例一：2000年9月试题第23题

23. The phrase "take off (paragraph 4) means _________.
(A) transfer to another vessel 　(B) cause to lose weight
(C) begin to develop markedly (D) cause to leave the ground

请看原文：
Over here, in Britain, Computertowns have taken off in a big way, and there are now about 40 scattered over the country. David Tebbutt thinks they are most successful when tied to a computer club.

　　take off本义为（飞机）起飞或物体离开地面，选项D即为take off的本义，但是把D带到原文中解释不通，可见，出题者并不是想考我们take off的本义，而是在文中的引申义。请注意原文中紧跟take off的方式状语in a big way，后面指出已有约40个之多的Computertown散布在全国各地，后面successful一词进一步说明Computertown是朝着positive方向发展的, 所以答案明显为表示快速发展的C。

例二：2001年3月试题第11题

11. The word "wasteland" (para.1) is used to describe ________.
(A) western badlands (B) average television programs
(C) TV film studios (D) theatrical plays

请看原文：
When the television is good, nothing-not the theatre, not the magazines, or newspapers-nothing is better. But when television is bad, nothing is worse. I invite you to sit down in front of your television set when your station goes on the air and stay there without a book, magazine, newspaper, or anything else to distract you and keep your eyes glued to that set until the station signs off. I can assure you that you will observe a vast wasteland. You will see a procession of game shows, violence, audience-participation shows, formula comedies about totally unbelievable families, blood and thunder, mayhem, more violence, sadism, murder, Western badmen, Western goodmen, private eyes, gangster, still more violence, and cartoons. And endlessly, commercials that scream and cajole and offend. And most of all, boredom. True, you will see a few things you will enjoy. But they will be very, very few. And if you think I exaggerate, try it.

　　wasteland本义为land that is desolate, barren, or ravaged,即荒地，废地。A中badland即为wasteland的本义，带到原文中等于同义替代，并没有作出解释，显然不是出题者的意图所在。而从wasteland后面的内容可以看出电视节目中充斥着暴力、血腥、谋杀、俗套的喜剧种种格调不高的内容，总之无聊透顶，所以答案不言自明，选B。

　　作者采用了metaphor(暗喻）的手法，对令人失望的电视节目大加讽刺，从另一个侧面反映了西方社会精神食粮的匮乏和作者在看似调侃的语调中对电视文化流露出的失望和愤慨。顺便赏析一下阴影部分，难道你不觉得作者这样写很风趣幽默吗？我们是否在写作时也可模仿一下，比如：When money is good, nothing is better. But when money is bad, nothing is worse. If you thank I exaggerate, try it. 你觉得如何呢？

对策④：解释法。

例：2000年9月试题第29和30题

29. Breeding the hybrid offspring to fix desirable traits is called _________.
(A) naturally selecting (B) inbreeding
(C) pedigree breeding (D) pure-breeding

30. A farmer imported several fine long wool Tomney sheep from Australia to breed with his Debouittet sheep in hopes of increasing the value of the flock's wool. This is an example of _________.
(A) pure-breeding (B) crossbreeding
(C) reproducing (D) cloning

请看原文：
Individual specimens with the desired traits are crossbred. The hybrid offspring are then inbred to preserve and fix the desirable characteristics and eliminate unfavorable characteristics from the stock.

　　29题基本是对原文中inbred(原形inbreed，表近亲交配，同系繁殖）的释义，采用直接下定义法。关键是文中此句The hybrid offspring are then inbred to preserve and fix the desirable characteristics与题干吻合，故答案为B。

　　30题通过具体例子旨在考查考生对文中提到的几个术语是否理解，当然并非从专业角度，而是从英语构词法的角度来考查的。某农民进口优质长毛羊的目的最终是为了增加收入，这也印证了文中的一句话：The traits usually are selected for convenience, pleasure, or financial gain of individuals.而进口羊同农民家另一品种羊交配从而fix the desirable characteristics的过程当然叫做crossbreed了。从构词法来看，pure-breed应该是纯种繁殖之意，而crossbreed由于cross有交叉之意，故为杂交繁殖，而reproduce前缀re=again, 应为复制，再生之意，而clone则是近几年来高科技发展的产物，意即无性繁殖，通常音译为“克隆”。所以30题答案应为B。

　　对策⑤：大胆跳过。事实上，大多数生词并不影响你对整篇文章意思的理解。

例一：The deathwatch beetle is thought of as the devil's pest in churches and old houses, but in natural habitats it infests a wide range of decaying hardwoods. It has been found in hornbeam, sweet chestnut, hawthorn, beech, ash, blackpoplar, elm, larch, spruce and yew, but the two most commonly infested species in Britain are oak and willow.

　　首先，如果读者不是学昆虫学的话，恐怕很难描述出这种deathwatch beetle是什么样子，但至少我们知道它是一种甲虫，而且我们通过原文还知道它生活在教堂建筑物，老房子或者枯朽的硬木上，此外还可以在种种植物上找到它，至于这些植物（划线部分）具体叫什么名字我们根本可以不去追究，完全可以大胆跳过。那么请思考：出题者可能考我们什么呢？是不是很有可能考我们方框里的内容呢？

例二：2001年3月试题阅读理解第一篇Questions1-5, 请看原文：

School phobia is distinguished from other common childhood and adolescent psychological and emotional disorders by the patient's reaction to, and fear of, the idea of going to school. Typically, it begins with fever, sweating, headaches, and diarrhea; it often progresses to complete physical inertia, depression, and even autism.

　　文章对school phobia进行了释义，然后列举了种种“症状”表现。其实当我们看到headaches时，后面的内容可以快速浏览过去，不必在意是否认识其中的医学术语，总之我们知道叙述的是具有厌学情绪孩子的种种表现，完全可以大胆跳过。

例三：1999年3月试题Questions26-30, 请看原文：

NEW YORK-Pythagoras had his theorems, Einstein his theories and Murphy his laws. I have developed the maxim of inverse reciprocals.

　　如果你不知道Pythagoras 和Murphy是谁，但是你肯定知道Einstein和他著名的相对论。由此可以推断Pythagoras 和Murphy也是两名科学家。实际上，前者为毕达哥拉斯，古希腊哲学家、数学家，后者为墨菲，美国法学家。而且theorem（数学）定理，法则，maxim（格言，座右铭）和 law也是跟theory近似的含义。

　　可见，在做阅读理解时并不是每个单词我们都要理解才能看懂文章，关键是把握信息点，即作者想要传达的主要思想，同时我们也要摸清出题者的意图，并不是要当我们成为某个领域的专家之后才能读懂文章，破解专业问题，而是充分利用已有的对英语语言的把握和生活常识来答题。现在你还用为词汇障碍痛苦吗？