在實體及線上課程中,常碰到IELTS(雅思)、TOEFL(托福)、TOEIC(多益)英文證照考生,因字彙量不足,無法達到心中理想成績。因字彙量及應試內容專業知識不足,許多應試學生表示,既使學會解題技巧,仍看不懂英文原文或理解「聽、說、讀、寫」應考內容的窘境。
此時我鼓勵準備歐美英文證照考生,可以優化自己的文法及詞彙札實的基礎。畢竟英文是拼音文字,中文是象形文字,華人除非成長或教育特殊背景,甚少人能從小在中英文雙語環境中接受教育。因此,當華人學英文時,多半是以第一外語的方式學習英文。
當你內心打定主意要做IELTS(雅思)詞彙學習筆記時,可以在刷官方考題時,試著將類似詞彙,做以下字源、口訣、官方考題系統式學習筆記。
pose [poz]
➽ v.①造成(問題),導致(困難/危險);②提出(概念∕問題);③呈現
字源:pos放置+e
口訣:「放置」→v.擺姿勢
考題:(IELTS18, T3, R2) It is true that the technology poses some difficult problems, but you cannot help but wonder how efficient a steam car might be with the benefit of modern materials and computers. (確實,這項技術造成一些難題,但不禁讓人想像,如果擁有現代材料和電腦的幫助,蒸汽汽車可能會有多高的效能。)
posture [ˋpɑstʃɚ]
➽ n.姿勢
字源:post放置+ure狀態
口訣:「放置的狀態」→n.姿勢
考題:(IELTS13,T2,R2) She believes that oxytocin acts as a chemical spotlight that shines on social clues – a shift in posture, a flicker of the eyes, a dip in the voice – making people more attuned to their social environment. (她認為催產素扮演一種化學聚光燈功能,照亮社交提示——姿勢的改變、眼神的閃爍、聲音的降低——使人更加敏感於他們的社交環境。)
propose [prəˋpoz]
➽ v. ①(向...)提議;建議;提出;②求(婚)
字源:pro向前+pos放置+e
口訣:「放置到前面」→v.(向...)提議
考題:(IELTS10,T2,R1) The missing factors, he proposes, are to be found in almost every kitchen cupboard.(他提議,這些找不到的因素可以在幾乎每個廚櫃中找到。)
考題:(IELTS15,T1,L4) A theory proposed over 40 years ago by ecologist William Jackson is that the frequency of bushfires in a particular region affects the type of vegetation that grows there.(40多年前生態學家William Jackson提出的一個理論是,特定地區的叢林火頻率會影響那裡生長的植物類型。)
proposal [prəˋpoz!]
➽ n.提案,提議,計畫;(建議)提出
字源:pro向前+pos放置+al行為,結果
口訣:「放置到前方的事物」→n.提案
考題:(IELTS18,T4,R3) Plate tectonics is in many respects quite different from Wegener’s proposal, in the same way that modern evolutionary theory is very different from the ideas Charles Darwin proposed in the 1850s about biological evolution. (板塊構造學在很多方面與Wegener的提議有很大的不同,就像現代演化論在生物進化方面與Charles Darwin在1850年代提出的觀點有很大區別一樣。)
考題:(IELTS13,T1,L2) We’ve managed to keep our proposals within budget, just, so they can be covered by the Council.(我們已設法使我們的提案維持在預算範圍內,剛好可以由市議會資助。)
proposition [͵prɑpəˋzɪʃən]
➽ n.(商業)提議,建議;主張;觀點;見解
字源:pro向前+posit放置+ion行為,結果
口訣:「放置到前方的事物」→n.提議
考題:(IELTS13,T2,R3) Tesco has not abandoned its traditional retail offerings but augmented its business with these innovations, thereby infusing its value proposition with a green streak. (Tesco沒有放棄其傳統的零售產品,而是通過這些創新來擴充其業務,從而使其價值主張注入了綠色元素。)
當英文證照考生熟悉pose、posture、propose、proposal、proposition五個易混淆生字後,可以多做TOEFL或TOEIC英英代換詞彙題目,加強自己英英代換的能力。例如:下面考題取材於TOEFL PRACTICE ONLINE(簡稱為TPO)
TPO 43 The Empire of Alexander the Great
(P6) The Athenian philosopher Socrates (470-399 B.C.) was the first person in Greece to propose a morality based on individual conscience rather than the demands of the state, and for this he was accused of not believing in the city's gods and so corrupting the youth, and he was condemned to death. (雅典哲學家蘇格拉底(公元前470-399年)是希臘第一個提出基於個人良心而非國家要求的道德的人,因此他被指控不信奉城市的神祇並教唆青年,最終被判處死刑。)
12. The word "propose" in the passage is closest in meaning to
(A) suggest (B) deny (C) consider (D) question
答案是A
總結:我鼓勵英文為第一外文學習者,把自己優化文法、詞彙、專業領域的學習過程,想像成是讓自己蛻變成「英文版」巴菲特的「自律」過程。股神巴菲特(Warren Buffett)之所以能不斷從世界各國股市獲利,不是因為他「懂」股市運作的「皮毛」,而是他有精準的洞察力、觀察力及判斷力。巴菲特「過人的實力」讓他能立足於訊息萬變的股市,讓世人爭相競標想和「神人級」投資客吃飯請教其成功心法。當英文證照考試在準備歐美證照考試時,讓自己英文扎下良好的基礎,必能暢遊歐美高等學府及有助於提升自己的英文競爭利基。