VOA慢速英语2019--新闻中的Which一词

The Word 'Which' in the News

Imagine you open an American travel magazine. Perhaps you want to read about other countries and the must-see places to visit in them. Or perhaps you just want to improve your understanding of English.

Imagine you read the following sentence:

"The region is still relatively¹ undiscovered, which means unspoiled beaches and affordable² prices even in the medieval walled city of Dubrovnik."

You might read this sentence, and start to think about the word which. It appears a lot in English language publications. What exactly is the purpose of which?

Today on Everyday Grammar, we will explore that question. We will look at one use of the word: to introduce a kind of adjective clause known as a "sentence relative."

Definitions

First, we probably should start with a few definitions.

A clause is a group of words that has a subject and a verb.

Some clauses are called dependent. In other words, they depend on other parts of the sentence. They cannot stand alone.

One kind of dependent clause is the adjective clause. It gives more information about a noun. Adjective clauses usually modify, or change the meaning of, the noun that they follow.

Here is an example:

Chicago, which is in the American state of Illinois, is famous for its pizza.

Here, the adjective clause is "which is in the American state of Illinois." It modifies the noun Chicago.

Yet some adjective clauses do not just modify a noun. They comment on the whole idea in the earlier, or preceding, clause. These adjective clauses are called sentence relatives. They always use the word which.

Here is an example:

He did not study, which means he is going to fail the test.

In this sentence, the main idea is "he did not study." What comes after the main idea – the words "which means he is going to fail the test" – is the speaker's interpretation³, or understanding of events.

Sentence Relatives and Newswriting

You might be asking yourself how this issue relates to newswriting.

In newswriting, the most common purpose of a sentence relative is to report direct speech. In other words, the reporter is repeating the exact words that a person said.

Here is an example from The Chronicle of Higher Education. It explains the life of a man, Mister Vaidya, who grew up in many countries. Here is what he said:

"My wife thinks I have no roots, which is probably accurate."

Here, the main idea is about the wife's opinion. The sentence relative explains the speaker's interpretation of his wife's opinion. In other words, he agrees with what she thinks.

Now you might understand why sentence relatives are common in the news. They show how Americans speak in everyday situations. You can read more about that subject in another Everyday Grammar program. It is called Sentence Relatives: Showing Feeling, Interpreting Information.

Other uses of Sentence Relatives

At times, reporters use sentence relatives for a different purpose: to interpret information.

Here is an example from a sports story. The article, from Bleacher Report, gives information about Bayern Munich star Robert Lewandowski.

"There's also the fact he [Lewandowski] has a contract at the Allianz Arena⁴ running until the summer of 2021, which means it's likely he'll spend at least the next three-and-a-half years on the continent before an MLS move would be plausible⁵."

In this example, the writer is interpreting information about Lewandowski's deal. The first part of the sentence is about a fact: He already is on the team. The second part of the sentence, everything after the word which, gives the reporter's interpretation of the fact.

You will see sentence relatives in many kinds of stories. Here is an example from a report on climate change. It was published in Time magazine. The author, Michael D. Lemonick, wrote the following line:

"No computer climate model anticipated that increase, which means that all current predictions about how much [the] sea level could rise… are too low and will have to be revised upward."

Closing thoughts

Think back to the travel magazine example that we gave at the beginning of our program.

"The region is still relatively undiscovered, which means unspoiled beaches and affordable prices even in the medieval walled city of Dubrovnik."

Now you know that the author was using the word which to introduce a sentence relative. In other words, the author was interpreting the idea "the region is still relatively undiscovered."

The next time you are reading a news story, try to find examples of sentence relatives. Ask yourself in what situations you see them used, and try to keep a list. With time and training, you will be able to recognize them and use them without difficulty.

A word of warning. Sentence relatives are acceptable in speaking and in newswriting and in fiction writing. However, you might not want to use them in other kinds of writing.

Betty Azar, a grammar expert, says that sentence relatives are generally not used in some kinds of formal writing, such as academic writing. In those cases, writers often use different grammatical structures and vocabulary words.

And that's Everyday Grammar.

I'm John Russell.

And I'm Ashley Thompson.

And I'm Dorothy Gundy.

Words in This Story

unspoiled – adj. still wild and not changed by people : not spoiled

interpretation – n. the act or result of explaining or interpreting something : the way something is explained or understood

plausible – adj. possibly true : believable or realistic

appropriate – adj. right or suited for some purpose or situation

1 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

2 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

3 interpretation   

n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理

参考例句：

• His statement admits of one interpretation only.他的话只有一种解释。
• Analysis and interpretation is a very personal thing.分析与说明是个很主观的事情。

4 arena   

n.竞技场，运动场所；竞争场所，舞台

参考例句：

• She entered the political arena at the age of 25. 她25岁进入政界。
• He had not an adequate arena for the exercise of his talents.他没有充分发挥其才能的场所。

5 plausible   

adj.似真实的，似乎有理的，似乎可信的

参考例句：

• His story sounded plausible.他说的那番话似乎是真实的。
• Her story sounded perfectly plausible.她的说辞听起来言之有理。