在学习英语的过程中，我们都知道英文单词和中文词语一样，会存在一个单词多种意思的情况。一词多义是一种普遍而重要的语言现象，更是英语词汇的一大特色。英语中纯粹的单义词很少，绝大多数词都是多义词，即一个词项有两个或两个以上的意义。
很多学生在雅思阅读准备过程中只是大量做题，而忽视词汇量的积累，另外有一部分学生在词汇上下了一定的功夫，但是碰到的问题却是，单词都认识，偏偏就是看不懂意思。因此，在定位到答案所在文章段落某一句的时候，还是不能理解或是出现误解而不能解答题目，这个是相当可惜的。
雅思阅读的准备过程中，后期会侧重于对篇章整体架构的把握，以及针对各类题型应试技巧的掌握。但作为考试准备的前期阶段，作为基本功的单词，无疑需要作为重点来进行突破。
以下主要就雅思阅读剑桥真题部分的一些存在熟词多义的题目进行解析：
1.drive
C4T1P1：
In other words， they gave no indication of an appreciation of either the range of ways in which rainforests are important or the complex social， economic and political factors which drive the activities which are destroying the rainforests.
这是一个复杂的长难句，一共出现了三处定语从句，一处ways in which， 一处factors which，一处activities which。
drive的主语为连接代词which代指的先行词factors，提取之后变为factors drive the activities，这里如果将这里作为动词的drive翻译成驾驶，句子是完成不通顺的，我们从后一处的定语从句中得知，activities指的是破坏雨林的行为，也就是前面的社会经济和政治因素drive了一些破坏雨林的行为，也就是说，这里的drive是导致，迫使的意思。
C6T1P2
选项型SUMMARY
Q24： Manufacturers of computers， for instance， are able to import 24................. from overseas， rather than having to rely on a local supplier.
文章E段 To see how this influences trade， consider the business of making disk drives for computers. Most of the world's disk-drive manufacturing is concentrated in South-east Asia. This is possible only because disk drives，while valuable， are small and light and so cost little to ship. Computer manufacturers in Japan or Texas will not face hugely bigger freight bills if they import drives from Singapore rather than purchasing them on the domestic market.
通过manufacturers of computers定位到E段。阅读后我们可以知道电脑制造商集中在东南亚制造和进口disk drives而不是本国市场。如果同学对电脑知识比较了解的话，对于drive在这里的理解应该问题不大。根据一定的语法知识我们看得出这里的disk drives和disk-drive是名词用法，可通过drive的基本含义“驾驶”进一步引申理解，“驾驶磁盘”过渡为“让磁盘启动”，正确的理解含义为：磁盘驱动器。对应到题目提供的选项“B.components”
2.subject
我们知道它由“科目”的意思，词汇稍好的同学还会知道它还有“主语”和“主题”的含义。我们来看下面一题：
C5T1P2
单选题 Q20 The teacher-subjects were told that they were testing whether
A a 450-volt shock was dangerous.
B punishment helps learning.
C the pupils were honest.
D they were suited to teaching.
文章A段 Specifically， Milgram told each volunteer 'teacher-subject' that the experiment was in the noble cause of education， and was designed to test whether or not punishing pupils for their mistakes would have a positive effect on the pupils' ability to learn.
文章这里的'teacher-subject'打了引号，也就是说即便同学你不认识，把它当作一个特殊词符号，不理解不影响做题。不过明显的是，把“科目”“主语”“主题”放这里，都不好理解。在雅思阅读学术实验类的文章中，subject是个高频词汇，作为“实验对象”的含义来使用，有时会同义替换为volunteer或participant。
C8T1P3
表格填空Q38 The results were then subjected to a 38…………………….
文章：In 1987， results from hundreds of autoganzfeld tests were studied by Honorton in a 'meta-analysis'， a statistical technique for finding the overall results from a set of studies.
通过冠词a我们可以知道此空填名词单数，并且从表格纵轴同行的特殊定位词in 1987，我们找到了定位句。但是定位句中存在冠词a的三处，到底三处后的单词填哪个呢。单词不会，语法来凑，通过题目和文章的主干结构的一致性：A be subjected to B和A be studied By B in C，由于Honorton是人名且不符合填词规定，顺理成章的'meta-analysis'成为我们的选填对象。那subject to到底什么意思呢，通过文章，我们可以知道大概是被研究的意思，查了字典我们就了解，正确含义为“受…支配”。
