Ways to build up your vocabulary (15 points)

I learn the vocabularies from the book, when there are some difficult words, check the dictionary and remember the meanings.
2 minutes, try to find out or guess the meaning by understanding the words around it.
e.g. I am xxxxxx an apple. The apple is sweet.
It shouldn't be buying or carrying because you won't know it's sweet if you but or carry it. So the biggest chance is eating which is make sense.
1 hour, read one or half a book everyday, you will learn the vocabulary more.

2007-03-13 16:15:37 補充：
sorry, it should be It shouldn't be buying or taking because you won't know it's sweet if you BUY or carry it.

a) Folks build up their vocabulary by reading. For words about daily events, newspapers and magazines are good sources. To learn literary words, revert to literature or check out the "books review" section of newspapers and magazines.

b) It all depends on the text. If an article on anthropology, I may encounter more unfamiliar words than when I read an article on gardening.

c) You cannot force your brain to learn "20 words in two hours"; you can try, but probably you will fail. We learn best via repetition. I would suggest that you pick an article in the morning paper and read the article twice. The first pass is a quick read to get yourself familiar with the context. The second pass is a more detailed read, and you can highlight the words unfamilar to you. During lunch break, bring up the same article and see if you can guess the meaning of the unfamilar words. After school, repeat the process one more time before using a dictionary. Do not write the meaning on the article itself - put it in a notebook, but just the meaning, without the actual word. Read the article two or three more times in the evening or at night. Put it aside when you "feel" that you understand all the words.

At the end of the week, take out your notebook and see if you can fill in the words associated with the meanings that you have recorded. If you can, congratulate yourself because you have indeed learned the words. If you cannot, repeat the process.

Last week I bought a book for build up vocabulary from basic that means to learn its prefix, root and suffix. It is very useful and writer suggests take 5 minitues on a chapter everyday that is sample job. Everyone can do that. At least, you could learn more basic words for expansion in vocabulary.