例3
Before the nineteenth century, scientists with an interest in the sea were few and far between. Certainly Newton considered some theoretical aspects of it in his writings, but he was reluctant to go to sea to further his work.
For most people the sea was remote, and with the exception of early intercontinental travelers or others who earned a living from the sea, there was little reason to ask many questions about it, let alone to ask what lay beneath the surface. The first time that the question "What is at the bottom of the oceans?" had to be answered with any commercial consequence was when the laying of a telegraph cable from Europe to America was proposed. The engineers had to know the depth profile of the route to estimate the length of cable that had to be manufactured.
It was to Maury of the US Navy that the Atlantic Telegraph Company turned, in 1853, for information on this matter. In the 1840s, Maury had been responsible for encouraging voyages during which soundings were taken to investigate the depths of the North Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Later, some of his findings aroused much popular interest in his book The Physical Geography of the Sea.
The cable was laid, but not until 1866 was the connection made permanent and reliable. At the early attempts, the cable failed and when it was taken out for repairs it was found to be covered in living growths, a fact which defied contemporary scientific opinion that there was no life in the deeper parts of the sea.
1．“Defied” in the last sentence probably means ________.
A. "doubted" B. "9ave proof to"
C. "challenged" D. "agreed to"
本題考查的是根據(jù)上下文進行詞義猜測的能力。defied是defy的過去式，根據(jù)最后一句可以推測它的詞義，但必須完全讀懂defied前后部分的意思：前一部分是說從海底撈出的電纜上覆蓋著各種各樣的生物，后一部分是當時的科學觀點認為海底深處是沒有生命的。由此可見，前一部分的“事實’’(…，a fact which…)是“批駁”后一部分的“觀點”。所以，答案是選項C，“challenged”。這個詞的原意是“向……挑戰(zhàn)”，因而有“對……持異議”、“反對”的意思，其賓語常常是針對某種意見、觀點或權(quán)威。
例4
We find that bright children are rarely held back by mixed-ability teaching．On the contrary， both their knowledge and experience are enriched．We feel that there are many disadvantages in streaming pupils．It does not take into account the fact that children develop at different rates．It can have a bad effect on both the bright and the not—SO-bright child．After all，it Can be quite discouraging to be at the bottom of the top grade!
1．By “held back”(1ine l)the author means“________”．
A. made to remain in the same class
B. forced to study in the lower class
C. drawn to their studies
D. prevented from advancing
本題考的是對詞組holdback的理解。根據(jù)上下文，它的意思是“阻擋，阻礙”，選項D是答案。當然holdback還可以表示(1)“猶豫”，如：I have noticed that you do not holdback in our discussion．(我發(fā)覺你在討論時并不猶豫)；(2) “控制”，如：The dam was not strong enough to hold back the flood waters．(大壩不夠堅固，擋不住洪水)；(3)“保留、不公布”，如： I think he’s holding something back；he knows more than he admits．(我認為他還隱瞞了一些事情，他知道的比他承認的多)。對照上下文，選項A、B、C都不能表達hold back的意義。
例5
In the workplace，men have long had well—defined precedents and role models for achieving Success．It has been otherwise for women．A good many women in the business world are uncertain about the appropriate mixture of "masculine" and "feminine" attributes they should convey by their professional clothing．The variety of clothing alternatives to women has also been greater than that available for men．Male administrators tend to judge women more favorably for managerial positions when the women display less "feminine" grooming—shorter hair．moderate use of make—up，and plain tailored clothing．As one male administrator confessed，"An attractive woman is definitely going to get a longer interview，but she won’t get a job.”
1．The word “precedents” in line l probably refers to __________.
A. early acts for men to follow as examples
B. particular places for men to occupy especially because of their importance
C. things that men should agree upon
D. men's belief that everything in the world has already been decided
本題要求考生推測precedents的意思。這個題目比較難，需要構(gòu)詞法的知識并通過上下文的幫助，才能答對。從第一、二句可以看出，precedents在意義上與role models是并列的。而且，它的前綴pre- 有“先”，“前”的意思，實際上它是precede(先行、)加后綴-ent構(gòu)成的，意思是“先例，慣例”。所以只有選項A才是正確答案。
Before the nineteenth century, scientists with an interest in the sea were few and far between. Certainly Newton considered some theoretical aspects of it in his writings, but he was reluctant to go to sea to further his work.
For most people the sea was remote, and with the exception of early intercontinental travelers or others who earned a living from the sea, there was little reason to ask many questions about it, let alone to ask what lay beneath the surface. The first time that the question "What is at the bottom of the oceans?" had to be answered with any commercial consequence was when the laying of a telegraph cable from Europe to America was proposed. The engineers had to know the depth profile of the route to estimate the length of cable that had to be manufactured.
It was to Maury of the US Navy that the Atlantic Telegraph Company turned, in 1853, for information on this matter. In the 1840s, Maury had been responsible for encouraging voyages during which soundings were taken to investigate the depths of the North Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Later, some of his findings aroused much popular interest in his book The Physical Geography of the Sea.
The cable was laid, but not until 1866 was the connection made permanent and reliable. At the early attempts, the cable failed and when it was taken out for repairs it was found to be covered in living growths, a fact which defied contemporary scientific opinion that there was no life in the deeper parts of the sea.
1．“Defied” in the last sentence probably means ________.
A. "doubted" B. "9ave proof to"
C. "challenged" D. "agreed to"
本題考查的是根據(jù)上下文進行詞義猜測的能力。defied是defy的過去式，根據(jù)最后一句可以推測它的詞義，但必須完全讀懂defied前后部分的意思：前一部分是說從海底撈出的電纜上覆蓋著各種各樣的生物，后一部分是當時的科學觀點認為海底深處是沒有生命的。由此可見，前一部分的“事實’’(…，a fact which…)是“批駁”后一部分的“觀點”。所以，答案是選項C，“challenged”。這個詞的原意是“向……挑戰(zhàn)”，因而有“對……持異議”、“反對”的意思，其賓語常常是針對某種意見、觀點或權(quán)威。
例4
We find that bright children are rarely held back by mixed-ability teaching．On the contrary， both their knowledge and experience are enriched．We feel that there are many disadvantages in streaming pupils．It does not take into account the fact that children develop at different rates．It can have a bad effect on both the bright and the not—SO-bright child．After all，it Can be quite discouraging to be at the bottom of the top grade!
1．By “held back”(1ine l)the author means“________”．
A. made to remain in the same class
B. forced to study in the lower class
C. drawn to their studies
D. prevented from advancing
本題考的是對詞組holdback的理解。根據(jù)上下文，它的意思是“阻擋，阻礙”，選項D是答案。當然holdback還可以表示(1)“猶豫”，如：I have noticed that you do not holdback in our discussion．(我發(fā)覺你在討論時并不猶豫)；(2) “控制”，如：The dam was not strong enough to hold back the flood waters．(大壩不夠堅固，擋不住洪水)；(3)“保留、不公布”，如： I think he’s holding something back；he knows more than he admits．(我認為他還隱瞞了一些事情，他知道的比他承認的多)。對照上下文，選項A、B、C都不能表達hold back的意義。
例5
In the workplace，men have long had well—defined precedents and role models for achieving Success．It has been otherwise for women．A good many women in the business world are uncertain about the appropriate mixture of "masculine" and "feminine" attributes they should convey by their professional clothing．The variety of clothing alternatives to women has also been greater than that available for men．Male administrators tend to judge women more favorably for managerial positions when the women display less "feminine" grooming—shorter hair．moderate use of make—up，and plain tailored clothing．As one male administrator confessed，"An attractive woman is definitely going to get a longer interview，but she won’t get a job.”
1．The word “precedents” in line l probably refers to __________.
A. early acts for men to follow as examples
B. particular places for men to occupy especially because of their importance
C. things that men should agree upon
D. men's belief that everything in the world has already been decided
本題要求考生推測precedents的意思。這個題目比較難，需要構(gòu)詞法的知識并通過上下文的幫助，才能答對。從第一、二句可以看出，precedents在意義上與role models是并列的。而且，它的前綴pre- 有“先”，“前”的意思，實際上它是precede(先行、)加后綴-ent構(gòu)成的，意思是“先例，慣例”。所以只有選項A才是正確答案。