有些詞看起來很難,但只要把它打回“原形”,就簡(jiǎn)單了,如:
17. feckless/?fekl?s; ˋf?kl?s/(這個(gè)詞是 effectless 的縮寫,即 feck = effect,ef-出,fect做;做出的→做出的就會(huì)有→效應(yīng),影響,結(jié)果,效果,作用;-less無…的;沒有影響、沒有作用的、沒有價(jià)值的→)
a. having a weak character; not behaving in a responsible way 品格差的,不負(fù)責(zé)任的,沒出息的
Her husband was a charming, but lazy and feckless man.
He regarded the young man as feckless and irresponsible.

relax 里的 lax 來自拉丁語(yǔ)“l(fā)axare 放寬,放松”,laxare 也是法語(yǔ)laisser(讓,任,不管,不過問,丟下,離開)的來源,laisser 的祈使語(yǔ)氣動(dòng)詞的第二人稱復(fù)數(shù)是laissez。
affair 是“事務(wù);事情;事”,其中的 fair 就是 faire ‘ do’
factory 是很好理解的簡(jiǎn)單詞。

法語(yǔ) faire 里,-re是動(dòng)詞不定式后綴,faire來自拉丁語(yǔ) facere,即 faire 里的 fa 相當(dāng)于詞根fac “做”。

18. laissez faire/?le?.se??fe??/ US /-?fer/(laissez讓,允許,不過問,faire做;放開讓做→)
n. [U] (from French) the policy of allowing private businesses to develop without government control(政府對(duì)私有商業(yè)的)自由放任主義
a. of, pertaining to, or conforming to the principles or practices of laissez faire. 自由放任的

知道什么是“第二”second嗎?它當(dāng)然是“跟隨”在第一之后,sec是詞根。
soccer是怎么來的?它來自association football,是association 中的assoc變形后加上-er構(gòu)成的。
nonsectarian這個(gè)詞里的關(guān)鍵問題是弄明白sec或sect的意思。
sec, soc, secu, sequ 跟隨
印歐詞根形式為 *sekw- ‘to follow’ 。

sect/sekt; s?kt/(sec 跟隨→追隨,-t 由過去分詞而來的后綴;可追隨的東西→追隨相似觀念、思想、信仰等的一些人→)
n. 派別;宗派;(尤指宗教的)

sectarian/sek?te?r??n; s?kˋt?r??n/(見上,-arian …派的(人))
a. [usually before noun] (often disapproving) connected with the differences that exist between groups of people who have different religious views:
a.(宗教)教派的,派性的
sectarian violence
sectarian views
Sectarian politics are ruining the country's economy.

19. nonsectarian/?n?n sek?te?r??n/ (non- 無,非,不,sect派別,宗派,教派,-arian …派的(人),來自 -ary + -ian;非、無宗派的→)
a. Not limited to or associated with a particular religious denomination.無派系的,不屬于任何宗教派別的
牛津高階和朗當(dāng)均未收錄,但收了sectarian(宗教教派的,派性的)。
Nonsectarian education is vital for long-term peace.

20. obsequious/?b?si?kw??s; ?bˋsikw??s/(ob- ‘to’, sequi =sequ ‘follow’跟隨, -ous characterized by具有…特性的;跟隨某人的意愿的→)
a. (formal, disapproving) trying too hard to please sb, especially sb who is important:諂媚的;巴結(jié)奉迎的;奴顏婢膝的
She is almost embarrassingly obsequious to anyone in authority.

circle, circus應(yīng)該不陌生吧?不過詞源上和bicycle的cycle沒有關(guān)系。
拉丁語(yǔ)里的circus意思為“圓,圓周”,circle 其實(shí)來自circus的指小形式,字面意思是’ ‘small ring’ →圓,圓圈; 圈子。
circum- 則來自拉丁語(yǔ)circus的賓格。
circum- 表示:環(huán)繞,(在…)周圍。
詞根circ :環(huán),圈。

詞根loqu來自拉丁語(yǔ)loqui“說話,講,論述”發(fā)音、意思都像“嘮嗑”,loqui的過去分詞詞干是locut:

21. circumlocution/?s??k?ml??kju??n; ?s?k?mloˋkju??n/(circum 環(huán)繞,locut說,-ion名詞后綴;繞著而非直接說→)
n. [U, C] (formal) using more words than are necessary, instead of speaking or writing in a clear, direct way迂回曲折的說法,累贅的說法
It was always when you most wanted a direct answer that Greenfield came up with a circumlocution.
Politicians are experts in circumlocution.

22. loquacious/l??kwe???s; loˋkwe??s/(loqu說,-aci(s)來自拉丁所有格的后綴;loquaci多嘴的,饒舌的,-ous具有…的,有…特征的)
a. (formal) talking a lot = talkative 話多的;健談的;喋喋不休的
The normally loquacious Mr O'Reilly has said little.

sole 是“單獨(dú)的,獨(dú)有的”;
solo是“獨(dú)奏(曲),獨(dú)唱(曲),獨(dú)舞”;
solitary 是“單獨(dú)的,獨(dú)自的;單個(gè)的;孤獨(dú)的”。
拉丁語(yǔ)solus 表示“單獨(dú)的,獨(dú)一的”,它的組合語(yǔ)素是soli- ‘a(chǎn)lone’.

23. soliloquy/s??l?l?kw?; s?ˋl?l?kw?/(soli- 單獨(dú)的,loqu說,-y名詞后綴;獨(dú)自說即對(duì)自己說→)
n . 1. [C, U] (plural soliloquies) a speech in a play in which a character, usually alone on the stage, talks to himself or herself so that the audience knows their thoughts (尤指戲劇中的)獨(dú)白(的臺(tái)詞),獨(dú)白;2. The act of speaking to oneself 自言自語(yǔ)
Hamlet's famous soliloquy, 'To be or not to be ...'

所謂navy “海軍”,那是離不開“船”的,詞根nav = 船,navy的字面意思是“船隊(duì)”。
act 對(duì)應(yīng)的詞根除ag,還有ig:

24. circumnavigate/?s??k?m?n?v?ge?t/(circum-環(huán)繞,nav船,ig= ag =drive,與act同源,-ate使成為,使形成,navigate 駕駛船→航行)
vt. 1. (formal) to sail all the way around sth, especially all the way around the world 環(huán)繞…航行;(尤指)環(huán)繞地球航行;2. to move around something in order to avoid hitting it 繞行;避開

For this year at least, our race to circumnavigate the globe in less than 80 days is over.
Manufacturers and shops circumnavigate (= avoid) gun laws by providing realistic models which are unable to discharge missiles.

如果認(rèn)識(shí)pure,知道詞根ag,前綴ex-,猜expurgate就毫無壓力了:

25. expurgate/?eksp?ge?t/(ex- out, pur=pure純的; 純凈的 + g=ag ‘to drive, make’ → purg 使純凈→清除,除去,刪除,-ate以…處理;使清除出去、刪除出去→)
vt. [usually passive] (formal) to remove or leave out parts of a piece of writing or a conversation when printing or reporting it, because you think those parts could offend people 刪除…中的不當(dāng)之處;略去…中的不雅之處
The book was expurgated to make it suitable for children.