词义猜测八法

猜测生词词义是高考英语阅读理解中的一个重要考点，要想做好阅读理解猜测词义题，就必须要掌握一些猜词方法，具备一定的猜词能力。下面以2005年高考试题为例，介绍几种行之有效的猜测生词词义的方法。



一、 同义解释法



同义解释形式多样，有的利用or, that is (to say), in other words, namely等进行解释，有的利用破折号，同位语（从句），定语从句或同义词、近义词等进行解释。例如：

1. （湖北，A篇）A territory is an area that an animal, usually the male, claims as its own.

由定义可知territory的意思是"领域"、 "领土"。

2. （江苏，E篇）The web of our life is of a min-gled yarn (纱线), good and ill together.

根据其后的同位语good and ill together可判断，mingled的意思是mixed。

3. （北京，C篇）This results in unusual and self- destructivebehavior called zoochosis.

既然不正常的、自我毁灭的行为叫做zoochosis，那么可推断zoochosis的意思为："行为古怪"。



二、前后对比法



有时作者对文章中的生词给出了一定的对比背景，以反义或对照方式出现。例如：

1. （广东，C篇）Waves are one of nature's ways of picking up energy and then sending it off on a journey.

下文的sending off应与picking up意思相反，所以picking up应为collecting（聚积）。

2. （重庆，D篇）It is true that lighthouses were built in out-of-the-way places. But on a pleasant sunny summer day, this very isolation has a natural beauty that many people will love to experience.

根据But 后的内容可知，out-of-the-way与isola-tion意义相近，所以其义为faraway 或isolated。

3. （北京，D篇）However obvious these facts may appear at first glance, they are actually not so obvious as they seem except we take special pains to think about this subject.

由上文的they are actually not so obvious as they seem 及文中的except可知，take special pains应与该句意思相反，据此可推断它与try very hard意义相近。



三、 举例说明法



根据生词后举出的有关例子进行适当归纳，即使不能完全猜测生词的词义，也能猜出大致意义。例如：

1. （湖南，A篇）More American people take their troubles with them on holiday, according to a new survey. Although 40 percent said....

根据下文举出的数字可知，survey是research（调查）之意。

2. （广东，B篇）Unlike vitamin C, leadership skills can't be easily swallowed down. They must be care-fully cultivated.

下文从三个方面论述了如何培养领导才能，所以cultivate的意思应与develop相似。



四、 上下文暗示法



根据上下文与生词密切相关的句子，对生词进行合情合理同时合乎上下文语境的推测。例如：

1. （湖南，B篇）"We've collected foreign coins for years-since our families went on holiday to Tenerife." she explains. "That was before the Euro, so we put pe－setas in". Lauren continues: "I find a coin in the road, go to get it and get run over..."

根据上下文可知pesetas是一种硬币。

2. （上海，D篇）Devoted birdwatchers are fast be-ing joined by a new breed of follower whose interest is satiated by watching a few finches（雀科鸣鸟） on a Sunday walk or putting up a bird-box in the back garden.

根据whose interest is satiated by watching...in the back garden.可知, satiated应该是"使......满足(satisfied)"之意。

3. （天津，B篇）Lack of parent willpower may contribute more to juvenile obesity than under-exercis-ing or overeating.

Research suggests that having overweight parents is a big influence upon a child's weight...

由下文可知这一句的意思是"缺乏父母的意志力可能比缺乏锻炼或过量饮食更容易导致儿童时期的超重。"所以juvenile obesity意思是childhood overweight。



五、 因果推断法



有时对生词的词义需要结合上下文的因果关系进行推断，既可根据原因推测结果，也可根据结果推测原因。例如：

1. （江西，D篇）The plant is often pruned so that it remains only 60 to 90 centimeters high.

由so that后的句意,可推断prune意为"剪枝、修剪"。

2. （上海，B篇）"But," said Kim, "I feel that since you are my superior, it would be presumptuous of me to tell you what to do."

因为对方是上级，所以如果告诉对方做什么，自己会认为是冒犯了对方，是自以为是，所以presump-tuous与too confident and rude意义相近。



六、 经验常识法



有的生词的猜测要求利用自身的生活经验及科学常识进行分析推断。例如：

1. （福建，C篇）Rainforests like the Amazon are important for mopping up CO2 from the atmosphere and helping to slow global warming.

结合下文helping to slow global warming与科学常识，不难知道mop up意为"吸收(take in)"。

2. （江苏，C篇）Towards the evening, there comes the grand finale of the opening day, an extremely ex-citing horserace.

根据生活常识及上文Towards the evening可知the horserace是这一天的最后一项活动，所以finale应为"last part"。



七、 基本构词法



根据基本的构词法知识（前缀、后缀、复合等）来推测生词的词义。例如：

（上海，B篇）But what I expect is for you to think independently and introduce new ideas. I need more input from you-more feedback on how things are going.

初看起来，independently，input和feedback非常生疏，但利用构词法知识不难猜测它们的词义。in-dependently是depend加后缀-ent，加前缀in-，再加后缀-ly而成的，那就是"独立地"。input=in（进入）+put（放）, 故input的意思为"输入"。feedback=feed（输入）+back（回）, 由此可知feedback意为"反馈，反应"。



八、 音译法



对文章中的人名、地名、动物名、建筑物名以及山脉、河流、岛屿、海洋等专用名词及汉语中的外来词等，常可通过音译来解决。当然有的词甚至不需要音译，明白是人名、地名，并能理清之间的关系即可。
关键字:经验技巧
生词表: