小个头大用处的it

湖北

it 是英语中使用频率很高的代词，无论是在阅读还是听力中，我们都会遇到它的身影，虽然它个头小，却起着举足轻重的作用。纵观近几年全国各地高考试卷，it都是考查的热点，其用法也十分繁杂多变。因此，学生在复习备考时，需认真分析、归纳其用法，并加以记忆掌握，这样才能在高考时胸有成竹。

一、it作代词

代词it主要指上文提到的事物、前面整个句子的内容、不知性别的人，也可指时间、日期、天气、环境、距离等。

1.指上文提到的事物

When I was 17, I read a magazine article about a museum called the McNay, once the home of a watercolorist named Marian McNay.She had requested the community to turn it into a museum upon her death.（2018年天津卷阅读理解B篇）

it 指代上文中出现过的the home。

2.指上文内容，用来指代上文提到的全部或部分意思

With a 3D printer, a cook can print complicated chocolate sculptures and beautiful pieces for decoration on a wedding cake.Not everybody can do that — it takes years of experience, but a printer makes it easy.（2018年天津卷阅读理解C篇）

it 指代上文中提到的制作结婚蛋糕上复杂的巧克力造型和精美装饰。

3.指不知性别的人

—Who is knocking on the door? —It might be my dad.

it指不知性别的人。

4.指时间、日期

It was summer, and my dad wanted to treat me to a vacation like never before.（2018年浙江卷读后续写）

此处it指时间。

5.指天气、环境

By the time the group got up to leave, it was pouring outside.（2016年全国卷Ⅲ阅读理解B篇）

it在这里指天气。

It was so peaceful and quiet and the colors of the brown rocks, the deep green pine trees, and the late afternoon sun mixed to create a magic scene.（2018年浙江卷读后续写）

it在此句中指周围的环境。

6.指距离

It’s only 2 kilometers from the hospital to our school.

此句中it指距离。

二、it作形式主语

it作形式主语，没有实际意义，真正的主语为不定式、动词的-ing形式或主语从句等，此时将it置于动词之前，不定式，动词的-ing形式或主语从句等放在句子最后，这样做通常是为了将句中较长的主语置于句末，以避免句子出现“头重脚轻”的情况。常用于以下句型中：

1.替代不定式

For most of the last century, the car represented what it meant to be American—going forward at high speed to find new worlds.（2018年浙江卷阅读理解C篇）

此句中的it指代不定式to be American，翻译时注意将不定式放在从句主语位置翻译，这句话可以译为：上个世纪大多数时候，汽车代表了成为美国人的内涵——高速前进，寻找新世界。在高考中，遇到含有it的长难句，一定要记住将it所指代的内容还原。

【拓展】在下列结构中常用it来替代动词的to do形式：

（1）It is + 名 词（a pity/a shame/a chance/one’s duty/one’s responsibility 等）+ to do

It was a tradition for the school’s old team to play against the new team at the end of spring practice.（2018年天津卷完形填空改编）

（2）It is + 形 容 词（kind/easy/wise/hard/difficult/challenging 等）+（of/for sb.）+ to do

Exercise energizes you, so it is more difficult to relax and have a peaceful sleep when you are very excited.（2018 年全国卷Ⅱ七选五）

（3）It takes（sb.）+ 时间 /金钱 + to do

It took him a long time to acquire the skills he needed to become a good dancer.（2018年天津卷单项填空改编）

2.替代动词的-ing形式

Relearning the art of seeing the world around us is quite simple, although it takes practice and requires breaking some bad habits.（2018年天津卷阅读理解D篇）

此句中it指代上文中的Relearning the art of seeing the world around us（重新学习审视周围的世界）。

【拓展】在下列结构中it常替代动词的-ing形式：

（1）It is no use doing sth.做……没用

It is no use crying over spilt milk.

（2）It is no good doing sth.做……没好处

It is no good talking to him, because he never listens.

（3）It is no fun/pleasure doing sth.做……无趣

It is no fun playing computer games.

（4）It is worthwhile doing sth.做……值得

It is worthwhile setting a goal and making efforts for it.

（5）It is useless doing sth.做……没用

It is useless talking him out of smoking.

（6）It is a waste of time/money doing sth.做……浪费时间/金钱

It is a waste of time trying to talk to her when she’s in a bad mood.

3.替代主语从句

It’s more likely that none of us start a conversation because it’s awkward and challenging, or we think it’s annoying and unnecessary.（2018年全国卷Ⅱ阅读理解D篇）

此句中的it指代that none of us start a conversation because it’s awkward and challenging, or we think it’s annoying and unnecessary（因为太尴尬或很难，或许我们认为太麻烦也没必要，因此我们没人开始讲话）。

【拓展】在下列结构中it常替代主语从句：

（1）It is +名词（a fact/pity/shame/question/an honor等）+主语从句

It is still a question whether he will come or not.

（2）It is + 形容词（obvious/necessary/important/likely/possible等）+主语从句

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

（3）It is + 动词的过去分词（said/reported/recorded/suggested/ordered/pointed out等）+ 主语从句

It can be concluded that restaurant keepers need not“be overly concerned about‘bad’tables,”given that they’re profitable.（2018年江苏卷阅读理解B篇）

（4）It +不及物动词（seem/appear/happen/turn out等）+ 主语从句

In study after study, it appears that these chemical conversations help the neighbors.（2017年全国卷Ⅱ阅读理解D篇）

三、it作形式宾语

it作形式宾语，也无实际含义，真正的宾语为不定式、动词的-ing形式或从句等，此时将it置于动词之后，不定式、动词的-ing形式或从句等放在句子最后。翻译时一定要将it所指代的内容还原，常用于以下句型中：

1.替代不定式

在下列结构中it常替代不定式：动词（make/feel/find/think/consider/believe等）+ it +形容词/名词+ to do

It enables small-scale farmers to harvest 175 pounds of green vegetables per hour—a huge improvement over harvesting just a few dozen pounds by hand—suddenly making it possible for the little guys to compete with large farms of California.（2018年江苏卷阅读理解C篇）

加下划线的部分符合上述句式，在近几年高考中，该句式出现的频率较高，高三备考学生可以多在写作中运用该句式，以使文章表达更加地道。

2.替代动词的-ing形式

I believe it no use reading without understanding.

it指代句中的reading without understanding（未理解地阅读）。

3.替代从句

In his introduction, he made it clear that our credits would be hard-earned.（2018年全国卷Ⅰ完形填空改编）

在该句中，it用来指代that our credits would be hardearned（我们很难获得学分）。

【拓展】在下列结构中it常替代从句：

（1）动词（make/feel/find/think/consider/believe等）+it +形容词/名词+that从句

I find it necessary that we take a good look at the machine.

（2）动词词组（rely on/depend on等）+ it + that从句

You may depend on it that it is true.

（3）动词（enjoy/like/prefer/love/appreciate/hate/dislike等）+ it + when/if从句

I hate it when she calls me at work—I’m always too busy to carry on a conversation with her.（2016年天津卷单项填空改编）

四、it用于强调结构

“It is/was + 被强调部分 + that”是英语中常用的强调句型。这一句型可以对一个句子中除谓语外的所有成分，如主语、宾语、表语、状语进行强调，当被强调部分为人时，也可用“It is/was +被强调部分 + who”。例如：

原句：Tom came across him on the street yesterday.

强调主语：It was Tom that/who came across him on the street yesterday.

强调宾语：It was him that/who Tom came across on the street yesterday.

强调状语：It was on the street that Tom came across him yesterday.或It was yesterday that Tom came across him on the street.

对强调句中的主语进行提问：

Who was it that came across him on the street yesterday?

对强调句中的时间状语进行提问：

When was it that Tom came across him on the street?

对强调句中的地点状语进行提问：

Where was it that Tom came across him yesterday?

强调句型的一般疑问句形式：

Is/Was it + 被强调部分 + that/who + 其他部分

Was it on the street that Tom came across him yesterday?

在高考中，强调句也是一个重要考点，例如：

I had an early start at the age of nine with a role in a 1990s TV series, but it wasn_’t until I fi nished fi lm studies that I pursued my career as an actress.（2017年天津卷阅读表达）

该句强调了时间状语从句not until I fi nished fi lm studies（直到我完成电影学习）。注意，复习备考时，可以将“it wasn’t/isn’t until + 句子/时间短语 + that + 句子其他部分”当作句型记忆。

五、和it有关的时间句型

1.It is/has been + 时间段 + since从句(从句谓语常用一般过去时)

Two weeks earlier, my son, Ben, had got in touch.He’d moved to England with his mum when he was three and it had been 13 years since I’d last seen him.（2018 年全国卷Ⅱ完形填空改编）

注意该例句中上下文表示的都是过去的时间，所以句型的主句和从句的时态都做了相应的调整。

It was/will be + 时间段 + before从句表示“要过……才……”

It was not/will not be + 时间段 + before从句表示“没过……就……”

If you miss this chance, it may be years before you get another one.（2015年重庆卷单项填空改编）

2.It is (high/about) time that + 句子（从句中谓语用过去式或should do）

It is high time that we went/should go home = It is time for us to go home.

3.It/This/That is the first time that + 句子(若主句时态为一般现在时，从句需用现在完成时；若主句时态为一般过去时，从句需用过去完成时)

It/This was the fi rst time that Mr.Smith had paid a visit to China.

4.It was/will be + 时间点 + when从句（此句型中it指代时间）

It will be Monday when he comes back from the United States.

注意：

It was midnight when he came back.他回来时已经半夜了。（时间状语从句）

It was at midnight that he came back.他是在半夜回来的。（强调句型）

六、其他关于it的短语和句式

近三年全国各地高考也考查了其他与it有关的短语和句式，学生需要留心和注意。例如：

1.When it comes to当谈到……

When it comes to technology and reading, the report does little to counsel（建议）parents looking for data about the effect of e-readers and tablets on reading.（2018年全国卷Ⅱ阅读理解C篇）

2.make it成功做到

I made it! I finally had the exact amount we’d agreed upon...（2016年浙江卷阅读理解D篇）

3.give it a try试一试

If you are time poor, you need run for only half the time to get the same bene fi ts as other sports, so perhaps we should all give it a try.（2018年全国卷Ⅰ语法填空改编）

4.Were it not for...要不是……

Were it not for the support of the teachers, the student could not overcome her dif fi culty.（2017年江苏卷单项填空改编）

5.forget it算了，没关系

—Sorry, Liz.I think I was a bit rude to you.

—Forget it, but don’t do that again! （2015 年天津卷单项填空改编）

6.believe it or not 信不信由你

Believe it or not, he or she is on your side and is eager to see you do well.（2015年浙江卷七选五）

7.as sb.put(s) it正如某人所说

As Muhammad Ali puts it,“Champions aren’t made in gyms.（2016年江苏卷阅读理解D篇）

8.It is often the case that...情况总是如此……

It is often the case that anything is possible for those who hang on to hope.（2016年江苏卷单项填空改编）

it在高考中出现的频率较高，我们切不可掉以轻心，在学习和理解it的用法时，应根据其语境和搭配选择合适的意思。要想全面、正确地理解it的用法，还需在今后的英语学习中不断归纳和总结。