1. Her father works as a _________ in a hotel and her mother a _________ in a private company.
A. cooker, typewriter B. cook, typist C. cooker, typist D. cook, typewriter

【陷阱】误选A,许多同学想当然地认为:cook用作动词,表示“煮饭”,所以cooker应是其相应的名词,表示“煮饭的人”,即“厨师”;type用作动词,表示“打字”,所以typewriter应表示“打字员”。

【分析】而事实是:cook=厨师,cooker=炊具;typist=打字员,typewriter=打字机。即此题正确答案为B。

2. "Why couldn't they meet us at five o'clock?" "Because they were delayed by _________."
A. heavy traffic B. heavy traffics C. crowded traffic D. crowded traffics

【陷阱】B、C、D三项均容易误选。

【分析】对于此题,首先要明确traffic为不可数名词,没有复数形式,故排除B和D。另外,汉语习惯说“交通拥挤”,而英语习惯上却不能用crowded来修饰traffic,要表示汉语的“交通拥挤”,英语通常说heavy traffic,即选A。如下一题也是选A:
She is not a competent driver and can't cope with driving in _________.
A. heavy traffic B. heavy traffics C. crowded traffic D. crowded traffics

3. By all _________, you must try every _________ to help him.
A. mean, mean B. means, means C. means, mean D. mean, means

【陷阱】误选C,认为第一空前有all修饰,故用all means,而第二空前有every修饰,故用mean。

【分析】其实,means是一个单复数同形的名词,并且永远带有尾-s。换句话说,在表示“方式”、“方法”时,不存在mean这一形式(mean主要用作动词,表示“意思是”;也可用作名词,表示“中间”、“中庸”)。此题正确答案为B,by all means为习语,意为“一定”、“尽一切办法”。顺便说一句,means用作主语时,其谓语的数需根据句意来确定。比较:All possible means have been tried. 所有可能的办法都已经试过了。Every possible means has been tried. 每种可能的办法都已经试过了。若句意不能明确地表明主语的单复数,其谓语则用单数或复数均可。如:
Is [Are] there any other means of getting more money? 还有其他什么办法可弄到更多钱吗?

4. Jim is _________ person, and everyone is willing to be _________ with him.
A. so kind a, friends B. so a kind, friends C. so kind a, friend D. so a kind, friend

【陷阱】误选D。认为 friend要用单数。

【分析】其实此题最佳答案为A。so kind a person相当于such a kind person相当 ,注意两者中冠词的位置不同。be friends with是习语,意为“与......友好”、“跟......做朋友”,与之同义的还有make friends with。值得说明的是,这类短语中的名词总是用复数,即使句子主语为单数也是如此。如:He is friends with me. 他与我是朋友。He has made friends with everyone here. 他与这儿的每个人交上了朋友。

5. She raised her finger to her lips as _________ for silence.
A. an idea B. a mark C. a sign D. a word

【陷阱】容易误选B。

【分析】应选C,sign与mark的区别是:sign 的意思是“迹象”、“征兆”,gesture or movement made with the hand, head, etc, used to give information, a command, etc(用手或头等做出示意动作以传递信息或命令等);mark 的意思是 written or printed symbol or figure, line etc made as signor an indication of sth(书写与印刷的符号或图、线等记号)。根据此二词的语义区别以及常识可知答案为C。类似地,下面两题的答案也是C:
(1) Those black clouds are a sure _________ that it's going to rain.
A. thing B. mark C. sign D. one
(2) Just as a famous Chinese saying goes, a timely heavy snow is a _________ of good harvest next year.
A. mark B. track C. sign D. appearance

但是,下面一题却不能选sign,也不能选mark,而选symbol(象征):
The lion is considered the king of the forest as it is a(n) _________ of courage and power.
A. example B. sign C. mark so-tab-count; D. symbol

顺便说一句,在近几年的高考中像这类结合词义区别以及语境和生活常识进行考查的试题经常出现,同学们需引起注意。

6. "May I take your order now?" "We'd like three black _________ and two green _________."
A. coffee, cups B. coffees, teas C. cups of coffee, tea D. cup of coffees, teas

【陷阱】误选C,认为coffee和tea均为不可数名词,不能后加复数词尾-s,从而排除选项A、B、D。

【分析】选B。有的同学认为coffee和tea是物质名词,不可数,不能用three coffees, two teas这样的表达。其实,coffee既可用作不可数名词,表示“咖啡”这种物质,也可用作可数名词,表示“一杯咖啡”,即在口语中three coffees就等于three cups of coffee。同样,“三杯茶”既可说成three cups of tea,也可说成three teas;“三杯啤酒”既可说成three glasses of beer,也可说成three beers。