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■當遇到考察有關字彙的問題時，可嘗試從前文後理出發或從詞性入手。 資料圖片
——字彙問題多面睇二之一
考DSE卷一閱讀時，常問有關字彙的問題（vocabulary-related questions）。雖然皆是問考生某個生字的意思，但亦有好幾種不同的問法。本文將分上下兩期向大家介紹4種不同的問法以及對應的解答方法。在介紹之前，請先閱讀以下的一段節錄（read the following excerpt）：
Chow Yun-fat was born in Hong Kong of Hakka origin. He grew up in a farming community on Lamma Island in a house with no electricity. He woke up at dawn each morning to help his mother sell herbal jelly and Hakka-styled tea-pudding on the streets and in the afternoon he went to work in the fields. His family moved to Kowloon when he was ten. At seventeen, he quitted school to support his family by doing jobs including bellboy, postman, camera salesman and taxi driver. His life started to change when he responded to a newspaper ad and his actor-trainee application was accepted by TVB. He signed a 3-year contract with the studio and made his acting debut. With his striking good looks and easy-going personality, Chow because a heartthrob and a familiar face in soap operas.
問法1：Write the meaning of a word/phrase（直接寫生字或詞的解釋）
Q1. In the excerpt, it says that Chow Yun-fat used to "work in the fields". What does "work in the fields" mean？
這問題要求同學解釋「work in the fields」，同學們需從前文後理找出意思。在這節錄的第二行「...... grew up in a farming community」透露了周潤發是在耕種的社區長大，所以他很大機會會在田裡工作。因此，「work in the fields」就是在田裡工作（farming）。同學可以直接填「farming」或用complete sentence：「It means farming.」去回答。
問法2：Find a word with the same meaning（找一個有相同意思的字）
Q.2 Which word indicates that Chow Yun-fat's character is relaxing and tolerant？
這類問題要求同學從文中找出一字，其意思與「relaxing and tolerant」相同。遇到這類題目，同學先看究竟「relaxing and tolerant」所屬的part of speech。因為你找的字的part of speech一定會與它相同。而「relaxing and tolerant」很明顯是形容詞，所以可集中找相關的形容詞。這樣，你答對問題的機會率亦可以大大上升。另外，由於問題提到這形容詞是用來形容周潤發的個性。那麼，同學第一時間應該跳過（skip）和個性沒關的段落，focus去找有關character的形容詞，最後應不難發現，文中最後一句有提及過：「With his striking good looks and easy-going personality, ......」。「personality」正解作「character」。看見這個大貼士，只要看看前面的形容詞是否與「relaxing and tolerant」吻合即可。而「easygoing」又剛好對應「relaxing and tolerant」。Double-check「easygoing」的part of speech正是adjective（形容詞）。同學們可十拿九穩拿分。
其實除上述兩種問法外，還有兩種與多項選擇題（multiple-choice question）有關的問法。欲知如何問，如何答，筆者下期分享。 ■馬漪楠 培正中學英文科副主任
作者簡介：曾獲行政長官卓越教學獎(2009/2010)，與岑皓軒合著暢銷書《Slang：屎爛英語1&2》。
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