新概念英语写作社群的学员最近问到了一个句子：

It has long been known that the hunting scenes depicted on walls were not simply a form of artistic expression. They had a definite meaning, for they were as near as early man could get to writing.

句子意思是：大家早就知道，画在墙上的狩猎图景并不是单纯的艺术表现形式，它们有着一定的含义，因为它们已接近古代人的文字形式。

最后一句出现了省略现象，还原后是：…for they were as near as early man could get (near) to writing. 这里之所以省略near是为了让句子简练，避免单词的重复使用，句子中as early man could get是方式状语，修饰near，即“它们（狩猎图像）是早期人类最为接近的书写形式”。

类似上面这种省略现象在英语中很常见。用好省略可以避免重复、突出新信息，同时还能使上下文紧密连接。一般来说，句子中可以省略的部分包括名词、动词、介词、连词以及动词不定式等。英语中最常出现省略现象的是比较句，举两个《韦氏高阶英语词典》中的例子：

(1) She is younger than I.

(2) The situation will improve sooner than you think.

上面两个句子都有成分省略，补充完整后是：

(1) She is younger than I (am).

(2) The situation will improve sooner than you think (it will).

新概念3里面也有这样一个句子：

To compensate for his unpleasant experiences in hospital, the man drank a little more than was good for him. 

（为了补偿住院这一段不愉快的经历，那人喝得稍微多了一点。）

a little more than was good for him中than后面省略了主语what，即：…the man drank a little more than (what) was good for him.

又比如这个经济学人句子：

No fewer than 191 countries admit Japanese visitors without a visa. That is twice as many as wave through Kuwaitis, for example, and five times the number that let in Nepalese without hesitation.

至少有191个国家无需签证即可对日本游客放行。举个例子，对日本人免签的国家的数量是对科威特人免签国家数量的两倍，以及对尼泊尔人的五倍。

That is twice as many as wave through Kuwaitis… 句子出现了省略，相当于That is twice as many as (the number of countries that) wave through Kuwaitis… 其中that指代上一句提到的No fewer than 191 countries admit…，wave through是一个固定搭配，它字面含义是“挥手示意让……通过”，句子中引申为“对……免签”。

比较句中的省略现象往往比较灵活，后面遇到读不懂的比较句时，我们可以多想想其中是不是有成分省略，并试着去还原它们。

除了比较句之外，并列结构中的省略也比较常见，比如：

He was the first contestant to cross the finishing line, and I was the second.

这里第二个并列句还原后是I was the second (contestant to cross the finishing line)，这里通过省略能使句子更加简洁。

又比如这个经济学人句子：

The contaminated animals were destroyed and stricter hygiene rules imposed, but by summer the virus had spread to a third of the country’s farms.

这里第二个分句省略了谓语，即：The contaminated animals were destroyed and stricter hygiene rules (were) imposed… 这种在并列结构中省略相同谓语动词的现象在地道英文中经常出现。新概念英语4文章Patterns of culture也有这样一个句子：

From the moment of his birth, the customs into which he is born shape his experience and behavior. By the time he can talk, he is the little creature of his culture, and by the time he is grown and able to take part in its activities, its habits are his habits, its beliefs his beliefs, its impossibilities his impossibilities.

第二句后半句还原后是：…its habits are his habits, its beliefs (are) his beliefs, its impossibilities (are) his impossibilities

虽然省略能够使语言精炼，但有时候它也会引起歧义，这种情况下我们要多加注意，比如这个例子：

Jack will interview some candidates this morning and John this afternoon.

这个句子可以有两种解读：

(1) Jack will interview some candidates this morning and interview John this afternoon.

(2) Jack will interview some candidates this morning and John will interview some candidates this afternoon.

又比如：

Mr. Smith loves music more than his wife. 

这句话也可以有两种理解：

(1) Mr. Smith loves music more than (he loves) his wife. （史密斯先生爱音乐胜过爱自己的妻子）

(2) Mr. Smith loves music more than his wife (does). （史密斯比他的妻子更喜欢音乐）

我们可以根据实际想表达的含义采取1句或2句的写法来消除歧义。