词汇的理解对考研阅读的意义不言而喻。但个别词不认识并不妨碍理解，有时遇到生词还要学会跳过去。除了其他破解词义的方法外，根据上下文的线索寻找同义结构是一个很有效的方法。所谓同义结构，就是意义相同的结构。对文章中的一个部分不理解时，可以根据这一部分的上下文判断意义。上下文有时和不理解的部分构成同义关系，上下文的意义就是不理解部分的意义。如何判断两个部分是同义结构呢？一般而言，同义结构常出现于结构相同或相似的两个部分。也就是说，假如文章中的一个部分与上文的一个部分结构相同，那么它们对应的部分的意义可能相似。例如，如果一个部分是动宾结构，上文也是动宾结构，而动词部分的意义一样，那么对应的两个宾语意义可能也一样。如果一个部分是修饰语+核心名词，上文也是修饰语+核心名词，而核心名词的意义一样，那么对应的修饰语意义可能也一样。此外，作者常喜欢以不同的词表达文章的核心概念，这些词构成同义关系，以表达同一概念。下面以2007年考研阅读第一篇文章为例说明如何根据同义结构把握词义。

　　If you were to examine the birth certificates of every soccer player in 2006''s World Cup tournament, you would most likely find a noteworthy quirk： elite soccer players are more likely to have been born in the earlier months of the year than in the later months. If you then examined the European national youth teams that feed the World Cup and professional ranks, you would find this strange phenomenon to be even more pronounced.（第一段）

　　[分析]同义结构：you would most likely find a noteworthy quirk= you would find this strange phenomenon to be even more pronounced,其中quirk=strange phenomenon,noteworthy=pronounced.同义结构的两个部分都是句子的主句：主语+谓语+宾语——you would…find…； you would find…,它们的主谓部分都一样,根据上述理论——相似结构的意义可能相似,那么宾语部分a noteworthy quirk与this strange phenomenon to be even more pronounced的意义可能相同。

　　What might account for this strange phenomenon？ Here are a few guesses： a） certain astrological signs confer superior soccer skills； b） winter-born babies tend to have higher oxygen capacity, which increases soccer stamina； c） soccer-mad parents are more likely to conceive children in springtime, at the annual peak of soccer mania； d） none of the above.（第二段）

　　[分析]同义结构：soccer-mad=soccer mania.同义结构的两个部分是修饰语+核心词,修饰语soccer相同,那么核心词mad与mania的意义可能相同。

　　This success, coupled with later research showing that memory itself is not genetically determined, led Ericsson to conclude that the act of memorizing is more of a cognitive exercise than an intuitive one. In other words, whatever inborn differences two people may exhibit in their abilities to memorize, those differences are swamped by how well each person“encodes”the information. And the best way to learn how to encode information meaningfully, Ericsson determined, was a process known as deliberate practice. Deliberate practice entails more than simply repeating a task. Rather, it involves setting specific goals, obtaining immediate feedback and concentrating as much on technique as on outcome.

　　Ericsson and his colleagues have thus taken to studying expert performers in a wide range of pursuits, including soccer. They gather all the data they can, not just performance statistics and biographical details but also the results of their own laboratory experiments with high achievers. Their work makes a rather startling assertion： the trait we commonly call talent is highly overrated. Or, put another way, expert performers—whether in memory or surgery, ballet or computer programming—are nearly always made, not born.（第四段、第五段）

　　[分析]同义结构：genetically determined=intuitive=inborn=born；cognitive=encode=practice=made.作者常用同义词或近义词表达文中的核心概念。对于文中的一对核心概念,“made”与“born”,作者以上述不同词汇进行了表达。