词汇学练习

Chapter 5 Word Meaning (练习4)

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

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

2.B_____is the result of human cognition, reflecting objective world

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

3.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

the B. semantically C. onomatopoeically D.

etymologically

6.Hopeless is a ____A__motivated word. A. morphologically B. onomatopoeically C. semantically D.

etymologically

7. In the sentence ‘He is fond of pen ’, pen is a _C_____ motivated word.

A. morphologically B. onomatopoeically C. semantically D. etymologically

8.Walkman is a ___D___motivated word. A. onomatopoeically B. morphologically C. semantically D. etymologically

9.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 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

meaning

indicates

the

speaker’s

__C_____towards the person or thing in question.

__C____.

A. speakers B. listeners C. world

D. specific country

16.P olysemy is a common feature peculiar to ___C___. A. English only B. Chinese only C. all natural languages D. some natural languages

17.F rom 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

18.___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 19.. ____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

20. One important criterion to differentiate homonyms from polysemants is to see their _____C

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

21. ___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

22. The sense relation between the two words tulip and flower is ___A____.

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

23. _____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

24. The antonyms: male and female are __A____. A. contradictory terms B. contrary terms

C. relative terms D. connected terms

25. The antonyms big and small are ___B___. A. contradictory terms B. contrary terms C. relative terms D.

connected terms

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

27. Composition and compounding in lexicology are words of A__.

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

28. 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

29.F rom 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

30.S ynchronically, the basic meaning of a word is the core of word-meaning called____C___. A. primary meaning B. derived meaning C. central meaning D. secondary meaning

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

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

their ______

http://www..com/doc/e250808286254b35eefdc8d376eeaeaad1f316e3.html pounds and derived words are ______ words and the meanings of

many are the sum total of the morphemes combined. 3._______ refers to the mental associations suggested by the conceptual meaning of a word.

4.The meanings of many words often relate directly to their ______. In

other words the history of the word explains the meaning of the word.

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

_________.

6.One important criterion for differentiation of homonyms from

polysemants is to see their ____, the second principal consideration is ________.

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

______whereas homonyms are listed as separate ______. 8.The differences between synonyms boil down to three areas : _______,

connotation ,and _____.

9.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 _____terms and the more specific words are called the _____ terms.

III. Match the words or expression in Column A with those in Column B according to 1) discrimination of synonyms 2) types of antonyms 3) sources of synonyms.

A B

1. difference in denotation A. dead/alive 2. borrowing B. handy/ manual

3. dialects and regional English C. old / young

4. contradictory terms D. answer the letter / reply to the letter 5. figurative and euphemistic use of words E. jim 6. contrary terms F. want/wish/desire

7. difference in connotation G. dreamer /star-gazer

8. coincidence with idiomatic expressions H. employer / employee

9. difference in application I. help/ lend one a hand 10. relative terms J. foe / enemy IV. Define the following terms . 1. motivation

2. hoponymy 4. semantic field

V.Answer the following questions. Your answers should be clear and short.

1. What is reference ?

2. What are sources of synonyms ? VI. Question:

1. Explain the types of associative meaning with examples. 2. Write the following words into a tree-like graph:

vegetable, meat, pork, beef, turnip, carrot, bread, food, cake, cornflakes, cereal.

Key to exercises:

I. 1. C 2.B 3.D 4.A 5.C 6.A 7.C 8.D 9.A 10.B 11.C 12.B 13.D 14.D 15.C 16. C 17.B 18.A 19.D 20.C 21.B 22.A 23.B 24.A 25.B 26 .C 27.A 28.B 29. A 30.C

II. 1. meanings 2.multi-morphemic 3.Semantic motivation 4.origins

5.associative meaning 6. etymology, semantic

relatedness 7.headword, entries 8.denotation, application 9. superordinate, subordinate

III.21. F 22.J 23.E 24.A 25.G 26.C 27.B 28.I 29. D 30.H

1. . Associative meaning comprises four types:

(1)Connotative meaning . It refers to the overtones or associations

suggested by the conceptual meaning, traditionally known as connotations. It is not an essential part of the word-meaning, but associations that might occur in the mind of a particular user of the language. For example, mother , denoting a ‘female parent’, is

often associated with ‘love’, ‘care’, etc..

(2)Stylistic meaning. Apart feom their conceptual meanings, many

words have stylistic features, which make them appropriate for different contexts. These distinctive features form the stylistic meanings of words . For example, pregnant, expecting, knockingup, in the club, etc., all can have the same conceptual meaning, but differ in their stylistic values.

(3)Affective meaning. It indicates the speaker’s attitude towards the

person or thing in question. Words that have emotive values may fall into two categories :appreciative or pejorative. For example, famous, determined are words of positive overtones; notorious, pigheaded are of negative connotations implying disapproval, contempt or criticism.

(4)Collocative meaning. It consists of the associations a word acquires

in its collocation. In other words, it is that part of the word-meaning suggested by the words before or after the word in discussion. For example, we say : pretty girl, pretty garden; we don’t say pretty typewriter. But sometimes there is some overlap between the collocations of the two words.

2. food

________________________________________________________ _ meat vegetable cereal pork beef turnip carrot bread cake cornflakes