本科英语词汇学

Basic Concepts of Words and Vocabula ry（练习1）

I．Each of the statements below is followed by four alternative answers. Choose the one that would best complete the statement.

1.Morphology is the branch of grammar which studies the structure or

forms of words, primarily through the use of ____A _____construct.

A. word B. form C. morpheme D. root

2.____.C____ is traditionally used for the study of the origins and history of the form and meaning of words.

A. Semantics B. Linguistics C. Etymology D. Stylistics

3.Modern English is derived from the language of early __D____ tribes.

A. Greek B. Roman C. Italian D. Germanic

4. Semantics is the study of meaning of different ___A______ levels: lexis, syntax, utterance, discourse, etc.

A. linguistic B. grammatical

C. arbitrary D. semantic

5.Stylistics is the study of style . It is concerned with the user’s choices of linguistic elements in a particular____B____ for special effects

A. situation B. context C. time D. place

6.Lexicography shares with lexicology the same problems: the form , meaning, origins and usages of words, but they have a __D_____ difference.

A . spelling B. semantic C. pronunciation D. pragmatic 7. Terminology consists of __A_____ terms used in particular disciplines and academic areas.

A. technical B. artistic C. different D. academic

8. ___B_______refers to the specialized vocabularies by which members of particular arts, sciences, trades, and professions communicate among themselves.

A. Slang B. Jargon

C. Dialectal words D. Argot

9 .___D______ belongs to the sub-standard language, a category that seems to stand between the standard general words including informal ones available to everyone and in-group words.

A. Jargon B. Argot

C. Dialectal words D. Slang

10. Argot generally refers to the jargon of ____B___.Its use is confined to the sub-cultural groups and outsiders can hardly understand it.

A. workers B. criminals C. any person D. policeman

11.___D_____ are words used only by speakers of the dialect in question.

A. Argot B. Slang C. Jargon

D. Dialectal words

12. Archaisms are words or forms that were once in ___A______use but are now restricted only to specialized or limited use.

A. common B. little C. slight D. great

13. Neologisms are newly-created words or expressions, or words that have taken on __A____meanings.

A. new B. old C. bad D. good

14. Content words denote clear notions and thus are known as_____B____ words. They include nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs and numerals.

A. functional B. notional C. empty D. formal

15. Functional words do not have notions of their own. Therefore, they are also called __C_____words. Prepositions, conjunctions, auxiliaries and articles belong to this category.

A. content B. notional C. empty D. new (练习2)

I. Each of the statements below is followed by four alternative answers. Choose the one that would best complete the statement.

1.It is assumed that the world has approximately 3,000( some put it

5,000)languages, which can be grouped into the basis of similarities in

their basic word stock and grammar. C A. 500 B. 4000 C. 300 D. 2000

2.The prehistoric Indo-European parent language is thought to be a highly

___A___language.

A. inflected B. derived C. developed D. analyzed

3.After the ____C_____, the Germanic tribes called Angles ,Saxons, and

Jutes came in great numbers. A. Greeks B. Indians C. Romans D. French

4.The introduction of ____B____had a great impact on the English

vocabulary. A. Hinduism B. Christianity C. Buddhism D. Islamism

5.In the 9th century the land was invaded again by Norwegian and Danish

Vikings. With the invaders, many ___D_____words came into the

English language. A. Greek B. Roman C. Celtic D.

Scandinavian

6.It is estimated that at least ___D___ words of Scandinavian

origin have

survived in modern English. A. 500 B. 800 C. 1000 . D. 900

7.The Normans invaded England from France in 1066. The Norman

Conquest started a continual flow of ____A__ words into English.

A. French B. Greek C. Roman D. Latin

8.By the end of the __B_____century , English gradually came back into

the schools, the law courts, and government and regained social status.

A. 12th B. 13th C. 14th D.15th

9.As a result , Celtic made only a __A_____contribution to the English

vocabulary. A. small B. big C. great D. smaller

10. The Balto-Slavic comprises such modern languages as

Prussian, Lithuanian, Polish, Czech, Bulgarian, Slovenian and __D_____.

A. Greek B. Roman C. Indian D. Russian

11.In the Indo-Iranian we have Persian , Bengali, Hindi, Romany, the last

three of which are derived from the dead language. A A. Sanskrit B. Latin C. Roman D. Greek

12.Greek is the modern language derived from ___B____. A. Latin B. Hellenic

C. Indian D . Germanic

13.The five Roamance languages , namely, Portuguese, Spanish, French,

Italian, Romanian all belong to the Italic through an intermediate

language called __B_____. A. Sanskrit B. Latin C. Celtic D. Anglo-Saxon

14.The ____A____family consists of the four Northern European

Languages: Norwegian, Icelandic, Danish and Swedish, which are

generally known as Scandinavian languages. A. Germanic B. Indo-European C. Albanian D. Hellenic

15.By the end of the ____B___century , virtually all of the people who held

political or social power and many of those in powerful Church positions

were of Norman French origin. A. 10th B.11th C.12th D. 13th

I．Each of the statements below is followed by four alternative answers. Choose the one that would best complete the statement.

1.The prefixes in the words of ir resistible, non classical and a political are

called ___B____. A.reversative prefixes B. negative prefixes C. pejorative prefixes D.

locative prefixes

2.The prefixes contained in the following words are called ___C___:

pseudo-friend, mal practice, mis trust. A. reversative prefixed B. negative prefixes

C. pejorative prefixes D. locative prefixes

3.The prefixed contained in un wrap, de-compose and dis allow are

_____A____.

4. A. reversative prefixed B. negative prefixes C. pejorative prefixes

D. locative prefixes

5.The prefixes in words extra-strong, overweight and arch bishop are

___B__ .

A . negative prefixes B. prefixes of degree or size C. pejorative prefixes D. locative prefixes

6.The prefixes in words bi lingual ,uni form and hemis phere are

____A____.

A. number prefixes

B. prefixes of degree or size C. pejorative

prefixes D. locative prefixes

6._____C___ are contained in words trans-world, intra-party and fore head.

A.Prefixes of orientation and attitude B. Prefixes of time and order C. Locative prefixes

D. Prefixes of degree or size

7. Rugby ,afghan and champagne are words coming from ___B_____.

http://www.doczj.com/doc/354178265.html,s of books B. names of places

C. names of people D. tradenames

8. Omega,Xerox and orlon are words from ____D_____. http://www.doczj.com/doc/354178265.html,s of books B. names of places C. names of people D.

tradenames

9.Ex-student, fore tell and post-election contain__C______. A/.negative prefixes B. prefixes of degree or size C. prefixes of time and order D. locative prefixes

10.Mackintosh, bloomers and cherub are from ___C____ A. names of books B. names of places C. names of people D. tradenames

11.The prefixes in words new-Nazi, autobiography and pan-European are

__D______.

A.negative prefixes

B. prefixes of degree or size C. prefixes of time and order D. miscellaneous prefixes

12.The prefixes in words anti-government , pro student and contra flow are

__B___-.

A.prefixes of degree or size B. prefixes of orientation and

attitude C. prefixes of time and order D. miscellaneous prefixes

13.Utopia ,odyssey and Babbit are words from ____A____. http://www.doczj.com/doc/354178265.html,s of books B. names of places C. names of people D.

tradenames

14.The suffixes in words clockwise, homewards are ___C___. A. noun suffixes B. verb suffixes C. adverb suffixes D. adjective suffixes

15.The suffixes in words height en, symbol ize are ____B____. A. noun suffixes B. verb suffixes C. adverb suffixes D. adjective suffixes

1/A word is the combination of form and __C______. A. spelling B. writing C. meaning D. denoting

1.__B_____is the result of human cognition, reflecting the objective world in

the human mind. A. Reference B. Concept C. Sense D. Context

2.Sense denotes the relationships ___D____the language.

A. outside B. with C. beyond D. inside

4. Most English words can be said to be __A______. A. non-motivated B. motivated C. connected D. related

5.Trumpet is a(n) __C_____motivated word. A. morphologically B. semantically C. onomatopoeically D.

etymologically

7.Hopeless is a ___A___motivated word. A. morphologically B. onomatopoeically C. semantically D.

etymologically

8.In the sentence ‘ He is fond of pen ’ , pen is a __C____ motivated word.

A.morphologically B. onomatopoeically C. semantically D.

etymologically

9.Walkman is a ___D____motivated word. A. onomatopoeically

B. morphologically C. semantically D.

etymologically

10.Functional words possess strong _A____ whereas content words have

both meanings, and lexical meaning in particular. A. grammatical meaning B. conceptual meaning C. associative meaning D. arbitrary meaning

10.___B____is unstable, varying considerably according to culture, historical period, and the experience of the individual.

A.Stylistic meaning B. Connotative meaning C. Collocative meaning D. Affective meaning 11.Affective A. feeling . B. liking C. attitude D. understanding

12. ____B_____ are affective words as they are expressions of emotions such as oh, dear me, alas.

A. Prepositions B. Interjections C. Exclamations D. Explanations

13. It is noticeable that __D_____overlaps with stylistic and

meaning

indicates

the

speaker’s

___C____towards the person or thing in question.

affective meanings because in a sense both stylistic and affective meanings are revealed by means of collocations.

A.conceptual meaning B. grammatical meaning C. lexical meaning D.

collocative meaning

14.In the same language, the same concept can be expressed in _D_____.

A. only one word B. two words C. more than three D. different words

15.Reference is the relationship between language and the __C____.

A. speakers B. listeners C. world

D. specific country

1.Polysemy is a common feature peculiar to __C____. A. English only B. Chinese only C. all natural languages D. some natural languages

2.From the ____B__ point of view, polysemy is assumed to be the result

of growth and development of the semantic structure of one and same word .

A. linguistic B. diachronic

C. synchronic D. traditional

3.__A_____ is a semantic process in which the primary meaning stands at

the center and the secondary meanings proceed out of it in every

direction like rayes.

A Radiation B. Concatenation C. Derivation D. Inflection 4. ___D______ is the semantic process in which the meaning of a word moves gradually away from its first sense by successive shifts until, in many cases, there is not a sign of connection between the sense that is finally developed and that which the term had at the beginning.

A. Derivation B. Radiation C. Inflection D. Concatenation

5.One important criterion to differentiate homonyms from polysemants is to see their __C____.

A. spelling B. pronunciation C. etymology D. usage

6. ____B____refer to one of two or more words in the English language which have the same or very nearly the same essential meaning.

A. Polysemants B. Synonyms C. Antonyms D. Hyponyms

7. The sense relation between the two words tulip and flower is __A____.

A. hyponymy B. synonymy C. polysemy D. antonymy

8. __B_______ are words identical only in spelling but different in sound and meaning, e.g. bow/bau/; bow/beu/.

A. Homophones B. Homographs C. Perfect homonyms D. Antonyms

9. The antonyms: male and female are _A_____. A. contradictory terms B. contrary terms C. relative terms D. connected terms

11.The antonyms big and small are ____B__. A. contradictory terms B. contrary terms C. relative terms D. connected terms

12.The antonyms husband and wife are _C_____. A. contradictory terms B. contrary terms C. relative terms D. connected terms

http://www.doczj.com/doc/354178265.html,position compounding in lexicology are words of _A____.

A. absolute synonyms

and

B. relative synonyms C. relative antonyms D. contrary antonyms

14.As homonyms are identical in sound or spelling, particularly ____B__,

they are often employed in a conversation to create puns for desired

effect of humor, sarcasm or ridicule. A. homographs B. homophones C. absolute homonyms D. antonyms

15.From the diachronic point of view, when the word was created, it was

endowed with only one meaning . The first meaning is called ___A___.

A. primary meaning B. derived meaning C. central meaning D. basic meaning

Synchronically, the basic meaning of a word is the core of word-meaning called___C____

1.The original meaning of manuscript is __B______.

A/any author’s writing B. handwriting C. any author’s works D. a piece of paper

1.The original meaning of barn is __A____. A. a place for storing only barley B. a storeroom C. a restroom D. a bathroom

1.The extended meaning of journal is __D____ A. daily paper B. any paper C. magazines D. periodical

2.In Shakespearean line ‘rats and mice and such small dee r’, deer obviously designates ‘__B ___’ in general.

A. a doe B.. animal

C. a deerlike animal D. buck

1，The original meaning of wife is ___C____. A. a married woman B. a young woman C. woman

D. widowed woman

2，The meaning of meat changed by mode of __B _____. A. extension B. narrowing C. elevation D. degradation

3，The meaning of fond changed by mode of ____C__. A. extension B. narrowing C. elevation D. degradation

4，The original meaning of minister is ___D ___. A. head of a ministry B. a tutor C.a farmer

D. servant 5，The original meaning of success is ___A___. A.result B. progress

C. event D. incident

6，The meaning of churl changed by mode of __C_____. A. elevation B. extension C. degradation D. narrowing

11.The original meaning of knave is ___D____. A. elevation B. extension C. degradation D. narrowing

12.The original meaning of silly is __C____. A. sad B. jealous C. happy D. cold

13.Loud colours belongs to ___A___. A.transfer of sensations B. transfer between abstract and

concrete meanings

C.transfer from objective to subjective D. transfer from subjective to objective 14. Dreadful and hateful belong to ____A___. A. transfer from subjective to objective B. transfer of sensation

C. transfer from objective to subjective

D. transfer between abstract and concrete meanings 15. The meaning of picture changed by modes of __A___. A. extension B. narrowing

C. degradation D. elevation

II. Complete the following statements with proper words or expressions according to the course book.

16.Lexicology is a branch of linguistics, inquiring into the origins and _meanings____of words.

17.English lexicology aims at investigating and studying the _morphological,____ structures of English words and word equivalents, their semantics, relations, __Historical__development, formation and __ usages_____.

18.English lexicology embraces other academic disciplines, such as

morphology, __lexicography______.

19.There are generally two approaches to the study of words , namely

synchronic and ___.diachronic____.

http://www.doczj.com/doc/354178265.html,nguage involves the study of speech sounds, grammar and___

vocabulary____.

21.Now people generally refer to Anglo-Saxon as _Old English______.

22.. If we say that Old English was a language of full endings , Middle

English was one of __Leveled endings____.

23.It can be concluded that English has evoked from a synthetic language

(Old English) to the present _analytic____ language.

24.The surviving languages accordingly fall into eight principal groups ,

study

__semantics____,etymology,

stylistics,

which can be grouped into an Eastern set: Balto-Slavic , Indo-Iranian ,Armenian and Albanian; a Western set :Celtic, Italic,

Hellenic, _Germanic______.

25.It is necessary to subdivide Modern English into Early (1500-1700)and

Late(1700-up to the present ) _____ Modern English. 16. Affixation is generally defined as the formation of words by adding word-forming or derivational affixes to stem. This process is also known as__derivation___.

http://www.doczj.com/doc/354178265.html,pounding , also called _composition_______, is the formation of new words by joining two or more stems . Words formed in this way are called _____compounds____.

18. ___Conversion_______ is the formation of new words by converting words of one class to another class.

19. ____Blending_____ is the formation of new words by combining parts of two words or a word plus a part of another word . Words formed in this way are called blends or _pormanteau____words.

20 A common way of making a word is to shorten a longer word by cutting a part off the original and using what remains instead. This is called _clipping______.

16.In modern English one may find some words whose sounds suggest their

_meanings_____

http://www.doczj.com/doc/354178265.html,pounds derived words are __multi-morphemic____ words and

the meanings of many are the sum total of the morphemes combined. 18.__Semantic motivation_____ refers to the mental associations

and

suggested by the conceptual meaning of a word.

19.The meanings of many words often relate directly to their _origins_____. In other words the history of the word explains the

meaning of the word.

20.Lexical meaning itself has two components : conceptual meaning and

_associative meaning________.

21.One important criterion for differentiation of homonyms from

polysemants is to see their _etymology___, the second principal

consideration is __semantic relatedness ____.

22.In dictionaries, a polysemant has its meanings all listed under one

__headword____whereas homonyms are listed as separate _headword_____.

23.The differences between synonyms boil down to three areas :

_denotation___, connotation ,and _application____.

24.Hyponymy deals with the relationship of semantic inclusion. That is,

the meaning of a more specific word is included in that of another more

general word. The general words are called the __superordinate___terms and the more specific words are called the _subordinate____ terms. 25.The massive word store of a language like English can be conceived of

as composed around a number of meaning areas. Some large, such as

‘philosophy’or ‘emotions’, other smaller, such as ‘kinship’or ‘color’.

Viewing the total meaning in this way is the basis of ___field theory___.

. V ocabulary is the most unstable element of a language as it is

undergoing constant changes both in form and ___content__. 17. Word-meaning changes by modes of extension, narrowing,

degradation, _elevation ___and trandfer. Of these, extension and

__narrowing_____are by far the most common.

18. Linguistic context can be subdivided into lexical context and

__grammatical context____.

19. The extra-linguistic context may extend to embrace the entire __

cultural background___,which may also affect the meaning of words . 20.Ambiguity often arises due to polysemy and __homonymy___.