ARTICLE · 1053079
高考英语真题商榷五则
首先需要说明的是,我们讨论高考真题的时候,必须尽力确保所讨论的内容的确是高考真题的真实版本,而非网上出现的错误版本(错误版本有时流传颇广)——当然,笔者也无法确保所用的版本就完全是真实版本。
例如,关于2026年浙江首考语法填空,网上有这样的版本:

红框处的found应该为find——助动词would后需使用动词原形;the tasks中的the需删除,构成“形容词最高级+of+名词(泛指)”结构(可参见薄冰主编的《高级英语语法》)。

再如,关于2012年全国卷(新课标)C篇,网上流传如下一个有些不知所云的版本:

言归正传,下面主要按照时间倒序列出高考真题的五点商榷之处。
商榷1:自来水厂要煮水?
——2025年新课标I卷D篇35题
【内容摘录】
The new study suggests boiling tap water could be a tool to limit intake. “The way they demonstrated how microplastics were trapped through the boiling process was nice,” Caroline Gauchotte-Lindsay, an environmental engineer of the University of Glasgow in Scotland who was not involved in the research, tells New Scientist. “We should be looking into upgrading drinking water treatment plants so they remove microplastics.”
35. What is Gauchotte-Lindsay’s suggestion about?
A. Choice of new research methods.
B. Possible direction for further study.
C. Need to involve more researchers.
D. Potential application of the findings.
【商榷理由】
D篇文章出处为:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/boiling-tap-water-could-help-remove-80-percent-of-its-microplastics-study-suggests-180983874/。
摘录内容是在对煮沸自来水作出正面评价,Caroline Gauchotte-Lindsay所说的前后两句话在没有显性连词的情况下,可以默认是顺承关系。从肯定研究结果到建议应用研究结果,水到渠成。因此,出于语篇组织的考虑,答案选D。
只是,“饮用水处理厂要煮沸自来水”听起来似乎有点违背常识,说话者真的会这么建议吗?文中提到New Scientist,我们来看看New Scientist是怎么报道的。

这里赫然写着“However”,说话者建议的是截然不同的方案,主张从源头上解决问题。Caroline Gauchotte-Lindsay教授本人在回复笔者的求证时表示,她并不建议在饮用水处理厂煮水,高考题中的四个选项都不符合本意(“My opinion is that none of the four proposed options are correct”)。有人还联系到smithsonianmag上这篇文章的作者Christian Thorsberg,他说:“B and D are equally imperfect answers in terms of English comprehension in this passage.”(可以参阅一日三秋如不见《从I卷高考英语D篇作者回信看语言真实交际》)。
最后一段其实体现了这样一种常用的套路:文章主体内容都是往一个方向说,最后话锋一转,补充些不同观点,这样似乎显得更客观、更全面。
商榷2:something that it’s been in their nature中的it是否多余?
——2024年全国甲卷阅读理解B篇
【内容摘录】
Dogs are known for their impressive fetching habit, but cats take this behavior up a notch. Many cats will find random objects outside and bring them to their owners. This is a very old habit that’s been present in all kinds of predators(食肉动物). Cats bring gifts for their owners to show they love you. These adorable little hunters are just doing something that it’s been in their nature since the beginning of time. So just go along with it!
【商榷理由】
我们平常说,关系词that充当定语从句的主语时,通常不能在相应位置再次出现与先行词同指的主语代词——后面充当主语的it与之构成重复,因此应该删除it,就像前文中的that’s been present那样(可参阅Aaron讲英语《2024年甲卷B篇这个it是否多余?》)。
这类定语从句中出现重复代词的现象并不罕见,这样的代词还有个名字,叫resumptive pronoun(可译为“复指代词”)。英语中的复指代词可以出现于孤岛情景和非孤岛情景,文中的something that it’s been in their nature属于非孤岛情景,而This is the donkey that I don’t know where it lives.这类则属于孤岛情景(WH-孤岛)。有人认为,在孤岛情景中,复指代词可以救济孤岛违例(即违反孤岛限制的移位)。但是Resumption in English一文指出,英文中的复指代词并没有能够救济孤岛违例。作为一种共指产出手段,复指代词在加工过程中帮助说话者追踪共指关系,但是对于听话者而言,复指代词并不会提供加工上的帮助,这可以解释原本令人费解的产出-理解不对称现象。大白话就是,自己说出个复指代词不觉得别扭,但是听到别人说出个复指代词还是觉得别扭。
商榷3:envelop和envelope,谁是名词,谁是动词?
——2019年高考英语全国Ⅰ卷完形填空
【内容摘录】
It ends abruptly at 3,000 meters, (giving way to) lands of low growing plants. Further up, the weather (changes)— low clouds envelope the mountainsides, which are covered with thick grass.
【商榷理由】
查一查英文词典,envelope是个名词,而这里需要动词作谓语。再查一查文章来源,原来外刊原文写的是envelop:
Further up the weather changes -- low clouds envelop the slopes, which become covered with tussock grass and sporadic giant lobelias.
不知道试卷上为什么会将envelop改为envelope,可能是因为后者更为常见?
envelop与envelope有时确实容易混淆,比如我们可以在thefreedictionary上看到这样的说明:

顺藤摸瓜,我们在Abused, Confused & Misused Words找到了这一段:

可是就在同一页,竟然看到这样的场景:

是我眼花了吗?还是作者就是想通过亲自示范来告诉我们:envelop与envelope太容易混淆了!看吧,我都搞混了。
当然,也有个别资料提到envelope在古旧用法中可以做动词,但这显然不符合现代标准英语的通常用法,在此不作深入探讨。
商榷4:直立行走限制人脑大小?
——2019年江苏卷任务型阅读
【内容摘录】
Despite their many differences, all human beings share several defining characteristics, such as large brains and the ability to walk upright on two legs.
The first unique human characteristic is that humans have extraordinarily large brains compared with other animals....
The fact is that a huge brain is a huge drain—consumption of energy—on the body....
Another unique human characteristic is that we walk upright....
Yet walking upright has its disadvantage.The bone structure of our ancestors developed for millions of years to support a creature that walked on all fours and had a relatively small head. Adjusting to an upright position was quite a challenge, especially when the bones had to support an extra-large skull. Humankind paid for its broad vision and skillful hands with backaches and painful necks.
We assume that a large brain makes huge advantages...
--------------------------------
The (impacts) of walking upright
•Walking upright challenges the human bone structure, and(limits)the size of brains.
【商榷理由】
直立行走限制人脑大小,这听起来也是有些违反常识。我们常说,在人类进化过程中,直立行走使人的前肢和后肢的功能发生分化,学习制造和使用工具,促进大脑发育。当然,常识并不能直接作为判断正误的依据。我们回到文章。文章是总分总的结构,第一段引出人类两个特征:大容量大脑和直立行走;第二段说明人脑之大,第三段指出大容量大脑的坏处;第四段介绍直立行走的好处,第五段介绍直立行走的坏处;最后一段总结。
从第五段“The bone structure of our ancestors developed for millions of years to support a creature that walked on all fours and hada relatively small head.”可知,人类祖先用四肢行走,大脑相对较小(网上不少版本误把句中had写成has,并把段尾句中的with漏掉了)。紧接着的“Adjusting to an upright position was quite a challenge, especially when the bones had to support an extra-large skull.”指出,直立行走和大容量大脑共同对骨骼提出挑战——直立行走对应上一句的四肢行走,大容量大脑对应相对较小的脑袋。直立行走和大容量大脑正是文章重点论述的人类两大特点——从全文来看,文章并没有说明这两大特点之间的关系。第五段表达的逻辑是“骨骼既要适应直立姿势,又要支撑巨大的颅骨,因此人类付出了后背痛、脖子疼的代价”,这属于两种特征一起对骨骼造成的负担,而非“直立行走限制了人脑容量”的因果关系。(原书——赫拉利的《人类简史》——中的确提到由于直立行走,骨盆变窄,人脑变大与之形成冲突,最后的结果是胎儿必须早产,人脑变大主要发生在出生之后,但这又是另外的话题了。)
此外,最后一段是用来总结全文的,结果首句只提a large brain,完全漏掉了另一个重要话题——直立行走。原书内容是:“We assume that a large brain, the use of tools, superior learning abilities and complex social structures are huge advantages. It seems self-evident that these have made humankind the most powerful animal on earth.”,其中the use of tools与直立行走解放双手密切相关,these也对应a large brain, the use of tools, superior learning abilities和complex social structures多个优势。
商榷5:the first ... reporter (to be permitted) to film算错吗?
——2016全国一卷语法填空
【内容摘录】
But my connection with pandas goes back (to) my days on a TV show in the mid-1980s, (when) I was the first Western TV reporter (permitted) to film a special unit caring for pandas rescued from starvation in the wild.
【商榷理由】
答案只给了一个permitted,大概是因为作者碰巧用的是permitted,但是不定式的被动结构也完全可以(可参阅周贞雄大数据《受the first修饰的名词后面接过去分词还是不定式的被动式》)。有人说过去分词更简洁,加上后面已经有个to film不定式,前面再来个to be permitted又有to,有些重复,这可能有些道理,可以作为风格偏好上的考虑,但也不至于就判定不定式结构就是错的。原文作者John Craven接受采访时就用到了这样的句子:I was the first Western journalist to be allowed to film at the Panda Rescue Centre, as it was then, at Wolong, up in the mountains in Sichuan province.(可参阅熊猫之眼《To be Permitted or NOT——2016高考英语争议题》)
如果说permitted和to be permitted都可以,to have been permitted是否也可以?可能没那么自然。在原句中,我们把过去分词和不定式的一般式转换为定语从句,得到I was the first Western TV reporter who was permitted to film ...,主句和定语从句共享mid-1980s的时间框架(即过去分词和不定式的一般式并没有明确标示早于主句事件的时间关系,而是可以表达同时性);to have been permitted则显式表达了先时性,转换为I was the first Western TV reporter who had been permitted to film ...,引入了不必要的先时性。
往期推荐:
我们手里的高考真题是“真”的吗?查询2012年全国卷(新课标)C篇有感
从《牛津英语用法指南》看it is the first time for somebody to do something的问题
2026年高考英语二卷完形填空文章的出处及短语go off的意思
我蒙圈了!important enough to warrant obtaining information on里有没有悬空不定式?