准确理解一个句子，往往离不开对其中重点词组的用法及意义的理解。看了以下四个实例，你就会深有同感了。

　　1. [问] The actors make us laugh by making fun of somebody's way of dressing or telling an amusing story.该句中的telling an amusing story是和dressing并列，还是和making fun of并列？

　　[答] 该句中的"telling an amusing story"应与"making fun of somebody's way of dressing"并列。首先我们来搞清楚该句的意思。该句应翻译为"演员逗我们笑，靠的是拿别人的衣着开玩笑，或是讲个逗乐的故事"。在该句中"making fun of somebody's way of dressing"和"telling an amusing story"同时作介词by的宾语。"by+名词或动名词"意为"靠……，通过……"，表示方式、手段。如：

　　I can see by the expression on your face that you are in trouble.通过你脸上的表情，我能看出你有麻烦了。

　　One learns a language by making mistakes and correcting them.我们总是通过犯错误和纠正错误来学习语言。

　　He caught a cold by playing soccer in the rain.他在雨中踢足球而感冒了。

　　We all know that by keeping animals from becoming extinct, we are helping ourselves.我们都知道保护动物免遭灭绝，就是保护我们自己。

　　2. [问]Their talk includes rhythm and rhyming words as well as tongue twisters, which often make the audience applaud. 我对该句中的as well as 的用法不大清楚，老师能不能讲一讲？

　　[答] 好的。该句中的as well as的意思是"不仅……而且……；既……又……"。该句可翻译为"他们的语言形式包括节奏、韵律以及绕口令，这些形式使他们经常赢得观众的掌声"。如：

　　She speaks French as well as English.她不但说英语，而且说法语。

　　He is a teacher as well as a writer.他不但是作家，而且是教师。

　　在使用as well as这个结构时，要注意两点：

　　1) 在连接主语时，谓语动词与第一个主语一致。如：

　　E-mail, as well as telephone, is playing an important part in daily communication.除电话外，电子邮件在日常通讯中也起着重要作用。

　　The old woman as well as her two sons was seen standing at a street corner crying.人们看见那位老太太还有她的两个儿子在街角哭泣。

　　2)在否定句中not... as well as只否定前者，而as well as... not前后都有否定，试比较：

　　I shall not go as well as you.你去，但我不去。

　　I as well as you, shall not go.你不去，我也不去。

　　as well as除了以上的用法，还有我们最熟悉的另一种用法，即用于比较状语从句，意思是"和……一样好"。如：

　　You drive as well as he does.你开车和他开得一样好。

　　She doesn't speak as well as her friend, but her writing work is excellent.她没有她朋友说得好，但笔头很棒。

　　John plays football as well　as, if not better than, David. 约翰足球踢得即使不比大卫好，也得和他一样好。

　　3. [问] I remember that the last time we met I did most of the talking, so perhaps I should let you do the talking this time.该句中the last time在句中作什么成分？有什么特殊用法吗？

　　[答] the last time在该句中起到连词的作用，引导状语从句。如：

　　The last time I went to China, I visited Shanghai.上次去中国时我去了上海。

　　The last time I saw her, she looked very happy.我上次见她时，她看起来很高兴。

　　类似的名词词组和一些副词有：the first time, every time, each time, any time, next time, the moment, the minute, the second, as soon as， directly, immediately, instantly等，都可以用作连词，引导时间状语从句，相当于as soon as。如：

　　Every time I saw him, I saw he was taller.每次见到他，我都会发现他比原来高。

　　The first time I met her, I knew we would be friends.第一次见到她，我就知道我们会成为好朋友。

　　-Did you remember to give Mary the money you owed her?

　　-Yes. I gave it to her the moment I saw her.

　　"你记着还你欠玛丽的钱了吗？"

　　"记着了。我一见到她就把钱给她了。"

　　The machine will start instantly you press the button.你一按电钮机器就会开动。

　　4. [问] While there are many different interpretations of our body language, some gestures seem to be universal. Pressing one's palms together and resting one's head on the back of one's hand while closing the eyes as if sleeping means "I am tired."这两个句子中的while用法有什么区别吗？

　　[答] 第一个while意思是"尽管"，相当于although。如：

　　While I understand your viewpoint, I don't agree with you.虽然我了解你的见解，我还是不能同意你。

　　While it is expected that students come to university with the ability to take a good set of notes, this is not always the case.尽管大家期望考入大学的学生应具备会做笔记的能力，但事实并非如此。

　　第二个while的意思是"当……时候"，可以用when替换。但要注意：while后引导的从句中的动词应是延续性动词。如：

　　-I'm going to the post office.

　　-While you're there, can you get some stamps?

　　"我要去邮局。"

　　"你在邮局时，帮我买些邮票好吗？"

　　I fell asleep while reading the English textbook. Luckily, my roommate woke me up in time. 我在读英语课本时睡着了。幸运的是，我的室友及时叫醒了我。

　　另外，while还有"但是，然而"的意思，相当于but，表示转折。如：

　　I earn only 50 dollars a week, while she earns 80 dollars.我每周挣50美元，而她每周挣80美元。

　　They were surprised that a child could work out the problem while they themselves couldn't.他们很奇怪一个小孩能做出那道题，而他们却不能。

　　(文/魏国云；英语通高中一年级版 03～04学年第5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。)