本文要点
定语从句是英语写作中”描述力”的核心工具。一篇好的英文文章，从头到尾都在用定语从句来塑造人物、解释概念、连接观点。今天我们拆解《金融时报》对鲍里斯·约翰逊传记的书评，看看专业写作者如何用定语从句让文字鲜活。
一、FT原文精选——定从密集的”人物素描”
先看这段文字，短短一段话用了5个定语从句，把一个复杂人物立体地呈现出来：
Boris Johnson is a perpetual paradox for admirers and opponents alike: a loner who cannot bear to be by himself; a man of genuine intellect who still prefers to wing it; a figure of ferocious ambition and great laziness; someone desperate to lead but unwilling to manage and mindless of consequences; … a man whose need to be loved in the moment explains almost all his moral flaws.
再看另一处——描述父亲如何影响约翰逊的成长：
a neglectful, solipsistic and adulterous father who assaulted Johnson’s mother
以及非限制性定语从句的经典用法：
Brenda Hale, president of the Supreme Court, which ruled Johnson’s prorogation of parliament to be unlawful
还有省略关系代词的”接触从句”（contact clause）：
a man Bower calls an ‘intelligent patriot’
二、为什么好？——定语从句的四大功能
1. 用”who”把抽象标签变成具体形象
学生写作中常见的问题是形容词堆砌：“He is a lazy and ambitious person.” 但专业的写法是把形容词拆到定语从句里，每一个”who”后面跟着一个具体的动作或状态。
原文 a man of genuine intellect who still prefers to wing it 比简单说 “He is smart but lazy” 要好得多，因为”wing it”（即兴发挥）是一个具体场景，读者能直接想象出来。
2. 用”whose”表达”拥有关系”而不显笨拙
中文说”他的某个特质”，英文如果一直用”his…”会显得重复。a man whose need to be loved in the moment explains almost all his moral flaws——“whose”连接了一个完整的小故事：需要被爱→解释道德缺陷，因果逻辑自然嵌在从句里。
3. 用”which”引导非限制性定语从句补充背景信息
非限制性定语从句（前面有逗号）是在主句信息已经完整的情况下，额外添加解释。原文中 Brenda Hale 的身份已经明确，which ruled Johnson's prorogation to be unlawful 是补充背景。这种结构在议论文中特别有用，不会打断主句的推进。
4. 用省略关系代词的”接触从句”实现简洁
a man Bower calls an 'intelligent patriot'——这里关系代词”that”或”whom”被省略了，句式更紧凑、更口语化。这在文学性和叙述性文本中效果很好。
三、学生写法 vs 升级写法对照
| 场景 | 学生写法 | 升级写法（=定从） |
|---|---|---|
| 描述人物矛盾性 | He is both smart and lazy. | He is a man of genuine intellect who still prefers to wing it. |
| 描述父亲影响 | His father was bad to him. | He had a neglectful father who assaulted his mother. |
| 描述人物性格成因 | He wants to be loved so he is not honest. | He is a man whose need to be loved explains his moral flaws. |
| 补充机构背景信息 | The Supreme Court ruled it was illegal. Brenda Hale is the president. | Brenda Hale, president of the Supreme Court, which ruled the prorogation unlawful, … |
| 引用他人评价 | Bower calls him an intelligent patriot. | He is a man Bower calls an “intelligent patriot”. |
四、模板与例句
模板1：人物特质（who）
a/an [名词] who [动词短语]
- 原文：a loner who cannot bear to be by himself
- 仿写：a leader who always puts his team before himself
- 仿写：a student who never settles for second best
模板2：人物缺陷来源（whose）
a/an [名词] whose [抽象名词] explains/drives/shapes [结果]
- 原文：a man whose need to be loved explains almost all his moral flaws
- 仿写：a writer whose obsession with perfection drives her to rewrite endlessly
- 仿写：an athlete whose fear of failure pushes him beyond every limit
模板3：机构/事物补充（which）
[主句], which [动词 + 补充事实]
- 原文：Brenda Hale, president of the Supreme Court, which ruled Johnson’s prorogation to be unlawful
- 仿写：The school, which was founded in 1920, has produced three Nobel laureates
- 仿写：The policy, which critics say will hurt small businesses, was passed yesterday
模板4：紧凑评价（省略关系代词）
a/an [名词] [someone/something] calls [评价]
- 原文：a man Bower calls an “intelligent patriot”
- 仿写：a strategy experts call “too risky to attempt”
- 仿写：a decision historians will remember as a turning point
五、练习：将以下句子升级为含定语从句的版本
- He is a person. He never plans ahead and he always improvises.
- Her father was very strict. Her father pushed her to succeed.
- The new law was controversial. The new law banned single-use plastics.
参考答案：
- He is a person who never plans ahead and always improvises.
- She had a strict father whose push for success shaped her entire childhood.
- The new law, which banned single-use plastics, was highly controversial.
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