英语词汇学第七章补充练习
I. Each of the statements below is followed by four alternative answers. Choose the
one that would best complete the statement.
1. Which of the following words does not undergo the process of narrowing of meaning?
A. Meat.
B. Liquor.
C. Disease.
D. Journal.
2. ________factor is the one that often contributes to the associated transfer of meaning
and euphemistic use of words, etc.
A. Scientific
B. Psychological
C. Historical
D. Internal
3. The change of word meaning is achieved by modes of____
A. degradation and elevation
B. transference and euphemism
C. extension and narrowing
D. all the above
4. Churl used to be "a peasant" or "free man" has now come to denote "uncultivated or
mean person", which belongs to ________ of word meaning.
A. elevation
B. narrowing
C. extension
D. degradation
5. Minister originally means "servant" while in modern time it refers to "head of the
governmental ministry". This mode of word meaning change is________.
A. extension
B. elevation
C. degradation
D. transfer
6. The meanings of nose and eye in "the nose of a ship" and "the eye of a needle" have
experienced________.
A. extension
B. degradation
C. associated transfer
D. elevation
7. Which of the following phenomena is NOT the narrowing of word meaning?
A. A common word is turned into a specific word.
B. Material nouns are used to refer to objects made of them.
C. A word of abstract meaning is used as a word of a concrete meaning.
D. Some phrases are shortened and only one element of the original is left to retain the
meaning of the whole.
8. Churl, hussy, wench were originally neutral in color but have all been down-graded as
"ill-mannered or bad people" because of________.
A. class reason
B. historical reason
C. religious reason
D. psychological reason
9. Linguistic factors of meaning change exclude____.
A. grammar
B. the influx of borrowing
C. analogy
D. internal factors within the language system
10. In radiation, the secondary meaning of a word is derived from the primary meaning
of a word by________.
A. transfer
B. specialization
C. extension
D. all the above
11. The meaning of hope has transferred from________to________
A. pejorative; appreciative
B. appreciative; pejorative
C. abstract; concrete
D. concrete; abstract
12. The meanings of angel, martyr and paradise have undergone elevation to meet ____
A. religious need
B. economic need
C. social need
D. psychological need
13. In Hamlet, pregnant in "How pregnant sometimes his replies are." means________.
A. clever
B. with child
C. meaningful
D. foolish
14. Extension is most frequently found in________.
A. commonized proper nouns
B. technical words
C. polysemic terms
D. all the above
15. If a word which used to have a more________sense becomes restricted in its
application in present-day language, the word has undergone narrowing of meaning.
A. appreciative
B. general
C. pejorative
D. specific
II. Complete the following statements with proper words or expressions according to
the course book.
1. Extension and______are the most common modes of word meaning changes.
2. Narrowing of meaning is also known as______, which is the opposite of______.
3. ________is a process by which a word which originally had a specific meaning has now
become generalized.
4. ________, also known as amelioration, refers to the process by which words rise from
humble beginning to positions of importance.
5. ________of meaning is the opposite of semantic elevation.
6. Words which were used to designate one thing but later came to denote something else
have experienced the process of semantic________.
7. Words of sensation associated with one sense are sometimes used to describe another
sense. This kind of transfer is known as________.
8. The change of meaning may be caused by________factors within the language system
and ________ factors beyond language system.
9. ________is commonly known as figurative extension of meaning.
10. Low, humble and despised occupations often take more appealing names due to
psychological reasons. Besides, ________ influence is another kind of psychological
need.