标点符号也是IELTS听力的一个考点，迄今为止，IELTS考过两次标点符号，一次是V21的section 1，要求填写party的举办地点Grouche’s，录音中已经说出apostrophe(’)，许多考生听不懂这个词，但这是这道填空题的关键，即使前面的Grouche写对了答案也不能算正确；另一次是V31的section 3，其中一道题要求填写question mark(?)，这个相对来说比较简单。
鉴于此，有必要把常见的一些标点符号以及相关词语作一总结。

punctuation: The use of standard marks and signs in writing and printing to separate words into sentences, clauses, and phrases in order to clarify meaning；the act or practice of inserting standardized marks or signs in written matter to clarify the meaning and separate structural units;. 标点法, 在写作及印刷中运用标准符号或标志以隔开词而形成句子、从句及词组从而使意思清晰，例如: a system of punctuation

punctuation mark: any of various standardized marks or signs used in punctuation

Quotation mark：inverted comma：one of a pair of punctuation marks “” or‘’used chiefly to indicate the beginning and the end of a quotation in which the exact phraseology of another or of a text is directly cited 引号,单引号(用于引文内另一引文的起始和结束处)

Apostrophe: The superscript sign (') used to indicate the omission of a letter or letters from a word, the possessive case, and the plurals of numbers, letters, and abbreviations；a mark ' used to indicate the omission of letters or figures, the possessive case, or the plural of letters or figures撇号，写在字上方的符号（'），用来表示从单词中省略一个或几个字母、所有格形式及数字、字母、缩写的复数形式，省略符号, 撇号(')[用于 ①表示省略, 如:can't, (=can not); '88(=1988) ②表示所有格, 如 boy's; James' ③表示复数, 如two 0's, four 9's ④表示年代, 如the 1980's (读作 the nineteen eighties)20世纪80年代⑤表示一字中的某一音不发, 如: 'lectric (=electric)]

Comma: A punctuation mark (,) used to indicate a separation of ideas or of elements within the structure of a sentence；used especially as a mark of separation within the sentence 逗号, 一种标点符号（,），用于表示句子结构内思想或要素的分开

Full stop: A period indicating the end of a sentence. 句号, 标示一句话结束的句点

Colon：冒号1）: a punctuation mark : used chiefly to direct attention to matter (as a list, explanation, or quotation) that follows  2）: the sign : used between the parts of a numerical expression of time in hours and minutes (as in 1:15) or in hours, minutes, and seconds (as in 8:25:30), in a bibliographical reference (as in Nation 130:20), in a ratio where it is usually read as *to* (as in 4:1 read *four to one*), or in a proportion where it is usually read as *is to* or when doubled as *as* (as in 2:1::8:4 read *two is to one as eight is to four*

Semicolon: a punctuation mark（；） used chiefly in a coordinating function between major sentence elements (as independent clauses of a compound sentence)

Question mark：：a mark( ?) used in writing and printing at the conclusion of a sentence to indicate a direct question, 也称作interrogation mark或interrogation point.

Interrogate：1 : to question formally and systematically 2 : to give or send out a signal to (as a transponder) for triggering an appropriate response

Exclamation mark [point]：a mark ! used especially after an interjection or exclamation to indicate forceful utterance or strong feeling ? called also exclamation mark感叹号, 惊叹号

建议考生在复习时，除了把已经考过的这两个标点符号（apostrophe、question mark）熟练掌握外，优先掌握comma、full stop、quotation mark、exclamation mark这几个词，推荐使用经典教材《初级英语听力》来练习这些标点符号。

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