词汇学题目

Lecture OneLanguage Linguistics LexicologyIV. QUESTIONS1) What is lexicology?2) What is the nature and scope of English lexicology?1. Lexicology is a branch of linguistics, inquiring into the origins and meanings of words.2. Nature: English lexicology is a theoretically-oriented course, chiefly concerned with the basic theories of words in general and of English words in particular. In the meantime it is a practical course, for it has something to do with words—the most fundamental element of language. Scope: English lexicology aims at investigating and studying the morphological structures of English words and word equivalents, their semantic structures, relations, historical development, formation and usages.Lecture T woThe Sources of the English VocabularyV. Questions:Decide whether the statements are true or false.1). English is more closely related to German than French.2). Old English was a highly inflected language.3). In early Middle English period, English, Latin, and Celtic existed side by side.4). Modern English is considered an analytic language.5). The four major foreign contributors to English vocabulary in earlier times are Latin, French,Scandinavian and Italian.6). In modern times, borrowing brings less than 10 percent of modern vocabulary.7). The major factors that promote the growth of modern English vocabulary are advances in science and technology as well as influence of foreign cultures and languages.8). The most important mode of vocabulary development in present-day English is creation of new words by means of word-formation.9). Old English vocabulary was in essence Germanic with a small quantity of words borrowed from Latin and Scandinavian.10). Middle English absorbed a tremendous number of foreign words but with little change in word endings.Lecture ThreeWord-formation in EnglishIII. Questions1. Write the terms in the blanks according to the definitions:a. a minimal meaningful unit of a language( )b. one of the variants that realize a morpheme( )c. a morpheme that can stand alone( )d. what remains of a word after the removal of all affixes( )2. Form negatives of each of the following words by usingone of these prefixes dis-, il-, im-, in-, ir-, non-, un-.smoker capable practical obey security relevantmature ability officially willingness legal agreementathletic loyal convenient3. Turn the following nouns and adjectives into verbs with suffixes -en, -ify, -ize and then choose proper ones to fill in the blanks:hard, horror, modern, memory, false, apology, deep,glory, sterile, length, intense, beauty, fat, sympathya. He ____ for interrupting her.b. She tried to _____ her room with posters and plants.c. A study has been ordered into the feasibility of ____ the airport’s main runway by two hundred metres.d. However much they _____ with her, they all felt it was her fault.e. Soya is excellent food to _____ cattle.f. She laughed and that seemed to _____ her voice.g. Forty thousand pound had been spent on _____ the station.h. _____ the bottles by immersing them in boiling water for fifteen minutes.Lecture FourWord Meaning and Semantic RelationsV. Questions:Decide whether the following statements are true or false:1. Motivation explains why a particular form has a particular meaning.2. Grammatical meaning refers to the part of speech, tenses of verbs and stylistic features of words.3. Collocation can affect the meaning of words.4. The connotative meaning is also known as connotations, which are generally found in the dictionary.5. By etymological motivation, we mean that the meaning of a particular word is related to its origin.6. Affective meaning refers to the part of the word-meaning which indicates the attitude of the user.Lecture FiveSemantic RelationsV. Questions:1. Decide whether the statements below are true or false.1) Perfect homonyms share the same spelling and pronunciation.2) Homonyms come mainly from borrowing, changes in sound and spelling, and dialects.3) Homonyms are words whose meaning are closely related.4) The origins of the words are a key factor in distinguishing homonyms from polysemants.5) Most homonyms are words that are the same in spelling, but differ in sound and meaning.2. Arrange the groups of synonyms according to their degree of intensity:1) genius, ability, talent 2) terror-stricken, frightened, alarmed3) surprise, amaze, astonish 4) irritate, annoy, exasperate5) pleasure, delight, rapture 6) sadness, grief, sorrow7) pardon, forgive, excuse 8) zealous, eager, enthusiastic9) fear, horror, panic 10) abuse, insult, slanderLecture SixSemantic Relations(II)VI. Questions:1. Write in the blank space another word that begins with S and has a meaning directly opposite to the given word:a. different _____b. dangerous ____c. dull ____d. receive ____e. generous ____f. meaningless ____g. believing ____ h. complicated ____i. doubtful ____ j. careful ____k. wakefulness ____ l. rough ____m. objective ____ n. laugh ____2. Group the following words into semantic fields initiated with the superordinate that covers each field.desk, liquid, pork, go, furniture, gas, matter, run,beef, chair, meat, mutton, table, fly, bed, solid, walk3. Complete the passage below according to what you have learned.A semantic field is a ____ area where words share the same ____. A semantic field is useful because it helps pin down the ____ of words in relation to other words in the ____. Often, a word is not known until the words that ____ with it becomes known.Lecture SevenSemantic ChangesIII. Questions:Study the following words and their meanings, a being the original and b the modern meaning. Give the process that each word has undergone through in term of extension,narrowing, elevation and degradation.A Bbox: container made of boxwood any container layman: one who’s not of clergy non-member of any profession voyage: journey journey by water busybody: busy person officious person sergeant: servant non-commissioned officer starve: die die from hunger citizen: city dweller inhabitant of a nation brim: water’s edge the top edge of a cup, glass; the rim of anthing girl: young person of both sex female young person doctor: skilled in any learned specialist in medic ine profession。