13. promise
熟义：v./n.承诺
僻义：n.有希望，有前途(promising: (形)有希望的，有前途的)
Hofstadter says our country's educational system is in the grips of people
who"joyfully and militantly proclaim their hostility to intellect and their
eagerness to identify with children who show the least intellectual
promise."
Hofstadter说，掌握我们国家教育体系的人“沾沾自喜地、霸气十足地公然宣称敌视才学，迫不及待地认同那些看来在才学方面最无前途的孩子。”
14. buy
熟义：v.购买
僻义：v.听信，认同
Lots of Americans bought that nonsense, and over three decades, some 10
million smokers went to early graves.
许多美国人相信了这些胡言乱语，在三十多年中，差不多有一千万烟民早早的进了坟墓。
15. catch
熟义：v.抓住
僻义：n.捕获，捕获量
That means a higher proportion of what is in the sea is being caught, so the
real difference between present and past is likely to be worse than the one
recorded by changes in catch sizes.
这意味着可以捕获更多的海洋生物，所以现在和过去的真正差距可能会比之前在捕获区记录的数据所体现出的更糟糕。
16. game
熟义：n.游戏,比赛
僻义：n.猎物
The large, slow-growing animals were easy game, and were quickly hunted to
extinction.
但大部分的，成长缓慢的动物则成了狩猎的目标，并且很快被狩猎到灭绝。
17. slip
熟义：v.滑倒
僻义：n.纸片
Nowa pink slip, a bad diagnosis, or a disappearing spouse can reduce a family
from solidly middle class to newly poor in a few months.
如今，一份解雇通知书、一个不利的诊断结果或者配偶的去世都可能在几个月之内将一个家庭从稳定的中产阶层家庭降格成为一个新贫困家庭。
18. tap
熟义：v.轻拍，n. 水龙头，栓头
僻义：v.开发
In the first year or so of Web business, most of the action has revolved
around efforts to tap the consumer market.
大约在网上交易的第一年当中，大部分业务活动都是围绕着努力开发消费者市场来进行的。
19. ground
熟义：n.地面
僻义：n.根据，依据(on the ground that…)
Rail roads justify rate discrimination against captive shippers on the
grounds that in the long run it reduces everyone's cost.
铁路公司对“被控”客户进行区别对待的依据是，从长远来看，这样做会降低所有人的成本。
20. lean
熟义：v.倚靠, 倾斜
僻义：adj.瘦的, 贫乏的, 歉收的
They all seem to look alike (though they come from all over)—lean, pointed,
dedicated faces, wearing jeans and sandals, eating their buns and bedding down
for the night on the flagstones outside the theatre.
消瘦、率直、专注的脸庞，穿着牛仔裤和便鞋，吃着小圆面包，在剧场外的石板上过夜。
21. anchor
熟义：n.锚
僻义：n.主持人，主播
Fast-foodeaters, news anchors, text messengers, all smiling, smiling.
快餐食客、新闻主播、发短信的人，都在笑啊笑啊。
22. chair
熟义：n.椅子
僻义：v./n.主持，主席
Former surgeon general C.Everett Koop chairs an Internet start-up in his
80s.
前卫生局医务主任C.Everett Koop 80来岁还出任了一个互联网公司的总裁。
23. nature
熟义：n.自然
僻义：n.天性，本质，本性(human nature 人性)
Thejury agreed that the nature of the game, not the helmet, was the reason
for the athlete's injury.
陪审团也认为造成该运动员受伤的是这项运动本身的危险性，而不是头盔。
24. spell
熟义：v.拼写
僻义：n.一段时间
Despite a spell of initial optimism in the 1960s and 1970s when it appeared
that transistor circuits and microprocessors might be able to copy the action of
the human brain by the year 2010, researchers lately have begun to extend that
forecast by decades if not centuries.
虽然一开始在20世纪60年代和70年代有过一段乐观的时期——那时候仿佛晶体管电路和微处理器的发展将使他们在2010年能够模仿人类大脑的活动——但是最近研究人员已经开始将这个预测延后数十年，甚至数百年。
25. stress
熟义：n.压力
僻义：v.强调
While often praised by foreigners for its emphasis on the basics, Japanese
education tends to stress test taking and mechanical learning over creativity
and self-expression.
虽然日本的教育因强调基础知识而经常受到外国人的赞扬，但是它往往强调考试和机械学习，而不重视创造性和自我表现。
上述考生收集整理的托福阅读中常见的熟词僻意，希望考生在备考的时候能给予足够的重视，考生在备考托福考试的时候一定要注意总结归纳，这对考生成绩的提高很有帮助。
