积累阅读中的核心词汇

第一节　积累阅读中的核心词汇

一、主题相关词汇

考生要扩大词汇量，首先应当准备和文章题材、内容密切相关的核心词汇。这些词汇往往和主题密切相关，会在同类题材的文章中反复出现，既有准备总结、扩大词汇量的价值，又有加深词义理解和词汇用法、熟练理解词语在上下文中含义的作用。因为在阅读考试中虽然不大可能碰到曾经读过的文章，但是读得越多，相应体裁和题材的材料就见得越多，从而不知不觉地会发现自己的进步，出现“柳暗花明又一村”或“豁然开朗”的境界，因为某些考试经常考查的题材往往是相对固定的。

例1：

With the possible exception of equal rights，perhaps the most controversial issue across the United States today is death penalty.Many argue that it is an effective deterrent（威慑）to murder，while others maintain there is no convincing evidence that the death penalty reduces the number of murders.

The principal argument advanced by those opposed to the death penalty，basically is that it is cruel and inhuman punishment，that it is the mark of a brutal society，and finally that it is of questionable effectiveness as a deterrent to crime anyway.

In our opinion，the death penalty is a necessary evil.Throughout the recorded history there have always been those extreme individuals in every society who were capable of terribly violent crimes such as murder.But some are more extreme than others.

For example，it is one thing to take the life of another is a fit of blind rage，but quite another to coldly plot and carry out the murder of one or more people in the style of a butcher.Thus，murder，like all other crimes，is a matter of relative degree.While it could be argued with some conviction that the criminal in the first instance should be merely isolated from society，such should not be the fate of the latter type of murder.The value of the death penalty as a deterrent to crime may be open to debate.But the overwhelming majority of citizens believe that the death penalty protects them.Their belief is reinforced by evidence which shows that the death penalty deters murder.For example，from 1954 to 1963，when the death penalty was consistently imposed in California，the murder rate remained between three and four murders for each 100，000 population.Since 1964 the death penalty has been imposed only once，and the murder rate has arisen to 10.4 murders for each 100，000 population.The sharp climb in the state’s murder rate，which began when executions stopped，is no coincidence.It is convincing evidence that the death penalty does deter many murderers.If the bill reestablishing the death penalty is vetoed（否决），innocent people will be murdered—some whose lives may have been saved if the death penalty were in effect.This is literally a life or death matter.The lives of thousands of innocent people must be protected.（1999年第六篇）

例2：

In the USA，85% of the population over the age of 21 approve of the death penalty.In the many states which still have the death penalty，some use the electrical chair，which can take up to 20minutes to kill，while others use gas or lethal injection.

The first of these was the case of Ruth Ellis who was hanged for shooting her lover in what was generally regarded as a crime of passion.The second was hanged for murders which，it was later proved，had been committed by someone else.

The pro-hanging lobby uses four main arguments to support its call for the reintroduction of capital punishment.First，there is the deterrence theory，which argues that the potential murderers would think twice before committing the act if they knew that they might die if they were caught.The armed bank robber might，go back to being unarmed.

The other two arguments are more suspect.The idea of retribution demands that criminals should get what they deserve：if a murderer intentionally set out to comm it a crime，he should accept the consequences.Retribution，which is just another word for revenge，is supported by the religious doctrine of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.

The arguments against the death penalty are largely humanitarian.But there are also statistical reasons for opposing it：the deterrence figure do not add up.In Britain，1903 was the record for executions and yet in 1904 the number of murders actually rose.There was a similar occurrence in 1946 and 1947.If the deterrence theory were correct，the rate should have fallen.

The other reasons to oppose the death penalty are largely a matter of individual conscience and belief.One is that murder is murder and the state has no more right to take a life than the individual.The other is Christianity advises forgiveness，not revenge.（1997年第一篇）

这两篇都是讨论美国人对死刑问题争论的文章。由于这两篇文章探讨的题材类似，我们发现它们同时使用了同一批词汇，即用黑体突出了的词汇，它们都属于司法犯罪领域的词汇。考生可以在阅读理解的基础上，将它们集中记忆。这样做的好处有三点：第一，通过上下文记忆单词，不容易混淆忘记；第二，通过同类阅读题材的重复，可以使这批与主题相关的核心词汇不断复现，加深印象，使它们由生词变为熟词；第三，将来再遇到同类题材的文章将很少会有词汇难点，可以帮助考生减少阅读障碍。

现将此类词汇总结如下：

例3：

There are hidden factors which scientists call“feedback mechanisms”.No one knows how they will interact with the changing climate.Here’s one example：plants and animals adapt to climate change over centuries.At the current estimate of half a degree centigrade of warming per decade，vegetation（植物）may not keep up.Climatologist James Hansen predicts climate zones will shift toward the poles by 50 to 75 kilometers a year faster than trees can naturally migrate.Species that find themselves in an unfamiliar environment will die.The 1，000-kilometre wide strip of forest running through Canada，the US.SR and Scandinavia could be cut by half.Millions of dying trees would soon lead to massive forest fires，releasing tons of CO₂ and further boosting global warming.

There are dozens of other possible“feedback mechanisms”.Higher temperatures will fuel condensation and increase cloudiness，which may actually damp down global warming.Others，like the“albedo”effect，will do the opposite.The“albedo”effect is the amount of solar energy reflected by the earth’s surface.As the northern snow melts and the darker sea and land pokes（戳）through，more heat will be absorbed，adding to the global temperature increase.

Even if we were to magically stop all greenhouse-gas emissions tomorrow，the impact on global climate would continue for decades.Delay simply makes the problem worse.The fact is that some of us are doing quite well the way things are.In the developed world prosperity has been built on 150 years of cheap fossil fuels.

Material progress has been linked to energy consumption.Today 75 percent of all the world’s energy is consumed by a quarter of the world’s population.The average rich world resident adds about 3.2 tons of CO₂ yearly to the atmosphere，more than four times the level added by each Third World citizen.The US，with just 7 percent of the global population，is responsible for 22 percent of global warming.

例4：

At the Kyoto conference on global warming in December 1997，it became abundantly clear how complex it has become to work out international agreements relating to the environment because of economic concerns unique to each country.It is no longer enough to try to forbid certain activities or to reduce emissions of certain substances.The global challenges of the interlink between the environment and development increasingly bring us to the core of the economic life of states.During the late 1980s we were able，through international agreements，to make deep cuts in emissions harmful to the ozone layer.These reductions were made possible because substitutions had been found for many of the harmful chemicals and，more important，because the harmful substances could be replaced without negative effects on employment and the economies of states.

Although the threat of global warming known to the world for decades and all countries and leaders agree that we need to deal with the problem，we also know that the effects of measures，especially harsh measures taken in some countries，would be mollified（抵消）if other countries do not control their emissions.Whereas the UN team on climate change has found that the emissions of carbon dioxide would have to be cut globally by 60% to stabilize the content of CO₂，in the atmosphere，this path is not feasible for several reasons.Such deep cuts would cause a breakdown of the world economy.Important and populous low-or-medium income countries are not willing to undertake legal commitments about their energy uses.In addition，the state of world technology would not yet permit us to make such a big leap.

We must，however，find a solution to the threat of global warming early in the 21^st century.Such a commitment would require a degree of shared vision and common responsibilities new to humanity.Success lies in the force of imaginations，in imagining what would happen if we fail to act.Although many living in cold regions would welcome the global-warming effect of a warmer summer，few would cheer the arrival of the subsequent tropical diseases，especially where there had been none.

例3、例4都是环保题材方面有关温室效应的文章，这类题材是近两年阅读测试的热门题材，其中涉及大量环保方面的词汇，考生应注意积累。现将此类题材中的常用词汇总结如下：

考生如果能在日常的阅读训练中坚持进行此类的词汇总结工作，一定会获益匪浅。

二、阅读关键词汇

在阅读中，有些词汇属于高频词汇，会频繁出现在各类题材的文章中，而且其中很多词的词义强烈，一旦在文章中出现，往往会影响读者对某个句子甚至对整篇文章的理解，而且不少题目会用于测试考生对这些词汇含义的理解。这样的词包括以下几类：

1.有益有害

有益benefit，beneficial，value，valuable，advantage，advantageous，profit，profitable，promote，do good to，improve，positive，constructive，meaningful，favorable，merit...

有害harmful，disastrous，damage，do harm to，undermine，weaken，threaten，endanger，pose a threat to，defect，weakness，drawback，shortcoming，flaw，obstacle，negative，problem，block，crisis，dilemma，setback，barrier，obstruction...

2.作用影响

有影响：play a role in，have effect on，influence，affect，determine，impact...

重要的：important，vital，critical，essential，decisive，fundamental，indispensable，major，principal...

不重要的：minor，weak，meaningless...

3.支持反对

支持：support，supportive，favorable，in favor of，approve，agree，be for...

反对：objection，oppose，disapprove，disagree，be against，object to...

4.因果关系

前因后果：trigger，lead to，contribute to，cause，result in，give rise to，bring about，account for...

前果后因：be caused by，be attributed to，result from，put down to...

5.增长减少

增长：increase，rise，raise，go up，ascend，mount，jump，soar，skyrocket...

减少：cut down，cut back on，decline，decrease，reduce，drop，go down，diminish，lower，lessen，shrink...

除了这些词外，但凡语义强烈的，或者有明显褒义、贬义色彩的词汇都应该及时积累，并应该学会辨析这些词的含义，因为正确答案选项中往往会用这些词的同义词来替换它们。