eading Appreciating Figurative Languag To make language clearer, more interesting, and more striking, all of us use expressions which are not literally true and writing. Figurative language-language that compares or paints a picture for the reader. Figurative language can be confusing if it is understood literally. The ability to recognize and interpret figurative language may help us fully understand a writers point There are many different ways of using figurative language. Listed here are a few of them a) Similes are figurative expressions which directly compare one thing to another by using the words as or like The tobacco industry, coupled with Hollywood movies in which both male and female heroes smoked l In this sentence,…, smoked like chimneys” means“.. smoked heavily and continuously” but the comparison between the two makes the idea clearer and more imaginative. Section A, Unit Five, Book Two) b) Metaphors, in which comparisons are only implied or suggested, without using as, like d the lik On September 7, 1940, nearly four hundred German bombers hammered the city with bombs in broad daylight (Section A, Unit Ten, Book Two) In this sentence, the coming of the city by german bombers is compared to the use of a hammer, thus emphasizing the idea of repeated hitting by those bombers 2)Personification, figurative expressions which compare non-human things to humans Since her introduction in 1959, Barbie has become the universally recognized Queen of the Dolls ( Section A, Unit 4, Book Three) a queen is the number one woman of the country. In this sentence, Barbie is compared to a queen of dolls, which says she is the number one doll in the world d) Oxymoron(矛盾修饰法), a figurative expressions that combines two usually contradictory terms in a compressed paradox. Now more than sixty years old, Barbara-who declines interviews but is said to have loved the doll-may be the most famous unknown figure on the planet (Section A, Unit Four, Book Three) According to the sentence, the doll barbie named after Barbara is probably most famous figure in the world on the one hand, and on the other, only a few know the real Barbara e)Hyperbole(t5kit)- exaggeration for the sake of emphasis in a figure of speech not meant literally He was strongly influenced by medieval artists and inspired by the gothic window of an old farmhouse, but the faces in his composition were what captured the worlds attention (Section A, Unit 4 Book Three In this sentence, the faces are compared to something that is so unusual that they are eye-catching to everyone So in order to understand the writer's meaning more deeply, we have to learn how to recognize and interpret the figurative language. We can use some questions to help us to8 I. Reading Skills Appreciating Figurative Language To make language clearer, more interesting, and more striking, all of us use expressions which are not literally true. We make comparisons in speaking and writing. Figurative language—language that compares or paints a picture for the reader. Figurative language can be confusing if it is understood literally. The ability to recognize and interpret figurative language may help us fully understand a writer’s point. There are many different ways of using figurative language. Listed here are a few of them. a) Similes are figurative expressions which directly compare one thing to another by using the words as or like. The tobacco industry, coupled with Hollywood movies in which both male and female heroes smoked like chimneys,… In this sentence, “… smoked like chimneys” means “… smoked heavily and continuously”, but the comparison between the two makes the idea clearer and more imaginative.(Section A, Unit Five, Book Two) b) Metaphors, in which comparisons are only implied or suggested, without using as, like and the like. On September 7, 1940, nearly four hundred German bombers hammered the city with bombs in broad daylight. (Section A, Unit Ten, Book Two) In this sentence, the coming of the city by German bombers is compared to the use of a hammer, thus emphasizing the idea of repeated hitting by those bombers. c) Personification, figurative expressions which compare non-human things to humans. Since her introduction in 1959, Barbie has become the universally recognized Queen of the Dolls. (Section A, Unit 4, Book Three) A queen is the number one woman of the country. In this sentence, Barbie is compared to a queen of dolls, which says she is the number one doll in the world. d) Oxymoron（矛盾修饰法）, a figurative expressions that combines two usually contradictory terms in a compressed paradox. Now more than sixty years old, Barbara—who declines interviews but is said to have loved the doll—may be the most famous unknown figure on the planet. (Section A, Unit Four, Book Three) According to the sentence, the doll Barbie named after Barbara is probably the most famous figure in the world on the one hand, and on the other, only a few know the real Barbara. e) Hyperbole（夸张法）— exaggeration for the sake of emphasis in a figure of speech not meant literally. He was strongly influenced by medieval artists and inspired by the Gothic window of an old farmhouse, but the faces in his composition were what captured the world’s attention. (Section A, Unit 4 Book Three) In this sentence, the faces are compared to something that is so unusual that they are eye-catching to everyone. So in order to understand the writer’s meaning more deeply, we have to learn how to recognize and interpret the figurative language. We can use some questions to help us to