2007 年6 月
第 30 卷　第3 期
中国英语教学
（双月刊）
CELEA Journal（Bim onthly）
Jun．2007
Vol．
30 No．
3
THE THEORY OF SENSE RELATION AND ITS
APPLICATION IN READING COMPREHENSION
Mao Mingyong
Chongqing Jiaotong University
Abstract
The usefulness of sense relation in facilitating reading co m prehension is obvious．This paper analyzes its
function in the correct understanding of a piece of written information．
Key w ords
sense ；
relation ；application ；
reading ；
co m prehension
1．Introduction
As we know ，
reading skillis a very im portantlanguage skill．In the College English Syllabus for non－
English Majors ，the goal of English teaching is to train the students for a strong reading ability and a
certain ability to listen ，speak ，write and translate ，enabling the m to co m m unicate in English． And in
College English Test Band Four and Band Six ，reading co m prehension accounts for forty percent of the
total score．Fro m the above ，we can see the im portance of reading both in exa minations and application．
However ，
the actual case is that how to teach reading wellis a headache for m any English teachers and in
the m eantim e reading co m prehension is one of the biggest obstacles for students to pass English
exa minationsincluding CET－
4 and CET－
6．In order to solve the proble ms ，m any people have done a lot of
research w ork and m ade their ow n contributions． In this paper ，the author will approach reading
co m prehension fro m the perspective of a se m antic theory－
sense relation．First ，
Iwillintroduce the theory
at the level of both w ords and sentences．Then I will proceed to analyze the question types of reading
co m prehension in CET－
4 and CET－
6 and the corresponding reading skills required in the syllabus
m entioned earlier．Finally ，the application of the theory in reading co m prehension will be discussed in
detail．
2．The Theory of Sense Relation
According to the definition in Linguistics ：A Course Book（Hu Zhuanglin 1988 ：
145），
sense relates to
the co m plex syste m of relationships that hold between the linguistic ele m ents the mselves （ m ostly the
w ords）；
it is concerned only with intra－
linguistic relations．Therefore sense relation can exist between
both w ords and sentences．
2．
1 As we shall see belo w ，there are a nu m ber of different types of lexical relation introduced in Hu
Zhuanglin s book．
2．
1．
1 Synony m y．Synony m y is used to m ean sa m eness or close similarity of m eaning（ Hu Zhuanglin ，
1988 ：
145）．Different phonological w ords that have the sa m e or very similar m eanings are synony ms．
So m e exa m ples might be the pairs belo w ：
sofa boy／
lad lawyer／
attorney toilet／
lavatory
Couch／
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The Theory of Sense Relation and Its Application in Reading Co m prehension Mao Mingyong
2．
1．
2 Antony m y．The term antony m y is used for oppositeness of m eaning ：w ords that are opposite in
m eaning are antony ms（ Hu Zhuanglin ，1988 ：
146 ）
． As a m atter of fact ，there are several types of
antony m y．
1）Co m ple m entarity
This is a relation between such pairs of lexicalite ms that the positive of one im plies the negative of
the other．For exa m ple ：
Dead／
alive single／m arried m ale／
fe m ale
2）Gradability
Thisis a relation between antony ms w here the positive of one does not necessarily im ply the negative
of the other ，because there are usually interm ediate terms between the pairs．For instance ，between the
gradable antony ms hot and cold ，
there are interm ediate terms such as warm and cool ：hot（warm cool）
cold．Other exa m ples m ay include ：
Old／
young long／
short near／
far big／
sm all
3）Relational opposites
This is a relation found with pairs of w ords that exhibit the reversal of a relationship between ite ms．
For exa m ple ：
Buy／
sell push／
pull husband／wife above／
below
2．
1．
3 Hypony m y．Hypony m y is a relation of m eaning inclusion．It s a m atter of class m e m bership．To
put it another way ，
if a w ord Ais a kind of another w ord B ，
then the lower upper term B（w hich is m ore
general）is the superordinate or hypony m ．So m e exa m ples are ：
Dog and cat are hypony ms of anim al．
Sister and m other are hypony ms of wo m an．
2．
1．
4 Polyse m y and ho m ony m y Not only do different w ords have different m eanings ，but the sa m e w ord
m ay have a set of different m eanings as well．In this case ，it can be either polyse m y or ho m ony m y．
Although both of the m deal with m ultiple sense are usually listed under the sa m e lexical entry in a
dictionary ，w hile ho m ony m ous sense are given separate entries． An exa m ple of the distinction is fro m
Collins Dictionary of the English Language（ Hanks 1986 ：
736）w here various senses of hook are treated as
polyse m y and there listed under one lexical entry ，w hile on the other hand tw o groups of senses of hooker
are treated as ho m ony m y and given tw o separate entries．
2．
2 Sense relations between sentences．In section 2．1 we have explored the lexical relations briefly．
Now let s m ove on to sense relations that m ay hold between sentences．
2．
2 ．1 Entailm ent． Entailm ent can be illustrated by the follo wing tw o sentences with sentence A1
entailing sentence B1
A1 ：He killed the banker．
B1 ：
the banker died．
In terms of truth－
value ，
the following relationships exist between these tw o sentences ：
If A1 is true ，
B1 is necessarily true．If A1 is false ，B1 could be either true or false．If B1 is true ，A1 m ay be true or
false．If B1is false ，A1 is necessarily false．
The source of entailm ent relation can be either lexical or syntactic．In the exa m ple above ，it is
obviously lexical because entailm ent derives fro m the lexical relation between kill and die．In so m e sense
the m eaning of kill contains the m eaning of die． This is so m ew hat similar to hypony m y ，w hich we
m entioned earlier． And as a m atter of fact ，hypony m y between lexical ite ms is a regular source for
entailm ent between sentences． For exa m ple ，the noun rose is a hypony m of flower ，so sentence A2
bellow entails sentence B2 ：
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CELEA Journal 73
A2 ：He bought so m e roses for his girlfriend．
B2 ：He bought so m e flowers for his girlfriend．
The other source of entailm ent is syntactic．For instance ，active and passive versions of the sa m e
sentence will entail one another．Thus sentence A3 below entails sentence B3 ，and vice versa ：
A3 ：The boy broke the window ．
B3 ：The window was broken by the boy．
Actually ，
the relation of entailm ent allows us to define paraphrase．Like sentences A3 and B3 above ，
paraphrases are sentences ，w hich have the sa m e set of entailm ents ，or in other w ords ，m utually entail
each other．
2．
2．
2 Presupposition．In the following pair of sentences ，sentence A4 presupposes sentence B4 ：
A4 ：My elder sister is a nurse．
B4 ：
Ihave an elder sister．
We can see that presupposition is similar to entailm entin that w hen Ais true ；Bis true in both cases．
However ，there is an im portant difference between the m ． Unlike entailm ent ，presupposition is not
vulnerable to negation．That is to say ，w hen A is false ，B is still true． And other sentences about the
truth－
value in presupposition are ：When B is true ，A can be either true or false． When B is false ，no
truth－
value can be said about A ．
2．
2．
3 Im plication． The term im plication is used to refer to the relation between the follo wing two
sentences ：
A5 ：Few students can pass the exa mination．
B5 ：So m e students can pass the exa mination．
According to the Leech （translated version ：390 ），in a broader sense ，both entailm ent and
presupposition belong to the relation of im plication because a conclusion （that is sentence B ）can be
draw n fro m sentence A ．However ，
their difference fro m im plication is that the form er is vulnerable to
conjunction．That is to say ，if sentence A is put together with the negative fro m of its entailed or
presupposed sentence B ，
then the result will be ridiculous．For exa m ple ：
The banker isn t dead ，but he killed the banker．
Idon t have an elder sister ，but m y elder sister is a nurse．
However ，
so far as im plication is concerned ，we can safely say ：
Few students can pass the exa mination ，or m aybe none at all can． Therefore ，in the relation of
im plication ，w hen there is no contradiction with the hypothesized proposition in the context ，both
sentence B and A can be true．
2．2．
4 Other relationships．Besides the above relationships ，
there are also other sense relations between
sentences or between constituents within a sentence．
1）A6 is synony m ous with B6 ：
A6 ：The boy broke the window ．
B6 ：The window was broken by the boy．
2）A7 is inconsistent with B7 ：
A7 ：My sister is m arried．
B7 ：My sister is single．
3）A8 is a contradiction ，
so it s invariably false ：
A8 ：My un m arried sister is m arried to a bachelor．
4）A9 is se m antically ano m alous．In the sentence below ，the abstract notion intentions can not be
harbored by the inanim ate subject typewriter．
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The Theory of Sense Relation and Its Application in Reading Co m prehension Mao Mingyong
A9 ：His typewriter has had bad intentions．
3．The Question Types of Reading Co m prehension in CET－
4 and CET－
6
According to the require m entslisted in the College English Syllabus for Non－
English Majors ，
students
need to m aster the following basic reading skills ：
1）Understanding the topic and m ain idea
2）Recognizing prim ary supporting details
3）Distinguishing between facts and opinions
4） Making inference
5）Drawing conclusions
6）Skim ming to get the gist of a reading m aterial
7）Scanning to find a particular piece of inform ation
8）Guessing the m eaning of unknow n w ords or phrases
9）Understanding the relationships within sentences
10）Using reference skills
In correspondence with these skills ，the reading co m prehension in CET－
4 and CET－
6 is actually
aim ed at testing students ability to understand a passage at the level of w ords ，
sentences and discourse．
Hence ，
the questions designed for the purpose center upon these different aspects． The m ost co m m on
questions include ：
1） What s the passage m ainly about ？
2）So m e people oppose the building of flats because
．
3） What s the author s attitude toward the environ m ental effects of pesticides ？
4）It can be inferred fro m the first paragraph that
．
5）It can be conclude fro m ．Dr．Dubos re m arks that
．
6）It is im plied but not directly stated in the passage that
．
7）The w ord“rage”
（line 11）m eans
．
8）The w ord“the m ”in Line 8 ，Para．2 refers to
．
Although individual questions differ ，they are in a way similar to the ones above． Specifically
speaking ，
so m e of these questions are concerned with the m ain idea of a passage or m aking inferences
fro m a paragraph ，w hile others belong to w ord attack ，reference ，or detail recognition and also be
classified along tw o differentlines．On the one hand ，
fro m the structural point of view ，
so m e deal with a
m ore global understanding of a paragraph or a passage ，w hile the others deal with a m ore specific
understanding of w ords and sentences． On the other hand ，fro m the se m antic point of view ，so m e
questions are related to the stated m eaning of a particular piece of inform ation ，w hile the othersim plied．
In fact ，no m atter itis a case of the understanding of w ords and sentence or that of the stated and im plied
m eaning ，both of the m cover the various sense relations between w ords and sentences．According to our
ow n statistics of the reading co m prehension questions in CET－
4 and CET－
6 held in recent years ，m ore
then half of the m are closely associated with the understanding of details ，
that is ，w ords and sentences．
As sense relation plays such an im portant role in clarifying the relationships between original m essages ，
questions and answers ，
teachers should equip their students with so m e knowledge of it．Thus we believe it
will be of great help to students in reading co m prehension．In the following section 4 ，
the application of
sense relation in reading co m prehension will be illustrated at length．
4．The Application of the Theory of Sense Relation in Reading Co m prehension
As m entioned in the preceding section 3 ，m ore than half of the reading co m prehension questions in
CET－
4 and CET－
6 are based on the understanding of w ords and sentences．In order to answer a question
accurately ，
students should first m ake sense of the question ，
then locate the corresponding inform ation in
the original text ，and finally choose the m atching answer．As a m atter of fact ，
the process of performing
these tasksisjustlike identifying the sense relations between the question ，
original m essage ，
and the right
answer ，w hether at the level of w ords or sentences． So in the teaching of reading ，it s really very
necessary for teachers to highlight the im portance and usefulness of sense relation in reading
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CELEA Journal 73
co m prehension． The following exa m ples are all taken fro m CET－
4 and intended for showing the
application of sense relation in reading co m prehension．
1．Synony m y
Ex1 ：Brazil has beco m e one of the developing w orld s great successes at reducing population growth
— but m ore by accident than design．
Q ：According to the passage ，Brazil has cut back its population than design．
A ：by chance．
In this exa m ple ，
the phrase cut back is synony m ous with the w ord reduce ，and the answer by chance
is synony m of by accident．So if students can understand the m eaning of these w ords and phrases ，the
answer is easy to find．
2．Paraphrase（m utual entailm ent）
Both synony m y and paraphrase refer to the sa m eness or close similarity of m eaning ，
butthe form eris
between w ords w hile the latter propositions．As m entioned earlier in section 2．
2．
1 paraphrase can also be
regarded as a relation of m utual entailm ent．
Ex2 ：Faces ，
like fingerprints ，are unique．
Q ：By using the exa m ple of fingerprints ，
the author tells us that
A ：People differ fro m each other in facial features．
．
Here ，
the proposition people differ fro m each other in facial features paraphrases the proposition
faces are unique．Therefore it should be the right answer．
3．Antony m y
Ex3 ：In the old days ，children were fa miliar with birth and death as part of life．This is perhaps the
first generation of Am erican youngsters w ho have never been close by during the birth of a baby and have
never experienced the death of a fa mily m e m ber．
Q ：The elders of conte m porary Am ericans
．
A ：Usually witnessed the birth or death of a fa mily m e m ber．
In this case ，the expressions the elder and contem porary are antony ms of the w ords children and
old．Thus we know the elders of contem porary Americans refer to the children in the old days． At the
sa m e tim e ，according to the context witnessed the birth and death of a fa mily mem ber paraphrases were
fa miliar with birth and death as part of life．Hence ，
the answer is obvious．
4．Hypony m y
Ex4 ：But we can easily tell the “good guys”fro m the “bad guys”because the tw o types differ in
appearance as well as in actions．
Q ：According to the passage ，
it is possible for us to tell one type of person fro m another because
．
A ：People differ in their behavioral and physical characteristics．
As m entioned in 2．
2．
1 ，hypony m y between lexical ite ms is a regular source for entailm ent between
sentences．Here actions and appearance are hypony ms of behavioral and physical characteristics ，so the
two types differ in appearance as well as in actions entails people differ in their behavioral and physical
characteristics．
5．Polyse m y
Ex5 ：People will be alert and receptive if they are faced with inform ation that gets the m to think
about things they are interested in．And so m eone with a history of doing m ore rather than less will go into
old age m ore cognitively sound than so m eone w ho has not had an active mind．
Q ：People w ho are cognitively healthy are those
．
A ：Whose minds are alert and receptive．
The key w ord in this exa m ple is sound ，w hich is polyse m ous．Usually students are just fa miliar with
its noun and verb m eanings． But it can also be used as an adjective or adverb m eaning healthy ，
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The Theory of Sense Relation and Its Application in Reading Co m prehension Mao Mingyong
dependable ，thorough ，
etc．So if students can understand the different m eanings of the w ord ，
the answer
will be very sim ple．
6．Presupposition
Ex6 ：In m y fridgeless Fifties childhood ，I was fed well and healthily．
Q ：The state m ent“In m y fridgeless Fifties childhood ，I was fed well and healthily．
”suggests that
．
A ：
there was no fridge in the author s ho m e in the 1950s．
This is a typical exa m ple of presupposition relation． Here ，the state m ent in the original passage
presupposes the answer．Therefore the answer is correct．
7．Im plication
Ex7 ：Too m uch exposure to X －
rays can cause skin burns ，cancer or other da m age to the body．
Q ：It is im plied but not directly stated in the passage that
．
A ：
the patient can be exposed to a slight a m ount of radiation safely．
Here ，
the im plication of the original m essage is that so me exposure to X－
rays can not cause skin
burns ，cancer or other da m age to the body．And the answer just paraphrases it．
5．Conclusion
In the light of the foregoing ，we can see the usefulness of sense relation in facilitating reading
co m prehension．Certainly the correct understanding of a piece of written inform ation involves m any
other aspects ，
such as gra m m ar ，prag m atics relation． We hope it can be of help to teachers and students
as well．
References
Liu ，Runqing ＆ Hu ，Zhuanglin．2000．Studies in English Language Teaching in China． Foreign Language
Teaching and Research Press．
Saeed ，
J．I．1997． Semantics．Black well Publishers Ltd．
Yule ，
G ．2000．Pragmatices．Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press．
（．．．continued fro m p．118）
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