Engelbreit's the Name, Cute Is My Game 阅读技能/reading skill

Appreciating Figurative Language
    In both Unit 5 and Unit 10, Book 2, we worked with figures of speech: language that uses images or mental pictures to appeal to readers’ imagination, and to allow writers to create complex associations that go beyond the power of literal language. Efficient readers know how to recognize and interpret (解释) figures of speech in order to understand the author’s meaning more deeply and think about ideas in new ways.
   Let’s look at the underlined words and phrases in the following sentences taken from Passage A and try to answer the following questions: 
    What comparisons are being made? 
    What mental pictures do they bring to your mind? 
    What ideas is the author trying to convey?

    Example 1
    The three-dimensional model for Barbie was a German doll — a joke gift for adults described as having the appearance of “a woman who sold sex” .
    A joke is usually intended for a laugh, and a joke gift is a gift that is intended for a laugh, that is, to make the gift receiver pleased in a joking way.

    Example 2
    Since her introduction in 1959, Barbie has become the universally recognized Queen of the Dolls.
    A queen is the number one woman of the country. Here Barbie is compared to a queen of dolls, which says she is the number one doll in the world.


Appreciating Figurative Language
    Learning to be able to appreciate figurative language will help us to have a better
understanding of the message the author tries to convey. The key point is to examine the language by asking yourself the following questions: 
What comparisons are being made? 
What mental pictures do they bring to your mind? 
What ideas is the author trying to convey?
Now here are examples from Passage A.


Example 1
    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. (Para. 9, Reading Passage A, Unit 4)
This is the so-called oxymoron（矛盾修饰法）, a figure of speech that combines two usually contradictory terms in a compressed paradox. 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. 


Example 2
    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. (Para. 12, Reading Passage A, Unit 4)
This is hyperbole（夸张法）— exaggeration for the sake of emphasis in a figure of speech not meant literally. According to the sentence, the faces are compared to something that is so unusual that they are eye-catching to everyone.