【正确答案】Mastering a large number of words is essential to achieving fluency in a foreign language. An unofficial, but often quoted, figure for the Cambridge First Certificate Examination suggests that students with a vocabulary of less than 3,500 words are unlikely to be successful in the exam. Current research also suggests that native English speakers who have been educated up to 18 years old or beyond know at least 16,000 English words. And unless you already speak a language like Spanish or German, there is no short-cut to a large vocabulary in English: you just have to rely on diligence and dedication. Of course you can figure out from the context the meanings of some new words you come across in your reading, but more often than not you have to look them up in a dictionary in order to be clear about their accurate meanings. A practical way to pick up new words is, perhaps, to read a lot, preferable stories that you find interesting or exciting. It often pays to read the same book over and over again: each time . on read it you will learn different new words, and the familiar context helps to fix them in your mind.