Appendix (for reading content...etc)
Read the passage 'Polysemy'. On a piece of paper, take notes on the main points of the reading passage.
Reading time: 3 minutes
Polysemy
It is very common in English for one word to have many different meanings. This condition, where one word has different meanings, is known as polysemy. (This term comes from "poly-" meaning "many" and "sem-" meaning "meaning.")
"Sound" is one such polysemic word, As a noun, it refers to a noise (as in "a loud sound") or a body of water (as in "Puget Sound"). As an adjective, it can refer to a state of health (as in "sound mind and body"). It can also be an intransitive verb (as in "sound angry"), a transitive verb (as in "sound the alarm"), or part of a verb phrase as an outburst (as in "sound off") and an inquiry (as in "sound out").
You may think that the word "sound" is a truly wondrous polysemic word. After all its definitions cover seven pages in one major dictionary and include 19 meanings as a noun, 12 meanings as an adjective, 12 meanings as a verb (some transitive and some intransitive), 4 meanings in verb phrases, and 2 meanings as an adverb.
But what about the extraordinary word "set"? It looks like such a short, simple word, only three little letters in all. However, if you look it up in an unabridged dictionary, you will find at least 57 meanings for "set" when it is used as a noun and over 120 meanings when it is used as a verb.
Main idea of the reading passage:
- polysemy (one word having different meanings)
Major points in the reading passage:
- sound (19 meanings, 12 adjectives meanings, 12 verb meanings, 4 meanings in verb phrases, 2 adverb meanings)
- Set (57 noun meanings, 120 verb meanings)
Now listen to the passage. On a piece of paper, take notes on the main points of the listening passage.
[audio|src:'\listening\toefl_begin\CD4-30.mp3?20210805'|wait:185]
We’ve seen that polysemic words are words that have numerous meanings. Well, there is a really special group of polysemic words, and this special group consists of words that have not just different meanings but opposite meanings. Think about this, that there can be one word in English that has not just different meanings but meanings that are, in some sense, opposite.
Think about the words bolt and fast. If you bolt something, perhaps you bolt your door, then this means that it’s locked fast, or fastened and cannot move open. However, if someone decides to bolt, then he or she is running away, and running away very fast. So the word “bolt” can mean “locked and not moving” or conversely can mean “moving very quickly.” The same can be said of the word “fast.” This word can also mean “locked and not movie” or moving very quickly.”
Another interesting word of this type is the word sanction. Just think about what this word means. If you sanction something, it means that you permit it. However, if you put a sanction on something, then it means the opposite. In this case it means that you don’t permit it.
OK, keep in mind that these words that you just learned about, “bolt,” and “fast,” and “sanction,” are polysemic because each can have different meanings. But they are special kinds of polysemic words because their meanings aren’t simply different; their meanings are opposite in some sense.
Main idea of the listening passage:
- special subset of polysemic words (ones with opposite meanings)
Examples of words with opposite meanings:
- “bolt” and “fast” (meaning “cannot move” or “move quickly”)
- “sanction” (meaning “permit” or “not permit”)
Now answer the following question:
How does the information in the listening passage supplement the information in the reading passage?
Sample Answer:
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