在口语中,人们靠停顿和语调来把意思表达清楚。但在书面语中不能这样做,因此, 要靠标点符号来表示句子之间的内在联系, 把意思表达清楚。书面语中该断句时就断句,不要过于追求长度而让这种书面语的重要组成部分---标点符号毫无用武之地。
在美国,每年的9月24日为国家标点日,其重要性可见一斑。在标点日官网(http://t.cn/bHZsr)上,有很多关于标点的知识。
标点符号的重要性标点符号小巧玲珑,我们也就常常"小"瞧了它,但是在美国大学入学考试之一---ACT考试中,重视标点符号的正确使用是非常重要的。 ACT官方指南中明确指出,ACT English(文章改错)主要考察两个方面:Usage/ Mechanics(用法/技巧),和Rhetorical skills (修饰技巧)。其中,Usage/ Mechanics占到45题,即总题数的53%。
ACT English Test
75 questions, 45 minutes
Content/skills |
Percent of Test |
Number of Questions |
Usage/mechanics |
53% |
40 |
Punctuation |
13% |
10 |
Grammar and Usage |
16% |
12 |
Sentence Structure |
24% |
18 |
Rhetorical |
47% |
35 |
Strategy |
16% |
12 |
Organization |
15% |
11 |
Style |
16% |
12 |
Total |
100% |
75 |
在这53%的题目中, 针对官方指南上面的5套例题和近10年的ACT English题目进行统计,有关标点符号的考题比例占到总题目数的13%-14%。
Punctuation (13%). Questions in this category test your knowledge of the conventions of internal and end-of-sentence punctuation, with emphasis on the relationship of punctuation to meaning (for example, avoiding ambiguity, indicating appositives).
标点符号(13%)这方面问题考察考生对标点在文章内和句子结尾的用法,重点考察举例、避免混淆、同位格方面的标点运用。
These questions address not only the rules of punctuation but also the use of punctuation to express ideas clearly. For example, you should be prepared to show how punctuation can be used to indicate possession or to set off a parented element.
Randolph Quirk等人1985年编著的A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language将所有的英语标点符号分为两种功能:分隔功能(Separation)和指明功能(Specification)。在ACT的考试中,我们不仅要掌握标点符号的分隔和指明功能的规则,而且需要正确使用标点来清晰表意。
标点符号题目的特点:
In many punctuation questions, the words in every choice will be identical but the commas or other punctuation will vary.
根据ACT官方指南的描述,此类题型有两个特征:1. 四个选项中词汇相同;2. 四个选项中逗号或者其他标点发生变化;
考什么标点?
Punctuation (13%). Questions in this category test your knowledge of the conventions of internal and end-of-sentence punctuation, with emphasis on the relationship of punctuation to meaning (for example, avoiding ambiguity, indicating appositives).
标点符号(13%)这方面问题考察考生对标点在文章内和句子结尾的用法,重点考察同位语,并列举例方面,连接词与副词等标点运用,需要避免混淆。
Punctuation questions involve identifying and correcting the following misplaced, missing, or unnecessary punctuation marks:
Commas 逗号
Apostrophes 撇号;所有格符号
Colons, semicolons, and dashes 冒号,分号与破折号
Periods, question marks, and exclamation points 句号,问号与感叹号
下面我们结合OG的五套题目,来看一看标点符号在ACT中的考察情况。
OG第一套
考察标点 |
来源 |
题号 |
正确选项 |
选项中出现的标点 |
用法 |
撇号 |
OG第一套 |
6 |
G |
撇号 |
The possessive case of plural nouns ending in s is formed by adding only the apostrophe. |
逗号 |
OG第一套 |
16 |
H |
逗号 |
A comma is used after an adverbial clause or phrase (including a prepositional phrase and a participial phrase) before the subject of the sentence or in the middle of the sentence. |
|
|
18 |
J |
逗号 |
Unnecessary punctuation marks. |
|
|
32 |
J |
逗号 |
Commas set off parenthetical elements or an appositive. |
|
|
39 |
A |
逗号;分号 |
Unnecessary punctuation marks. |
|
|
53 |
B |
逗号 |
Unnecessary punctuation marks. |
|
|
57 |
B |
逗号,分号 |
Nonrestrictive clauses and phrases are set off by commas. |
|
|
61 |
D |
逗号 |
Unnecessary punctuation marks. |
|
|
63 |
D |
逗号,分号 |
Commas set off parenthetical elements or an appositive. |
冒号 |
OG第一套 |
69 |
A |
冒号,分号,逗号 |
The colon is used to introduce an explanation, a summary, an appositive, or details following. |
OG第二套
考察标点 |
来源 |
题号 |
正确选项 |
题干中出现的标点 |
用法 |
逗号 |
OG第二套 |
2 |
G |
逗号 |
Unnecessary punctuation marks. |
7 |
C |
逗号 |
Unnecessary punctuation marks. |
||
10 |
F |
逗号 |
Unnecessary punctuation marks. |
||
19 |
B |
逗号 |
Nonrestrictive clauses and phrases are set off by commas: |
||
20 |
B |
逗号 |
Unnecessary punctuation marks. |
||
31 |
A |
逗号 |
A comma is used after an adverbial clause or phrase (including a prepositional phrase and a participial phrase) before the subject of the sentence or in the middle of the sentence. |
||
36 |
F |
逗号 |
Unnecessary punctuation marks. |
||
52 |
J |
逗号 |
Unnecessary punctuation marks. |
||
72 |
G |
逗号 |
Commas are used to separate a series of words or phrases having the same function in the sentence (yet the comma before the conjunction may be omitted if there is no danger of misreading). |
||
75 |
D |
逗号 |
Unnecessary punctuation marks. |
||
撇号 |
OG第二套 |
32 |
H |
撇号 |
The possessive case of singular nouns (either common or proper) is indicated by adding an apostrophe and an s. |
句号 |
|
55 |
D |
句号,逗号 |
The period (full stop) is used at the end of a declarative sentence, a mildly imperative sentence, and an indirect question. |
OG第三套
考察标点 |
来源 |
题号 |
正确选项 |
选项中出现的标点 |
用法 |
分号 |
OG第三套 |
5 |
C |
分号;逗号 |
The semicolon is used between two coordinate clauses NOT linked by a conjunction (FANBOYS- for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so). |
撇号 |
OG第三套 |
13 |
A |
撇号,逗号 |
The possessive case of singular nouns (either common or proper) is indicated by adding an apostrophe and an s. |
36 |
J |
撇号 |
The possessive case of plural nouns ending in s is formed by adding only the apostrophe. |
||
破折号 |
OG第三套 |
22 |
G |
破折号,分号,逗号 |
The dash sets off appositives and other explanatory or parenthetical elements. |
67 |
D |
破折号 |
The dash sets off appositives and other explanatory or parenthetical elements. |
||
逗号 |
OG第三套 |
27 |
B |
逗号 |
Unnecessary punctuation marks. |
54 |
J |
逗号 |
Unnecessary punctuation marks. |
||
58 |
H |
逗号 |
Unnecessary punctuation marks. |
||
63 |
A |
逗号,冒号 |
Unnecessary punctuation marks. |
||
72 |
J |
逗号,分号 |
Unnecessary punctuation marks. |
||
74 |
F |
逗号,冒号 |
Unnecessary punctuation marks. |
||
冒号 |
|
53 |
B |
冒号,分号,逗号 |
The colon is used to introduce an explanation, a summary, an appositive, or details following. |
OG第四套
考察标点 |
来源 |
题号 |
正确选项 |
选项中出现的标点 |
用法 |
逗号 |
OG第四套 |
1 |
D |
逗号 |
Unnecessary punctuation marks. |
3 |
B |
逗号 |
Commas set off parenthetical elements or an appositive. |
||
10 |
F |
逗号 |
Unnecessary punctuation marks. |
||
16 |
H |
逗号 |
A comma is not used to join two coordinate clauses, but used in a compound sentence before the conjunction or connective (FANBOYS- for , and, nor, but, or, yet, so). |
||
21 |
C |
逗号 |
Commas set off parenthetical elements or an appositive. |
||
27 |
A |
逗号 |
Commas are used to separate a series of words or phrases having the same function in the sentence (yet the comma before the conjunction may be omitted if there is no danger of misreading). |
||
48 |
F |
逗号,分号 |
Unnecessary punctuation marks. |
||
59 |
B |
逗号 |
Unnecessary punctuation marks. |
||
60 |
F |
逗号 |
Unnecessary punctuation marks. |
||
64 |
J |
逗号 |
A comma is used after an adverbial clause or phrase (including a prepositional phrase and a participial phrase) before the subject of the sentence or in the middle of the sentence. |
||
69 |
B |
逗号 |
Commas set off parenthetical elements or an appositive. |
||
撇号 |
|
61 |
D |
撇号,逗号 |
The possessive case of singular nouns (either common or proper) is indicated by adding an apostrophe and an s. |
OG第五套
考察标点 |
来源 |
题号 |
正确选项 |
选项中出现的标点 |
用法 |
逗号 逗号 |
OG第五套
|
1 |
C |
逗号 |
Commas set off parenthetical elements or an appositive. |
10 |
F |
逗号 |
Unnecessary punctuation marks. |
||
20 |
J |
逗号 |
Commas set off parenthetical elements or an appositive. |
||
34 |
F |
逗号,分号 |
Commas set off parenthetical elements or an appositive.
|
||
50 |
F |
逗号 |
Commas set off parenthetical elements or an appositive. |
||
67 |
A |
逗号,冒号,破折号 |
Commas set off parenthetical elements or an appositive. |
||
分号 |
|
59 |
C |
分号,逗号 |
The semicolon is used between two coordinate clauses NOT linked by a conjunction (FANBOYS- for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so). |
句号 |
|
16 |
H |
句号,逗号 |
The period (full stop) is used at the end of a declarative sentence, a mildly imperative sentence, and an indirect question. |
撇号 |
|
23 |
B |
撇号,逗号 |
The possessive case of singular nouns (either common or proper) is indicated by adding an apostrophe and an s. |
|
|
48 |
J |
撇号,逗号 |
The possessive case of singular nouns (either common or proper) is indicated by adding an apostrophe and an s. |
分号冒号 |
|
28 |
H |
分号冒号 |
Unnecessary punctuation marks. |
分号冒号逗号 |
|
53 |
A |
分号冒号逗号 |
Unnecessary punctuation marks. |
"标点很要紧。如果一个人标点不大会用,说明他语言不够清楚。"这是叶圣陶先生曾经强调过的。标点是辅助文字记录语言的一套符号,是文章里不可缺少的组成部分。每个标点部有其独特的功能。希望大家在后期备考ACT的过程中,摆正标点的位置。
如果大家想进一步了解标点符号的正确使用,可以使用下面列举的参考书目。
参考书目:
书名 |
作者 |
出版社 |
英语标点符号用法指南 |
李经伟 |
金盾出版社 |
The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation: |
Jane Straus Lester Kaufman Tom Stern |
Wiley; 11 (2014年2月10日) |
Merriam-Webster's Guide to Punctuation and Style
|
Merriam-Webster |
Merriam Webster,U.S.; 2002-02-07 (2002年2月7日) |
Collins Primary Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling (Collins Primary Dictionaries) |
Collins (2014年4月10日) |
|
Webster's New World Punctuation: Simplified and Applied |
|
Webster's New World (2011年9月26日) |
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