2022_심화영어독해와작문

UNIT 4 Reading Strategy: Understanding Figurative Language (p.90) Function of Figurative Language In both literature and daily communication, many sentences contain figurative language. Figurative language makes meaning by asking the reader or listener to understand something by virtue of its relation to some other thing, action, or image. Figurative language can be contrasted with literal language, which describes something explicitly rather than by reference to something else. Practical Examples of Figurative Language • “It’s raining cats and dogs!” (The speaker doesn’t mean actual animals are falling from the sky but is exaggerating to express that it’s raining heavily.) • “She has a heart of gold.” (The speaker is using a metaphor to describe someone as kind and caring, not literally with body parts made of gold.) • “Time flies when you’re having fun.” (The speaker is comparing time to a bird or something fast-moving to suggest that enjoyable moments pass quickly.) • “He’s a night owl.” (This compares someone who stays up late to an owl, suggesting that the person is active or awake during the night.) • “The city was so quiet that even the shadows seemed to be holding their breath.” (The speaker doesn’t mean that shadows can actually hold their breath but is giving human traits to the shadows to express the weird silence of the city.) • “Her heart was a ticking time bomb, ready to explode at any moment.” (The speaker doesn’t mean her heart is actually a time bomb but is exaggerating to show the intense emotional tension she feels.) • “The sun dipped below the horizon, leaving the sky stained with the blood of the day.” (The speaker doesn’t mean the sky is literally stained with blood but is using ‚“blood” symbolically to express the end of the day in a dramatic, almost violent way.) Enhancing Imagery with Simple Figurative Language Everyday figurative expressions often don’t create a strong image in your mind, but when writers use original figurative language, they want you to picture the comparison they’re making. This helps you see things more clearly and makes the writing more engaging. Take a look at these two examples: • The sun was shining over the playground. • The sun glowed like a golden coin, casting heat over the playground. In the first example, the sentence is simple and straightforward, using literal language to describe the scene. In the second example, the sun is compared to a “golden coin,” giving you a clearer, more imaginative picture of how the sunlight feels and looks. Writers use figurative language like this to help readers visualize scenes and emotions in more vivid ways. 152 I Reading & Writing Strategies