2003年英语高考试卷中第26题为:The sign reads, "In case of ________ fire, break the glass and push ________ red button."

　　A. 不填;a B. 不填;the C. the; the D. a; a

　　此题答案为B。本句意思是:万一有火情的话,请打碎玻璃按红色按钮。本题考查的知识点是冠词的基本用法。

　　冠词是汉语中没有的词类,因此,经常是我们中国学生的错误所在。综观历届全国高考英语试题,我们不难看出:无论是单项填空题、完形填空题还是短文改错题中,冠词的用法一直是历年高考英语基础知识考查的热点之一。如:

　　Paper money was in ________ use in China when Marco Polo visited the country in ________ thirteenth century.

　　A. the; 不填 B. the; the C. 不填; the D. 不填;不填

　　此题答案为C。本题考查的是冠词的习惯用法:be in use(此处不加冠词);in the thirteeth century(在序数词前用定冠词)。又如:

　　Many people agree that ________ knowledge of English is a must in international trade today.

　　A. a; 不填 B. the; an C. the; the D. 不填; the

　　此题答案为A。本题考查的也是冠词的用法。尽管knowledge是不可数名词,但有时可以加不定冠词,意为"对……有某种程度的了解。"

　　由此可见,学生在平时的学习中,注意定冠词和不定冠词的基本用法、零冠词的使用场合以及冠词的一些习惯搭配很有必要。笔者根据多年的高三教学经验,现就高考中常考的、且学生易错的冠词的特殊用法归纳如下:

　　一、只用定冠词的几种特殊情况:

　　1. 在发明物的单数名词前,既表示特指又表示类指时。如:

　　Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone in 1876.

　　2. 在逢十的复数名词前,表示"世纪的某个年代"。如:

　　He began to learn Russian in the 1950s.

　　但注意:in one's 50s意为"在某人五十多岁时"。如:

　　He looked quite healthy though he was in his 80s.

　　3. 在姓氏复数名词前用定冠词表示"全家人"或"夫妇俩",请务必注意谓语动词用复数。如:

　　The Turners are sitting at the breakfast table, talking and laughing.

　　4. 在比较级的两种句型中:

　　1) 表示"越 ……,就越……"时。如:

　　The lighter, the better.

　　The more we think of our life, the happier we feel.

　　2) 表示"两者中比较……"时,用定冠词。如:

　　Which is the larger country, Canada or America?

　　5. 在身体部位的名词前。

　　1)在"动词+sb.+介词+the+身体部位名称"的结构中(注意:介词常用in/on/by)。如:

　　She took the child by the hand when crossing the street.

　　The ball hit me on the back.

　　2)在表示"身体某一部位受伤"时(注意:介词用in)。如:

　　He was wounded in the back.

　　但注意:当表示"以身体某部位为支撑点"时,只可以用one's(注意:介词用on)。如:

　　The baby likes sleeping on his stomache.

　　He can stand on his head for a long time.

　　6. 当月份、季节被限定性定语所修饰时。如:

　　The building was completed in the September of 1969, not in the summer of 1970。

　　7. 语言名称后有language时。如:

　　He speaks Chinese, but not the English language.

　　8. 在表示"计量单位"的可数名词前(注意:介词用by)。如:

　　The workers are paid by the hour/day/month.

　　Tomatoes are sold by the pound.

　　但注意:by weight短语中没有定冠词。

　　9. 专有名词、物质名词后有修饰语时。如:

　　The China he saw now was not the same as he had left 50 years before.

　　Water is important for us, so we must make good use of the water around us.

　　二、只可用不定冠词的几种特殊情况:

　　1. 在序数词前表示"又一;再一"时。如:

　　The novel is so well written that I want to read it a second time.

　　This is the third time I've been here. I want to be here a fourth time.

　　2. 表示不特定的"某一个"时。如:

　　A Mr. Smith is calling on the phone.

　　3. 抽象名词用来表示"人或物的某种品德、性质"时。如:

　　The conference turned out to be a failure.

　　He is not a success as a leader, but he has gained much experience in teaching.

　　Doing this is a great help to us all.

　　He was a disappointment to us all.

　　Oh, Mary, what a pleasant surprise you gave me!

　　4. 一日三餐前有修饰语时。如:

　　-Mum, what shall we have for lunch?

　　-Jiaozi.

　　-Oh, what a wonderful lunch!I enjoy it very much.

　　5. 在形容词最高级前表示"非常"时。如:

　　Unit Nine is a most difficult unit, but it isn't the most difficult unit in Book One.

　　6. 常考的固定短语。如:

　　all of a sudden; in a hurry; a good many+名词(复数); many a+名词(单数);quite a few+名词(复数); quite a little+名词(不可数); do sb. a favor (但:do sb. the favor to do sth.)

　　(文/朱晓燕；英语辅导报高三版2003-2004学年第45、46期；版权归英语辅导报社所有，独家网络合作伙伴新浪教育，未经许可，不得以任何形式进行转载。)