[English] Vocabulary In Context

Repetition is often the key to success and studies show that most repetitive tasks become part of a person's inventory of skills over time.

每個單詞都有 denotation 跟 connotation, 所以要猜出單詞的意義通常透過
(1) 字根、字尾

(2) 前後文
在推斷句子中單詞意義時, 有４種線索:
   a. restatement
   b. positive / negative
   c. contrast
   d. specific detail

Example A
Handi suddenly found himself destitute, so poor that he could barely afford to eat.
  restatement: destitute and poor, negative: so poor, barely
  => destitute: extremely poor

Example B
Sarah had worked so hard for the past few weeks that she decided she owed herself a day of complete indolence. Saturday, she slept until noon, ordered take-out so she wouldn't have to cook , and left the dishes in the sink. She left her chores for another day and spent the afternoon lying on the couch, reading and watching television. But on Sunday, she was back to her old assiduous self, and by noon, she had already cleaned her whole apartment, does her grocery shopping, and paid her bills.
  contrast: work hard / lazy life.  specific detail: indolence / all things on Saturday, assiduous / all things on Sunday.
  => contrast: indolence / assiduous

Example C
The famous daredevil was actually quite ___ by temperament, as illustrated by the fact that he did not ___ until he was two years old.
a. reckless ... amble
b. careful ... perambulate
c. adventurous ... rest
d. daring ... scuttle

1) 第一句 actually 表示 unexpected, 所以前半段是說 the daredevil has an unexpected kind of temperament. daredevil 是鋌而走險的、不怕死的人 (key: dare), 這樣的人通常是 bold, adventurous, daring.
2) 第二句明顯是個比較句, 跟前面的 blank 代表不同性格.

Example D
After finding sacred objects inside numerous Mayan caves, archaeologists have began to revise their opinion that the Maya used the caves solely for __ function.
a. reverent
b. theological
c. religious
d. secular

1)句子可拆成
After
    finding sacred objects (inside the Mayan caves),
archaeologists began to revise
    their opinions (the Maya used the caves solely for __ functions)
2) 透過 solely 可知原先 archaeologists 的認知是 caves only for certain type of functions, 因為 sacred objects 的出現而有不同意見. 所以這個 function 應該是 not sacred.

大部分的句子可分成3類: contrast, comparison, cause and result. 這些可透過連接詞推斷
  contrast: through, although, however, despite, but, yet, on the other hand, on the contrary
  comparison: likewise, similarly, and, just as, as well as, for example, as known, as illustrated by, namely, in other words, in fact, that is.
  cause&effect: thus, therefore, consequently, because, due to, as a result, lead to.


Test
1. The __ president differs from the past presidents on healthcare reform issues.
  a. talkative
  b. accomplished
  c. artificial
  d. incumbent
a;

2. The __ data supports the belief that there has been an increase in population in the country.
 a. nominal
 b. demographic
 c. practical
 d. nocturnal
c;

3. The __ collected from real estate taxes helped to balance the town budget.
 a. domain
 b. remainder
 c. revenue
 d. assessment
c;

4. She pretended to be __ about the new job opportunity, but secretly she was very excited.
 a. dedicated
 b. receptive
 c. candid
 d. blase
c;

5. We were tired when we reached the __, but the spectacular view of the valley below was worth the hike.
 a. circumference
 b. summit
 c. fulcrum
 d. nadir
*a

6. The suit had a(n) __ odor, as if it had been stored in a trunk for a long time.
 a. aged
 b. scented
 c. musty
 d. decrepit
a;
7. Because his workplace was so busy and noisy, he longed most of all for __.
 a. solitude
 b. association
 c. loneliness
 d. irrelevancy
b;
8. The teacher put the crayons on the bottom shelf to make them __ to the young children.
 a. accessible
 b. receptive
 c. eloquent
 d. ambiguous
a;
9. My computer was state-of-the-art when I bought it 3 years ago, but now it is __.
 a. current
 b. dedicated
 c. unnecessary
 d. outmoded
d;
10. Visiting all the tea shops in the city, they were on a __ to find the perfect cup of tea.
 a. surge
 b. quest
 c. discovery
 d. cadence
c;

錯的好慘烈... Orz

參考連結