第三讲：判断词汇和短语的意义题（一）
命题规律
含有指示代词的句中，常有被考查词汇或短语。
具体环境中，具有指代上下文语义功能的词汇尤其是名词，常成为考查对象。
一词多义的常见词及词组易考
有些词一词多义，要求能通过阅读，理解该词的确切含义。平时积累生词时，一定要把其在大纲规定范围内的所有词义都掌握才会胸有成竹。
对比处常考这类题目旨在考查考生能否从具有对比含义的上下文中猜测出某个单词的含义来。
复杂句常考
复杂句由于其句子结构复杂，句子之间的指代关系复杂等特点，常可成为考查考生理解能力的一种手段。
答题技巧
1、看所考词汇与全篇文章主题的关系。关系相近，符合主题的一般是答案，否则不是。
■例题
CET4 1995年6月第2篇
Can we pay too much attention to details? Absolutely, Perfectionists struggle over little things at the cost of something larger they work toward." To keep from losing the forest for the trees", says Charles Garfield, associate professor at the University of California, San Francisco, "We must constantly ask ourselves how the details we're working On fit into the larger picture. If they don't, we should drop them and move to something else".
Q:The word"perfectionists"(Line 1,Para.3.)refers to those who ____.
[A]demand others to get everything absolutely right
[B]know how to adjust their goals according to the circumstances
[C]pay too much attention to details only to lose their major objectives
[D]are capable of achieving perfect results in whatever they do
正确答案是 [C]
perfectionist本义是“完美主义者”，似乎与[A]和[D]更接近，但本文主旨，甚至通过本段也可知，作者反对对细节过分注意，结果反倒牺牲了大局。而perfectionist正是作者批评的那类人，因而选项应是符合作者批判态度的，因此[C]是正确的。
2、通过连接词关系如and，or等判断被考词汇含义。一般来说，and与连接的两项内容在义上是接近的或递进的，而以or连接的两项内容在含义上往往相反，但有时or后面的内容，也是对前面内容的进一步解释和说明。当然其他表递进、转折、因果等关系的信号词均可用来帮助判断词义。
选项含义与被考单词在含义上肤浅相近的一般不是答案。
■例题
CET6 1999年6月第18题
We must recognize that environmental health issues do not stop at city limits, county lines, state or even federal boundaries. We can no longer afford to be tunnel visioned in our approach. We must visualize issues from every perspective to make the objective decisions. We must express our views clearly to prevent media distortion and public confusion.
Q:The word "tunnel visioned" (Line 2,Para.4) most probably means____.
[A]narrow minded
[B]blind to the facts
[C]short sighted
[D]able to see only one aspect
正确答案是 [D]
选项[A]“眼界狭窄的”和选项[C]“目光短浅的”与“tunnel visioned”含义相近，所以许多考生都误选了[A]或[C]。
练习
完成下面的题目。
1. Groundbreaking research by two French geophysicists promises to shed some light on the mystery. Using 80 metres of deep sea sediment (沉淀物) core, they have obtained measurements lots of magnetic?field intensity that span 11 polarity reversals and four million years. The analysis reveals that intensity appears to fluctuate with a clear, well defined rhythm. Although the strength of the magnetic field varies irregularly during the short term, there seems to be an inevitable long term decline preceding each polarity reversal. When the poles flip-a process that takes several hundred thousand years-the magnetic field rapidly regains its strength and the cycle is repeated.
Q:The word "flip" most probably means____.
[A]decline
[B]intensify
[C]fluctuate
[D]reverse
2. While both groups did better than chance would predict, nearly half the participants in each group made the wrong choice two or more times. Two people got a11 four samples wrong. Overall, half the participants did about as well On the last round Of tasting as On the first, so fatigue, or taste burn out, was not a factor.
Q:The word "burn out" here refers to the state of ____.
[A]being seriously burnt in the skin
[B]being unable to bum for lack of fuel
[C]being badly damaged by fire
[D]being unable to function because of excessive use
3. Why is America lagging behind in the global PR race? First, Americans as a whole tend to be fairly provincial and take more of an interest in local affairs. Know ledge of world geography, for example, has never been strong in this country.
Q:The word "provincial" most probably means_____.
[A]limited in outlook
[B]like people from the provinces
[C]rigid in thinking
[D]interested in world financial affairs
答案
1.答案为[D]。 这一题目是根据上下文判断词意的题。flip的意思是“快速翻转”，它所在的句子的意思是“当两极互换——这一过程需要上万年的时间——磁场会很快重新恢复它的强度，新的一轮循环又开始了。”因此在四个选项中： A.decline的意思是“拒绝；变小、变弱”，B.intensify的意思是“(使某物)变得更强烈、加剧”，[C]fluctuate的意思是“(价格、数量等)涨落、波动”;[D]reverse的意思是“使(某物)反转、倒退、颠倒”，例如：Writing is reversed in a mirror.写出来的字在镜子里是颠倒的。[D]的意思与flip最接近。
2.答案是[D]。“fatigue，Or taste burn out”，or taste burn out是对fatigue一词的进一步解释和说明，前者意为“疲乏的”，那么后者含义应与之相近，又因此词在关于品尝的活动中使用，因此选[D]合情合理。
3.答案是[A]。结合技巧2可知，provincial与take more of an interest in local affairs相近。local affairs指当地(本地)事务，再者provincial似乎与province“省，地方”有关，因此许多考生选了[B]项，因为字面上两者很相像。其实结合上下文，这里provincial是指美国人仅对自己或局部事情感兴趣，因而[A]是正确的。 |