楊武

it是一個很活躍的詞，是代詞學(xué)習(xí)的重點、難點。在高中教科書和高考試卷中，it出現(xiàn)的頻率很高（特別是在閱讀材料中），意義也很廣泛。首先我們來看看近幾年高考題中有關(guān)it的內(nèi)容。

1. If it werent for Rachel Carson， the environmental movement might not exist today. （2016年全國I卷， A篇）

2. By the time the group got up to leave， it was pouring outside. （2016年全國III卷 ，B篇）

3. It is not surprising that young people are likely to burst out， particularly when there are reasons to do so.（2016年北京卷，D篇）

4. As Muhammad Ali puts it， “Champions arent made in gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them.” （2016年江蘇卷，D篇）

5. Here they are learning to get in touch with their true feelings. It isnt always easy. （2015 年全國 I卷，A篇）

6. More students than ever before are taking a gap year（間隔年） before going to university. It used to be called the “year off” between school and university. （2015 年全國 II卷，C篇）

7. It seemed that something clicked with the girls between Saturday and Sunday. （2015年 全國 II卷，完形填空）

8. Late in the evening， the phone rang. It was a stranger. （2014 年全國 II卷，A篇）

下面，我們結(jié)合教科書中的典型例句從七個方面對it的用法進(jìn)行簡要的歸納和總結(jié)，以幫助同學(xué)們更好地學(xué)習(xí)和掌握it的用法。

1. 用來指代時間、天氣、距離、地點、自然環(huán)境等。如：

（1） It is toward the end of the nineteenth century and gold has just been discovered in Alaska.（必修4，P18 ）

（2） It is a beautiful day here and I am sitting under the big tree at the end of the garden. （選修 6，P18 ）

（3） It is pouring with rain and cab whistles are blowing in all directions. （選修 8，P29 ）

（4） Its approximately four hundred kilometres northeast of Toronto， so it would take too long. （必修3，P38）

2. 用來指代人，說明做某事的人或某人的身份或指代一個不知其性別的人。如：

It is Henry Adams， an American businessman， who is lost in London and does not know what he should do. （必修 3，P17）

3. 指代前面提到的一件東西或一件事情。如：

（1） By the time California elected to become the thirty-first federal state of the USA in 1850， it was already a multicultural society. （選修8，P2）

（2） It is world-famous for having the most length in the smallest space. （必修 4，P34）

（3） Remove clothing using scissors if necessary unless it is stuck to the burn. （必修 5，P34）

4. 泛指一般情況或在某些結(jié)構(gòu)中用作無具體意義的主語。如：

（1）...if we hadnt taken it easy， ... （必修 6，P10 ）

（2）Believe it or not， there is no such thing as standard English. （必修1，P13 ）

（3）Thirdly， it would be a good idea if ... （必修 1，P 7）

（4）It was all my fault. I didnt know whether I could survive until morning. （必修 3，P18）

（5）It was the truth. Black people could not vote or choose their leaders. （必修 1，P34）

（6）Suddenly it hit me how difficult it was for a woman to get medical training at that time. （必修4，P6）

5. 用作形式主語或形式賓語，指代一個由不定式、動名詞短語或是從句表示的主語，目的是使原來的這些主語位于句后，避免句子前大后小，頭重腳輕。如：

（1）It seemed that she had been very busy in her chosen career， travelling abroad to study as well as writing books and articles. （必修4，P6 ）

（2）It is possible to “read” others around us， even if they do not intend for us to catch their unspoken communication. （必修 4，P30）

（3）We can often be wrong about each other， so it is an amazing thing that we understand each other as well as we do！ （必修 4，P30 ）

（4）However， it is likely that Native Americans were living in California at least fifteen thousand years ago. （選修 8，P2 ）

特別提示：it 指代從句的幾種常見句型。

（1） It seems （happened， appeared， turned out） + that...如：

It seemed there was a surprise waiting for me around every corner as I explored small caves， shelves and narrow passages with my underwater flashlight... （選修 7，P24）

（2） It is （was） /seems（seemed） + adj. +that... 如：

① But it was evident that ideas were changing in the 13th century when painters like Giotto di Bondone began to paint religious scenes in a more realistic way. （選修 6，P2）

② It is amazing that so many great works of art from the late 19th century to the 21st century are housed in the same museum. （選修 6，P6）

③ It seems amazing that at my age I am still fit enough to cycle 20 kilometers in an afternoon. （選修 6，P18）

能用于這種句型的形容詞常常是strange， natural， surprising， obvious， true， good， wonderful， funny， fortunate， clear， unusual等。

（3） It is （was） + 名詞（詞組） + that（how...） 如：

It is a pity that the industrial cities built in the nineteenth century do not attract visitors. （必修 5，P10 ）

能用于這一句型的名詞詞組還有a shame， an honor， a wonder， a good thing， good news等。

（4） It is （ was/ has been…） + 過去分詞+ that... 如：

① For example， it can be proved that China has more people than any other country in the world. This is a fact. （必修2，P5 ）

② It is said that this boy， who had a great gift for languages and persuasion， is the father of the Manchu people. （選修 6，P39）

③ It is believed that before long the mix of nationalities will be so great that there will be no distinct major racial or cultural groups，... （選修8，P3）

能用于這一句型的過去分詞還有announced， decided， said， hoped， expected， told， suggested等。

6. 用來引導(dǎo)強(qiáng)調(diào)結(jié)構(gòu)。

it引導(dǎo)的強(qiáng)調(diào)結(jié)構(gòu)句型是It + is（was） +被強(qiáng)調(diào)部分 + that（who， whom） +其他。如：

（1） It is only when the disease has progressed to AIDS that a person begins to look sick. （選修 6，P22 ）

（2） It was then that Claire realized that Tony had opened the curtains of the front window. Her guests had seen everything ！ （選修 7，P12）

（3） ... it was the building of the rail network from the west to the east coast that brought even larger numbers to California in the 1860s.（選修8，P2 ）

（4） It was my sister who first had the idea to cycle along the entire Mekong River from where it begins to where it ends. （必修 1，P18）

（5） Its in the Summer Olympics that you have the running races， together with swimming， sailing and all the team sports. （修2，P10）

（6） However， it was not until the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries that the exploration of the botanical world began on a large scale. （選修9，P32 ）

在這一句型中要注意幾點：

① it 不可以用this 或that替代。

② 若被強(qiáng)調(diào)部分是人，引導(dǎo)詞可以是who（若被強(qiáng)調(diào)部分的人是作賓語，也可用whom）或that，除此之外，引導(dǎo)詞一律用that，不可以用when， where等。如：

It was Jack who broke the window.

It was in Sydney that the 27th Olympic Games were held.

It was in March 2003 that the Iraq War broke out.

特別提醒： 要注意區(qū)別強(qiáng)調(diào)句與帶有it的時間或地點的句型。請看以下句子：

It was in Waterloo _________ Napoleon was completely defeated.

It was Waterloo __________ Napoleon was completely defeated.

這兩個句子之間只有一詞之差，但空格處要填入的詞卻不相同。前一空應(yīng)填that， 后一空要填 where。前者是強(qiáng)調(diào)句，因為在去掉強(qiáng)調(diào)部分 It was...that之后，這個句子仍然成立即“Napoleon was completely defeated in Waterloo. ”而后者在去掉It was...where后卻不行，不能說 Napoleon was completely defeated Waterloo。又如：

It is usually in January or in February that we celebrate Spring Festival.

It is usually January or February when we celebrate Spring Festival.

7. 常見的由it引導(dǎo)的時間句型。如：

It is （was） + the first （second， third…） time + that...

這一句型表示一種時間經(jīng)歷。關(guān)于這個句型的考點是：that從句中的動詞時態(tài)形式。正確的形式是：

It is ... that +現(xiàn)在完成時……； It was... that +過去完成時…… 如：

（1） It was the first time she had ever left her motherland. （選修 7，P38）

（2） ... it was the first time in a year and a half that Id seen the night face to face... （必修 1，P2 ）

說明：這里的it也可以由this或that替代。

八、鞏固性練習(xí)

（一）理解下列各句意思并用漢語寫出各句畫線部分的意思。

1. “Oh， dear！ Its me”.

2. In 1900， the average American life span （壽命） was only 47 years， but today it is 75 years！

3. When it comes to the selling of houses， businesses also use highly rewarding tactics.

4. It was so noisy that we couldnt hear ourselves speak.

5. The Office of Residence Life may change the door lock combination at any time at the expense of the resident if it is found that the student has shared the combination with others.

6. As it happened， the bite was virtually painless： more the kind of small bite you might get from a naughty child.

7. It turned out that among other things， he was an eighty-year-old writer.

8. It was assumed that those people for whom the role of volunteer was most part of their personal identity would also be most likely to continue volunteer work.

9. And it is not just robins that are being kept awake by artificial light.

10. It wasnt until her friend was badly hurt that Kerry became aware of her habit of finding fault.

（二）語法填空

One day， Nick invited his friends to supper. He was cooking some delicious food in the kitchen. Suddenly， he 11 （find） that he had run out of salt. So Nick called to his son， “Go to the village and buy some salt， but pay a fair price for it： neither too much 12 too little.”

His son looked surprised. “I can understand why shouldnt pay too much， Father， but if I can pay less， 13 not save a bit of money？”

“That would be a very 14 （reason） thing to do in a big city， but it could destroy a small village like ours，” Nick said.

Nicks guest， 15 had heard their conversation， asked why they should not buy salt more cheaply if they could. Nick replied， “The only reason a man would sell salt 16 a lower price would be because he was desperate for money. And anyone who took advantage of that situation would be showing a lack of respect 17 the sweat and struggle of the man who worked very hard to produce it.”

“But such a small thing couldnt 18 （possible） destroy a village.”

“In the beginning， there was only 19 very small amount of unfairness in the world， but everyone added a little， always 20 （think） that it was only small and not very important， and look where we have ended up today.”