Chapter 8 英文时态（二）：进行时态
8.3 过去进行时——回顾过去讲故事
8.3 过去进行时——回顾过去讲故事
8.3.1 常见用法：用来设置故事的背景
在讲故事时，我们往往会用到过去进行时态（the past continuous tense） was/were doing来设置故事发生的过去背景（We often use the past continuous tense to “set the scene” in stories.）这是因为进行时态往往表示一个持续的活动场景，所以用它来铺垫故事的背景，往往会给读者一种身临其境的感觉。比如下面这个略显“恐怖”的场景：
1 It was getting darker. The rain was beating on the windows. The wind was rising. A wood fire was burning on the hearth, and a cat was sleeping in front of it. A girl was playing the piano and was singing softly to herself. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door...
妙语点睛 我们看到，上文中就是用了一系列过去进行时（was getting, was beating, was rising, was burning, was sleeping, was playing和was singing）来进行故事背景的铺垫——屋外是风雨交加的恶劣天气，而屋内是温馨、舒适和祥和的气氛，这两者形成了鲜明的对比. 然后“传来了敲门声”——这一切都烘托出了一种略带恐怖的氛围（电影中的谋杀案往往都是在这样的情景下发生的）。
再来看看下面关于詹姆斯·邦德（James Bond）的故事：
2 James Bond was driving through town. It was raining. The wind was blowing hard. Nobody was walking in the streets. Suddenly, Bond saw the killer in a telephone box...
上面这种通过描写一系列过去进行的动作来渲染故事背景的过去进行时用法，多见于文学作品中。在日常生活的叙事中，我们更多的是把“过去进行时”和“一般过去时”配合使用（past continuous tense+simple past tense）。此时，过去进行时通常表示一个历时较长的体现“背景”的动作或状态；而一般过去时则表示在此“背景”下发生的一个短暂的动作或状态。简言之，长动作用过去进行时，短动作用一般过去时，以此表示在过去进行时的动作的持续期间，发生了另一个短暂动作。这两个动作之间用when或while连接（We use the past continuous tense to express a long action. And we use the simple past tense to express a short action that happens in the middle of the long action. We can join the two ideas with when or while.）。
比如我们这样告诉别人自己曾经的“恐怖”经历：
3 I was walking along the street late last night when suddenly I heard footsteps behind me. Somebody was following me. I was frightened and I started to run.
妙语点睛 这句中的walk表示“一直在走”，显然是长动作，所以要用过去进行时；hear表示“听到了”，显然是短动作，所以用了一般过去时。这里表示在was walking这个持续动作的背景下发生了短暂动作heard。
我们下面来看看这对“好”夫妻的故事：
4
My Husband Will Be Home Soon
A married man was visiting his “girlfriend” when she requested that he shave his beard.
“Oh, James, I like your beard, but I would really love to see your handsome face.”
James replied, “My wife loves this beard, I couldn't possibly do it, she would kill me!”
“Oh, please!” the girlfriend asked again, in a sexy little voice.
“Oh, really, I can't,” he replied. “My wife loves this beard!”
The girlfriend asked once more, and he sighed and finally gave in. That night James crawled into bed with his wife while she was sleeping.
The wife was awakened somewhat, felt his face and replied, “Oh, Michael, you shouldn't be here, my husband will be home soon!”
妙语点睛 这个故事中的was visiting，requested与crawled，was sleeping都是符合我们刚才讲过的思维规律的：visiting和sleeping是较长的活动，用了过去进行时态；而requested和crawled是较短的动作，所以用了一般过去时。
我的丈夫马上就要回来了
在使用过去进行时的这一用法时我们要注意下面两点：
一、动作长短的相对性及其与时态的关系
值得注意的是，这里所说的动作的长与短是相对的（Notice that the long action and short action are relative.）。比如在下面这个句子里：
5 I was watching TV when the telephone rang. 我当时正在看电视，突然电话铃响了。
在这个句子里，“看电视（watching TV）”可能持续几个小时，而“电话铃响”可能就持续几秒钟（a few seconds）。但在下面这个句子里：
6 I was walking past the car when it exploded. 汽车爆炸时我正好刚走过。
在这里，walking past the car可能只持续了几秒钟（a few seconds），而exploded则更短，可能也就几毫秒（a few milliseconds）。
总之，动作的长短是指具体句子里的两个动作的相对长短。相对短的动作用一般过去时，相对长的动作用过去进行时。若时态用错，句意可能就要发生改变。我们下面举两个例子来说明这一点。比如：
7 I was cooking dinner last night when I cut my finger. 我昨晚做晚饭的时候，不小心把手指给切了。
8 I was telephoning Harry when she arrived. 她到的时候，我正在给哈里打电话。
这两个句子中的时态的使用都是符合上述分析的英语思维规律的，即长动作用过去进行时（was cooking和was telephoning），短动作用一般过去时（cut和arrived）。
但若是违反了这一英语思维规律，比如在下面的句子中，我们把短动作cut也用过去进行时，说成：
9 ...when I was cutting my finger.
那意思就变成“当我在砍手指的时候……”，此时cutting就变成一个长动作了。相信一个正常人是不会说出这样的话的，更不会做出cutting fingers这样的行为。
再比如，我们把长动作telephone改用一般过去时，请比较：
10 1） I was telephoning Harry when she arrived.
2） I telephoned Harry when she arrived.
妙语点睛 在例句1）中，telephone是一个延续动作，arrive是短暂动作。用进行时telephoning是表明在“我”打电话的过程中，她到了，即先telephone，后arrive。在例句2）中，telephone和arrive都用一般过去时，都变成了短暂动作。此时，是表明“我”打电话是发生在她来了之后，即先arrive，后telephone。
由此可见，时态的正确使用对于句意的表达是多么重要。
二、when和while的区别
我们还看到，过去进行时与一般过去时的这种搭配使用主要由when或while连接，但两者有以下区别：
when的后面接短动作，用一般过去时（when+short action, simple past tense），或者接长动作，用过去进行时（when+long action, past continuous tense）；
while的后面只能接长动作，用过去进行时（while+long action, past continuous tense）。
比如：
11 I was walking past the car when it exploded.
12 The car exploded when I was walking past it.
13 The car exploded while I was walking past it.
不能说：
I was walking past the car while it exploded. *
因为这里的exploded是一个短暂动词，不能和while搭配。
8.3.2 少见用法：两个过去同时在持续的动作
在8. 3. 1小节中，我们讨论了如果句中有两个相对长短的动作，那么长动作用过去进行时，短动作用一般过去时。但是，若句中的两个动作都是较长的动作，则两个动作都用过去进行时，表示两个过去同时在持续的动作（We can use the past continuous to describe TWO actions that were BOTH continuing at the same time in the past.）。此时我们分不出哪个动作先发生。如：
1 While I was studying in my dorm, my roommates were talking loudly with their friends.
我在宿舍里学习的时候，我的室友在大声地和他们的朋友们说话。
2 While I was studying last night, my wife was watching TV. 我昨晚学习的时候，我的妻子在看电视。
思维总结
以上我们重点讨论了过去进行时态用来回顾过去讲故事的用法。我们常在故事的一开始用这个时态来设置故事的背景。若是两个动作有长短之分，则长动作用过去进行时，短动作用一般过去时，这是过去进行时最重要的用法。同时要注意when和while在用法上的区别。
另外，若句中是两个长动作，则都要用过去进行时，表示两个过去同时在持续的动作。最后附带说明的是，如果是两个短动作，则都用一般过去时态。由此，我们看到动作的长短与时态有如此密切的关系：
1. 句中有一个长动作和一个短动作：长动作用过去进行时，短动作用一般过去时；
2. 句中两个动作都是长动作：都用过去进行时；
3. 句中两个动作都是短动作：都用一般过去时。
一、告诉你的朋友这样一个故事。
1. 昨晚12点左右，你当时正一个人在家做某事（比如看电视），突然有人按门铃，然后你去开门，但发现屋外没有人。请继续发挥你的想象，把故事讲完。
2. 把自己的故事告诉朋友，比如昨晚有人按门铃时，你当时正在做什么。
二、用括号里动词的适当形式填空，并把这些故事讲给你的朋友听。
3. While divers ______（work） off the coast of Florida, they ______（discover） a 100-year-old shipwreck. The shipwreck ______（contain） gold bars worth $2 million. The divers ______（film） life on a coral reef when suddenly they ______（find） the gold.
4. The flight ______（fly） from London to New York when it suddenly ______（encounter） turbulence and ______（drop） 15,000 feet. The plane ______（carry） over 300 passengers and a crew of 17.
5. A: What an awful story! A couple ______（sail） their yacht from Hawaii to Mexico. While they ______（cross） the Pacific, their boat ______（hit） a whale and ______（sink）!
B: Is that true? What happened to the whale?
A: It doesn't say.
三、请分析下列笑话故事中的过去进行时态。
6. Difficult Husband
Mrs. Jones was still cleaning the house when her husband came back from work. She was wearing dirty, old clothes and no stockings, her hair was not tidy, she had dust on her face, and she looked dirty and tired. Her husband looked at her and said, “Is this what I come home to after a hard day's work?”
Mrs. Jones's neighbor, Mrs. Smith, was there. When she heard Mr. Jones' words, she quickly said goodbye and ran back to her house. Then she washed, brushed and combed her hair carefully, put on her best dress and her prettiest stockings, painted her face, and waited for her husband to come home.
When he arrived, he was hot and tired. He walked slowly into the house, saw his wife and stopped. Then he shouted angrily, “And where are you going this evening?”
8.3.3 典型用法：描述一件过去特定时刻正在发生的事情
以上我们讨论的是过去进行时最常见的用法，就是用在讲故事当中，来设置故事的背景。此外，过去进行时还可以用来描述一件在过去的特定时刻正在发生的事情，这是各种进行时的典型用法。比如下列例句：
1 I was discussing my thesis with my director at this time last night.（特定时刻）
2 A: What were you doing at 10 o'clock last night?
B: I was having dinner with my friends.
3 A: Where were you last night?
B: I was reading in the library.
4 It was raining hard, but no one stopped working.
我们再看看下面这个对话：
5 A: Can I see your license and registration, please?
B: What's the matter, officer? Did I do something wrong?
A: You were speeding.
B: I was speeding?
A: You certainly were. Do you have any idea how fast you were going?
B: I'm not sure, but I think I was going about 35.
A: This street is in a 25-mile-per-hour speed zone, you know.
B: Is it?
A: In this state, the speed limit in residential area is 25 unless otherwise posted. Besides, there are signs all along this street.
B: I'm sorry, officer, I guess I didn't notice. I was thinking about my job interview. I'm on my way to it right now and I hadn't planned to come this way.
A: What do you mean?
B: Well, I was going to come down Elm Street but the traffic was really backed up. There was some kind of construction going on. I turned on to a side street and ended up here. Give me a break. I'm nervous enough as it is.
A: Well, since you have an interview, I'll give you a warning this time. But keep your eye on the speedometer from now on, whether you're on a street you are familiar with or not.
妙语点睛 这里黑体部分的过去进行时态显然都是表示“刚刚过去的时刻正在发生的活动”。比如警察说You were speeding. 就是表示“你刚才超速了”。
8.3.4 口语用法：表示委婉的请求或建议
在口语表达中，我们还常常用过去进行时来表示委婉的请求或建议，这时并不表示过去时间的动作。这尤其适用于表示态度的动词，如wonder, hope和think等，这些动词用过去进行时（was wondering）或现在进行时（is wondering），均表示现在的一种愿望或态度，给人一种探询式的、犹豫不决的印象，因而显得很礼貌。比如：
1 A: Excuse me, Prof. Davidson. But I was hoping to talk to you about my class project for economics.
B: I have a class in a few minutes. Why don't you come and see me during office hours tomorrow?
2 I was wondering if you'd like to lend me your car.
3 I was wondering if you could lend me your car.
4 I was hoping that you'd like to lend me your car.
5 I was thinking that you'd like to lend me your car.
若说：
6 I hope to borrow your car.
7 I wonder if you can lend me your car.
则由于比较直截了当地表达了自己的态度，因而显得欠礼貌。
思维总结
上面讨论了过去进行时态的两个用法：
1. 过去进行时可用来描述一件过去特定时刻正在发生的事情；
2. 过去进行时可以表示委婉的请求或提建议。
一、用动词的适当形式填空。
1. I ______（walk） along the street when suddenly I ______（hear） footsteps behind me. Somebody ______（follow） me. I was frightened and I started to run.
2. When I ______（walk） in the rain, I suddenly ______（see） a beautiful rainbow.
3. While we ______（watch） the play, an usher ______（come） over to us to check our tickets.
4. Sarah ______（demonstrate） a dance step when she ______（trip） on a rug and fell.
5. While I ______（work） in the garden, my wife ______（cook） dinner.
6. It ______（rain） hard, but no one stopped working.
7. I ______（fall） asleep while I ______（read） the novel.
8. —What ______ you ______（do） at 7: 15 yesterday evening?
— I ______（watch） CCTV news then.
9. I ______（see） you in the park yesterday afternoon. You ______（sit） on the grass and ______（talk） with some people.
二、翻译下列句子。
10. 当时电视开着的，但没有人在看。
11. 上星期我做晚饭时把手指给切了，现在手上还有伤疤呢！
三、用适当的动词时态完成下面的故事。
12. I ______（walk） home one day when I ______（see） a wedding. The bride ______（come） out of her house and all the women ______（talk） loudly. I went a little closer and found that they ______（not, talk）, they ______（complain）. It seems that they ______（wait） for the men to arrive to take the bride away to the wedding.
“You promised to bring an automobile!” said one woman. “I know we promised to bring an automobile!” replied a young man. “But we ______（not, promise） gasoline! We ______（wait） at the gas station all day, but we couldn't buy any gas, they've run out!”
The men stood back. Instead of an automobile, a donkey cart beautifully decorated with flowers ______（stand） behind them, waiting for the bride. The donkey made a loud noise. As I ______（leave）, I could hear them all laughing.