虚拟语气题是四级听力中比较难的一种题型.虚拟语气往往通过关键词表达对过去、现在或未来的虚拟,一旦漏听或错听了关键词,就没法正确地理解句子,这就给考生造成了相当大的困难.因此,考生在听的过程中要特别注意.

　　例1:

　　A) He is not to blame.

　　B) It is his fault.

　　C) He will accept all responsibility.

　　D) He will be more careful next time.

　　W: What an accident! If you had been careful, things would not be as they are.

　　M: What do you mean? It is my fault? If it were, surely I would take all responsibility for it.

　　Q: What does the man mean?

　　【解析】答案为A). 这是一道典型的虚拟语气题.关键是男士所说的If it were....他的意思是:如果是我的错,我肯定要承担全部责任的.暗含之意为:这个事故不是我的错.故答案为A).

　　例2:

　　A) Jack passed the exam.

　　B) Jack didn't study hard.

　　C) Jack studied very hard.

　　D) Jack is a good student.

　　W: Why did Jack fail in the exam?

　　M: If he had studied hard, he would have passed the exam.

　　Q: What does the man mean?

　　【解析】答案为B).男士的话是对过去事实的虚拟,如果不熟悉虚拟语气,就不能理解男士的真实意思,很容易选错答案.

　　听力中常见的虚拟语气主要有以下4种类型:

　　1. 表示与现在事实相反

　　2. 表示与过去事实相反

　　3. 含有"wish"表示不能实现的愿望

　　4. 含有"if only"表示不能实现的愿望

　　例3:

　　A) The man doesn't like Austin.

　　B) The man is planning a trip to Austin.

　　C) The man has not been to Austin before.

　　D) The man has been to Austin before.

　　W: I'm thinking of going to Austin for a visit. Do you think it's worth seeing?

　　M: Well, I wish I had been there.

　　Q: What do we learn from the conversation?

　　【解析】答案为C).男士所说的话是虚拟语气,由此我们可以推断他以前没有去过奥斯丁.故C)是答案.

　　例4:

　　A) The man didn't care if the woman had her hair cut or not.

　　B) The woman followed the man's advice.

　　C) The woman is wearing long hair now.

　　D) The man didn't want the woman to have her hair cut.

　　W: I wish my hair was longer.

　　M: Yes, pity you had it cut. If only you had listened to me.

　　Q: What can we learn from the dialogue?

　　【解析】答案为D).男士说"你听我的话该多好啊."显然他不想让女士把头发剪短.故D)是答案.

　　虚拟语气题的解题思路是"反向挑选".即要从"相反"的角度对整个句子表达的语意进行理解.答好这类题,关键在于既要了解虚拟语气的基本结构,还要理解虚拟语气句中所包含的假设信息.

　　例5:

　　A) Nick can't go on studying because he has to work in a steel plant.

　　B) Nick has earned enough money for his senior year.

　　C) Nick prefers working in a steel plant to studying in a college.

　　D) Nick doesn't have enough money, so he'll work during his senior year.

　　W: Do you know if Nick has got enough money for his study?

　　M: Yes. If Nick hadn't worked in the steel plant last summer, he wouldn't have earned enough money for his living expenses during his senior year.

　　Q: What does the man mean about Nick?

　　【解析】答案为B).从相反的角度来理解男士的话,那么句子的含义就应该是"尼克去年夏天在钢厂打工,挣够了大四的生活费."故应选B).

　　(文/李树德　英语辅导报大学一年级版03~04学年第34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。)