【外语】阅读理解不认识单词怎么办?这几个猜词义的小技巧你一定要掌握!
1类属法
即通过类属来推测词义。如:
■ Bananas,oranges, pineapples, coconuts and some other kinds of fruit grow in warm areas.
说明:从句意我们知道pineapples 和coconuts 与bananas, oranges是同类事物,同属水果(准确地说是“菠萝”和“椰子”)。
2推理法
即根据文章的前后语境推出生词的词义。如:
■Thatmuseum is so immense that it will be impossible to see all the exhibits in oneday.
说明:既然一天之内看不完所有的展品,那么immense 的意思应该是“很大”了。
■Everyoneagreed that the woman in the photo was gorgeous. It was easy to see why she hadwon the beauty contest.
说明:既然“她在选美比赛中获胜”,说明她“很美丽”(gorgeous)。
3列举法
即通过对文章所列举的事物来猜测生词的词义。如:
■Childrenlike such creatures as dogs and monkeys.
说明:像 dogs 和 monkeys 之类的“creatures”,显然creatures的意思应是“动物”。
■In yourspare time, you may look through any of these periodicals: Time Magazine, NewsWeek, or The New Worker.
说明:periodical是生词,但根据其后所列举的例子,我们可以推测出它的意思可能是“期刊”或“杂志”。
4构词法
即根据前缀、后缀、复合、派生等构词知识判断生词的词义。如:
■Overworkmay cause diseases.
说明:前缀 over- 的意思是“过分的,过量的”,故 overwork的意思应为“工作过度”。
■Therewas a dissatisfied look in the manager’s eyes.
说明:satisfied的意思是“满意的”,前缀 dis- 的意思是“不”,故dissatisfied 的意思应该是“不满意的”。
5对比法
即根据文章前后的对比关系确定生词的词义。如:
■He hadbeen getting better, but during the night his condition deteriorated .
说明:句中的 but 表明deteriorate 应该与get better 的意思相反,即“恶化”。
■In manycountries there are two financial extremes, from penury to great wealth.
说明:上文说两个经济上的极端,那么下文中penury 应与great wealth 相对,即表示“贫困”。
■Mrs.Smith is loquacious while her husband is the silent type.
说明:while 表对比,意为“而”,所以loquacious 应是silent 的反义,即“多嘴的”。
■If youagree, draw a circle; and a cross if you dissent.
说明:既然画圈表示同意,那么画叉便是“不同意”(dissent)。
6同位法
同位语是对所修饰词语的进一步说明和解释,若对所修饰的词语不熟悉,可通过其后同位语的“说明或解释”来确定其词义。如:
■Hisfather is an expert in phonetics, the study of the sounds of language.
说明:同位语 thestudy of the sounds of language 表示 phonetics 的意思应该是“语音学”。
■Jean wasborn with spina bifida, a birth illness that damages the spine(脊骨).
说明:同位语 a birthillness that damages the spine 表明了spinabifida 是一种病,一种对脊骨有损害的病。
7释义法
即根据文章中所提供的释义关系来确定生词的词义。如:
■Theydescribed him as a loon, or a mad man.
说明:句中的or 是对loon的解释,即loon与a mad man同义,即表示“疯子”。
■It willbe very hard but also very brittle, that is, it will break easily.
说明:句中的 that is 表明 it willbreak easily 是对brittle 的解释,从而猜测出其意为“脆”。
■Theherdsman, who looks after sheep, earns about 500 yuan a year.
说明:定语从句 wholooks after sheep 表明herdsman 的词义为“牧人”。
■Thereare three kinds of snow. One kind is a fluffy snow that is somewhat dry andfeathery?
说明:定语从句 that issomewhat dry and feathery(有点儿干、像羽毛似的)表明 fluffysnow 的意思可能是“鹅毛大雪”。
8常识法
即根据普通常识推测生词的词义。如:
■It’ssaid that Bill Gates is the most affluent person in the world.
说明:根据常识,BillGates 为世界首富,所以affluent 可能是“富有的”。
■As ascientist, Edison is very famous for his contrivances.
说明:根据常识,Edison为发明大王,他应因“发明”而闻名于世。