例3
Before the nineteenth century, scientists with an interest in the sea were few and far between. Certainly Newton considered some theoretical aspects of it in his writings, but he was reluctant to go to sea to further his work.
For most people the sea was remote, and with the exception of early intercontinental travelers or others who earned a living from the sea, there was little reason to ask many questions about it, let alone to ask what lay beneath the surface. The first time that the question "What is at the bottom of the oceans?" had to be answered with any commercial consequence was when the laying of a telegraph cable from Europe to America was proposed. The engineers had to know the depth profile of the route to estimate the length of cable that had to be manufactured.
It was to Maury of the US Navy that the Atlantic Telegraph Company turned, in 1853, for information on this matter. In the 1840s, Maury had been responsible for encouraging voyages during which soundings were taken to investigate the depths of the North Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Later, some of his findings aroused much popular interest in his book The Physical Geography of the Sea.
The cable was laid, but not until 1866 was the connection made permanent and reliable. At the early attempts, the cable failed and when it was taken out for repairs it was found to be covered in living growths, a fact which defied contemporary scientific opinion that there was no life in the deeper parts of the sea.
1．“Defied” in the last sentence probably means ________.
A. "doubted" B. "9ave proof to"
C. "challenged" D. "agreed to"
本题考查的是根据上下文进行词义猜测的能力。defied是defy的过去式，根据最后一句可以推测它的词义，但必须完全读懂defied前后部分的意思：前一部分是说从海底捞出的电缆上覆盖着各种各样的生物，后一部分是当时的科学观点认为海底深处是没有生命的。由此可见，前一部分的“事实’’(…，a fact which…)是“批驳”后一部分的“观点”。所以，答案是选项C，“challenged”。这个词的原意是“向……挑战”，因而有“对……持异议”、“反对”的意思，其宾语常常是针对某种意见、观点或权威。
例4
We find that bright children are rarely held back by mixed-ability teaching．On the contrary， both their knowledge and experience are enriched．We feel that there are many disadvantages in streaming pupils．It does not take into account the fact that children develop at different rates．It can have a bad effect on both the bright and the not—SO-bright child．After all，it Can be quite discouraging to be at the bottom of the top grade!
1．By “held back”(1ine l)the author means“________”．
A. made to remain in the same class
B. forced to study in the lower class
C. drawn to their studies
D. prevented from advancing
本题考的是对词组holdback的理解。根据上下文，它的意思是“阻挡，阻碍”，选项D是答案。当然holdback还可以表示(1)“犹豫”，如：I have noticed that you do not holdback in our discussion．(我发觉你在讨论时并不犹豫)；(2) “控制”，如：The dam was not strong enough to hold back the flood waters．(大坝不够坚固，挡不住洪水)；(3)“保留、不公布”，如： I think he’s holding something back；he knows more than he admits．(我认为他还隐瞒了一些事情，他知道的比他承认的多)。对照上下文，选项A、B、C都不能表达hold back的意义。
例5
In the workplace，men have long had well—defined precedents and role models for achieving Success．It has been otherwise for women．A good many women in the business world are uncertain about the appropriate mixture of "masculine" and "feminine" attributes they should convey by their professional clothing．The variety of clothing alternatives to women has also been greater than that available for men．Male administrators tend to judge women more favorably for managerial positions when the women display less "feminine" grooming—shorter hair．moderate use of make—up，and plain tailored clothing．As one male administrator confessed，"An attractive woman is definitely going to get a longer interview，but she won’t get a job.”
1．The word “precedents” in line l probably refers to __________.
A. early acts for men to follow as examples
B. particular places for men to occupy especially because of their importance
C. things that men should agree upon
D. men's belief that everything in the world has already been decided
本题要求考生推测precedents的意思。这个题目比较难，需要构词法的知识并通过上下文的帮助，才能答对。从第一、二句可以看出，precedents在意义上与role models是并列的。而且，它的前缀pre- 有“先”，“前”的意思，实际上它是precede(先行、领先)加后缀-ent构成的，意思是“先例，惯例”。所以只有选项A才是正确答案。
