SAT閱讀辭彙考點之course

在SAT閱讀中，想必大家對course這個單詞並不陌生，course多次在官方文件中現身，除去大家最熟知的 of course， course還真是一個「百變天後」。因為其意思眾多，也是大家經常會理解錯誤的地方。今天，我們就一起總結一下course在閱讀中的常見意思。

考點1：時間進程

TIME [singular] a period of time or process during which something happens.

during/in/throughout/over the course of something

在OG 1 - 2 Money Can't Buy Love： Asymmetric Beliefs about Gift Price and Feelings of Appreciation這篇文章中，有這麼一段：

The notion of gift-givers and gift-recipients being unable to account for the other party's perspective seems puzzling because people slip in and out of these roles every day， and， in some cases， multiple times in the course of the same day.

送禮方和收禮方不能很好的換位思考實在讓人不解，畢竟人們每天都在這兩個角色間切換，有時同一天還要切換好幾次。這裡面的course就指的是在同一天這段時間裡。

in the course of

在…之中；在…期間

同時大家也經常會在題目當中讀到，這樣的題干：

During the course of the first paragraph， the narrator's focus shifts from：

這種考察整體結構的題目中的course也是取這個意象。

during the course of

在…的過程中

考點2：行動：行為方式

ACTIONS [countable usually singular] an action or series of actions that you could take in order to deal with a particular situation

OG 2 - 1小說The Professor第八問選項中出現A) contrasting two hypothetical courses of action. 對比兩種假設行為，這裡面提到的所謂courses of action就是行為方式的意思。

course of action

行動過程；做法

考點3.方向：航向；行動方向

DIRECTION [countable usually singular， uncountable] the planned direction taken by a boat or plane to reach a place

OG 3 - 1小說The Schartz Metterklume Method第二問辭彙題，

In line 2，「turn」 most nearly means

A) slight movement.

B) change in rotation.

C) short walk.

D) course correction

很多同學可能會覺得D選項好奇怪，為什麼要糾正「課程」呢？其實不然，這裡面的course就取得方向的意思。大家想一想turn是不是也暗含了改變方向呢？所以這個也是一個很強烈的干擾項。

course correction

糾正路線；航線修正

再來看Practice 7 - 3 ， Why birds fly in a V Formation，閱讀文本：

They plan to investigate how the animals decide who sets the course and the pace， and whether a mistake made by the leader can ripple through the rest of the flock to cause traffic jams.

他們計劃調查動物如何決定誰設定路線和速度，以及領導者的錯誤是否會使其他鳥群遭殃，造成交通堵塞。

sets the course and the pace

設定路線和速度

考點4.教育：課程；講座

EDUCATION [countable] a series of lessons in a particular subject SYN class

Practice 7 - 5 ， How the Higgs Boson Was Found，閱讀文本：

In fact， in a graduate course I took that covered what's known as the Standard Model of Particle Physics (the quantum equations physicists have assembled to describe the particles of matter and the dominant forces by which they influence each other)， the professor presented the Higgs field with such certainty that for a long while I had no idea it had yet to be established experimentally.

a graduate course

研究所課程

註：course之後不跟'of '， 不能說 a course of Business Studies'. 應該是'a course in Business Studies'。

考點5.發展：進展；進程

DEVELOPMENT [singular] the usual or natural way that something changes， develops， or is done.

take/run its course (=develop in the usual way and reach a natural end)

PSAT 2 - 3，Yellowstone Wolves Boost Berry Diet for Grizzlies， 閱讀文本：

「We're in the early stages of this ecosystem recovery. This is what we call passive restoration，」 Ripple said. 「We put the wolf back in and then we let nature take its course.」

「我們正處於生態系統恢復的早期階段。這就是我們所說的被動恢復，「Ripple說。 「我們把狼放回來，其餘的就順其自然。」

take its course

順其自然；任其自然發展

除了以上出現的這五種，course 還有菜肴（MEAL），比賽(SPORT)，江河(RIVER)，醫療(MEDICAL TREATMENT)，牆壁(WALL)的意思，瞧瞧，一詞多義到這種程度，因此背單詞一定不能局限在單詞書里，還要通過大量閱讀，結合上下文，掌握同一單詞在不同語境中的不同含義，這正是新SAT強調的「Words Within the Context」！

註：以上英文解釋摘選自朗文詞典在線版。

查看課程：新東方SAT課程