我们在做英语阅读题的时候,经常在阅读文章中会遇到一词多义的现象,也就是说一个词在这个句子中不是本来的意思,而说的是引申义,所以这就需要大家在结合上下文的基础上来具体了解一下了,今天我们就从剑桥真题的例子中说一说在雅思阅读中一词多义的考点。
1 Most dogs are not good at finding drugs because (剑桥7,第112页29题)
A They don’t work well with a handler
B they lack the right training
C the drugs are usually very well hidden
D they lack certain genetic qualities
这是一道选择题,定位到原文中的部分为
The cleverly concealed drugs don’t fool super-sniffer Florence, and her persistent scratching at the case alerts her hanlder. Florence is one of a truly new breed: the product of what is perhaps the only project in the world dedicated to breeding dogs solely to detect drugs. Ordinary dogs have a 0.1% chance of making it in drug detection. The new breeding program,run by Australian Customs, is so successful that more than 50% of its dogs make the grade.
划线部分是比较精确的定位。要做出正确的选择,关键是要理解 breed 这个词的意思。对于这个词的意思,大部分人都不会陌生,意味驯养,饲养之意,英文解释为to keep and take care of animals or plants in order to produce more animals or plants of a particular kind .但是如果只知道这个意思的话,很容错选 B 。breed 这个词还有做品种讲的意思,英文释义为 a particular kind of dog ,cat ,horse, etc. 这样正确的选项应是D, breed 对应genetic qualities ,意思是基因特质。
2另外一道为小标题 (剑桥6,第109页29题)
Agriculture consumes about 70% of the world’s fresh water, so improvements in irrigation can make the greatest impact. At present, average efficiency in the use of irrigated water….After agriculture, industry is the second biggest user of water and in terms of value added … Though new processes have greatly reduced consumption, there is still plenty of room for big savings in industrial uses of water. 可以非常明显地看出本段有两层意思,一层讲agriculture 缺水,第二层是讲继农业后的industry 也缺水。分析到这里可以说已经解决了一半的问题。接下来就在所给的一系列小标题中选择一个恰当的。这个段落的小标题应为 The thirsty sectors.很多考生只能做到分析的一步,到选择时会选错,因为对于sector 这个词,大家熟悉的意思是部分,但是此意放在这里并不合适,它还有第二个常用的意思,为国民经济的(部门)。
在剑桥系列的题目中,涉及到一词多义的还有很多,这类词,对于大部分人来说看似熟悉,但是往往题目考的却是大家不太熟悉的第二个甚至是第三种常用的意思。在复习备考的过程中应该注意积累。另外在复习单词时,尽量能够理解词的基本意义,这样才能在考试中灵活应对。(环球教育宁波校区 李丹丹)