自考英语(二)上册 第九课
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2020年08月02日 00:40
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Learned Words and Popular Words
In every cultivated文明社会 language there are two great classes of words which, taken together, make up the whole vocabulary. First, there are those words with which we become familiar in ordinary平常 conversation, which we learn, that is to say, from the members of our own family and from our friends, and which we should know and use even if we could not read or write. They concern有关 the common things of life, and are the stock in trade of all who speak the language. Such words may be called "popular," since they belong to the people at large and are not the possession属于 of a limited class固定某个阶层 only.
On the other hand, our language includes a large number of words which are relatively相对 seldom不常 used in ordinary conversation. Their meanings are known to every educated person, but there is little occasion时机 to use them at home. Our first acquaintance了解 with them comes not from our mother's lips or from the talk of our classmates, but from books that we read, lectures讲课that we hear, or the more formal conversation of highly educated speakers who are discussing some particular详细 topic in an elevated提升 style. Such words are called "learned", and the difference between them and "popular" words is of great importance to a right understanding of language.
The difference between popular and learned words may be easily seen in a few examples. We may describe a girl as "liverly" or as "vivacious."活泼 In the first case, we are using a native English word formed from the familiar noun life. In the latter, we are using a Latin derivative派生的 which has exactly the same meaning. Yet the atmosphere of the two words is quite different. No one ever got the adjective形容词 lively out of a book. It is a part of everybody's vocabulary. We cannot remember a time when we did not know it, and we fell sure that we learned it long before we were able to read. On the other hand, we must have passed several years of our lives before learning the word vivacious. We may even remember the first time that we saw it in print or heard it from some grown-up friend. Both lively and vivacious are good English words, but lively is popular and vivacious is learned.
The terms "popular" and "learned," as applied to words, are not absolute绝对 difinitions. No two persons have the same stock of words, and the same word may be "popular" in one man's vocabulary and "learned" in another's. There are also different grades等级 of "popularity." Still, the classification into "learned" and "popular" is convenient方便 and sound合理. Different opinions may come up as to the classification of any particular word, but there can be no difference of opinion about the general principle. We must be careful, however, to avoid misconception避免误解. When we call a word "popular," we do not mean that it is a favorite word, but simply that it belongs to the people as a whole - th
at is, it is everybody's word, not the possession of a limited number. When we call a word "learned" we do not mean that it is used by learned persons alone, but simply that its presence in the English vocabulary is due to books and the cultivation熏陶 of literature文学 rather than to the actual needs of ordinary conversation.
专业学术词汇与一般常用词汇
每一个文明社会所使用的语言里,都有两在类不同的词汇,如果把这两大类词汇加在一起,就构成了该语言的整个词汇。道德有些词汇是我们在一般的谈话当中才用熟了的,也就是,是我们从我们自己家的人或我们的朋友们那学来的,这些词汇是在我们即使还不会看书报,不会写字时,就懂得,就会用了的。这些词汇涉及的是生活中的一般事物,凡是说这种语言的人,脑海里都会储存这些词汇的。这些词汇可以称之为'一般常用词汇',因为这些词汇是属于一般人民的,而不是只属于有限的某一阶层的人的。
另一方面,我们的语言中还包括一些在一般谈话中相对说来几乎不用的一些为数很大的词汇。每位受过教育的人士都懂得这些词汇的意思,但是在家里几乎根本没有机会使用这些词汇。我们最初并不是从母亲的嘴里也不是从同班同学的谈话中才听到这些词汇,而是从我们的读物当中,从我们所听的讲座当中,或者一些受过很高的教育的人在以很高深的学术风格讨论某一特定的专题时,从他们的比较正式的交谈当中,听到这些词汇的。这类词汇称之为专业学术词汇。理解专业学术词汇和一般常用词汇之间的差别,对正确地掌握语言是很重要的。
举几个例子就能容易地看出一般常用词汇与专业学术词汇之间的差别。我们在描述一位活泼的姑娘,"活泼"这个词,既可以lively,也可以用vivacious。在第一种情况,我们用的是由我们熟悉的名词life构成的一个英格兰本地词;在后一种情况,我们用的是一个拉丁语来源的词,这两个词汇的意思是一样的。可是这两个词使用的场合却完全不同。没有任何一个人是从书本上学会lively这个形容词的。这个词是每个人都会用的词汇中的一个。我们记不起我们学会用这个词的时候是什么时候,我们都敢肯定,早在我们还没学会阅读很久以前,我们就学会了这个词。与此相反,我们准是又过了若干年以后,这才学会了vivacious这个词。我们甚至还能记得我们第一次在印刷品上见到这个词的时候或者记得从某个成年朋友那里听到这个词的时间。Lively和vivacious这两个词都是纯正的英语词汇。但lively是一般常用词,而vivacious是专业学术词。
把"一般常用"和"专业学术"这两个术语若用到词汇上并没有绝对的定义。根本就不可能有两个人储存
在脑海里的词汇数量和内容是完全相同的。同一个单词在某人掌握的词汇里很可能算是一般常用词,而在另一个人所掌握的词汇里却成了"专业学术词"。"一般常用"的程度也可以有几个不同的档次。然而把词汇划分成"一般常用词"和"专业学术词"这种分类方法还是方便而又有理有据的。尽管把某一个别的词究竟划分到哪一类会再现有不同的意见,但对划分的根本标准却不会有分歧。但我们必须谨慎,避免把概念搞错了。如果我们把一个单词划归"一般常用词",这并不意味着该词是属于全民的词,也就是说,它是大家都会用的词。而不是属于有限数量的少数人会用的词。当我们把某一单词称为"专业学术词",这并不意味着只有有学问的人才能使用它,而是仅仅意味着,这个词汇之所以能出现在英文中,完全是由于有了书刊有了文学的熏陶的结果,而不是由于日常谈话有什么实际需要才有了这个单词。
第九课B
How Should You Build Up Your Vocabulary?
Through Context上下文
When students in a college class were asked what should be done when they came across a new word in their reading, 84 percent said, "Look it up in the dictionary." If you do, however, you interrupt the very mental 状态 processes needed to make your efforts most productive成果.
But there's another reason. Suppose someone asks you what the word "fast" means. You answer, "swift." But does it mean that in such contexts as "fast color," "fast woman," or "fast friend"? And if a horse is fast, is it securely安全 tied or running at top speed? It could be either. It all depends. On the dictionary? No, on context - on how the word is actually事实上 used. After all there are over twenty different meanings for "fast" in the dictionary. But the dictionary doesn't tell you which meaning is intended想要. That's why it makes such good sense to begin with context.
Through Word Parts构词
Now for the next step. Often new words contain one or more parts, which, if recognized识别, provide specific help with meaning. Suppose you read that someone "had a preference for reading travel books." The context certainly isn't too helpful. But do you see a prefix, suffix, or root that you know? Well, there's the familiar prefix pre-, meaning "before." Look back at the context and try inserting "before." Reading travel books apparently comes "before" other kinds of reading. Yes, a preference is something put "before" something else.
Your second step, then, is to look for familiar word parts. If they do not give you exact meanings, they should at least bring you much closer.
Now you can see why you should consult the dictionary last, not first. You've looked carefully at context. You've looked for familiar word parts. Now you play Sherlock Holmes - and exciting role. You guess. What exactly精确 does that strange陌生的 word mea
n? Only when you go through the mental exercises练习 to come up with a tentative假设 difinition should you open the dictionary to see if you're right.
After all, those first two steps or approaches方法 spark a stronger than usual interest in that dictionary difinition. You're now personally involved. Did you find out the word meaning? Your heightened interest will lead to better memory of both word and meaning. It also encourages your development of the habits needed to speed your progress. And when you see in black and white the definition you had expected, what a felling of success is yours. In that way, the CPD Formula provides you with maximum effectiveness效率.
Well, there it is , your new formula - Context, Parts, Dictionary. Use it! The exercises which follow will give you specific, step-by-step help in sharpening your awareness认识 of contextual clues, learning the most useful word parts, and using the dictionary with increased accuracy and ease. The results will be like money in the bank.
通过哪些方法扩大词汇量?
通过文脉
如果问一问某个大学班里的学生们,问他们在总计中若是遇到了生词应该怎么办,84%的学生会说"查字典"。但是,如果你去查字典,这就势必打断了你思考书中内容的思路,而这思考的思路正是使你的阅能获得最大的成果所必需的。
要通过文脉(上下文)还有一个理由。若有人问你fast(快)这个词是什么意思。你会回答:swift(急速)。但是在像"fast color"(不褪的颜色)、"fast woman"(淫荡的妇女)或"fast friend"(可靠的朋友)这样的文脉(或译作"上下文"、"语境")中fast不能就"急速"的意思吗?"A horse is fast."这个句子是"一匹马被拴得很牢固"的意思呢,还是"一匹马跑得很快"的意思呢?这两种意思中哪一种的意思都有可能。这要由文脉来决定了。根据词典?不,要根据上下文来决定fast这个词实际上用的是哪一个意思。Fast这个词在词典中竟有20多个义项。但是你所查的那本词典不可能告诉你这里用的是哪个意思。这就是之所以必须从文章的脉络着手来理解词义的最充分的理由。
通过词构
那么接下来才进行下一步。一些生词里经常会包含有一个或更多的构词成分。如果你能认出这些构词成分(这里指词根、前缀、中缀、后缀--译者注)会在你了解词义上特有帮助。如果你读到"Someone had a preference a preference for reading travel books."(某人最喜欢读旅游方面的书籍。)这样的一个句子,只根据上下文的脉络当然不会有太大的帮助。但是你看到这个生词中有你所认识的前缀(prefix)、后缀(suffix)、或词根(root)了吗?噢,这儿有个你认识的前缀pre-意思是"在…最前头"(before)。再回头来看看上不文的脉络,试把"在…最前头"这个意思加进去。很
显然,把阅读旅游书籍摆在新闻记者其他各种书籍之前。没错,preference(优先,最喜欢)这个词的意思就是摆在其他别的事情之前的意思了。
所以,这第二个步骤就是要找出你所熟知的构词成分。即使这些构词知识不能给你精确的词义,最低限度也能使你对该词义能了解得很接近了。
通过词典(注:这个小标题是本文译者所加)
现在你该懂了为什么最后一个步骤才是查词典,而不是一见到生词第一步就先查词典。你对文章的上下文脉络已经看过了。你已经找出来了生词中你早已熟知的构词成分。那么现在你就扮演夏洛克-一个激动人心的角色。你去猜,这个生词的确切意思到底是什么?只有经过了你的反复思考、推敲能得出一个还不十分确切的词义时,这才可以翻开词典证实一下你的想法是否正确。
要知道,头两个步骤或方法(指"通过文脉","通过构词"--本书编者注)比你查词典上的解释更能激发出你的非同小可的兴趣。现在你本人已经完全进入文章的意境当中了。你搞清楚这个生词的意思了吗?你越来越浓厚的兴趣会使你更好地记住这个生词和它的意思。这也有助于你能养成为了加快进步所必须的良好阅读习惯。当你看到词典中白纸黑字所印出的词义,正是你原来所认定的意思时,你就会有一种成功感。这样,这个CPD三步曲(这里指Context通过文脉,Word Parts通过构词和|Dictionary通过词典--本文译者注)就会给你提供最大的效率。
喏,步骤就是这样,这就是你的新三步曲--文脉,构词,词典。用这三步曲吧!接着的那些练习会提供给你具体的踏踏实实的帮助,使你能够敏锐地意识到文章的脉络所提供的猜词线索,使你能学会很有用的分析构词成分,使你能越来越能精确地、得心应手地使用词典。这三步曲的结果就会像你把钱存到银行里一样,词汇积累得越来越多。