一、基本概念
Simile（明喻）是一种最简单、最常见的修辞方法，与汉语的明喻相似，它指的是将具有共性的不同事物或现象作对比，表明本体和喻体的关系。在明喻中，本体和喻体均同时出现在句中，在形式上是相对应的。注意，用于对比的事物或现象之间的共性存在于人们的心里，而不是事物的自然属性。
二、基本格式
基本格式：本体 + 显著比喻词 + 喻体
三、常见标志词
Simile的常用标志词有 like, as, seem, as if, as though, similar to, such as等。
1. 介词：like 等；
2. 连词：as, as if, as though, as...so, what等；
3. 动词：seem, compare...to, liken...to, bear a resemblance to 等；
4. 名词：comparison, resemblance 等；
5. 形容词：akin to, similar to, be analogous to 等；
6. 短语： as it were, no more...than, be something of, be something like等；
7. 句式：As…, so…; As A is to B, so C is to D; A is to B as [what] C is to D等。
四、典型实例
■akin to 与……相似（相同）
Plagiarism is akin to theft. 剽窃与偷窃性质相同。
They speak a language akin to French. 他们说一种类似法语的语言。
■analogous to [with] 与……相似
This proposal was analogous to/with the one we discussed at the last meeting. 这项提案与上次会议上我们讨论过的那份提案相似。
The present crisis is analogous with the situation immediately before the war. 目前的危机与大战前夕的形势类似。
■as 像……一样
He’s not as honest a man as I thought. 他不像我想象的那样诚实。
The work is not so easy as you imagine. 这工作不像你想象的那么容易。
He did not need to keep moving house, as his father had. 他没有像他爸爸那样不停地搬家。
■as...as 像……一样
He was as cold to her as formerly. 他对她还是像过去那样冷淡。
His eyes aren't quite as blue as they look in the film. 他的眼睛不像在电影里见到的那么蓝。
The ground is as hard as stone after the drought. 长期干旱之后土地硬得就像石头一样。
■as if 好像，像……似的
He looked as if he had seen a ghost. 他那副惊骇的样子就像见到了鬼似的。
I couldn’t move my legs. It was as if they were stuck to the floor. 我的腿动不了，就好像给固定在地板上似的。
I remember the whole thing as if it happened yesterday. 整个这件事我记得很清楚，就仿佛是昨天发生似的。
He wandered in to see me as if he had nothing else to do. 他遛遛达达进来看我，好像无事可做的样子。
■as though 好像，像……似的
It looks as though you've blown a fuse. 看样子你把保险丝烧断了。
The bedclothes were tumbled (about) as though the bed had been slept in. 床上的被褥都弄乱了，好像有人睡过觉。
He looks as though he hasn’t had a square meal for months. 瞧他那样子 好像几个月没好好吃过一顿饭似的。
■as it were 好像，似乎，仿佛
This so-called antique, as it were, is a fake. 这个所谓的古董，看上去好像是古董，但实际上是赝品。
He became as it were a kind of hero from a strange land. 他仿佛成了一个来自异乡的英雄。
■compare...to 把……比作……
The poet compared her teeth to pearls. 诗人把她的牙齿比作珍珠。
Shakespeare compared the world to a stage. 莎士比亚把世界比作舞台。
Some people have compared him to Elvis. 有些人把他比作“猫王”埃尔维斯。
■comparison of sth to sth 把……比作……
His comparison of the heart to a pump helped the children understand its action. 他将心脏比作打气筒(抽水机)有助于孩子们了解心脏的作用。
■like 像……一样
The human history is like a long river. 人类历史像一条长河。
The flowers were like a carpet of gold. 那些花卉犹如金色的地毯。
She is like a narcissus trembling in the wind. 她像一朵在风中颤抖的水仙花。
Living without an aim is like sailing without a compass. 生活没有目标，犹如航海没有罗盘。
To marry a woman for her beauty is like buying a house for its paint. 由于面貌美丽而娶妻，犹如油漆漂亮而买屋。
Searching for one man in this big city is like looking for a needle in a haystack. 在这座大城市里寻找一个人犹如大海捞针。
■liken...to 把……比作
Life has often been likened to a journey. 生活常常比作旅行。
Someone likened his voice to the croaking of a bull-frog. 有人把他的声音比作牛蛙的叫声。
Life can be likened to a journey with an unknown destination. 人生就好比一场不知终点的旅行。
■may as well...as 做某事正如……
One might as well throw money into the sea as lend it to William. 把钱借给威廉，就好像把钱扔到海里一样。
He can no more swim than a hammer can. 他不能游泳正如锤子不能游泳一样。
■no more...than 像……一样不……；……和……都不……
I know no more Spanish than I know Greek. 我对西班牙语和希腊语同样都不懂。
He is no more an artist than you are a mathematician. 就像你不是数学家一样，他也不是艺术家。
He is no more an artist than you are a mathematician. 就像你不是数学家一样，他也不是艺术家。
■resemblance to 像……
Frenchmen saw in him a resemblance to Clemenceau. 法国人可以看出他很象克莱蒙梭。
Your story bears / has / shows little or no resemblance to the facts. 你说的与事实相去甚远 或谓根本不符。
■seem 好像
The dog lay so still it scarcely seemed animate. 那条狗卧着一动也不动，简直不像活的。
John’s taken up stamp-collecting; he seems really bitten by it. 约翰已经着手集邮，好像真入迷了。
The choice of players for the team seems completely arbitrary. 队员的挑选似乎完全是主观决定的。
■similar to 与……相似
Their educational system is similar to that in the
The Dutch grammatical system is very similar to the English system. 荷兰语的语法体系与英语语法体系十分相似。
At our factory there are a few machines similar to those described in this magazine. 我们工厂有几台机器和这本杂志上所讲述的相似。
■something like 与……类似，有点像……
It’s something like an egg. 它有点像一只鸡蛋。
The house looks something like a castle. 那房子看上去有点像一座城堡。
The ceremony was something like a christening. 那个典礼有点像洗礼仪式。
■something of 有点儿像……
He saw something of a cloud. 他看见一种像云似的东西。
On their travels they indulged their hobby of collecting antique furniture. As a result their home had become something of a museum. 他们在每次旅行时，尽兴地满足自己收集古董家具的嗜好。结果他们家成了类似博物馆的地方。
As…, so… 正如……，……也……
■As a man lives, so he dies. 正如人能活，也能死。
As one makes one’s bed, so one must lie on it. (谚)自作自受；自食其果。
■As A is to B, so C is to D C之于D，犹如A之于B
As soul is to a body, so is love [so love is] to a home. 爱之于家庭犹如灵魂之于身体。
As unselfishness is the real test of strong affection, so unselfishness ought to be the real test of the very highest kind of art. 正如无私是钟爱的真正考验，无私也是最高艺术的真正考验。
■A is to B as C is to D A之于B，犹如C之于D
Air is to man as water is to fish. 空气之于人犹如水之于鱼。
Parks are to the city as lungs are to the body. 公园之于都市，正如肺之于人。
■A is to B what C is to D A之于B，犹如C之于D
Air is to us what water is to fish. 我们离不开空气，就像鱼儿离不开水一样。
Engines are to machines what hearts are to animals. 发动机对机器之关系犹如心脏对动物之关系。
What blood vessel is to a man’s body, railway is to transportation. 铁路对于运输犹如血管对于人体一样重要。