在ACT English考试中，45分钟内考生要阅读5篇文章，回答75道选择题，平均每篇文章15道题，每篇文章的单词数量大概在325个左右。

那么对于ACT English，到底多少词汇量合适呢？考生需要做什么样的准备呢？有些学生说English只需要语法好就Okay了，单词量不重要；有些同学认为，词汇量不够会干扰对文章的理解，没法儿做题。

我们从English文章的长度来看，文章在325个单词左右，因此文章长度是阅读的一半还不到（阅读是750个单词左右）。就词汇的难度来说，也没有阅读的难度大，再与ACT科学推理部分相比较，English部分的词汇也没有那么学术性和专业性。那么是不是对于English部分而言，就不需要进行词汇准备了呢？事实上，English部分会考查学生的词汇辨析，这部分确实对于学生的词汇积累是有要求的。

我们先来看下OG上对于English部分的阐述。

“The ACT English Test is designed to measure your ability to accomplish the wide variety decisions involved in revising and editing a given piece of writing. An important part of revision and editing decisions is a good understanding of the conventions of standard written English. You may not always use standard written English in casual writing (for instance, when you’re e-mailing a friend) or in conversation. In casual writing or conversation, we often use slang expressions that have special meanings with friends our own age or in our part of the country. Because slang can become outdated (Does anybody say ‘groovy’ anymore?) and regional terms might not be familiar to students everywhere (Do you and your friends say ‘soda’ or ‘soft drink’ or ‘pop’?), this test emphasizes the standard written English that schools around the country.”

从OG的这段话我们可以看出，我们在进行English部分练习时，需要选择书面语而非口头语言。可能有些我们平时用于日常生活的口头语言却不能用于书面表达中。我们有时也要联系文章的写作风格，在阅读过程中要关注作者在叙事的过程中使用的是第几人称，第一人称、第二人称还是第三人称；用什么样的口吻叙事，是批判的、幽默的还是不带任何感情色彩。文章的写作风格也会决定做题时词汇的选择。

“You will not be tested on spelling, vocabulary, or on rote recall of the rules of grammar. Grammar and usage are tested only within the context of the essay, not by questions like ‘Must an appositive always be set off by commas?’ Likewise, you won’t be tested directly on your vocabulary, although the better your vocabulary is, the better equipped you’ll be to answer questions that involve choosing the most appropriate word.”

OG明确了English部分不考核词汇，但是词汇量越大越好。当然，我们的词汇量越多，对于文章的理解也就会越深入，那么便于我们来解析修辞技巧题。

“Vocabulary isn’t tested in an isolated way on the ACT English Test. Nevertheless, a good vocabulary and an awareness of not only the dictionary definitions of words but also the connotations (feelings and associations) suggested by those words will help you do well on the test.”

OG上说明考生不仅要知道词的字典上的解释，还要知道它的隐含意义，知道它在上下文中想要表达的意思。

下面我们就来看一些词汇辨析题。

OG 2

40. The engineers confirmed that the heat of the sun had caused the south leg of the arch to expand five inches. This small but critical deviation caused concern that the two legs and the final section might not connect properly. The engineers called in local firefighters in the hope that spraying the leg with water to cool it would make it contract.

A. NO CHANGE

B. reduce

C. decrease

D. compress

解析：最佳答案是A。上文中提及太阳的温度导致拱门的柱子扩张(expand)，因此下文应该对应的是喷水冷却使它收缩(contract)。B reduce: bringing down or lowering in size or degree or intensity. C decrease: declining in size or number or amount. D compress: to reduce in size by pressing or squeezing。根据上下文的意思B C D选项都不符合。

65D

73. Which choice best express the fact that Withers is still taking photographs at the time this essay was written?

At long last, Ernest C. Withers had recorded some five million photographic images.

A. NO CHANGE

B. At last count,

C. To sum up,

D. All in all,

解析：最佳答案是B。题干中明确说哪一个选项能表明Withers仍然在拍照。A. at long last最终，B. At last count 根据最新测算，C. To sum up总数量，D. All in all总而言之。根绝四个选项的意思推出答案是B。

66F

52. Which choice would most clearly indicate that Savio succeeded in his appeal to the protesters?

On December 2, 1964, Savio spoke insistently to a large group of protesters.

F. NO CHANGE

G. emphatically

H. compellingly

J. excitably

解析：最佳答案是H。题干中明确说哪一个选项最能表明Savio在呼吁抗议者上很成功。F insistently坚定地 G emphatically 强调地 H compellingly 咄咄逼人地，有说服力地 J excitably 易兴奋地；易怒地。因此选H。

通过几道词汇辨析题，我们发现，对于ACT English，我们需要积累一定的近义词及易混词，注意它们的语义及引申义，注意它们使用的上下文。因此，词汇量的缺失确实是会干扰我们进行English部分的学习，对于一个托福词汇基础较好的学生，在原有词汇基础上再加强词汇辨析方面的积累，我认为就可以了。但如果考生的托福词汇问题都很大，那恐怕还需要考生积累基础词汇。所以，对于ACT English的准备，我们一是要积累基础词汇，例如，可以准备一本托福单词书或者是ACT词汇书，根据自己的战线长短，每天进行定量的背诵记忆。此外，在动词的积累时，也要注意不规则动词的变化。在积累单词的同时，在注意下面的词组，注意那些固定搭配。词汇辨析题主要靠做题去积累，可以准备一个错题本，把形近词或同义词进行归纳整理。

词汇不应当成为考生在准备ACT English时的障碍，我们只有在词汇量完备的情况下才有可能进一步加深对文章的理解。