阅读攻略－CET4阅读理解熟词僻义指津

考生在做CET阅读理解题时常常碰上一些特殊词汇，虽然似曾相识，但却不清楚其在特定语境中的确切含义，这样往往会影响到发挥。这些熟悉的词汇在特定文字中的取义，往往成为语句结构的枢纽，意义重大，可以帮助考生把握作者的思想意图，是解题的关键所在。

任何应试技巧都是基于多年标准化考试的理性分析和科学总结，所得到的经验和解题规则。因此笔者分析了最近几年CET4阅读试题中出现过的熟词僻义现象，以期考生能有所借鉴。

 anchor

【常见词义】锚；抛锚，泊船

【典型释义】固定，系牢

【真题举例】To further protect the house from hurricane damage, Huff raised it 2.7 meters off the ground on timber pilings —— long, slender columns of wood anchored deep in the sand. (2003.12  Passage Four) 为了更好地防御飓风的袭击，赫夫用木桩——长而细的木柱子深深地扎入沙土中，使房子离地2.7米。

【举一反三】The manager’s attention anchored on Tom. 经理注视着汤姆。

 back

【常见词义】后面；背部

【典型释义】支持

【真题举例】So what your association is backing is a program which would allow the middle and upper classes to acquire a bomb while poor people will be left defenseless with just handguns. (2004.6  Passage Two) 所以你们协会支持的是一个只允许中产阶级以上的人群拥有氢弹的计划，而穷人则被置于只有手枪的无防御能力的境地。

【举一反三】The bank refused to back this project. 银行拒绝支持这个项目。

 brand

【常见词义】商标；打烙印

【典型释义】（不公正地）指责，败坏

【真题举例】In fact, anyone who would challenge another’s opinion is likely to be branded intolerant. (2003.9  Passage Four) 实际上，任何人对他人的观点提出质疑，就可能被视为不够宽容。

【举一反三】It’s unfair to brand all football fans as troublemakers¹. 把所有的球迷都当成闹事者是不公平的。

 edge

【常见词义】刀刃，刀口

【典型释义】优势

【真题举例】A second language isn’t generally required to get a job in business, but having language skills gives a candidate the edge when other qualifications appear to be equal. (2002.12  Passage Three) 第二语言并不是在商业领域找到工作的必要条件，但是在其他条件相同的情况下，竞聘者的语言技能便是他获胜的优势。

【举一反三】She has the edge on the other students because she spent a year in England. 她比其他学生有优势，因为她在英国呆了一年。

 head

【常见词义】头；领导

【典型释义】主管，负责

【真题举例】“Children are affected³ by the same time crunch⁴ that affects their parents,” says Sandra Hofferth, who headed the recent study of children’s timetable. (2003.6  Passage One) “影响父母的时间危机同样也影响着孩子们，”最近对儿童作息时间表做调研的项目负责人Sandra Hofferth 如是说。

【举一反三】Who heads the English department? 谁负责英语系？

 in

【常见词义】在……里；在……内

【典型释义】流行的，时髦的

【真题举例】For an increasing number of students at American universities, Old is suddenly in. (2002.1  Passage Three) 对于越来越多的美国大学生来说，老年学突然流行起来了。

【举一反三】Strawberries are not in now, so it sells expensive. 现在草莓不当季，所以卖的贵。

 iron

【常见词义】铁

【典型释义】熨平，熨烫

【真题举例】Iron a fine-patterned tablecloth⁵? (2003.12  Passage Three) 把精美的桌布熨一下？

【举一反三】Damp clothes iron easily. 湿衣服好烫平。

 issue

【常见词义】重大的议题，论点

【典型释义】（正式）发给，供给

【真题举例】“The basic issue,” he says, “is that adults who are responsible for issuing licenses⁶ fail to recognize how complex and skilled a task driving is.” (2003.9  Passage One) 他说，根本问题是那些负责颁发执照的成年人没有认识到驾驶是一项多么复杂而且颇具技巧性的任务啊。

【举一反三】New shares are issued every week. 每周都在发行新股票。

 lead

【常见词义】指引，领路

【典型释义】铅

【真题举例】Lead deposits, which accumulated in soil and snow during the 1960’s and 70’s, were primarily the result of leaded gasoline emissions⁷ originating in the United States. (2005.1  Passage Three) 20世纪60年代和70年代土壤和积雪中的铅沉积主要是美国含铅汽油排放造成的。

【举一反三】This water-pipe is made of lead. 这根水管是铅制的。

 lift

【常见词义】举起，抬起

【典型释义】免费搭车；搭便车

【真题举例】A recent study, published in last week’s Journal of the American Medical Association, offers a picture of how risky⁸ it is to get a lift from a teenage driver. (2003.9  Passage One) 上周美国医学协会期刊所刊登的一项最新研究表明，搭乘十几岁少年的车何等危险。

【举一反三】Can you give me a lift? 您能搭我一程吗？

 log

【常见词义】原木，木料

【典型释义】记录，记载

【真题举例】Involvement in sports, in particular, rose almost 50% from 1981 to 1997: boys now spend an average of four hours a week playing sports; girls log half that time. (2003.6  Passage One) 特别是参与体育活动的时间，从1981年到1997年几乎增长了50%：现在男孩子平均每周花4小时运动，女孩的运动时间是男孩的一半。

【举一反三】From what was logged, the accident took place at midnight. 从记录来看，事故发生在午夜。

 monitor

【常见词义】班长

【典型释义】检查；调查；监视

【真题举例】Chains such as KFC, McDonald’s and Pizza Hut are setting a new standard of customer service, using strict employee training and constant monitoring to ensure the friendliness⁹ of frontline staff. (2002.12  Passage Four) 像肯德基、麦当劳和必胜客等连锁店制定了新的顾客服务标准，用更严格的员工培训和经常性的监督来确保一线工作人员的朋友式的服务。

So biologists were delighted early this year when, with the help of the Navy, they were able to track a particular blue for 43 days, monitoring its sounds. (2002.6  Passage Three) 今年早些时候，生物学家们非常高兴。因为在海军的帮助下，通过监测蓝鲸的声音，他们能够跟踪一条蓝鲸长达四十三天。

【举一反三】The computer will then monitor all of the car’s movements. (2002.1  Passage One) 然后计算机将监控汽车的一切状况。

 practically

【常见词义】实际上，实质上

【典型释义】几乎，差不多

【真题举例】While any of these statements might be true, they are practically impossible to prove scientifically. (2003.12  Passage One) 即使这些断言可能正确，它们也几乎不可能从科学上得到证实。

【举一反三】It’s practically impossible to finish the task in an hour. 在一小时内完成这项任务是几乎不可能的。

 shed

【常见词义】棚屋；流出

【典型释义】去除

【真题举例】The Centers for Disease Control, for example, found that fewer than one-fourth of overweight adults who were trying to shed pounds said they were combining exercise with their diet. (2005.1  Passage Four) 例如：疾病控制中心发现不足四分之一的试图减肥的超重成年人说，他们正在把运动和饮食结合起来。

【举一反三】shed a bad habit 改掉坏习惯

 span

【常见词义】一段时间

【典型释义】横跨，跨越

【真题举例】This was possible because of the Navy’s formerly¹⁰ top-secret system of underwater listening devices spanning the oceans. (2002.6  Passage Three) 这之所以成为可能，是因为海军从前绝密的海底监听系统横跨了海洋。

【举一反三】A bridge spans the Yangtzi River. 一桥横跨长江。

 spark

【常见词义】火花，火星

【典型释义】引发，触发

【真题举例】Medical tests shows that the child wasn’t the Twiggs’ own daughter, but Kimberly was, thus sparking a custody¹¹ battle with Robert Mays. (2003.6  Passage Four) 医学检查显示孩子不是Twigg家的女儿，而Kimberly 却是，于是，引发了Twigg家与Robert Mays 争夺监护权的官司。

【举一反三】The meeting sparked off a friendship between them. 这次会面引发了他们间的友谊。

 spell

【常见词义】拼写

【典型释义】招致

【真题举例】Scratchy throats, stuffy¹² noses and body aches all spell misery¹³, but being able to tell if the cause is a cold or flu may make a difference in how long the misery lasts. (2005.1  Passage One) 嗓子疼、鼻子不通和浑身酸痛都会带来痛苦，但是能够识别其起因是普通感冒还是流感，对于这种痛苦持续的时间长短会有着重要的意义。

【举一反三】For makers² of fine china in Britain, it spells economic hard times. (2003.12  Passage Three) 对于英国的精美瓷器制作者来说，它导致了经济上的艰难时期。

 station

【常见词义】车站

【典型释义】驻扎，派驻

【真题举例】The executive stationed in another country no longer need fear being “out of sight and out of mind.” (2002.12  Passage Three) 派驻在另一国家的管理人员不用再担心看不到或被忘却了。

【举一反三】Guards were stationed around the prison. 监狱周围驻扎着警卫。

 sure

【常见词义】有把握的；一定的

【典型释义】可靠的，确切的

【真题举例】A sure test for would-be heroes is what or whom do they serve? (2002.12  Passage One) 对于准英雄们可靠的检验是：他们为什么或为谁服务？

【举一反三】Please put this bag in a sure place. 请把这个包放在稳妥的地方。

 tell

【常见词义】告诉，命令

【典型释义】确切地判断，辨别

【真题举例】The ALA notes that it may be particularly difficult to tell when infants and preschool age children have the flu. (2005.1  Passage One) 美国呼吸科协会指出，当婴儿和学龄前儿童患流感时，可能会特别难以区分。

【举一反三】I can’t tell them apart. 我分不清他们。

 wake

【常见词义】醒来；唤醒

【典型释义】随后

【真题举例】In Hugo’s wake, all new shoreline houses are required to meet stricter, better-enforced codes. (2003.12  Passage Three) “雨果”袭击以后，所有新建在海岸线上的房子都必须按更加严格的标准建造。

【举一反三】Hunger and disease followed in the wake of the war. 战争过后，饥荒和疾病随之而来。

1 troublemakers   

n.惹是生非者，捣乱者( troublemaker的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He was employed to chuck out any troublemakers. 他受雇把捣乱者赶走。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She had automatically labelled the boys as troublemakers. 她不假思索地认定这些男孩子是捣蛋鬼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

4 crunch   

n.关键时刻；艰难局面；v.发出碎裂声

参考例句：

• If it comes to the crunch they'll support us.关键时刻他们是会支持我们的。
• People who crunch nuts at the movies can be very annoying.看电影时嘎吱作声地嚼干果的人会使人十分讨厌。

5 tablecloth   

n.桌布，台布

参考例句：

• He sat there ruminating and picking at the tablecloth.他坐在那儿沉思，轻轻地抚弄着桌布。
• She smoothed down a wrinkled tablecloth.她把起皱的桌布熨平了。

6 licenses   

n.执照( license的名词复数 )v.批准，许可，颁发执照( license的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Drivers have ten days' grace to renew their licenses. 驾驶员更换执照有10天的宽限期。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Jewish firms couldn't get import or export licenses or raw materials. 犹太人的企业得不到进出口许可证或原料。 来自辞典例句

7 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

8 risky   

adj.有风险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险，但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
• He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。

9 friendliness   

n.友谊，亲切，亲密

参考例句：

• Behind the mask of friendliness,I know he really dislikes me.在友善的面具后面，我知道他其实并不喜欢我。
• His manner was a blend of friendliness and respect.他的态度友善且毕恭毕敬。

10 formerly   

adv.从前，以前

参考例句：

• We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
• This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。

11 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

12 stuffy   

adj.不透气的，闷热的

参考例句：

• It's really hot and stuffy in here.这里实在太热太闷了。
• It was so stuffy in the tent that we could sense the air was heavy with moisture.帐篷里很闷热，我们感到空气都是潮的。

13 misery   

n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦

参考例句：

• Business depression usually causes misery among the working class.商业不景气常使工薪阶层受苦。
• He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。