前两天我们讨论了雅思考试的本质:语言驾驭能力的考试。有同学问我什么叫做语言的驾驭能力。从单词的角度来说就是,如果给了你一个陌生的单词,你是不认识的;但是给了你一个包含了这个单词的句子,你能够用前后文进行推断,最后大致能够明白这个句子的意思以及这个单词在这个语境下的含义,那么你的语言驾驭能力就是比较强的。那么,之前给大家讲解了如何利用一些小技巧来猜单词,其中包括用词根词缀来猜单词、用并列关系来猜单词、用同位语来猜单词。今天我们来看看另外两种极好的帮助判断单词的方法!
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4. 利用举例
阅读中常见的表达举例的词很简单,就是for example, such as, illustration这样的词。大家都知道“举例词”后面的词是对前面的词的举例说明,但是大家能不能想到这样可以利用这种举例关系来猜单词呢?我们来看下面的例子:
【例句】
Modern teaching practices, the organizations of desks in the classroom, poor classroom acoustics, and mechanical means of ventilation such as air-conditioning units all contribute to the number of children unable to comprehend the teacher’s voice.
【分析】
这是C9T2R1的一个句子。我们在这个句子中看到了such as引导的一个例子,是对前面mechanical means of ventilation的举例解释。很多同学是不认识ventilation的,但是我们一般都认识air-conditioning,通过such as我们可以知道air-conditioning是ventilation的一个例子,那么ventilation肯定是跟“空调”有关的词,比如可能是“通风系统”之类的含义。
5. 利用因果关系
因果关系也可以用于猜单词,大家要有意识地利用起来,尤其是在一些包含生词的因果关系句子中,我们可以利用“因”和“果”互相解释这一特点来进行生词的推断。我们来看下面这两个例题:
【例题1】(第5题)
Classify the following as typical of
A both Chinese and Japanese pagodas
B only Chinese pagodas
C only Japanese pagodas
Write the correct letter, A, B or C, in boxes 5-10 on your answer sheet.
5 easy interior access to top
6 tiles on eaves
7 use as observation post
8 size of eaves up to half the width of the building
9 original religious purpose
10 floors fitting loosely over each other
【原文】
The Chinese built their pagodas in brick or stone, with inner staircases, and used them in later centuries mainly as watchtowers.When the pagoda reached Japan, however, its architecture was freely adapted to local conditions - they were built less high, typically five rather than nine storeys, made mainly of wood and the staircase was dispensed with because the Japanese pagoda did not have any practical use but became more of an art object.
【分析】
这是出自C7T2R1的一个句子。本句话中,很多同学是不认识dispense with这个词组的,但是我们发现后面有一个原因状语从句来对其进行解释,我们可以利用这个原因来进行推断:楼梯是被dispensed with了,因为日本宝塔是没有实际用途的而是变成了一个艺术品。结合前面的一个句子:中国宝塔有内部楼梯。因此可以推测日本的楼梯是被去除了,所以be dispensed with的意思是“被去除”
【例题2】
Classify the following statements as referring to
A hand collecting
B using bait
C sampling ground litter
D using a pitfall trap
Write the correct letter, A, B, C or D, in boxes 31-36 on your answer sheet.
31 It is preferable to take specimens from groups of ants.
32 It is particularly effective for wet habitats.
33 It is a good method for species which are hard to find.
34 Little time and effort is required.
35 Separate containers are used for individual specimens.
36 Non-alcoholic preservative should be used.
【原文】
The pitfall trap is another commonly used tool for collecting ants.…The preservative used is usually ethylene glycol or propylene glycol, as alcohol will evaporate quickly and the traps will dry out. One advantage of pitfall traps is that they can be used to collect over a period of time with minimal maintenance and intervention. One disadvantage is that some species are not collected as they either avoid the traps or do not commonly encounter them while foraging.
【分析】
原文中,我们会看到ethylene glycol or propylene glycol,我相信一般同学是不认识的,当然我也不认识,但!这不重要!因为我们不用认识也能做题,我们可以猜词啊!来,我们看到后面有一个as引导的原因状语从句,就对前面这个分句进行了解释:这里使用到的防腐剂(preservative)是ethylene glycol 或者是 propylene glycol,因为酒精会蒸发并且陷阱会很快干枯。因此,可以推断出ethylene glycol 和 propylene glycol都是非酒精(non-alcoholic),因此36题答案选D。
以上是我们今天的内容——利用举例来猜单词和利用因果关系来猜单词。关于单词,这里我必须强调两点:
1
我们确实有很多技巧来帮助我们理解单词在某一个语境下的意思,但是每一种技巧都不是万能的,因此大家要灵活运用所有的技巧,这样在面对陌生语境的时候才能灵活自如的理解,哪怕你并没有那么多的单词量。
2
单词是必须必须要背的!没有强大的单词作为基础,给你讲再多的技巧也无济于事!