必须承认，有时也会有非常细致的问题问到复杂的词汇。同样，出题者也会手下留情。这类问题最好举例来说明。在以下的片断中我们读到：
“The genetic inheritance a baby receives from its parents at the moment of conception fixes much of its later development, determining characteristics as varied as whether it will have blue eyes or suffer from a life-threatening illness such as cystic fibrosis…In 1986, American researchers identified the genetic defect underlying one type of muscular dystrophy. In 1989, a team of American and Canadian biologists announced that they had found the site of the gene which, when defective, gives rise to cystic fibrosis.”
如果我们被要求完成下面的句子：
“The second success of researchsintosgenetic defect was to find the cause of…”
如上面文章中所说的，句中缺失的词是“cystic fibrosis”。尽管我们可能根本不知道“cystic fibrosis”是什么，我们也根本不需要知道。需要我们做的只是理解它前后的词。将它当作数学题中的x变量即可。知道它与前后文怎样连接就足够了。
出题者绝不会这样问：“Why is cystic fibrosis a genetic defect?”这样的问法就会要求我们掌握这个词。相反，雅思考试是要考查我们联系上下文理解事物的能力。一旦我们了解了这一点，看到生词就再也不会紧张了。
此法则还有另一种应用途径。出题者有时可能会在不是考点的地方使用复杂的表述甚至或是口语化的表达。要理解全文知道它们的意思仍然很重要。以下文为例：
“The consumer research manager for Mintel, Angela Hughes, said it (environmental consumerism) has become firmly established as a mainstream market. She explained that as far as the average person is concerned environmentalism has not‘gone off the boil’. In fact, it has spread across a much wider range of consumer groups, ages and occupations.”
“gone off the boil”这种表达只用于英国。许多说英语的人也不会了解，应试者可能也是同样。但如前一个例子一样，上下文可能帮助我们了解它的意思。
在密切关注连接词及它前后的词后，我们可以猜测它的意思。词组“in fact”就是好线索。例如在此句中，“in fact”让我们了解到我们所期待的情况并未发生。相反，出现的是生态消费主义(environmental consumerism—估译)的增长。那么，期待发生的又是什么呢?一定是对生态消费主义兴趣的衰退。不必完全懂得“off the boil”的含义，我们现在也知道它意味着对环境问题关注的减退。
这一方法不仅可应用于口语化的表达方法。每当我们看到“but”,“however”,“on the other hand”,及“instead”，我们就知道前面论述的内容遭到了抵触或否定。当我们看到“as well”,“in addition”,及“moreover”时，后面是支持前面的论述。密切留意句中的选词。上下文是关键。应用此法则，文章就会变得清晰起来。
