今天我们继续连载《厚朴GRE词汇笔记》之0039,请同学们先看题:

The Red Sea town of Aydhab presents scholars with _____: medieval records describe it as a major port for ships engaged in trade, yet today there is no trace of a viable harbor at the site.

A an illusion

B a contradiction

C a chimera

D a puzzle

E an anachronism

F a conundrum

(点击空白处查看内容)





参考答案:DF

首先我们读题,可以得到大致的印象如下:

红海小镇Aydhab给学者们带来了一个______。因为中世纪的记录将其描述为从事贸易的船只的主要港口,但今天该地却没有港口痕迹。

也就是让学者们困惑不解,所以我们可以推知空里面应该填一个“难题、谜题”意思差不多的词,据此我们可以先选出puzzle,然后用排除法选出conundrum。

这道题中需要同学们重点识记的几个单词是:

conundrum n.难题;复杂的问题
a problem that is difficult to deal with
💡例句:
Arranging childcare over the school holidays can be a real conundrum for working parents.
对双职工家长来说,学校放假期间如何安排照看孩子可能会是个大难题。

viable adj.切实可行的
capable of working successfully; feasible
💡例句:
The proposed investment was economically viable.
所提议的投资从经济上说是可行的。

chimera n. 幻想;妄想
a thing which is hoped or wished for but in fact is illusory or impossible to achieve
💡例句:
The economic sovereignty you claim to defend is a chimera.
你声称要维护的经济主权仅仅是一种妄想出来的概念。

puzzle n.令人费解的人(或事);难题;谜
a person or thing that is difficult to understand or explain; an enigma
💡例句:
The meaning of the poem has always been a puzzle.
这首诗的含义一直是个谜。

然后我们在这里附上补完整之后的句子(英汉对照):

The Red Sea town of Aydhab presents scholars with a puzzle/: medieval records describe it as a major port for ships engaged in trade, yet today there is no trace of a viable harbor at the site.

红海小镇Aydhab给学者们带来了一个难题:中世纪的记录将其描述为从事贸易的船只的主要港口,但今天该地却没有任何可用港口的痕迹。

我们再来看第二道题:

The Great Lakes wolf is a __________, stumping scientists as to whether it is a subspecies of the gray wolf or a distinct species.
A. prototype
B. riddle
C. paragon
D. model
E. legend
F. conundrum

(点击空白处查看内容)




参考答案:BF

这道题难度不大,与第一道题不同的是把puzzle换掉了,改成了把conundrum和riddle放在一起考。这道题唯一有一个难的地方是题目中的stump这个单词。

这道题中需要同学们重点识记的几个单词是:

stump vt.(一般作 be stumped)使为难,把…难住,使困惑
be too hard for; baffle
💡例句:
Education chiefs were stumped by some of the exam questions.
教育主管们被有些考题难住了。

riddle n. 谜题;费解的事
something that is confusing, or a problem that is difficult to solve
💡例句:
Scientists may have solved the riddle of Saturn's rings.
科学家们或许已经揭开了土星环的奥秘。

paragon n. 完人,尽善尽美的模范(或典型)
a person or thing that is perfect or has an extremely large amount of a particular good characteristic
💡例句:
In the novel, Constanza is a paragon of virtue.
在那部小说中,Constanza(那个人物)是一个美德的典范。

最后我们还是附上补完整之后的句子(英汉对照):

The Great Lakes wolf is a riddle/conundrum, stumping scientists as to whether it is a subspecies of the gray wolf or a distinct species.

大湖狼是一个谜,难倒了科学家们。他们不知道它到底是灰狼的一个亚种还是一个独特的物种。

好了,今天这一期的《厚朴GRE词汇笔记》就讲到这里了,同学们下次见。

GRE填空真题备考资料免费领取

如果同学们还想进一步加深对GRE词汇的理解,想知道每个词的考法,想知道每个词都在哪些真题当中被考到,只需要扫下方二维码添加TD小马甲的微信,发送暗号「GRE词汇精析」即可获得TD版《GRE填空真题词汇考法精析》啦~

注:已经添加TD马甲微信的同学就不用重复添加啦~