新概念英语第四册技巧：小文章 大作为

新概念系列教材在各类考试中有没有帮助，或者说帮助究竟有多大，同学们怕是没有一个清晰的认识。这部经典的教材之所以能一直流行到今天，是与它自身的优秀是分不开的。那么，这么优秀的教材，对我们的意义在哪儿呢？下面以新概念第四册为例，给同学们一个更加清晰的思路，让同学们在学习时知道它的作用，并且为我们的考试服务。

首先看两段节选：

The Moon is likely to become the industrial hub of the Solar System, supplying the rocket fuels for its ships, easily obtainable from the lunar rocks in the form of liquid oxygen. The reason lies in its gravity. Because the Moon has only an eightieth of the Earth's mass, it requires 97 per cent less energy to travel the quarter of a million miles from the Moon to Earth-orbit than the 200 mile-journey from Earth's surface into orbit!（《新概念英语》第四册）

Theorists are divided concerning the origin of the Moon. Some hypothesize that the Moon was formed in the same way as were the planets in the inner solar system--- from planet-forming materials in the presolar nebula. But unlike the cores of the inner planets, the Moon’s core contains little or no iron, while the typical planet forming materials were quite rich in iron.（GRE）

不难发现，上面这两段文章不但在话题上相似，在难度上也是惊人的相似。因为新概念四采用的是原汁原味的英语，跟国外英语考试出题的来源相似。打开久违的新概念四，你会感叹：这不就是一篇篇的阅读真题, 一份份的写作范文么！

通过对新四的学习，我们可以重新审视GRE，这个很多人眼中高不可攀的大山，原来离我们这么近。当真正明白了它们之间的关系时，我们就会发现GRE乖巧的就像邻家小妹，亲切的就像对门的大哥。当然，它不光对GRE有用，从国内的四六级、考研、到国外的托福雅思SAT，都能在其中找到源源不断的营养。

一、词汇部分

词汇的作用无须赘言，但我们不仅仅要关注词汇量，还要关注我们积极词汇的用法及辨析，要想理解准确、表达准确，词汇首当其冲。

原文摘录：

Refusal —denial

A journalist’s refusal to identify his source of information has landed him in prison before now.

He gave the statement an unqualified denial.

Descent--- decent

The pilot managed an emergency descent and landed in a field.

Decent citizens have nothing to fear from this legislation.

Compulsory --- necessary

In China, education is compulsory between the ages of 6 and 15.

Is it a necessary to wear a tie?

对词的细微把握是学习到一定阶段的必然要求。各类考试中写作中反复要求的用词准确其实就是这个意思。对词的精准把握是对这门语言掌握程度的很好体现。新概念就专门设计了这样一个部分。并配有相应的练习题：

Such a loss of dignity makes them ________that they won’t talk to their parents.

(a) deny (b) refuse (c) explain (d) decide

想一想，当掌握了单词及其用法时，我们对英语的理解还有用英语进行的表达，是不是都更上一层楼了呢？新概念四不仅仅是扩大我们的词汇量，更重要的是通过讲解、通过对比、以及最后通过测验让我们不仅掌握词汇，而且准确把握词汇。

二、句法部分

新概念四教我们如何把初级的、甚至是错误的句子，写成高级的、漂亮的句子。毕竟我们表达自己需要用句子，所以句子就是我们水平的集中体现。