看到這個(gè)巨大無(wú)比的標(biāo)題,很多考生又要捶胸頓足一番了,又是背單詞。單詞還能怎么樣啊?就是背啊。天亮背到天黑,醒了背,睡前背,總之就是用生命在背單詞那,換言之,就是你的詞匯量得到8000才能應(yīng)付托福閱讀那冗長(zhǎng)的學(xué)術(shù)文章,才能考到不那么丟臉的分?jǐn)?shù)。
錯(cuò)!大錯(cuò)特錯(cuò)!絕大部分考生只知道托福對(duì)詞匯量要求很多,但是他們卻不知道什么叫考點(diǎn)詞匯,什么叫認(rèn)知詞匯,什么叫完全不需要了解完全不需要懂的詞匯,可以直接忽略為土豆A,番茄B的詞匯。
首先,我們來(lái)區(qū)分一下這兩類詞匯,第一,考點(diǎn)詞匯,眾所周知托福閱讀10大題型中其中一個(gè)就是詞匯題,而它的比重能占接近三分之一,每次考試會(huì)有12道左右的詞匯題。
【Paragraph 1】The earliest discovered traces of art are beads and carvings, and then paintings, from sites dating back to the Upper Paleolithic period. We might expect that early artistic efforts would be crude, but the cave paintings of Spain and southern France show a marked degree of skill. So do the naturalistic paintings on slabs of stone excavated in southern Africa. Some of those slabs appear to have been painted as much as 28,000 years ago, which suggests that painting in Africa is as old as painting in Europe. But painting may be even older than that. The early Australians may have painted on the walls of rock shelters and cliff faces at least 30,000 years ago, and maybe as much as 60,000 years ago.
1. The word “marked” in the passage is closest in meaning to
○ considerable
○ surprising
○ limited
○ adequate
這是TPO 4 Cave Art in Europe中筆者截取的一道詞匯題。
首先,我們不難發(fā)現(xiàn),詞匯題考察的是和這個(gè)詞最接近的含義,換言之,問(wèn)的是這個(gè)考點(diǎn)詞的同義詞;
第二,這個(gè)考點(diǎn)詞在文章中被高亮了,我們也可以很快根據(jù)上下文的一些線索猜出這個(gè)單詞的意思;
第三,考點(diǎn)詞若是形容詞,那么四個(gè)選項(xiàng)也都是形容詞,我們無(wú)法通過(guò)詞性排除答案;
第四,選項(xiàng)的難度往往簡(jiǎn)單于考點(diǎn)詞。
解釋完了考點(diǎn)詞的特點(diǎn)之后,問(wèn)題來(lái)了,什么樣的詞可以作為考點(diǎn)詞呢?市面上也沒有一本詞匯書叫托?键c(diǎn)詞匯呀。其實(shí)考點(diǎn)詞很好理解,考點(diǎn)詞就是會(huì)有同義詞的詞,以動(dòng)詞和形容詞為主,考生可以想一想恐龍、哺乳動(dòng)物、巖漿、石灰石是考點(diǎn)詞嗎?能找出同義詞嗎?Of course not. 所以從現(xiàn)在開始只需要積累考點(diǎn)詞,而且是以組為單位,少則兩個(gè),多則十個(gè)為一組。
接下來(lái),考生們又要發(fā)問(wèn)了,即使我知道我要背動(dòng)詞和形容詞,可是還是很多啊,老師能不能給個(gè)范圍啊?沒問(wèn)題,馬上幫你鎖定備考范圍,詞匯題妥妥地秒秒鐘選答案。
1. exploit
2. encounter=meet
3. bulk=large
4. persistent=lasting
5. manifestation=show
6. adjacent=next to
7. stationary=fixed
8. penetrate=pass through
v exploit在TPO作為考點(diǎn)詞一共出現(xiàn)過(guò)5次,exploit=utilize, make use of, use to advantage (TPO 6 Power the Industrial Revolution; TPO 17 Animal Signals in Rain Forest)
v bulk=mass (TPO 15 Mass Extinction of Dinosaurs)
v persistent=enduring (TPO 15 Biological Clock)
v adjacent=nearby (TPO 3 Long-term Stability in Ecosystem; TPO 34 Islamic Art and the Book)
v penetrate=pierce (OG Green Icebergs)
上面所摘抄的2014年12月27日學(xué)生回憶的詞匯題,一共8個(gè),其中5個(gè)都在TPO的詞匯題中出現(xiàn)過(guò),所以考點(diǎn)詞你可以著手于TPO中的詞匯題,先把TPO的詞匯題全部掌握,這是priority。
接下來(lái)是2014年12月28日的考試,詞匯題如下:
1. diffusion=spread
2. chronological=a list of events and dates
3. contention=debate
4. devoid=lack
5. a wealth of=abundant
6. elaborate=complicated
7. subsequent=later
8. coincidence=occur at the same time
9. remarkable=striking
如果你是個(gè)有心人,如果你一直對(duì)機(jī)經(jīng)情有獨(dú)鐘,那么這九個(gè)詞匯你一定不會(huì)錯(cuò)過(guò),它們就是2014年5月24日的詞匯題。意思就是2014年12月28日的三篇閱讀完全重復(fù)2014年5月24日的,所以詞匯題也是一模一樣的。再直白一點(diǎn),所有考過(guò)的詞匯題,下場(chǎng)考試你就可能會(huì)遇到,意思就是除了TPO詞匯題,你要關(guān)注每場(chǎng)考試的詞匯題,直到你考試前的那一場(chǎng)結(jié)束,你會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)這些詞匯重復(fù)的頻率極高,所以筆者剛才說(shuō)過(guò),詞匯題你可以做到秒秒鐘選答案。
解釋完考點(diǎn)詞之后,下面來(lái)講述什么叫認(rèn)知詞匯,認(rèn)知兩個(gè)字其實(shí)很好懂,意思就是這些詞不需要背誦,不需要知道讀音,不需要知道拼寫,看到它們大概知道意思就好了,甚至有時(shí)候知不知道意思都沒那么重要。
筆者來(lái)舉個(gè)例子:
【Paragraph 5】The third type of symbiosis, mutualism, benefits both partners in the relationship Legume plants and their nitrogen-fixing bacteria, and the interactions between flowering plants and their pollinators, are examples of mutualistic association. In the first case, the plants provide the bacteria with carbohydrates and other organic compounds, and the bacteria have enzymes that act as catalysts that eventually add nitrogen to the soil, enriching it. In the second case, pollinators (insects, birds) obtain food from the flowering plant, and the plant has its pollen distributed and seeds dispersed much more efficiently than they would be if they were carried by the wind only.
8. According to paragraph 5, the relationship between legumes and bacteria benefits the soil by
○ adding enriching carbohydrates
○ speeding the decay of organic matter
○ destroying enzymes that pollute it
○ contributing nitrogen to it
這是TPO 17 Symbiotic Relationship的一道事實(shí)信息題,很多學(xué)生看到這篇文章的大標(biāo)題就已經(jīng)開始措手不及了,因?yàn)閟ymbiotic是生詞,完全不知道講的是什么關(guān)系,其實(shí)不用怕,考試的時(shí)候要有這樣的自信,你不認(rèn)識(shí)的詞80%的考生也不認(rèn)識(shí),所以文章一定會(huì)對(duì)這個(gè)詞進(jìn)行下定義,解釋說(shuō)明,或是舉例例證。A symbiotic relationship is an interaction between two or more species in which one species lives in or on another species. 文章第一段第一句就是個(gè)下定義的句子A is....; 所以symbiotic relationship是共生關(guān)系,兩個(gè)或兩個(gè)以上的物種的互動(dòng),其中一個(gè)物種生活在另一個(gè)物種的體內(nèi),或是靠另一個(gè)物種而活。緊接著,我們通過(guò)題干的legume and bacteria benefit soil定位,發(fā)現(xiàn)它在第五段的第二句話,毋庸置疑,這句話確實(shí)出現(xiàn)了很多生詞,很長(zhǎng),很陌生,但是這些都無(wú)需認(rèn)識(shí)。
下面帶領(lǐng)大家閱讀一下這個(gè)句子,我們可以跳過(guò)所有生詞,仍然能把這道題解出來(lái)。The plants provide the bacteria with carbohydrates and other organic compounds, and the bacteria have enzymes that act as catalysts that eventually add nitrogen to the soil, enriching it. 植物給bacteria提供了carbonhydrates和other organic compounds, 并且bacteria有enzymes, 它作為catalysts最終給土壤添加了nitrogen, 使得土壤肥沃。所以獲利就是給土壤添加nitrogen, 讓土壤肥沃,答案是D。D選項(xiàng)中的nitrogen居然是原文原詞,然后我們?cè)賮?lái)查查字典,那些我們剛剛在做題時(shí)不認(rèn)識(shí)的單詞到底是什么意思。bateria是細(xì)菌;carbonhydrates碳水化合物;organic matter有機(jī)物;enzyme酶,catalyst催化劑;nitrogen氮,所有的這些單詞的中文都好熟悉,好像初中高中化學(xué)學(xué)過(guò)。不管它們是什么意思,有一點(diǎn)可以確定,它們無(wú)法被同義改寫,所以它們就是土豆A,番茄B,它們?cè)谖恼轮惺茿,那么它們?cè)谶x項(xiàng)中也一定肯定絕對(duì)還是A,所以這些詞沒必要背下來(lái)。
綜上所述,認(rèn)知詞匯,就是學(xué)科內(nèi)詞匯,因?yàn)橥懈i喿x文章來(lái)源于大學(xué)一年級(jí)的課本,內(nèi)容面涉及之廣,考生們?cè)缬卸劊喿x中比較常見的就是生物類詞匯,其中動(dòng)物學(xué)類詞匯最為普遍,有同學(xué)問(wèn):動(dòng)物的名字需要背么?冷血恒溫動(dòng)物要背么?食肉、食草、雜食動(dòng)物需要背么?答案就是definitely not。因?yàn)檫@些詞都是專有名詞,今天你背了rudiment, 可能下次就考cetacean了,你根本無(wú)法預(yù)料這次考什么類型的動(dòng)物,如果都要背,我們只能背百科全書了。所以呢,對(duì)于認(rèn)知詞匯,我們只需要了解,知道這個(gè)詞是某動(dòng)物的名字,知道這詞是個(gè)專有名詞,而文章中對(duì)這個(gè)詞下定義,我們大概猜測(cè)出這個(gè)詞的意思即可。
下面,摘錄了TPO 5 Minerals in Plants中的一個(gè)自然段,這個(gè)自然段出現(xiàn)了非常多的認(rèn)知詞匯,我們來(lái)看看我們是否能大概猜測(cè)出這些單詞的意思。
首先,hyper accumulators, 這兩個(gè)詞其實(shí)不是什么生詞,hyper就是超級(jí)的意思,而accumulator的原形是accumulate, 是積累的意思,accumulator就是積累者,超級(jí)積累者?這是什么?所以,即使我們把它翻譯出來(lái)了,我們卻還是一頭霧水。再看看,發(fā)現(xiàn)hyper accumulators前面出現(xiàn)called, 前后有逗號(hào),所以第五段的第一句,其實(shí)在對(duì)這個(gè)專有名詞下定義。原來(lái)它是某種植物,而且它能比正常的植物聚集一百倍甚至更多倍的礦物質(zhì)。
第二句話也是各種生詞。定睛一看,在眾多生詞中有一個(gè)詞考生都認(rèn)識(shí),是copper(銅)。如果此刻你語(yǔ)法比較好,你就會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn),這些詞和銅是并列的,所以這些詞應(yīng)該是minerals也就是礦物質(zhì)的列舉,了解到此即可。如果有同學(xué)詞匯量特別大,都認(rèn)識(shí)呢?他一定會(huì)露出得意的笑一邊逐詞翻譯一遍,并且心里樂(lè)開了花,因?yàn)樗颊J(rèn)識(shí)。筆者一定要給他當(dāng)頭一棒,這些詞絕對(duì)和下面的題目無(wú)關(guān),請(qǐng)別浪費(fèi)時(shí)間自鳴得意了。
第三句話一共只有7個(gè)單詞,里面可能就有2個(gè)詞不認(rèn)識(shí)。沒事,不慌,要冷靜。主語(yǔ)是they, 指代前面的hyperaccumulators, 指的是某些植物,而且同學(xué)們還認(rèn)識(shí)trees, 所以herbs, shrubs應(yīng)該也是植物的名字。
第四句話同理可推它們還是植物的名字。
【Paragraph 5】Scientists have known for some time that certain plants, called hyperaccumulators, can concentrate minerals at levels a hundredfold or greater than normal. A survey of known hyperaccumulators identified that 75 percent of them amassed nickel, cobalt, copper, zinc, manganese, lead, and cadmium are other minerals of choice. Hyperaccumulators run the entire range of the plant world. They may be herbs, shrubs, or trees. Many members of the mustard family, spurge family, legume family, and grass family are top hyper accumulators. Many are found in tropical and subtropical areas of the world, where accumulation of high concentrations of metals may afford some protection against plant-eating insects and microbial pathogens.
結(jié)束了兩個(gè)段落的講解,我相信廣大的考生們都應(yīng)該懂了,托福閱讀本身其實(shí)并沒有在考察你的詞匯量到底是3000,還是6000,亦或是8000,相反,它檢驗(yàn)的是你是否具備閱讀的能力,可以通過(guò)一些信號(hào),比如:代詞、并列結(jié)構(gòu)、下定義的方式去大膽猜測(cè)出生詞的含義。你需要提高的不是詞匯量,而是閱讀能力。
最后,再一次強(qiáng)調(diào)區(qū)分考點(diǎn)詞和認(rèn)知詞匯的重要性,考點(diǎn)詞需要以TPO真題的詞匯題為藍(lán)本,并且密切關(guān)注每場(chǎng)考試詞匯題的回憶;對(duì)于認(rèn)知詞匯,大概了解即可,提高猜單詞的能力。
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