本頁嘗試為學測英文提供解說參考,以及提供文章分析和補充知識的示例,希望能夠幫助各位學子能夠更詳細掌握考題的要點,以及加強溫習英文的成果。(如果要試題的話,請自行到官網瀏覽)
1. (C)「Advanced」可解「go or move something forward」,可是這裡沒有到達屋子的意思。這題可靠從「order」這詞作聯想,而delivery則是「order」的常見相同語境的詞語。
2. (A)看見「Help」可以由此聯想同義詞「assist」(協助),而引申出名詞「assistant」。
3. (C)D 選項為干擾項,「variety show」,可謂綜藝匯演。可是答題時也要兼顧上文下理,「hand variety」的話,配搭並不通順。相反,hand puppet,手偶則是台灣傳統文化之一,故選擇 C。
4. (A)根據語境,此處應指潛在致命副作用,因此選擇 A。此處亦值得留意adverb + adj. 的配搭。
5. (A) 先以文法層面作分析,這裡已經有「help」作main verb,因此要以Gerund開首,即 +ing 。而這題考核時下流行的英文用語,tagging跟hashtag 相關。
6. (C)題目中,intimate屬於正面形容,本來也許有機會,可是多數是用作形容relationships,所以不對。而「agree」則與「say ‘yes’」這題的關鍵字眼相近,故此選 C。
7. (B)有時候,需要以反義詞來聯想,因為形容詞連接「barely」後,一般呈相反意思。例如「Hidden」的類近意思,就是「barely visible」。
8. (D)這處也考語義相反,「eventual」跟「original」相對。
9. (D)「go on strike」解作罷工,跟「natural history」無關,正確應為D 選項,「quest」為探索。
10. (B)「pink cherry blossom」為提示,而「blushes」正有臉頰泛紅之意。
11. (A)「initiated」呼應「first」,能根據語境而選出。而D 選項則有負面意思,通常解「操控、利用」,此處不適用。
12. (D)動作延續至仍然影響至今,故此D 選項最適合。C 選項則需分句中有simple past tense作配合,方能使用。
13. (C)細看語境,下一句指明「unique」,即是各有特色;而前面的conjunction「Although」也暗示語義的轉折,故「similarities」終不再。
14. (B)根據語境,authors會出版書籍,而「book releases」則是相應常見配搭。
15. (D)「printed」呼應「traditional」,選項 C 獨立來看或許成立,但明顯未有扣緊上半句子。
16. (D)「pleasant to the eye」講的正是呼應句末的「aesthetics」,此處留意「eye」沒有用上複數,同例可見「apple to one's eye」。此處考核語義轉折,選項 D合乎「以外」的意思。而細微之處在於值得留意「aesthetic」是形容詞。
17. (A)「to be」有「獲安排/本應」的意味,而此題則是要求講述過往,故選擇 A。
18. (D)語境中潛藏指更高更快的話,就意味會加劇(intensified)。
19. (C)Spell disaster意味「it makes you expect trouble etc.」,因下一段呈現相反意思。
20. (A)承受的意思,同義詞為「withstand」。
21. (C)要容易解題的話,前面「Daring」已經明示了「大膽的意思」,故此適合選取近義的「risky」。
22. (I)Out of sth. 後面連接名詞,「called for」這phrasal verb可以首先剔除。Emerged out of 可以理解為「因…而生」。
23. (F)同句的「impressive」帶正面意思,而這個選項是唯一適合的形容詞。
24. (H)後面的「first time」就是初嘗的意思。
25. (D)「cost」 見片語「cost somebody their job/life/marriage etc」,意即「賠上性命/……」。巧妙之處在於「some」也可以用作pronoun,故此不作「cost some people of their ...」。
26. (G)片語「call for sth.」有「需求某事」的意思。
惟需注意句尾若改為「sb.」,則解接走某人的意思,例如「My chauffeur will call for you at seven」(我的司機會在七點接載你)。
27. (J)句末的stunt person是特技人,亦可稱為stunt man,而名詞的話自然聯想到職業,故選擇「career」。
28. (E)此處考核動詞的多義用法,witness可以指「是發生…的地點/時間」。同理見「see」的多義用法,通常譯為「是…的發生時間(或地點);見證」。
29. (A)根據上文下理,答案以「有可能做到」的意思最符合配搭。
30. (B) 此處應指觀賞的整體感覺,故此應選擇「sensation」。而「adj. + sensation」的搭配常見,如「a wonderful sensation; a strange sensation」。
31. (D) 因為返鄉與家人團聚,「travel back to their hometowns」。「Origin from」也常見於文章開首溯源。
32. (A)補充例子說明。
33. (C)「Conclude with」的配搭指「以…作結」,因而不能是靠前的選擇。
34. (B) 最後說明活動的普遍性。
35. (B) 「Wrapped around his body」應該為包裹全身,也應該有盾牌。
36. (A) 文中「adopt a more modern lifestyle」就是選項A的相近意思。
37. (C) 見「They were then replaced by colorful glass beads」,熱潮被彩色琉璃寶石所取代。而此題的「then」帶有「然後,接著」的意思。
38. (C)「a part of their being」,可視為「不可或缺的部分」。
39. (D) 沒有談及用途限制。
40. (A) D選項先行,文中「Before the war」已說明時間之早,而「used to」形容動作的連貫性,配搭「+ infinitive 不定詞」。
41. (B)「having witnessed the life-saving power of the metal helmet in the War」戰時親身目擊了…拯救生命的威力。
42. (B)選項B與選項D跟「helmet」的性質無關。
43. (D)段落四並無直接解釋重新生長的能力從何而來。
44. (C)「GABA」的濃度有所變化。
45. (A)「reproduce」不單解「繁殖」,亦可解作「重現;重做」。
46. (D)結論並未推論至所有器官(organs)都適用。
額外閱讀/ 文章細讀(示例)
- Pitchfork (音樂評論網站,下例為外國評論家對Taylor Swift 的大碟Folklore 所作的賞評,值得留意當中的議論修辭。)
- Folklore will forever be known as Taylor Swift's “indie” album, a sweater-weather record released on a whim in the blue heat of this lonely summer, filled with cinematic love songs in search of a film soundtrack. There are those who already dislike Folklore on principle, who assume it's another calculated attempt on Swift's part to position her career as just so (how dare she); meanwhile, fans will hold it up as tangible proof that their leader can do just about anything (also a stretch). While it's true that Folklore pushes the limits of Swift's sound in a particular, perhaps unexpected direction, her reference points feel more like mainstream “indie” homage than innovation, taking cues from her collaborators' work and bits of nostalgia.
上述段落描述生動,不落俗套。此處斜體標示的sweater-weather,其實借代winter;舉一反三,同學也可試想以「raincoat-weather」來表達其他天氣。
句子「in the blue heat of this lonely summer」較為特別,「in the heat of (something)」本指「某事盛極之時」,而「blue heat」的配搭在Merriam-Webster dictionary(韋氏字典)中解釋是「a temperature (such as 550° to 600° F) at which iron or steel becomes bluish」,實則金屬燃燒時呈藍色為最高溫,而呈紅色時則相較低溫,文中說法可引申理解為「孤身度過盛夏」。
另外,同學宜廣泛吸收片語,例如「on a whim」(突然的念頭)、「on sb.'s part」則是「由某人所作…」(e.g. The information was copious and meticulously detailed, and revealed no prejudice on the part of the questioner. 可見盤問人所作絕無偏見)。而「While, ...」可用作表示constrasting views。
- At its best, Folklore asserts something that has been true from the start of Swift's career: Her biggest strength is her storytelling, her well-honed songwriting craft meeting the vivid whimsy of her imagination; the music these stories are set to is subject to change, so long as it can be rooted in these traditions.
下段仍有可學習的要點,我們可見concession句式,即「At its best ...」。這在議論性文章中,可帶出以退為進的效果。這種長評論文章多見complex sentence,同學可多加留意作者的句型變化,日後寫作論述式文章時特別適用,例如「so long as」與「only if」同義(亦見'provided that', 'providing that' or 'on condition that'),均可解「只要/如果」,但留意「so long as」語調略為正式,需要配合語體運用,這就涉及文體學(Stylistics),容日後另花篇幅談論。
由此,同學可多留意用詞搭配,如「hold up sth.」可以有多種用法,包括「延遲做某事」及「搶劫」,此處根據文意則解「以…作證明」。
2. 新聞分享 (The Guardian 《衛報》)
- Officials hope the generous sums on offer will encourage families with children aged up to 18 to revitalise regions and ease pressure on space and public services in greater Tokyo, the world's biggest metropolis with a population of about 35 million.
「on offer」是可用/可用的意思,此處可解現行提供的。另,同學可留意支持發放津貼的論點。而句式方面,逗號後面的一連串是同位語,說明「Tokyo」的含義。
- In principle, relocating families receive 1m-3m yen per household provided they meet one of three criteria: employment at a small or midsize company in the area they move to; continuing in their old jobs via remote working; or starting a business in their new home, according to the Nikkei business newspaper. After the higher payments are factored in, a family with two children could be eligible for up to 5m yen.
「In principle」可解作「理論上」。而「factor sth. in」就是「把…列入考慮」。
- The population of the world's third-biggest economy suffered a record fall of 644,000 in 2020-21, according to government data. It is expected to plummet from its current 125 million to an estimated 88 million in 2065 – a 30% decline in 45 years.
- While the number of over-65s continues to grow, the birthrate remains stubbornly low at 1.3 children – well below the 2.1 needed to sustain the current population size.
留意「a rate」原則上跟preposition 「at」。「remains low」即是維持在低位。同學可善用引號,帶出後面補充說明的資料。
- In 2021, the number of births totalled 811,604, the lowest since records were first kept in 1899. By contrast, the number of centenarians stands at more than 90,500 – compared with only 153 in 1963.
這裡的「centenarians」,是指「百歲老人」。這篇報導適合學習數字表法方式,而懂得前綴(prefix)能派上用場(此處不刻意區分希臘語及拉丁語的來源),例如:
- sexagenarian (sexa- / 六)六旬老人
- quadrant- 四分之一 vs. quadri-, quadru- 四個
同場加映:
💡💡💡【Describing numbers and trends 描述數字與趨勢】
🔖上升
- on the rise
- skyrocketed (急劇飆升)
🔖下降
- plummet from ... to ...
- precipitous drop (急劇下滑)
🔖維持
- maintain/remain at a certain level
- stands at ...
- to level off
🔖新高
- Reach a peak/ peak
- culminate in/with sth. (以…告終;達到…的頂點)
🔖新低
- hitting record low
🔖總量
- reaching ...
- totaling ...
- amounted to ...