赵梦瑶：托福词汇题解析

词汇题是新托福阅读中难度系数较低、所占比重较大的题型。由于熟词僻意的出题思路十分普遍，考生对词汇的认知应与原文语言环境相结合，才能有效避免选项混淆并节省答题时间。为了理解一个单词在上下文中的意思，我们可以利用各种结构线索：表明句子中各成分间关系的单词、短语或句子结构等。现在就这些线索给出如下解读。

1. 同义逻辑关联词（be，like,，similarly，or，and，also等）

 

例：A 1625 map of North America drawn by Henry Briggs is one of the most notorious maps in the history of North America cartography. It was the first printed map to show California as an island. Briggs based his map on information from the 1602 Spanish expedition to the West Coast in search of a safe heaven for the Spanish colonial fleets.

What is cartography?

A. geography     B. exploration     C. printing      D. mapmaking    

由于第二句中的was为同义逻辑传递，所以主语it等于the first printed map，正解为D。

 

例：A landscape architect must be familiar with mathematics, science, engineering, art, and technology. He must also understand the social context of the work and must be adept at dealing with politicians, public interest groups, and government agencies.

The word adept in the passage is closest in meaning to

A. enthusiastic      B. reluctant      C. skilled      D. professional

在这道词汇题当中，第二句中also虽然是个小词，但它同样传递了同义逻辑关系。 因此句中的be familiar with与be adept at语义对等，正解为C。

 

 

2. 反义逻辑关联词（but，unlike，yet，however，while，instead，in contrast, rather than等）

例：There is growing evidence that urbanization has a sharp contrast impact on climate, causing changes that can wreak havoc on precipitation patterns that supply the precious resource of water. The heavy amounts of heat and pollution rising from cities both delay and stimulate the fall of precipitation, depriving some areas of rain while drenching others.

The word drenching in the passage is closest in meaning to

A. almost missing   B. severely damaging    C. thoroughly wetting      D. entirely avoiding

最后一句中while表示强转折，depriving some areas of rain...表明缺雨少雨，取反之后得出正解C。

 

3. 举例列举

Today's executives must have some grasp of economic realities and the political process, as well as some comprehension of the basic framework within which scientific and technological changes take place. They must gain an understanding of human nature, including its negative aspects, such as the sources of human conflict and the pitfalls of power.

The word pitfalls in the passage is closest in meaning to

A. benefits    B. stages   C. causes     D. hazards

该段最后一句包含了举例标示词such as，表明一组或一系列信息在某种程度上相关的，因此可以把pitfalls归为negative aspects的一部分，故选D。

 

 

4. 解释性线索（从句，同位语，标点符号）

A "Borgesian" work is one that bends time and reality, often creating a fantasy world revealing unexpected historical connections. In The Library of Babel, Borges describes an infinite library that contains all possible texts. In The Babylon Lottery, he chronicles a lottery in which there are as many negative outcomes as positive.

The word infinite in the passage is closest in meaning to

A. wonderful    B. distant     C. realistic    D. immense

在第二句中，先行词library后面紧接的由that引导的修饰成分表明，该图书馆的藏书量十分可观（all possible texts），immense“巨大、可观的”，故正解为D。

 

5. 与同一句或同一段中词汇的关联

Possibly the most interesting aspect of bird song from the perspective of human intelligence is its foundation in the central nervous system. Like humans, birds have large brains relative to their body size. Song is a complex activity that young birds must learn, and learning implies that higher--brain activity must be complex in the control of song. This control is associated with two song-control centers in the avian brain. If the links between these centers and the syrinx are interrupted, a bird is unable to produce normal song. Moreover, bird song is one of the few instances in the animal kingdoms of a skill that is lateralized; the song control centers are located in the left side of the avian brain. A lesion there will destroy bird song, while a similar lesion in the right half of the brain will result in much less damage.

The word lateralized in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to

A. linked to a specific area of the brain

B. highly evolved

C. shared by all species

D. easily damaged or destroyed

虽然没有明显的结构线索词，但通过段末句A lesion there will destroy bird song, while a similar lesion in the right half of the brain will result in much less damage.不难看出鸟类左半边大脑承受的器官损伤会造成致命的结果（destroy），而右半边大脑承受类似的器官损伤则背道而驰，显然鸟类唱歌的技能与其左半边大脑的运作密切相关，故正解为A。