my teeth, as if by magic.
My experience as your patient was fairy tale-like in other ways. My fear of the dentist was so deep-seated that it was like an eternal curse an evil witch had cast on me, yet you somehow managed to break it. The surgeries you performed on me were so stress-free under sedation that as I went through them, I felt as serene as Sleeping Beauty in her 100-year slumber.
With diligent flossing and brushing and regular checkups, I hope I can live with my new teeth happily ever after.
My analysis of my intentions
To convey the seemingly magical ability my dentist has in replacing missing teeth, I use a series of allusions to fairy tales, pairing each with a simile to heighten my dramatic effects. I liken my dentist to the tooth fairy; I compare my phobia of the dental profession to a witch’s curse, I equate the restful sleep my dentist puts me under to the one Sleeping Beauty has.
It is by design that I’ve come up with three allusion-simile combos; I do so in accordance with the rule of three, which holds presenting ideas in threes can leave a more lasting impression on readers. It is likewise by design that the sentence in which I describe my sleep during surgery is composed of nine words with the “s” sound (“so stress-free under sedation that as I went through them, I felt as serene as Sleeping Beauty in her 100-year slumber”). “S” evokes feelings of softness, an apt mirroring of the restfulness of my sleep.
Watch this interview for more information on my approach to teaching English writing: https://youtu.be/
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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