英语词汇学教程参考答案

《英语词汇学教程》参考答案

(注：参考答案仅供参考。有些题目的答案并非是唯一的)

Chapter 1

1. The three definitions agree that lexicology studies words. Yet, they have different focuses. Definition 1 focuses on the meaning and uses of words, while definition 2 on the overall structure and history. Definition 3 regards lexicology as a branch of linguistics and focuses on the semantic structure of the lexicon. It is interesting to note that the three definitions uses different names for the object of study. For Definition 1, it is words, for Definition 2 the vocabulary of a language, and for Definition 3 the lexicon.

2. (1) They can go into the room, and if they like, shut the door.

(2) You boys are required to give in your homework before 10 o‘clock.

(3) I watch the football match happily and find it very interesting.

3. (1) when it follows ‗-t‘ and ‗-d‘, it is pronounced as [id];

(2) when it follows voiceless consonants, it is pronounced as [t];

(3) when it follows voiced consonants and vowels, it is pronounced as [d].

4. (1)They are words that can be included in a semantic field of ―tree‖.

(2)They represent the forms of the verb ―fly‖ and have a common meaning.

(3)They belong to a lexical field of ‗telephone communication‘..

(4)They are synonyms, related to human visual perception. Specifically, they denote various

kinds of ―looking‖.

5. (a) ‗blackboard: a board with a dark smooth surface, used in schools for writing with chalk (the primary stress in on black) ; ‗blackbird: a particular kind of bird, which may not necessarily be black in colour (the primary stress in on black); ‗greyhound: a slender, swift dog with keen sight (the primary stress in on black), ‗White House: the residence of the US President in Washington (the primary stress in on black). 0

(b) black ‗board: any board which is black in colour (both words receive primary stress); black ‗bird: any bird which is black in colour (both words receive primary stress); grey ‗hound: any hound that is grey in colour (both words receive primary stress); ‗white ‗house: any house that is painted white (both words receive primary stress).

6. There are 44 orthographic words, i.e. sequences of letters bounded by space. There are 24 open class words and 20 closed class words.

7. (a) The ‗bull‘ is literal, referring to a male bovine animal.

(b) ‗Take the bull by the horn‘ is an idiom, meaning ‗(having the courage to) deal with someone

or something directly.

(c) ‗Like a bull in a china shop‘ is an idiom, meaning doing something with too much

enthusiasm or too quickly or carelessly in a way that may damage things or upset someone. (d) A ‗bull market‘ is one where prices rise fast because there is a lot of buying of shares in

anticipation of profits.

8. cup, mug, glass, tumbler, tankard, goblet, bowl, beaker, wineglass, beer glass, sherry glass They can be organized in a number of ways, for example, by the drinks the vessel is used for.

Non-alcoholic: glass, tumbler, cup, mug, beaker, bowl

Beer: beer glass, tankard

Wine: wineglass, goblet

Spirits: sherry glass

Chapter 2

1. Lexeme is an abstract linguistic unit with different variants, for example, sing as against sang,

sung.

Morpheme is the ultimate grammatical constituent, the smallest meaningful unit of language. For example, moralizers is an English word composed of four morphemes: moral+lize+er+s. Any concrete realization of a morpheme in a given utterance is called a morph, such as cat, chair, -ing, -s, etc.

Allomorphs are the alternate phonetic forms of the same morpheme, for example, [t], [d] and

[id] are allomorphs of the past tense morpheme in English.

2. quick-ly, down-stair-s, four-th, poison-ous, weak-en,

world-wide, inter-nation-al-ly, in-ject, pro-trude

3. island, cranberry,

4.(a)[ ə]

(b)[ -ai]

5. (1) –‗s, -s

(2) -est, -s

(3) –ing

(4) –ed

6. The connotations are as follows:

(1) slang, carrying the connotation of reluctance, (2)informal, carrying the connotation that the speaker is speaking to a child, (3) beastie is used to a small animal in Scotland, carrying the connotation of disgust, (4) carrying the connotation of formalness, (5) carrying the connotation of light-heartedness.

7. { -əm; ～- n; ～- n; ～-i: ～-s; ～-z; ～-iz}

8. court: polysemy dart: polysemy

fleet: homonymy jam: homonymy

pad: homonymy steep: homonymy

stem: homonymy stuff: polysemy

watch: polysemy

9. (1)—(f), (2)—(g), (3)—(c), (4)—(e), (5)—(a), (6)—(d), (7)—(b)

10.(1) unpractical

(2) break

(3) impractical

(4) rout

(5) pedals

(6) Route

(7) raze

Chapter 3

1. The history of English can be divided into four periods: the Old, Middle, Early middle and

Modern English periods.

In Old English period, there is a frequent use of coinages known as ‗kennings‘, which refers to vivid figurative descriptions often involving compounds. The absence of a wide-ranging vocabulary of loanwords force people to rely more on word-formation processes based on native elements. The latter period of Old English was characterized by the introduction of a number of ‗loan translations‘. Grammatical relationships in Old English were expressed by the use of inflectional endings. And Old English is believed to contain about 24,000 different lexical items.

In Middle English period, English grammar and vocabulary changed greatly. In grammar, English changed from a highly inflected language to an analytic language. In vocabulary English was characterized by the loss of a large part of the Old English word-stock and the addition of thousands of words from French and Latin.

In Early Modern English period, English vocabulary grew very fast through extensive borrowing and expansion of word-formation patterns. And there was a great many semantic changes, as old words acquire new meanings.

Modern English is characterized with three main features of unprecedented growth of scientific vocabulary, the assertion of American English as a dominant variety of the language, and the emergence of other varieties known as ‗New Englishes‘.

2. appeareth in (a) becomes appeared in (b), and dreame becomes dream. The passive were

departed becomes the active had gone. With the change of word forms, (b) looks simple morphologically.

3. barf: American slang kerchief: French mutton: French

cadaver: Latin goober: Kongo leviathan: Latin

ginseng: Chinese taffy: North American kimono: Japanese

whisky: Irish caddy: Malay sphere: Latin

algebra: Arabic giraffe: African

4. train: meaning changed from the trailing part of a gown to a wide range of extended

meanings.

deer: meaning narrowed from ‗beast‘ or ‗animal‘ to ‗a particular kind of animal‘

knight: meaning ameliorated from ‗boy, manservant’ to ‗a man in the UK who has been given an honor of knighthood‘

meat: meaning narrowed down from ‗food‘ to ‗the edible flesh of animals and the edible part of fruit‘.

hose: meaning extended from ‗leg covering‘ to ‗a long tube for carrying water‘.

5. sell: specialized hound: specialized

starve: specialized wife: specialized

loaf: specialized

6.

Chapter 4

1. read+-i+-ness dis-+courage+-ing kind+heart+-ed

un-+doubt+-ed+-ly stock+room+-s pre-+pack+-age+-ed

2. book: books(n.); books(v.), booking, booked

forget: forgets, forgot, forgotten

short: shortter, shortest

snap: snaps, snapping, snapped

take: takes, taking, took, taken

goose: geese

heavy: heavier, heaviest

3. –ish: meaning ‗having the nature of , like‘

de-: meaning ‗the opposite of‘

-ify: meaning ‗make, become‘

-dom: means ‗the state of ‘

il-(im-/in-): meaning ‗the opposite of, not‘

-able: meaning ‗that can or must be‘

mis-: meaning ‗wrongly or badly‘

-sion(-tion):meaning ‗the state/process of‘

pre-: meaning ‗prior to‘

-ment: meaning ‗the action of‘

re-: meaning ‗again‘

under-: meaning ‗not enough‘

-al: meaning ‗the process or state of‘

4. a. They are endocentric compounds. They have the ―Adj + N‖ structure, in which adjectives

are used to modify nouns ‗line, line, neck, room‘. Hotline means ‗a telephone number that people can call for information‘. Mainline means ‗an important railway line between two cities‘. Redneck means ‗a person from the southern US‘. Darkroom means ‗a room with very little in it, used for developing photographs‘.

b. They are endocentric compounds. They have the ―N + N‘ structure. Bookshelf means ‗a shelf for keeping books‘. Breadbasket means ‗a container for serving bread‘. Mailbox means ‗a box for putting letters in when they delivered to a house‘. Wineglass means ‗a glass for drinking wine‘.

c. They are endocentric compounds. They have the ―N + N‘ structure. Letterhead means ‗the head of a letter (i.e. the name and address of an organization printed at the top of a letter)‘. Roadside means ‗the area at the side of a road‘. Keyhole means ‗the hole in a lock for putting the key in‘. Hilltop means ‗the top of a hill‘.

d. They are exocentric compounds. Dropout means ‗a person who leaves school before they have finished their studies. Go-between means ‗a person who takes messages between people‘. Turnout means ‗the number of people who come to an event‘. Standby means ‗a person or thing that can always be used if needed‘.

e. They are endocentric compounds. They have the ―Adj + N-ed‖ structure, in which adjectives are used to modify the N-ed.

f. They are endocentric compounds. They have the ―N + Adj‖ structure, meaning As Adj As N.

5. in-: not, the opposite of

en-: to put into the condition of

dis-: not, the opposite of

un-: not, the opposite of

inter-: between, among

mis-: wrongly or badly

over-: too much

re-: again

post-: after

6. a. a young dog; piglet

b. a female editor; hostess

c. a place for booking tickets; refinery

d. one who is kicked; trainee

e. the state of being put up; output

7. unbelievable: un- (prefix), -able (suffix)

inexhaustible: in- (prefix), -ible(suffix)

multinational: multi (prefix)-, -al(suffix)

teleshopping: tele- (prefix), -ing (suffix)

8. a. initialism

b. blending

c. compounding

d. conversion

9. a. compounding, affixation

b. compounding, affixation

c. compounding, shortening

d. compounding, affixation

10. a. consumable, comprehensible, exchangeable, permissible

b. absorbent, assistant, different, participant

c. constructor, liar, beggar, editor, developer

d. elementary, stationary, brewery, mockery

Chapter 5

1. (a) connotation (b) formality

(c) dialect (d) connotation

2. water

rainwater, brine, tap water, mineral water, spring water, purified water, aerated water, ……..

3. (a) keeping

(b) feeling of admiration or respect

4. (a) hyponymy

(b) meronymy

5. (a) light beer, strong beer

(b) heavy coffee, strong coffee, weak coffee

6. amateur—dabbler, funny—ridiculous, occupation—profession,

small—little, famous—renowned, fiction—fable, smell—scent

7. These words refer to different kinds of pictures or diagrams. Drawing: picture or diagram made with a pen, pencil, or crayon. Cartoon refers to ‗an amusing drawing in a newspaper or magazine‘. Diagram refers to a simple drawing using lines to explain where something is, how something works, etc. Illustration refers to a drawing or picture in a book, magazine etc. to explain something. Sketch refers to a simple picture that is drawn quickly and does not have many details.

8.(a) gradable (b) non-gradable, reversive (c) gradable

(d) non-gradable, reversive (e) gradable (f) non-gradable

9.(a) antonym (b) hyponymy (c) antonym

(d) synonymy (e) meronymy

Chapter 6

1. 1) literal expression 2) idiom

3) literal expression 4) idiom

5) idiom 6) literal expression

2. 1) die

2) something that makes a place less attractive

3) suddenly realize or understand something

4) make one‘s friends disappoint

5) continue to argue something that has already been decided and is not important

6) react quickly so as to get an advantage

3. 1) gradually reduce the amount of time, money, etc.

2) give support and encouragement to someone in a game, competition, etc

3) give something to the person it belongs to

4) annoy

5) fail because a part is weak or incorrect

6) try to find out the facts about something

7) live under the rule of someone

8) talk to someone in order to find out his opinions, ideas, feelings etc.

9) give someone a warning or secret information about something

Chapter 7

1. General dictionaries include all of the elements of a lexicon, including meanings,

pronunciations, usages, and histories of the words of their language. Specialized dictionaries are restricted to one variety or to one type of entryword.

2. They are different in that different media are used. Print dictionaries do not use electric power

and can be used in all kinds of light. Electronic dictionaries are easy to carry. .

3. Open to discussion.

4. Open to discussion.

5. (a) symbolise

(b) symbol of sth is a person, an object, an event, etc. that represents a more general quality or situation; symbol for sth is a sign, number, letter, etc. that has a fixed meaning, especially in science, mathematics and music

(a) /sim‘bɔlik/ and /sim‘ba:lik/

(b) represent

(c) 2

(d) Yes. We know that form the label [VN] and the examples.

Chapter 8

1. vertically challenged—short

sanitation engineer—garbage collector

ethnic cleansing--genocide

ladies‘ cloak room—women‘s toilet

2. (1)They differ in connotation. Politician implies disapproval while statesman implies

approval.

(2)They differ in connotation. Inexpensive sounds indirect.

(3) They differ in connotation. flatter implies disapproval, while praise implies approval.

(4) They differ in connotation. pedant implies disapproval, scholar is neutral.

3. (1) buttocks — buns (2) nonsense — bullshit

(3) prison — can (4) cocaine — coke

4. (a).Turn off the lights, please.

(b) Would you please turn off the lights?

5. Answers vary from person to person.

6. (1) on a formal occasion.

(2) when the speaker is seeing a friend off

(3) when the speaker is angry and wants the addressee to leave

(4) when the speaker is talking with a close friend.

7. gateway, firewall, virus, bookmark, address, DOS, cyberspace, profiler, browser, login

8. They differ in the terms they used, as they are different jargons.

Chapter 9

1. knife: an object with a sharp blade for cutting things

clothes: things we wear to keep our bodies warm;

building: a structure made of a strong material, having roof, walls, windows, and doors

2. She attacked every weak point in my argument.

He withdrew his offensive remarks.

I hit back at his criticism.

She produced several illustrations to buttress her argument.

I braced myself for the onslaught.

3. The suffix –ee is typically attached to a verb meaning ‗one who is the object of the verb‘. This meaning is considered as the core meaning of the form. So, trainee means ‗one who is being trained‘. But the background knowledge associated with the verb may modulate the meaning of the suffix. Suffix –ee in standee moves away from the core meaning and is deprived of the ‗object‘ meaning. So ‗standee‘ means ‗one who stands‘.

4. In ‗good baby‘, ‗good‘ means ‗well-behaved, not causing trouble‘; in ‗good parent‘, ‗good‘ means ‗kind, generous, considerate, etc.‘

5. (1) is used to show sad feelings while (2) is used as an apology.