6 Improving Your Vocabulary.docx
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6 Improving Your Vocabulary.docx
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6ImprovingYourVocabulary
ImprovingYourVocabulary
Agoodreadingvocabularyisprobablythesinglemostimportantrequirementforgoodreading.Everyotherskill—comprehension,retention(保持力),makinginferences,evaluating—dependsonyourknowledgeofwordsandtheirmeaningsinparticularsettings.Afterall,ifyoudon'tknowthemeaningofthewordsonthepage,youcanhardlyunderstandwhatthewriteristryingtosay.Sometimesitispossibleto"wingit,"meaningthatyoucangetthegist(要旨)ofthewriter'smainidea,evenifsomewordsremainunfamiliar.Mostoften,however,andespeciallywiththecarefulreadingyouwillbeaskedtodointhistext,youraccurateunderstandingofapassagemaydependsolelyonthemeaningofasingleword,asituationwhereguessingishazardous(危险的,冒险的).
Todemonstratehowimperative(必要的)yourunderstandingofnewwordscanbe,considerthefollowingparagraphfromanarticleonthegreenhouseeffect.
1FromatopavolcanoontheislandofHawaii,theskystretcheslikeapurebluesheet,coveringahorizonofocean,orangelavabedsanddampforests.2AtthemountainsideMaunaLoaObservatory,sitting11,500feetabovethesea,asteadyalarmbellisjarringthispureimageofearthandair.3ThewarningcarriesanurgentmessagethattheEarth'satmosphereandclimateareheadedforsweeping,rapidchanges.4AttheHawaiianoutpostandscoresofotherscientificlisteningposts,theevidenceisaccumulating:
aninvisiblestreamofgases,risingfromtheworld'sexhaustpipes,farmsandfactoriesthatiswarmingtheEarthrapidlythroughthegreenhouseeffect.
5Since1958,theMaunaLoaObservatoryhasmeasuredthecontentofthetradewindscrossingthemiddleofthePacificOcean,farfrommajorindustrialcenters.6Eachyeartheamountofcarbondioxide—akeycontributortothegreenhouseeffect—hasrisen,beginningat315partspermillionandnowrunningat354.7"Mankindisinadvertentlyconductingagreatgeochemicalexperiment,"warnedscientistswhofirstnoticedthechangingatmosphereinthe1950s....8ThedirepredictionsarebasedonprojectionsthattheEarthisinforenormousclimacticchangesbasedonanewstewofgasesthatnowguardthesurfacefrommajorswingsintemperature.9Likeagiantgreenhousewithoutwalls,theatmospherekeepsthesurfacewarm,screensoutharmfulsunraysandletsexcessheatescapeintospace.
CharlesPetit,
"WhytheEarth'sClimateIsChangingDramatically,"SanFranciscoChronicle
Althoughthevocabularyinthisparagraphisfairlysimple,therearesomeexceptions.First,thepassagecontainstwometaphors:
thephrasealarmbellinsentence2andthewordstewinsentence8arefiguresofspeechandare,therefore,notmeanttobetakenliterally.
Further,insentence6,theadverbinadvertentlyisimportantbecauseittellsushowmankindhaschangedtheenvironment.Inadvertentlymeans"accidentally"or"unintentionally."Theworddoesnotconveyanyparticularnegativejudgmentontheauthor'spart,butitdoessuggestthatwehavepollutedourenvironmentwithoutthinkingabouttheconsequences.
Finally,insentence8,theadjectivedireinthephrasedirepredictionsisastronglynegativeword.Itmeans"havingdreadfulorterribleconsequences","calamitous".
Theseexamplessuggestthatyoucanonlyhaveapreciseunderstandingofapassageifyoucanaccuratelydefineallimportantwords.Ahazynotionoranill-consideredguessaboutaword'smeaningmightleadtoacompletemisinterpretation.Althoughthecontextmightsuggestthatdirehasanegativeconnotation(itsemotionalassociation),youaremuchsaferconsultingadictionaryifyouareindoubt.Themessageis:
Whenindoubt,lookitup.
Sothetaskofimprovingyourvocabularyisinescapable;andwhile,atfirst,learningdozensofnewwordsmayappeartobeastaggeringtask,itispossible.Everyonehastostartsomewhere,andeveryone'svocabularycanbeimprovedsincethenumberofwordsintheEnglishlanguageissufficientlyvasttomakeeventhebestreaderreachforthedictionary,atleastoccasionally.(Modemunabridgeddictionariesgenerallyhaveabout600,000entries,butithasbeenestimatedthattheEnglishlanguagehaswellover1,000,000words.)
LEARNINGNEWWORDS
Anexhaustivetreatmentofvocabularyacquisitionisnotwithinthescopeofthisbook,andanynumberofexcellentvocabularyguidesareavailable.Therefore,whatfollowsaresimplysomesuggestionstoenableyoutostartonanactiveprogramtolearnthenewwordsthatyouencounterinyourreading.
First,youshouldhavetwodictionaries—anabridged(shortened)paperbackeditionforclass,andanunabridgedorcompleteeditiontokeepathome.Thereareseveralexcellentdictionaries,bothabridgedandunabridged,onthemarket.Askyourinstructortorecommendone,orchooseanunabridgededitionfromthislistofsomeofthebestknown:
TheRandomHouseDictionaryoftheEnglishLanguage
TheAmericanHeritageDictionaryoftheEnglishLanguage
Webster'sNewWorldDictionary
MerriamWebster'sCollegiateDictionary
TheOxfordAmericanDictionary
However,sincelanguagechangesconstantly,besurethatyourdictionaryisacurrentedition.Youmaysavealittlemoneybyusingyourfather'soldschooldictionary,butthedefinitionswillnotreflectup-to-dateusage.Inthenextsection,youwillfindsomehelpfulsuggestionsforusingthedictionary.
Second,developaninterestinlanguage.Whenyoulookwordsupinanunabridgeddictionary,lookattheetymology,sincemanywordshaveunusualorigins.Inthedictionary,theetymologyofawordisgiveninbracketsfollowingthedefinitions;itexplainsandtracesthederivationofthewordandgivestheoriginalmeaning.Forinstance,thedictionarytracesthehistoryofthewordniceasfollows:
[MiddleEnglish,foolish,wanton,shy,fromOldFrench,silly,fromLatinnescius,ignorant,fromnescire,tobeignorant].Youcaneasilyseehowradicallythisordinary(andnownearlymeaningless)wordhaschangedoverthecenturies.Anotherexampleisthewordmaudlin,meaning"effusivelysentimental".ThiswordisacorruptionofthenameMaryMagdalene,theprostitutewhowaspresentatChrist'scrucifixion.AccordingtotheNewTestament,Christhadcuredherofevilspirits.MaryanointedChrist'sfeetasHecarriedthecross,andlaterbecameidentifiedwithtearfulrepentance.Notethattheword'sconnotationhaschanged,sothatitnowhasstronglynegativeovertones.Afinalexampleisthecommonworddenim,whichrepresentsanothercorruption,thistimefromtheFrenchphrasesergedeNîmes("sergefromNîmes").Serge,akindofcloth,wasmanufacturedinNîmes,acityinsouthernFrance,butthefabriceventuallycametobecalled"deNîmes"("denim").
Payingattentiontoaword'setymologywhenyoulookitupinthedictionarywillgiveyouasenseofthelanguage'scomplexity,andinthecaseofmaudlin,knowingtheword'setymologymayhelpyourememberthemeaningwhenyounextencounteritinyourreading.
Third,donotmemorizelonglistsofwordsinisolation.Thisisatempting,butinefficient,wayofproceeding;youwon'tremembermanywords,andyouwillhavenoideaofthesubtletiesintheirmeaningsorthewaysthewordsareusedincontext.Newwordsarebestlearned(andretained)whentheyoccuraspartofyourreading.
Next,deviseasystemforlearningimportantwordsyoulookup.Writenewwordsandtheirmeanings(andthecontext,ifnecessary)inasmallnotebookoronindexcards.Reviewingthesewordsperiodicallywillensureyourmasteryofthem.
Finally,trytothinkofwordsthatsharesimilarmeaningsandoriginsasbelongingtogroupsorfamilies.Theworddormant,forexample,whichmeans"inactive"(fromtheFrenchverbdormir,"tosleep")mightalsosuggestdormitory("aplacewhereonesleeps"),ordormer("awindowunderaslopingroof,usuallyinabedroom").Similarly,severalrelatedwordsderivefromtheLatinrootverbadhaerere("tostickto"):
adhere("tostickfastortogether");adherent("stickingorholdingfast"asanadjective,or"asupporter"asanoun);adhesion("attachmentordevotion,astoacauseorindividual");andadhesive("tendingtoadhere,""sticky"—asinadhesivetape).FromtheLatinrootfides,wederivefidelity(faithfulness),itsnegativeforminfidelity(lackofreligiousfaith;alsoadultery),andthestereotypednameforadog,Fido.AknowledgeofcommonLatinandGreekprefixes,roots,andsuffixesisagoodwaytobuildyourstockofvocabulary.
USINGTHEDICTIONARY
Youhavealreadyseenthatthedictionarycanprovidethecuriousreaderwithinformationaboutaword'shistory,thatis,howitcameintotheEnglishlanguage.Butmorecentralforyourpurposesaretheotherreasonsthatthedictionarycanquicklybecomethemostthumbed-throughbookonyourdesk.Thedictionaryismostoftenreferredtofor
(1)correctspelling;
(2)correctpronunciation;and(3)thebestdefinitionaccordingtothecontext,thatis,thewaythewordisusedinapassage.Ourconcernhereiswiththesecondandthirduses.
PRONUNCIATION
Note
Heretheauthoristalkingabouta"western"waytolabelthepronunciationtothewords.TheydonotusuallyusethekindofIPA(internationalphoneticalphabet)methodasweoftendoinourbooksordictionaries,butuseakindofveryspecialsymbols,which,usually,arelistedatthebottomofeachpageforreader'sreference.
—WEBMASTER
Everydictionarycontainsadetailedkeylistingthepronunciationsymbolsinitsfrontmatter—thepagesprecedingthefirstdefinitionontheApage.Ratherthanreferringtothefrontmattereverytimeyouneedtoseehowawordispronounced,however,itiseasiertolookatthebriefpronunciationkeypro
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