有不會背的ＧＲＥ單字嗎？照過來！我教你！

[spank]

6. The historian’s narrative of the dynasty’s decline is (i)______, because
though there is nothing (ii)______ the account, large parts of it rely on
(iii)______.

Blank(i) Blank(ii) Blank(iii)
(A) diffuse (D) psychologically penetrating in (G) plagiarism

(B) reasonable (E) inherently implausible about (H) conjecture

(C) questionable (F) fully documented in (I) pretense

Spank解說
The historian’s narrative of the dynasty’s decline is (i)______, because
though there is nothing (ii)______ the account, large parts of it rely on
(iii)______.

第一空要選 diffuse，reasonable還是questionable？
這可由最後一句「large parts of it rely on (iii)______.」來決定：
先把「because though there is nothing (ii)______ the account」省略不看，

句子變成 The historian’s narrative of the dynasty’s decline is (i)______,(and) large parts of it rely on (iii)______.第一空和第三空在此明顯呈現同義關係。


因為第三空的3個選項plagiarism/conjecture/pretense都是負面意涵的字眼，所以第一空也要選負面意涵的字眼。唯一的負面字眼是questionable，選！

第二空，有轉折詞，意涵由第一句的負，轉成第二句的正=nothing+第二空，所以第二空要選負面意涵(負負得正)的字眼，即E：inherently implausible about本身不可信的。

第三空：要選plagiarism，conjecture還是pretense？由第二句決定：there is nothing inherently implausible about the account。也就是第三空要選的字眼是不能讓人不相信的。plagiarism是抄襲，會讓人不相信，不選；conjecture是猜測也是讓人不相信。pretense是做假、藉口，也是讓人不相信。三個都讓人不相信，那到底要選哪一個呢？

其實，pretense還有一個意思是ostentation賣弄、誇耀的意思，取此意，則歷史學家對王朝的衰敗的敘述尚有一定可信程度，只是語氣狂妄令人受不了，將此意填入第三空格，文意可以說得通，故選pretense。

[color=#FF0000]這是gre最讓人討厭的地方：考pretense的熟詞偏義：賣弄、誇耀。[/color]

翻譯
該歷史學家對王朝的衰落的敘述是有問題的，雖然在本質上他的敘述並無不可信之處，但敘述的大部分都在賣弄、誇口。


Account：記述，描述；報導[C][（+of）]
The policeman gave an account of the traffic accident . 警察敘述了交通事故的經過。

implausible ：difficult to believe and therefore unlikely to be true 難以置信的; 不大可能真實的
an implausible explanation 讓人難以相信的解釋
His excuses were totally implausible . 他的藉口根本不合情理。

rely on == depend on, lean on, be dependent, fall back on, resort to, be unable to manage without • They relied heavily on the advice of their advisors. 在此文中，取resort to(訴諸、採取)的意思應該是比較貼切的


pretense： The quality or state of being pretentious; ostentation: so modest as to be free from any hint of .賣弄、誇耀



(A) diffuse瀰漫的 (D) psychologically penetrating in心理滲透 (G) plagiarism抄襲


(B) reasonable合理的 (E) inherently implausible about本身不可信的。 (H) conjecture猜想


(C) questionable有問題的 (F) fully documented in完全記錄中 (I) pretense 賣弄、誇耀

[spank]

14. In film studies—a visually oriented discipline that is ______ backlit
close-ups, eye line matches, and voyeuristic gazes—scholars have often
been tone-deaf to the sounds of music.

(A) fixated on
(B) obsessed with
(C) unconcerned with
(D) amused by
(E) bothered by
(F) indifferent to

spank解說

discipline：學科；紀律

backlit背光的

close - up：特寫鏡頭
a close - up of the kitten ' s face 小貓的臉部特寫

voyeuristic偷窺的

idiom 慣用語 in close up (=from very near) 近鏡頭特寫
Much of the movie is shot in close - up . 這部電影不少鏡頭都是特寫。

tone - deaf：不會辨別音調的，音盲的
the tone - deaf morons in today ' s pop groups 在今天的流行音樂樂隊裡五音不辨的蠢才

be fixated on= be obsessed with=迷戀

a visually oriented discipline that is ______ backlit close-ups, eye line matches,
and voyeuristic gazes這一段是插入句，暫時不管，可以看到句子的主詞是scholars

翻譯：
電影研究是視覺導向的學科，______背光特寫鏡頭、視線相匹配、與偷窺的目光，學者們往往是五音不全的音盲。
（A）迷戀（B）迷戀（C）不關心（D）逗樂（E）困擾（F）無動於衷

答案很清楚只有AB是同義詞，且切合題意

本題一堆單字、片語，吃定大家不認識，大膽只用一組同義字，不怕你用猜的，ESL真是xxx！

[spank]

15. Consumers may think that genetic engineering of foods is something
new, but humans have been modifying plants for ages; the ______ is not
that new genes are introduced but that genes can now be moved from one
species to another.

(A) novelty
(B) quandary
(C) advantage
(D) innovation
(E) discrepancy
(F) predicament


spank解說
1.題目在講有關基因工程的new，所以選與new有關的novelty/innovation

2分號表示分號前後同義，分號後的話其實在重複分號前的話，把它們放在一起比對：

Consumers may think that genetic engineering of foods is something new, but
humans have been modifying plants for ages;

the ______ is not that new genes are introduced but
that genes can now be moved from one species to another.

1.but 對but
2.humans have been modifying plants for ages 對應 genes can now be moved from one species to another

3.所以空格對應Consumers may think that genetic engineering of foods is something new
跟new有關的選項有novelty/innovation，選！


predicament 困境﹐窘況﹐尷尬的處境
There is no painless way out of America ' s current economic predicament.
美國要擺脫當前的經濟困境可沒有輕而易舉的方法。

發音記法：ca在字中的發音為「卡」->卡住->困境﹐窘況﹐尷尬的處境

quandary 困境；為難；[（+about/as to）]
I was in a quandary , for this situation was totally unforeseen . 我陷入困惑，因為這個局面完全沒有被預料到。
Her unwillingness to cooperate put me in a quandary . 她不願合作，這使我陷入困境。

be in a quandary (about/over) 不知所措﹐陷入窘境﹐左右為難
The city council is in a quandary over whether to raise taxes or not . 市政會對是否提高稅收一事感到左右為難

發音記法：困大里(大里是地名)->被困在大里->困境

[spank]

16. Although the compound is abundant in the environment at large, its
presence in the air is not ______; only in the form of underwater sediment
does it cause damage.

(A) trivial
(B) detectable
(C) deleterious
(D) substantive
(E) detrimental
(F) inconsequential

spank解說

因為前面提提到Although the compound is abundant，所以語意發生轉折，到底轉折到那裏去呢？
最後一句提到only+damage給了答案
所以選與damage有關的字 deleterious/ detrimental，既滿足語意轉折的需求，也呼應句末的damage

[spank]

17. It is a testimony to Roth’s ______ that he could not quite bring himself
to write a book as dull and flat as his original conception for his novel
everyman seemed to demand.

(A) persistence
(B) deterioration
(C) talent
(D) ambition
(E) decline
(F) genius

Spank解說
這題選項有兩組同義字deterioration/decline，talent/ genius。
一個是負面意義，一個是正面意義，要選哪一個？

那就要看
「he could not quite bring himself to write a book as dull and flat as his original conception for his novel」這句話是正面還是負面意義。

could not(負)----- dull and flat(負)->負負得正->表示正意涵->選talent/ genius這組

整句的大意是這樣的：
小說的原始構想通常是沉悶、單調的，但是(根據這個沉悶、單調的原始構想)Roth卻可以把小說寫得活靈活現，情節高潮起伏，可見Roth是個很有寫作天分的人。

翻譯
這說明證羅斯有(創作)天分：羅斯他寫不出像小說的原始構想一樣沉悶、單調的書 (大家對他的要求似乎也是這樣)

testimony 證明，證詞 [（+of/to）][+that]
These results are a testimony to your hard work . 這些成果證明了你的辛勤勞動。
The prize was a tangible testimony that she had got a germ of writing ability .
這個獎是一個具體的證明，說明她具有創作才能。

can not bring yourself to do something：做不出某事
not to be able to force yourself to do something that you think is unpleasant:
I just couldn't bring myself to speak to him about it.

flat：單調的，無聊的

(A) persistence 堅持
(B) deterioration惡化
(C) talent天賦
(D) ambition野心
(E) decline下降
(F) genius天賦

[spank]

2014 ov1 mock test4 section1的10題填空題官方答案

1D 2CEI 3BEG 4BDH 5BEG 6CEI 14AB 15AD 16CE 17CF

[spank]

以下是2014 ov1 mock test4 section2的10題填空題，答案在第10題之後


1. While not ______ the arguments in favor of the proposal for new
highway construction, the governor nevertheless decided to veto the
proposal.

(A) optimistic about
(B) convinced by
(C) happy with
(D) sanguine about
(E) unsympathetic to

Spank解說
While---- nevertheless---：儘管----還是---(只做一次轉折)

這邊的While是「雖然，儘管」的意思(=although)，為轉折詞
While I like the color of the hat , I do not like its shape . 雖然我喜歡這頂帽子的顏色，但我不喜歡它的形狀。
while we disliked each other, nevertheless we agreed.

nevertheless：不過，仍然，然而
nevertheless在本題目中的用法是「仍然(or 還是)」的意思，
並不是大家熟悉的轉折詞用法(不過，然而)，
亦即，nevertheless在此不當轉折詞用。


州長否決提案，為負面意涵(nevertheless在此不當轉折詞用)
->while轉折詞，while後面的句子變成正面意涵
-> not+空格=正面意涵
-> 空格=負面意涵
->5個選項中，只有unsympathetic to一個是負面意涵，選！

翻譯
儘管贊成(或同情)這些論點(支持建設新的高速公路的提案)，州長還是決定否決該提案(州長有別的考量)。

(A) optimistic about看好
(B) convinced by說服
(C) happy with
(D) sanguine about樂觀
(E) unsympathetic to 不同情

[spank]

2. The children’s ______ natures were in sharp contrast to the
even-tempered dispositions of their parents.

(A) mercurial
(B) blithe
(C) phlegmatic
(D) apathetic
(E) cunning

in contrast to轉折詞->小孩的性格(nature) 必須是父母性格(even-tempered dispositions性情平穩) 的反義字，就是善變的性情，選mercurial。

官方解說：
The children’s natures are the opposite to those of their parents; since the parents are even tempered, the word that fills the blank must mean the opposite of even tempered. “Mercurial,” meaning quickly changing, exactly fits, so it is the correct choice.Although the other answer choices encompass a range of temperaments (“blithe” means happy, “phlegmatic” means unemotional, “apathetic” means uncaring), none suggest a tendency to change from one state to another, so none of them contrast as well with “even-tempered.” Thus the correct answer is mercurial(Choice A).
=========================================

mercurial [mɝˈkjʊrɪəl] (a) 情緒善變的
[例] The boss’s mood is so mercurial that we never know how he’s going to react to anything.

mercurial這個字源自Mercury/mercury。
Mercury水星是羅馬神話中的墨丘利，相對應於希臘神話的Hermes 赫爾梅斯，是商業之神，同時也是眾神的信差(希臘甚至將他的頭像當作郵政的標誌)。他穿著有翅膀的帽子跟鞋子(winged cap and sandals)，所以他的速度非常快，繞著太陽運轉最快的行星水星 (Mercury) 就是用他命名的。還有一種化學液體mercury水銀掉到地上後很容易快速流動，因為很容易快速流動，所以也是用mercury命名。

墨丘利他不僅動作迅速反應靈敏而且為人精明，口才好(shrewd, eloquent, and swift)，是個腦袋靈活的傢伙，腦袋裏的念頭一個換過一個，說他善變那是客氣，說他捉摸不定那還差不多。

如果一個人的行為、情緒經常改變而且改變速度很快(change very suddenly)(像極了墨丘利的所作所為)，我們就說他是善變的(mercurial)。為了更好地理解這個定義，想想溫度計裏的水銀，它因著溫度的變化會時而升高或降低的隨時變動方式，就是善變的最佳註解。

如果你的主管性情善變，你可以說My manager's mercurial temper always confuses me, because it is unpredictable.

其他例句
Mercurial bosses, for the reasons in the research cited above, are extremely toxic.
ForbesOct 8, 2014

Mercurial and impassioned, Mr. Reback strongly believes that government should be the guardian of competition, especially in high-tech markets.
New York Times Dec 17, 2012

Mercurial Mortgage Rates to Stabilize Soon, Analysts Say It looks like the great American mortgage sale is finally coming to an end.
New York TimesJun 21, 2013

如何記憶呢？
除了用mercury來助記mercurial，
也可以用幾年前(2012年2月2日)，因醉毆運將而重挫演藝事業的Makiyo的名字，來記憶mercurial
(發音像，字形也有幾分神似，而且都是m開頭)


記法：Makiyo->(情緒)善變的
(平常的時候很好，喝了酒就變性，發酒瘋毆打計程車司機)

Synonyms
= capricious, volatile, unpredictable, erratic, variable, unstable, fickle, temperamental, impulsive, irrepressible, changeable, quicksilver, flighty, inconstant,
============================================
cunning [ˈkʌnɪŋ] (a) 聰明、狡猾的 /(n)奸詐，狡猾

Synonyms:
crafty, dodgy, foxy, guileful, knavish, slick, sly, tricksy, tricky, wily, artful

[例]
a cunning, underhanded (秘密欺騙的) plan to win the election by preying on (使持續不斷)
people’s fears and prejudices

the tiger ' s ferocity and cunning 老虎的兇猛和狡詐

He is known for his political cunning despite being an outsider in Indonesian politics.
BBC Oct 17, 2014

發音記法：卡(臺語)佞(奸佞)->比較奸詐->n.奸詐/adj.狡猾的

[spank]

3. The first major exhibits of modern art left the public (i)______, its
(ii)______ intensified by the responses of art critics, who stooped to
vituperation to express their disgust with the new art.

Blank(i) Blank(ii)
(A) aghast (D) shock
(B) bemused (E) apathy
(C) unsurprised (F) empathy

Spank解說
逗號前後沒有轉折因此兩空格方向一致。選同義字AD或者CE。
後半句說評論家們因為厭惡new art，所以開罵以表達他們的厭惡，這種行為加強了blank(ii)。

new art，modern art你認為它們會讓人unsurprised/apathy 還是 aghast/ shock？

會讓人無感、不驚奇的，那一定不是新奇的東西，只有新奇的東西才會讓人驚奇。
既是new art，modern art，那它們讓人震驚的機會鐵定大過讓人無感的機會，故選AD。

至於開罵會強化aghast還是apathy呢？
也就是說評論家們越罵會越讓人震驚，還是會越讓人無感？
越罵就只會越讓人注意，越讓人注意就是讓人越來越有感覺(不會無感、冷淡)，故選AD。

aghast：大為震驚的﹐嚇呆了的

spank註：本題的困難，不在英文，而在邏輯判斷，必需與生活經驗結合，才能突破困難點。

翻譯
第一個現代藝術的主要展覽使得大眾大為震驚，這種震驚(的強度)因為藝術評論家俯身謾罵表達他們對新藝術的厭惡而被強化。（A）震驚的（B）困惑的（C）不感到意外的（D）驚奇（E）冷漠（F）同情

[spank]

4. While many outside the company attributed the company’s success to
its president’s (i)______, insiders realized that this success owed more to
the president’s inflexibility than to any (ii)______ that the president might
be supposed to have displayed.

Blank(i) Blank(ii)
(A) perseverance (D) obduracy
(B) popularity (E) caprice
(C) prescience (F) foresight

Spank解說

while是轉折詞，點出公司內部人員的看法與外人不同。

公司內部人員說：公司的成功主要是董事長的不屈不撓、堅定

第一空與第二空都是外人的觀點，兩個空格處所填的內容應該意思一樣，
兩個會是同義詞，有兩組可選perseverance/ obduracy 或prescience/ foresight

因perseverance/ obduracy是公司內部人員的觀點，不能選，只剩prescience/ foresight可選，選CF

翻譯：
雖然許多外人將公司的成功歸因於董事長的先見之明，但公司內部人員卻意識到，
公司的成功歸功於董事長的不屈不撓，而不是外人以為的董事長的深慮遠見。

（A）毅力（D）頑固
（B）人氣（E）反復無常
（C）先見之明（F）遠見

[spank]

5. With the rate of technological (i)______ accelerating—many people
now consider a personal computer (ii)______ after three years—the
question of how to properly dispose of old equipment is no small matter.

Blank(i) Blank(ii)
(A) affordability (D) outdated

(B) complexity (E) familiar

(C) obsolescence (F) inestimable

[spank]

6. In the nineteenth century the (i)______ advanced mechanical printing
techniques made it possible for newspaper owners to print newspapers
cheaply and in mass quantities, but unlike many other mechanized
industries, where machines (ii)______ workers, the new printing machines
required trained compositors to run them, thereby (iii)______ the demand
for skilled printing labor.

Blank(i) Blank(ii) Blank(iii)
(A) wide application of (D) marginalized (G) ignoring

(B) extensive resistance to (E) intrigued (H) anticipating

(C) great expense of (F) isolated (I) increasing

[spank]

14. If big sums are to be spent on cleaning up environmental disasters, it is better to
spend them on unglamorous but ______ problems such as unsanitary water in Third
World countries.

(A) futile

(B) ephemeral

(C) pressing

(D) controversial

(E) transitory

(F) critical

[spank]

15. The process of establishing a literary canon is seen by some as, in part, an
attempt by certain scholars to make their own labors central and to relegate the
work of others to ______ status. (A) orthodox

(B) marginal

(C) mainstream

(D) definitive

(E) conditional

(F) peripheral

[spank]

16. Deacon attempts what seems impossible; a book rich in scientific insights, in a
demanding discipline, that nevertheless is accessible to ______.

(A) skeptics
(B) experts
(C) nonspecialists
(D) zealots
(E) authorities
(F) laypersons

spank解說
分號表示分號前後的句子是同義的

impossible =a difficult book+(？)person

有兩組同義字讓你選： experts /authorities ，nonspecialists/laypersons

難的書對專家、權威不會是mission impossible；

難的書只有對門外漢才會是mission impossible，所以選nonspecialists/laypersons

翻譯：
Deacon想做一件看起來不容易做到的事；
讓一本難讀的書(含有豐富的科學見解、需要嚴苛紀律才讀的下去的書)，連門外漢也容易接近它。

字詞解釋

be accessible to 能接近；容易接近的
The legal aid system should be accessible to more people.
法律援助制度應該讓更多人容易接近它。

（A）懷疑論者
（B）專家
（C）非專業人員
（D）狂熱分子
（E）權威
（F）外行人