材料：The Official SAT Study Guide

　　试卷：1

　　页数：338

　　题号：12

　　This passage is adapted from Francis J. Flynn and Gabrielle S. Adams, "Money Can't Buy Love: Asymmetric Beliefs about Gift Price and Feelings of Appreciation." ©2008 by Elsevier Inc.

　　Every day, millions of shoppers hit the stores in full force—both online and on foot—searching frantically for the perfect gift. Last year, Americans spent over $30 billion at retail stores in the month of December alone. Aside from purchasing holiday gifts, most people regularly buy presents for other occasions throughout the year, including weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, and baby showers. This frequent experience of gift-giving can engender ambivalent feelings in gift-givers. Many relish the opportunity to buy presents because gift-giving offers a powerful means to build stronger bonds with one’s closest peers. At the same time, many dread the thought of buying gifts; they worry that their purchases will disappoint rather than delight the intended recipients.

　　12. In line 10, the word “ambivalent” most nearly means

　　A) unrealistic.

　　B) conflicted.

　　C) apprehensive.

　　D) supportive.

　　答案: B

　　答案解析: 本题问的是 “ambivalent” 这个词的意思。可能有些考生并不认识这个词，因此可以采取推测法。定位原文line 10可以看到这个词的位置: “This frequent experience of gift-giving can engender ambivalent feelings in gift-givers”，大意是“这种频繁的送礼经验会使送礼的人产生ambivalent的感觉”。此句前面介绍的是频繁送礼的情况，那么ambivalent是什么感觉，就会在此句后面进行解释说明，即：很多人盼望买礼物的机会(“relish the opportunity to buy presents”)，同时，还有很多人害怕去想买什么礼物(“dread the thought of buying gifts”)，可见前后两者是矛盾的。由此可以推测出，ambivalent的感觉其实就是 “矛盾的” 感觉。接下来分析选项。

　　A选项中的unrealistic，有 “不切实际的” 含义，与上述分析不符，因此排除。

　　B选项中的conflicted，有 “冲突的、矛盾的” 含义，符合上述分析，可以替代 “ambivalent” 这个词，因此B选项即为答案。

　　C选项中的apprehensive，有 “忧虑的、不安的” 含义，与“矛盾的”含义不同，排除。

　　D选项中的supportive，有 “支持的” 含义，与上述分析明显不符，因此排除。

　　重点词汇学习：

　　engender: [ɪn'dʒendə] vt. 使产生;造成 | vi. 产生;引起

　　relish: ['relɪʃ] vt. 盼望;期待;;享受;喜爱 | n. 滋味;风味;食欲;开胃小菜

　　dread: [dred] v. 惧怕;担心 | adj. 可怕的 | n. 恐惧;可怕的人(或物)

　　recipient: [rɪ'sɪpɪənt] n. 接受者;容纳者 | adj. 容易接受的，感受性强的