Vocabulary     

Words for production

1.      minority [    ] n. [C] smaller number or part  少數

反 majority 

minor [     ] adj. 較小的﹔次要的

Only a minority of families in Taiwan do not have a car.

只有少部分的台灣家庭沒有車子。

Some of the minor problems we are facing can be solved immediately.

我們遇到的小問題有些可以立即解決。

2.      researcher [     ] n. [C] a person who studies something carefully and methodically to find out the facts about it  研究人員

research [      ] n. [U] 研究

Medical researchers are trying to find better treatments for AIDS.

醫學研究人員正設法找出治療愛滋病更好的方法。

Market research has shown that high school students often send MSN messages to one another while they are at home studying.  

市場研究已經顯示高中生在家讀書時，經常傳MSN訊息給彼此。

3.      conduct [     ] v. [T] to carry out or put something into practice 執行；實行

conductor [      ] n. [C] （管弦樂隊、合唱團等的）指揮

The researchers conducted a survey on online shopping.

研究人員執行一項網購調查。

A conductor is a person who directs an orchestra or choir. 

指揮是指揮管弦樂隊或合唱團的人。 

4.      passage [    ] n. [C] a section from a book, speech, piece of music, etc. 一段

似 section

Joan read a passage from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

瓊安讀了一段《哈利波特：混血王子的背叛》。

5.      reread [     ] v. [T] to read something again  重讀

Because the students in the class couldn’t understand the passage, the teacher reread it.

因為班上學生無法了解那段文章，所以老師再唸一遍。

6.      test [  ] v. [T] give a test to someone or something 測驗

test [  ] n. [C] 測驗

似 quiz; exam

The teacher is testing the students on their math skills.

老師正在測驗學生的數學能力。

We will have a biology test this afternoon.

今天下午我們將有一場生物學考試。    

7.      brief [    ] adj. short短暫的；quick 簡短的

briefly [    ] adv. 簡短地

Let’s make a brief stop for lunch, and then we can continue driving.

讓我們短暫休息吃個午餐，然後就可以繼續開車上路。

She made a brief call and solved all the problems.

她打了一通簡短的電話就解決了一切問題。

Let me briefly explain what happened to your son.

讓我簡短地解釋你兒子發生了什麼事。

8.      edge [  ] n. [C] an advantage one has over others優勢；a part or line at which something ends邊緣

John’s height gave him an edge over his classmates when it came to playing basketball.

談到打籃球，約翰的身高帶給他凌駕其他同學的優勢。

Mandy was sitting on the edge of the bed.

曼蒂正坐在床的邊緣。

9.      counterpart [  ] n. [C] a person or thing that is like another but in a different place or position對應的人或事物

The State Department is the U.S. counterpart to Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry.

美國國務院是台灣外交部的對應部門。

10.  lock [    ] v. [T] to be fixed in position  固定

似 fix; fasten

lock [    ] n. [C] 鎖

James and I looked at each other, and our eyes locked.

詹姆士和我望著彼此，眼光再也分不開。

The front door has three locks.

前門有三道鎖。

11.  effective [     ] adj. producing a useful result  有效的

effect [   ] n. [C, U] 影響

They tried to find effective ways to encourage students to spend more time studying.

他們設法找出有效的方法來鼓勵學生多花點時間讀書。

Michael Jackson had a big effect on pop music and culture.

麥克傑克遜對流行音樂和文化有很大的影響。

12.  pit [    ] n. [C] a hole   洞；坑

The dog fell into a deep pit and had to be pulled out. 

這隻狗掉入一個深坑中必須被拉出來。    

13.  announce [   ] v. [T] to make something public; to make something known宣佈

似  declare

announcement [     ] n. [C, U] 宣佈

He announced a piece of important news.

他宣佈一則重要的消息。

He seemed to have a surprising announcement to make.

他似乎有驚人的消息要宣佈。

14.  slight [    ] adj. small in amount; not important  細微的

似 small, tiny, little

反 great, big  

slightly [    ] adv. 輕微地

There are some slight differences in appearance between the twin brothers.

這對雙胞胎兄弟在外貌上有些微差異。

The patient is feeling slightly better today.  

病人今天稍微有好一點。

15.  stress [    ] n. [U, C] pressure  壓力

似 tension

stress [    ] v. [T] 強調

stressful [     ] adj. 充滿壓力的

Joanna was under a lot of stress after her husband’s death.

瓊安娜在她先生過世後遭受很多壓力。

Doctors stress the importance of getting enough sleep.

醫生強調睡眠充足的重要性。

His job is one of the most stressful in his company.

在公司中，他的工作是壓力最大的其中之一。

16.  recall [      ] v. [T] to remember 想起，憶起

I know I’ve met that woman before, but I can’t recall her name.

我知道我曾遇過這女子，但我想不起她的名字。

17.  advantage [    ] n. [U, C] benefit  好處

advantageous [     ] adj. 有益的

反  disadvantageous 

He finally quit smoking, to the advantage of his health.

為了他的健康好，他終於戒菸了。

His height gave him a slight advantage over the other team members.

他的身高讓他比其他隊員稍佔優勢。

I think you will find it more advantageous to study with a group than by yourself.

我想你將發現和一群人一起讀書比獨自一人讀書有益。

18.  false [    ] adj. wrong錯誤的；not real 假的

似 incorrect錯誤的；fake, untrue假的

反 right, correct正確的；true真的

Early reports of a typhoon were false; it was actually just a bad storm.

早先預報有颱風是錯誤訊息，其實只是暴風雨而已。

Everyone jumped up when the fire alarm went off, but we soon found out that it was a false alarm.

當火災警報響起時，每個人都跳起來，但我們很快發現是假警報。

19.  confidence [    ] n. [U] 信心

似 faith, belief  

反 doubt

confident [    ] adj. 有信心的

Her parents don’t have any confidence in her ability to make a living as a singer.

她的父母對她以歌手身分謀生的能力沒有任何信心。

Kelly felt confident that she would get an A on the final exam.

凱莉有自信期末考試會拿到A的成績。

20.  peer [   ] n. [C] a person of the same age or social position 同儕

Peer pressure can have a great effect on teenagers’ behavior.

同儕壓力對青少年的行為有極大的影響。

21.  combine [     ] v. [T] join; unite; bring together  結合

似 mix

反 separate, divide

combination [        ] n. [C, U] 結合

The chef combined several fresh vegetables to make a tasty salad.

主廚結合了好幾種新鮮蔬菜做成好吃的沙拉。

That green shirt and those purple pants don’t make a very good combination.

綠襯衫和紫色褲子很不搭。

22.  method [    ] n. [C] a way of doing something   方法

似 way, manner, means   

My mom showed me a new method for cooking noodles.

我媽教我一個新方法來煮湯。

Idioms and phrases

1.      on end  continuously 連續地

Ann worked for hours on end to get the project done.

安連續地工作數小時以完成計劃。

2.      look forward to  to expect  期望

Children always look forward to the red envelopes they get on Chinese New Year.

小孩子總是期待在春節得到的紅包。

3.  find out  to discover  發現……

　 They tried to find out what had happened to their dog.

他們試著要查出他們的狗發生了什麼事。

4.  pop quiz  an unexpected test  突擊小考；抽考

Our English teacher gave us a pop quiz this morning.

今天早上我們英文老師給我們突擊小考。

5.  in the long run  in the end; finally or eventually到最後；從長遠來看

Strong coffee might awake you up now, but it won’t help you in the long run.