雅思阅读考试的目的是考察考生通过学术话题文章的阅读定位所需信息，理解、掌握并获取知识的能力，而其中定位词扮演着至关重要的角色。发现有考生抱怨说“题目特点和解题技巧都很清楚，定位词也能找准，可就是定位不到题目在文章中对应内容的位置”。其实这源于考生还是没有真正了解雅思;雅思考试以4、6级词汇为基础，不存在难点，但其狡猾之处就在于它的词汇会变形。考生若没有抓住雅思阅读考试的这一特点，便休想定位到题目在文章中对应内容的位置。下面，就将结合雅思真题来介绍一下雅思阅读中定位词是怎样“36变”的。

　　雅思定位词在文章中出现的种也是最常见的一种变身是“同义替换”，这包含同义词或同义词组。

　　剑6，Test4的Q9：Kim Schaefer’s marketing technique may be open to criticism on moral grounds。题目中定位词为moral，在文章中定位，我们会在文章第三段中定位到“Selling pharmaceuticals is a daily exercise in ethical judgment”，而其中ethical即为moral的同义词。

　　剑4，Test3的Q9：Any street child can set up their own small business if given enough support。此判断题中定位词实际上是词组“set up their own small business ”，在文章中定位，我们会在文章中“Lessons learned” 的部分中定位到“Being an entrepreneur is not for everyone, not for every street child”。此处，文章中“Being an entrepreneur”即为定位词的同义词组。

　　其他的同义词/词组变身如：

　　perceive →sense evolve →develop detect →find　　mortal →people unbiased → objective　　limb → arm or leg waste→ unwanted material　　resemble → look like dwelling → domestic building　　雅思定位词在文章中出现的第二种变身是“近义替换”，这包含近义词或近义词组。

　　剑7，Test1的Q8：However, even before this was understood, the principle had been applied in the design of instruments which calculated the ____ of the seabed。 此题为在原文中选词填空的摘要题，定位词为“calculate”和“seabed”， 在文章中我们会定位到“Before this was discovered, engineers had already built instruments to exploit the principle, for example to measure the depth of the sea under a ship”。此处“measure”即为“calculate”的近义词，而“sea”即为“seabed”的上义词。

　　其他的近义词/词组变身如：

　　salary → wage statement → comment

　　be gained from → derive from policy → initiative　　valuable → important break down → subdivide

　　雅思定位词在文章中出现的第三种变身是“派生词”。

　　剑6，Test3的Q33：Monkeys were less likely to become diabetic。此题为分类题，定位词为“diabetic”，在文章中定位，我们能定位到句子“…and they have more normal blood glucose levels(pointing to a reduced risk for diabetes, which is marked by usually high blood glucose levels)”。题目中定位词“diabetic”为名词，意为“糖尿病患者”，而文章中的“diabetes”也为名词，但意为“糖尿病”，是“diabetic”的派生词。

　　剑4，Test4的Q14：archaeology involves creativity as well as careful investigative work。 此题为是非无判断题，定位词为“creativity”和“investigative”，在文章中我们能定位到“Archaeology is partly the discovery of the treasures of the past,…partly the exercise of the creative imagination…it is investigating the sewers of Roman Britain”。题目中定位词“creativity”为名词，在文章中对应形式“creative”(形容词)为它的派生词，;定位词“investigative”为形容词，在文章中对应形式“investigate”(动词)为它的派生词。

　　其他的派生词变身如：

　　recover → recovery evolutionary → evolve erosion → erode

　　雅思定位词在文章中出现的第四种变身是“反义词的否定形式”。

　　Sticking Power中的Q15：What makes sticky insects feet special is the fact that they can also detach themselves easily from a surface。

　　此题属于人名理论配对，题目中定位词为 detach。到文章中去定位，我们会定位到“’There are lots of ways to make two surfaces stick together, but there are very few which provide precise and reversible attachment’ says Stas Gorb”，句中attachment实际上为detach的反义词attach的名词形式，而reversible表示可逆的，因此reversible attachment即为detach的反义词(组)的否定形式。

　　其它的反义词否定形式变身如：similar → not unusual

　　雅思定位词在文章中出现的第五种变身是“上义词/词组”。

　　剑6，Test3的Q28：Studies show drugs available today can delay the process of growing old。此题为是非无判断题，定位词为“drugs”，在文章中定位，我们能在文章段定位到“As researchers on aging noted recently, no treatment on the market today has been proved to slow human aging –the build-up of molecular and cellular damage that increases vulnerability to infirmity as we get older”。文章中“treatment”即为定位词“drugs”的上义词。

　　剑4，Test2的Q8：Young people often reject the established way of life in their community。此题为人名理论配对题，题目中信息量较大，需要根据词组“reject the established way of life in their community”来定位，到文章中定位，我们会定位到“When the next generation reaches their teens, they might not want to be induced into the old traditions”。此处，“the old traditions”即为题目中“the established way of life in their community”的上义词组。

　　其它的上义词/词组变身如：the newspaper and television → media

　　雅思定位词在文章中出现的第六种变身是“下义词/词组”。

　　剑5，Test3的Q27：how AI might have a military impact。此题为段落信息配对题，定位词为“military”，在文章中定位，我们会在E段定位到“HNC claim that their system based on a cluster of 30processors, could be used to spot camouflaged vehicles on a battlefield or …”，句中“battlefield”即为“military”的下义词。

　　其它的下义词/词组变身如：military → weapon / the Second World War　　雅思定位词在文章中出现的第七种变身是“原词”，即没有变身。这种情况多发生在定位词是专有名词、专业术语或实义名词时。

　　剑7，Test3的Q28：Problems in Nordic countries were excluded because they are outside the European Economic Community，此题为是非无判断题，定位词为“Nordic countries”。在文章中定位，我们能够在段定位到“Those confined to particular geographical areas, such as countries bordering the Mediterranean or the Nordic countries therefore had to be discarded”，句中的“Nordic countries”即为定位词原词。