1. in turn

大多數同學會理解為 “反過來”，認為前后語義是對立的，但實際上閱讀中也可能表示順接關系，翻譯為“接著會…(發生)…”

The conventional theory is that people yawn when bored or sleepy because yawning raises blood oxygen levels, which in turn raises alertness.

 

2. account for

大家背四級單詞時更多的理解為 “(比例上)占…”的含義，實際上account for還有“解釋，說明……”這個意思。

Heavy rain accounts for most of the water that enters into lakes.

Scientists will not be able to account for climate changeover the past century until they learn more about the urban heat island.

 

3. precipitation

這是個話題詞匯，大多數文章中翻譯為 “沉淀”，不過也有“降水”的意思。

Ordinary meteoric water is water that has soaked into the ground from the surface, from precipitation (rain and snow) and from lakes and streams.

 

4. game

不是游戲哦，在學術文章中經常用來表達“野生獵物”這個意思。下次課別再困惑了。

They had experienced great difficulty finding game west of the Rockies and not until the second of December did they kill their first elk.

 

5. solution

除了“解決方案”，還要知道另一個常見含義“溶液”。這個詞在小作文流程圖寫作中也是一個得分高級詞匯。

Mineral deficiencies in many plants can be cured by misting their roots with a nutrient solution or by transferring the plants to a soilless nutrientsolution.

 

6. current

又一個學科背景詞匯。常見的是形容詞表“當下的”，實際還有“洋流、電流、氣流”等含義。

The same thing happens to this day, though on a smaller scale, wherever a sediment-laden river or stream emerges from a mountain valley onto relatively flat land, dropping its load as the current slows: the water usually spreads out fanwise, depositing the sediment in the form of a smooth, fan-shaped slope.

 

7. browse

家熟知的是“瀏覽”的含義，而實際上托福閱讀中更常表達得是“覓食”這個意思。

Where the forest inhibits the growth of grass and other meadow plants, the black-tailed deer browses on huckleberry, salal, dogwood, and almost any other shrub or herb. But this is fair-weather feeding.

 

8. impact

除了“影響”，還衍生出“沖擊、撞擊”的意思。這里提醒大家impact指代的影響也常常是負面含義的影響，大家在寫作中要注意。

In view of these facts, scientists hypothesized that a single large asteroid, about 10 to 15 kilometers across, collided with Earth, and the resulting fallout created the boundary clay. Their calculations show that the impact kicked up a dust cloud that cut off sunlight for several months, inhibiting photosynthesis in plants; decreased surface temperatures on continents to below freezing…

 

9. complex

作為名詞的時候可以表達“建筑群”的含義。

It had over 2,000 apartment complexes, a great market, a large number of industrial workshops, an administrative center, a number of massive religious edifices…

 

10. readily

別因為長得像“ready”就是準備好的意思，這個詞其實是“容易地”意思。

The release of heat energy is retarded by the tall vertical city walls that do not allow infrared radiation to escape as readily asdoes the relatively level surface of the surrounding countryside.

 

11. evident

又一個大家習慣想當然的詞。都說成“證據”就不對了，還要知道“明顯的”。

Wind velocity also increases with altitude and may cause serious stress for trees, as is made evident by the deformed shapes at high altitudes.

 

12. collectively

不能望文生義為“收集地”，還有“共同地”這個釋義較為常見。

Eventually, six round forms of handwriting, composed of three pairs of big and little scripts known collectively as the Six Pens, became the standard repertory of every calligrapher.

 

13. evenly

別以為“even”加個“-ly”就是甚至的副詞形式，別忘了 “even”本來就是個副詞。這個詞是“均勻地”。

Petroleum forms best when organic matter is evenly distributed over …

其他常被誤解的單詞

sweet water 淡水 (不是“糖水”)

confidence man 騙子(不是“信得過的人”)

criminal lawyer 刑事律師(不是“犯罪的律師”)

service station 加油站

rest room 廁所(不是“休息室”)

sporting house 妓院或賭場(不是“體育室”)

horse sense 常識(不是“馬的感覺”)

capital idea 好主意(不是“資本主義思想”)

familiar talk 庸俗的交談(不是“熟悉的談話”)

black tea 紅茶(不是“黑茶”)

black art 妖術(不是“黑色藝術”)

mine 礦，礦產(不僅僅有“我的”的意思)