一、猜测生词与理解词义 1、重要性
猜测生词和理解词义是培养阅读理解能力的首要基本功，需要我们除了平时下大力气学习词汇外，还要掌握与杜重猜测生词和理解词义的方法和技巧。 2、主要方法和技巧 （1） 寻找上下文线索 a. 利用定义或解释
有时作者会在文章中给出某个词的定义或用另一种方式进行解释，读者可根据其定义或解释猜测该词的基本意义。作者常使用的标志词语有：means, refers to, be, be called, be known as, can be defined as, in other words,等等。例如： Skimming means looking over a passage quickly to get the main idea before you begin to read it more carefully. Ecology can be defined as the branch of biology that deals with the habits of living things, especially their relation to their environment. That man will live for ever; he’s immortal. A bird sanctuary is a place where birds can breed and take refuge from hunters.
（快速阅读，速读；生态学；永远活着，不朽的；一地方，鸟在此繁育并免受危害）
b. 利用同位语
同位语是紧跟在被修饰词后面的一个名词（或代词）或名词性词语（或从句），它的作用是补充说明被修饰词的性质或情况。同位语常常通过or, or rather, i.e. , that is, that is to say, namely, in other words等来引导。在生词的后面如果有同位语，就很容易找到同该次意义相同或相近的词，从而猜测出该词的意义。例如：
The period of adolescence, i.e., the period between childhood and adulthood, may be long or short. （青春期）
c. 利用举例
文章中常见用举例的方法来说明一个词的意思。用于举例的标志词语有：example, for example, for instance, such as, like, as … as等等。我们可以根据文
中所举的例子，运用从具体到一般的归纳法，猜测出生词的意义。例如： Select any of these periodicals: Time Magazine, News Week, Reader’s Digest or The New Yorker.
There are many kinds of entertainment for children today – books, movies, games, and sports only a few of the possibilities. Television is once one of the newest kinds of entertainment. It has existed for less than thirty years, but it has had a great influence on children.
Although the hazards of the trip were many – for example, the unbearable heat, the possibility of getting lost, the presence of wild animals and poisonous snakes – Collins nevertheless decided that she must go. （期刊或杂志；文化娱乐活动；危险）
d. 利用对比
当作者强调事物之间的区别和对立时常使用对比，表达对比关系常用的词语有：unlike, but, however, while, yet, on the contrary等等。 例如： If you agree, write “yes”; if you dissent, write “no”. There were no fillip seats available, so they were forced to buy expensive ones.
（不同意(disagree)；便宜的(cheap, inexpensive)）
e. 利用比较或比喻
比较关系表示意义上的相似关系，常建标志词语有：as, like等等。例如： The snow was falling. Big flakes drifted with the wind like feathers. （雪片，雪花）
f. 利用相关信息
我们往往能从上下文提供的有关信息和结构中获得理解这个词的线索或某种暗示，从而猜测该词的意思。有时，还可运用上下文信息，结合有关的背景知识来帮助猜测。例如：
Just before the exam Carl’s hands shook and sweated so much that he could not hold a pen. His heart beat fast and his stomach ached, even though he knew the subject very well. He really had a strange phobia about tests.
We watched as the cat came quietly through the grass toward the bird. When it was just a few feet from the victim, it gathered its legs under itself, and pounced. The workers’ lives were wretched. They worked from morning to night in all kinds of weather, earning only enough money to buy their simple food and cheap clothes.
（恐惧；猛扑；悲惨的）
g. 利用类属关系
有时我们可以根据属概念与种概念之间的关系（如：cow – animal; rose – flower; honesty – virtue）来大致理解某个生词的类别。例如： Dogs, cats, sheep and rabbits are all animals. Household appliances, especially TV sets, washing-machines and tape-recorders are not selling well these days. （兔子；家用电器）
（2） 根据构词法
a. 合成法，由两个或以上的词合成一个词。如：spaceship, kind-hearted, peace-loving, oil-lamp, writing-desk等等。
b. 派生法，由词根添加前缀、后追而构成单词。如：unhappy, nonsense, extraordinary, childlike, survival, unbelievable等等。 c. 转化法，有一种词类转化为另一种或几种词类，如： hand (n.)手 – hand (v.)传递 rain (n.) 雨– rain (v.)下雨
answer (v.)回答 – answer (n.)答案 （3） 利用有关知识
此外我们可以利用一些常识、科学知识、以及语法知识等帮助猜测词义。如： A fish breathes in water with gills. Plants take in the carbon dioxide through their pores during the sunlight hours and produce oxygen which people need. Mary is bright, and Jane is just as intelligent as she.
（鳃；二氧化碳、(叶片上的）毛孔、氧气；聪明 (bright))
3、练习
1) Scott took ponies (small horses) and a few dogs. 2) Oil gas and wood are all kinds of fuel.
3) The aborigines have been in Australia for 10,000 years. Their ancestors probably came from South Asia.
4) Amadou is supposed to give a report in class today. He doesn’t prepare, however, so he decided not to go to class.
5) Don’t dress up for the party tonight. Just wear your ordinary clothes.
6) After the passengers boarded the plane they put their bags under the seats and fastened their seatbelts.
7) Maria is 10 kilos overweight so she is going to diet. 8) When you take ice out of the freezer, it melts.
9) A stone sinks in water. A piece of wood or paper floats.
10) Chronic smokers are at a higher risk of developing lung cancer than occasional smokers.
11) I am always skeptical of advertising claims. After all, an advertiser will never tell about a product’s weak point.
12) The thief got into Mrs. Gibson’s house with the pretext that his car broke down and he needed to use her phone.
1）小马驹 2）燃料 3）祖先 4）应该1) (should, be expected to) 5）普通的 6）上飞机 7）胖，饮食减肥 8）融化 9）漂浮 10）慢性的 11）持怀疑态度的 12）借口
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