Gaokao English Vocabulary: Must-Know 2006 (Book + Audio Cassette)

Author: Ma Degao, Editor-in-Chief
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-02-01
Features: In 2005, the postgraduate entrance exam English syllabus underwent significant changes, adding 482 new words. The importance of vocabulary learning in postgraduate entrance exam English review became more prominent. This book keeps up with the new syllabus, comprehensively incorporates the 482 new words, and still creatively divides postgraduate entrance exam vocabulary into six categories based on the different learning needs of readers at different levels and stages, as well as the varying requirements of the new syllabus for vocabulary assessment. After explaining the six categories of vocabulary, the newly integrated new words are listed separately in the appendix in the form of a "List of 2005 Postgraduate Entrance Exam Syllabus New Words."
1. Familiar Words with New Meanings
You may often encounter situations in reading where you recognize all the words but still cannot understand the entire sentence. One reason is that you haven’t fully grasped the multiple meanings of words, turning familiar words into unfamiliar ones, which affects reading speed and quality. In recent years’ postgraduate entrance exam papers, the setters have clearly strengthened the assessment of this aspect, and many candidates have been troubled by it. Especially in reading and translation questions, a misunderstanding of a single word’s meaning often leads to significant score loss. In light of this, we take the readers’ learning difficulties as our starting point, spending a lot of time and effort to select all the familiar words with new meanings from the syllabus for readers to study, helping them overcome the pitfalls of familiar words.
2. The Gap Between CET and Postgraduate Entrance Exam
The compilers of this book have shown great ingenuity by comparing the CET and postgraduate entrance exam syllabi one by one, specifically identifying the vocabulary that appears in the postgraduate entrance exam syllabus but not in the CET syllabus, forming a "Gap Vocabulary List." When learning new words, it’s better to start with the ones you don’t know. Readers should target this part of the vocabulary for focused memorization, using the CET as a stepping stone to reach the summit of the postgraduate entrance exam!
3. Core Vocabulary
According to surveys by English and American vocabulary experts, the most commonly used vocabulary (core vocabulary) in daily life in English and American countries is only about 2,500 words. The compilers of this book have used advanced computer statistics technology to analyze all the vocabulary that appeared in past postgraduate entrance exam papers and have especially referred to the latest authoritative statistical data from the Oxford Dictionary and the Longman Dictionary. They have selected and compiled vocabulary that frequently appeared in past exam papers and is commonly used in daily life, forming this part of the postgraduate entrance exam core vocabulary. Candidates are required to truly master the various usages of these words, improve practical application skills, and achieve a level of fluency in listening, speaking, reading, writing, and translation.
4. Less Commonly Used Vocabulary
Reading comprehension has always been a key component of the postgraduate entrance exam papers, and this part of the vocabulary is the key to reading comprehension. Many readers report that they have done countless questions and read numerous articles, but their scores haven’t improved. We can use various techniques to overcome this challenge, such as analyzing complex sentences, grasping the structure of passages, and analyzing question stems. However, all of this relies on mastering basic knowledge, and the foundation of reading is vocabulary. The compilers of this book deeply understand the importance of vocabulary for reading. Through dedicated research on past exam papers and efficient computer frequency analysis, they have selected the less commonly used vocabulary from the latest postgraduate entrance exam syllabus as a must-learn vocabulary for focused reading comprehension practice. Combined with the "Categorized Vocabulary for Reading Comprehension of English and American Current Affairs" and "Vocabulary Beyond the Syllabus" discussed below, readers are expected to pass the reading section and successfully overcome one of the major challenges on the path to the postgraduate entrance exam.
5. Vocabulary Beyond the Syllabus
The syllabus requires that 3% of the exam paper include words beyond the syllabus. Based on past experience and an understanding of the trends in postgraduate entrance exam setting, we have carefully selected this part of the vocabulary beyond the syllabus from the latest English and American periodicals and newspapers with themes similar to recent postgraduate entrance exam papers, with the aim of ensuring that the 3% of words beyond the syllabus in the exam do not fall outside this range. In this way, candidates not only master the syllabus vocabulary but also learn some vocabulary beyond the syllabus, truly standing out in terms of vocabulary volume. Familiarity with this part of the vocabulary will not only allow readers to read the content of articles fluently but also enable them to directly answer questions that purely test vocabulary meanings.
6. Categorized Vocabulary for Reading Comprehension of English and American Current Affairs
Readers should know that all the reading comprehension articles in past postgraduate entrance exam papers are sourced from English and American databases and are almost entirely documents with strong timeliness. Since reading comprehension is one of the biggest obstacles for readers, the best approach is to "enter the tiger’s den to catch the tiger," by memorizing the frequently appearing new, difficult, and unfamiliar words in English and American periodicals and newspapers, thereby basically mastering the common vocabulary used in postgraduate entrance exam reading comprehension. Moreover, mastering the common words of English and American periodicals and newspapers is also beneficial for doing English-to-Chinese translation questions. Expanding vocabulary is also beneficial for doing composition questions. This part of the categorized vocabulary for reading comprehension is selected from the latest English and American journals and magazines, with some selected from articles on the online versions of English and American periodicals. These periodicals mainly include Time, Newsweek, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Financial Times. To facilitate readers’ focused memorization, the compilers have also categorized them according to different subject areas, including economics, technology, music, mass media, sports, and others.