托福阅读中有一类题型会让很多同学头疼不已，甚至很多同学出现只错这种题的情况，这个题型就是我们常见的词汇题。
词汇题在阅读分数中占据三分之一，并且通常被考到的词汇也是非常关键性的，对理解文章整个的大意或整段的核心思想有着紧密联系。
所以今天就让我们一起来细数一下那些在托福考试中容易错选或根本不知道选什么的同义词配对。
elaborate=complex
elaborate=develop
对于这组词汇，很多同学在初次遇见时，很难直接把他们进行同义的对应。
complex和develop的意思大家应该还是比较明确的，但是elaborate的确切含义很多同学其实不是很清楚，即使是背过也只是脑海中有个模糊的意思，记得好像，大概，也许是指“详细地……”这类意思。很多同学会觉得“详细地……”和“复杂的”以及“发展”看起来并没有什么同义的关系。
其实elaborate
作为形容词时的意思是made or done with great care or with much detail; marked by complexity精心制作的复杂的;
作为动词时的意思是to give more details about something; to bring something to a more advanced or developed state详细制定，详尽阐述
从它的英文释义中就不难看出它和complex以及develop的同义之处了。
respectively=in that order
Wind pollination does, of course, require a lot of pollen. Birch and hazel trees can produce 5.5 and 4 million grains per catkin, respectively.
The word "respectively" in the passage is closest in meaning to
A. over time
B. separately
C. in that order
D. consistently
对于这组词汇，想必大家疑惑的是respectively这个词。在我们记忆的中文意思中，respectively这个词就是指“分别地”, 所以在选择上面的词汇题时，无数同学都会前赴后继地掉入separately这个大坑里。
殊不知此“分别”并不是彼“分别”。
respectively意为in the order given。
【例子】
Mary and Anne were respectively 12 and 16 years old. Mary和Anne分别是12岁和16岁。(Mary12岁，Anne16岁)。
而separately意为apart from others， not joined or connected。
【例子】
He had insisted that we went separately to the club. 他坚持我们不要一块儿去俱乐部。
了解清楚这两个“分别地”的意思之后，再结合文章语境去选择，答案就一目了然了。
afford=provide
这是一组部分意思重复的词汇配对，也是对熟词僻义的考察。
afford作为动词时有两层意思，第一个大家熟悉的“买得起，负担得起”，第二个“提供”，This affords us the opportunity to ask questions about how the systems might change. 这给我们提供了就系统可能如何改变进行提问的机会。
pronounced=marked
这也是一组让大家大跌眼镜的同义配对，表示“发音”的pronounce加了个d怎么就变成“明显的”了。
一方面，pronounced作为形容词本身就有strong marked的意思，另一方面，pronounce作为动词时还可以指“宣称，宣布”，根据这个意义再去体会上下文语境，就能感悟到这组同义配对之间的奥秘了。
Citizens of prosperous, essentially middle-class republics --- whether ancient Romans, seventeenth-century Dutch burghers, or nineteenth-century Americans --- have always shown a marked taste for portraiture.
The word "marked" is closest in meaning to which of following?
(A) pronounced
(B) fortunate
(C) understandable
(D) mysterious
pursue=engage in
Whereas the East could pursue war and diplomacy more effectively with their enemies on the long eastern frontier, the West was exposed to the more volatile tribal Germanic peoples on a frontier that stretched along the Rhine and Danube rivers for 1,000 miles.
The word “pursue” in the passage is closest in meaning to
A. expand
B. engage in
C. control
D. avoid
同学们应该都知道pursue有“追求，继续，追捕”的意思，然而满怀期待地去浏览选项时，却并没有发现体现这个意思的答案，不禁又一次因为ETS对人生产生了怀疑。
其实本题考察的也是一个pursue的不常用的意思“执行，实行”。
【例子】
The government will be free to pursue its economic policies. 政府将可不受限制地实行其经济政策。
所以本题对应engage in，表示“从事，实行”之意。
通过上述的分析，我们再来做几个词汇题的小练习，看看你还会不会中招?
1)Doorways were larger and more decorative. Fireplaces became decorative features of rooms. Walls were made of plaster or wood, sometimes elaborately paneled.
The word "elaborately" is closest in meaning to which of following?
(A) done in great detail
(B) put together carefully
(C) using many colors
(D) reinforced structurally
2)People in such places would have had at least two reasons to pursue cultivation and animal raising; they would have had access to new information, plants, and animals brought in by traders, and they would have had a need for something to trade with the people passing through.
The word “pursue” in the passage is closet in meaning to
(A) practice
(B) encourage
(C) prefer
(D) combine
3)The linsey-woolsey covering was found in the colder regions of the country because of the warmth it afforded.
The word "afforded" is closest in meaning to which of following?
(A) provided
(B) spent
(C) avoided
(D) absorbed
4)On clear still nights when the heat island is pronounced, a small thermal low-pressure area forms over the city.
The word “pronounced” in the passage is closet in meaning to
(A) examined
(B) relative
(C) strongest
(D) darkest
做完再看答案哦：AAAC
看完之后有没有觉得对托福阅读有所帮助呢?
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