词义猜测方法及练习.doc

高考复习之
词义猜测
任何一个单词，只有在一定的上下文中才能表示一个确定的词义。NMET阅读理解中猜测词义的考查内容既可以是文中的生词，也可以是熟词新义、短语或句子。但都要求考生根据上下文线索(即具体语境)作出推断。常见的题干有：
1) Which of the following is the closest in meaning to the word？
2) The word... could best be replaced by.
3) In the... paragraph, the word... means (refers to).
4) According to the passage,... probably means.
5) The author uses the word... to mean.
猜测词义时，一般可利用以下四个方面的线索：
一、针对性解释是作者为了更好的表达思想，在文章中对一些重要的概念、难懂的术语或高深的词汇等所做的通俗化的解释。这些解释提供的信息明确具体，所使用的语言通俗易懂，利用它们来猜测词义就非常简单。
1.根据定义（definition）猜测词义
如果生词有一个句子（定语从句或是同位语<同位语前常有 or, similarly, that is to say, in other words, namely, or other, say. 等>或是同位语从句）或段落来定义,或使用破折号，冒号，分号后的内容和引号括号中的内容加以解释和定义，那么理解这个句子或段落本身就是推断词义。定义常用的谓语动词多为：be, mean, deal with, be considered, to be, be called, define, represent, refer to, signify 等。
例1.Do you know what a “territory” is ? A territory is an area that an animal ,usually the male, claims（声称）as its own.
[分析]由定义可推知，这里territory指的是：“动物的地盘”。
例2.In fact, only about 80 ocelots, an endangered wild cat, exist in the U.S. today．
[分析]由同位语an endangered wild cat我们很快猜出生词ocelots的义域：一种濒临灭绝野猫。
2.根据举例猜测词义
恰当的举例（such as, for example\instance, like, as follow, ect .）能够提供猜测生词的重要线索。
例3. The course gives you chances to know great power polities between nation states. It will provide more space to study particular issues such as relationship among countries in the European Union, third world debt, local and international disagreement, and the work of such international bodies as the United Nations, the European Union, NATO, and the World Bank.（2004年辽宁卷）
[分析]根据such as 后面列举的一系列例子，我们应该能推断出句中的issue 是指“议题”。

二、根据内在逻辑关系推测词义是指应用语言知识分析和判断相关信息之间存在的逻辑关系，然后根据逻辑联系推断生词词义或大致义域。
1.根据对比、比较关系猜测词义
在一个句子或段落中，有对两个事物或现象进行对比性的描述，我们可以根据生词的反义词猜测其词义。表示对比关系的词汇和短语主要有：unlike, not, but, however, despite, in spite of, in contrast 等。 表示对比关系的句子结构：while 引导的并列句。同对比关系相反，比较关系表示意义上的相似关系。表示比较关系的词和短语主要有：similarly, like, just as, also, as well as 等。
例4.A child’s birthday party doesn’t have to be a hassle; it can be a basket of fun.
What does the underlined word “hassle” (paragraph 1) probably mean?
A.a party designed by specialists B.a plan requiring careful thought
C.a situation causing difficulty or trouble D.a demand made by guests
[分析]根据对比关系，这里hassle 和 a basket of fun 是相反的意义，很容易判断理解题的答案为C。
2.根据因果关系猜测词义
在句子或段落中，若两个事物现象之间构成因果关系(so,thus,therefore,because,ect)，我们可以根据这种逻辑关系推测生词词义。
例5.Pruning is important because it encourages the growth of tender shoots,or young leaves.
根据原因状语从句的内容，我们可以判断Pruning的意思是：“修剪（树枝等）”的意思。
3.根据说明、并列、同等同义近义、、反义等关系猜测词义
在句子或段落中，我们可以利用熟悉的词语，根据语言环境所表面的关系猜测词义。
例6.William Shakespeare said. “The web of our life is of a mingled yarn（纱线），good and ill together.”
The underlined word “mingled” in the last paragraph most probably means .
A．simple B．mixed C．sad D．happy
[分析]句中good and ill together 更具体地说明了a mingled yarn的意义，据此我们不难推测mingled的意思是：“混合的，交织的”。
例7.There is no reason to insult and defame the man simply because you do not agree with him.
[分析]根据与insult“侮辱”的同等关系猜测defame为“诋毁” ，“中伤”或“诽谤”
例8.The game Americans call soccer is known around the world as football.
[分析]运用与football的同义关系推断为“足球”。
例9.The house stood at the end of a quiet neat street. The little dwelling, however, looked neglected and cheerless.
[分析]运用与The house近义关系可以推断dwelling与住所有关
例10.Most women in China ---educated and illiterated, urban and rural, the young and old-----work to earn an income in addition to maintaining their roles as housewives and mothers.
[分析]后面的urban and rural, the young and old之间都有反义关系，运用这个关系可以推断illiterated为“未接受过教育的，即文盲”

三、在猜测词义过程中，我们还可以依靠构词法方面的知识，从生词本身猜测词义。
1.根据前缀猜测词义
例11.Do you have any strong opinion on co-educational or single-sex schools?
根据词根educational （教育的），结合前缀co-（共同，一起），我们便可以猜出co-educational的意思是：“男女同校教育的”意思。（2005年江西卷）
2.根据后缀猜测词义
例12. It's a quiet, comfortable hotel overlooking (俯瞰) the bay in an uncommercialized Cornish fishing village on England's most southerly point．（2005年广东卷）
后缀 -ise/ize意思是“使成为…；使…化”，结合词根commercial（商业的），不难猜出 uncommercialized 的意思是：“未被商业化的”。
3.根据复合词的各部分猜测词义
例13.Good tool design is important in the prevention of overuse injuries. Well – designed tools and equipment will require less force to operate them and prevent awkward（别扭的）hand positions.（2005年北京卷）
Well-designed 或许是个生词，但我们分析该词的结构后，就能推测出其含义。它由well(好，优秀)和design （设计）两部分组成，合在一起便是“设计精巧的”意思。
4.猜测词性变换新词含义
例14.The other teams, disappointed, were on the bus heading home. （2004年山东卷）
head本为名词，表头。由the bus和home的语境逻辑可以推断，该句head为动词，表方向，结合全句可译为“开往、驶向”。
四、根据生活常识运用自身的生活经验及生活常识，根据上下文能读懂的部分，可以正确猜出词义。下面文字中划线单词的词义你能猜出来吗？
例15.Most of the roses are beginning to wither because of the cold.
句子的已知部分和我们的常识告诉我们：；wither表示“枯萎”。

Exercise
Part1 Choose the best answer:
1. Archaeology is the study of the buried remains of ancient times, such as houses, pots, tools and weapons.
A 地理学 B 生态学 C 心理学 D考古学
2. This strict officer is a martinet, person who demands total obedience（服从） to rules, discipline and order.
A专制的人 B软弱的人 C强硬的人 D 要求严格服从纪律和命令的人
3. Though Mr. Smith has been general manager for just 3 months, he has already made much greater achievements than his predecessors.
A上级 B 前任 C 同事 D 下级
4. The football game was getting more and more exciting, however, the old lady was still as dozy as she usually was.
A 昏昏欲睡的 B 亢奋的 C 欣喜若狂的 D 麻木的
5. All his attempts to unlock the door was futile, because he was using the wrong key.
A 成功的 B 徒劳的 C 有效的 D 匆促的
6. She did not hear what you said because she was completely engrossed in her reading.
A 心不在焉的 B 紧张的 C 全神贯注的 D 睡意浓的
7. One of symptoms caused by the peculiar illness is a high fever.
A 症状 B J疾病 C 恐惧 D 威胁
8. In the strong wind, the beggar shivered with the terrible cold.
A 流泪 B 乞讨 C 呻吟 D 颤抖
9. The hot tropical weather created a feeling of lassitude and encouraged laziness.
A 兴奋 B 厌恶 C 清醒 D 疲倦
10. To quite a great many people, money is an irresistible temptation（诱惑）.
A 不可抗拒的 B 可抗拒的 C 接受的 D 不可接受的

Part2 To guess the meanings of the underlined words.
1. In summer the weather here is very hot, sometimes it causes a dry period, in other words, drought.

2. I like many music instruments such as a piano, violin and guitar.

3. Some parts of the water are very shallow but in some places it is very deep.

4. The students believe that smoking cigarettes is detrimental to your health, they also regard drinking is harmful.

5. Biggest power failure in the city’s history…so all of our ice cream and frozen food melted.

6. We made the earth a poor place to live on because we are careless or greedy or
quarrel –some .

7. We had lots of candles in the table, and the waiters were carrying candles on the trays.

8. When men and women live by hunting50,000 years ago, how could they even begin to picture modern life?

9. Towards evening, there was a threat of rain and fish in the pond opened their mouths on the surface of the water.

10. In the taxi service, all the drivers are numbered.

11. Music was once a group experience for many people. Now, however, music is an individual experience…

12. Green lovers to talk and his brothers are similarly loquacious.

13. Shantzis believes his system could help recycled materials become more cost-effective.

14. In each Olympic Games, medals of gold, silver, and bronze can be sent out.

15. Semantics, the study of the meaning of words is necessary if you’re to speak and read intelligently.

16. He was angry with me yesterday and I was very angry with him, so we had a row.

17. The female mosquito is a vampire and lives on blood.

18. The old man put on his spectacles and began to read.

19. The old woman has a strange habit to keep over 100 cats in her house. Her neighbors all called her eccentric lady.

20. Mother was tall, fat, and middle-aged. The principal of school was an old woman, almost as plump as mother, and much shorter.

21. Though Tom’s face has been washed quite clean, his neck still remains grubby.

22. Be punctual when you are going to a party. Never be late.

23. John usually wastes a lot of money on such useless things; his wife, however. Is very thrifty.

24. In the past the world seemed to run in an orderly way. Now, however, everything seems to be in a state of turmoil.

25. The advance of science is unstoppable.
26. He had been overworking and fell ill at last.

27. You can take any of the periodicals: The World of English, Foreign Language Teaching in Schools, or English Learning.

28. Tom is often voracious. One day he ate as much as two pounds of meat.

29. Today young couples who are just starting their household often spend lots of their money on appliances for instance, washing machines, refrigerators and color televisions.

30. Jack is now a florist who keeps a shop for selling flowers in our district.

31. In slang the term “jam” constitutes a state of being in which a person finds himself or herself in a difficult situation.

32. The door was so low that I hit my head on the lintel.

33. When a doctor performs an operation on a patient, he usually gives an anesthetic to make him unconscious, because he does not want his patient to feel pain or to known what is happening to him.

34. If you are capable of working twelve hours a day without a rest, and if you can engage in physical exercise for hours without seeming to get tired , then you are indefatigable.

35. I had first known she was wrong, that her anxiety had clouded her judgment.

Part3 Read the short passages, then choose the right answers.
(1)
Being considering a leader in our society is indeed of high praise. Leadership means power, commands, respect and most important, encourages achievement. Unlike vitamin C, leadership skills can’t be easily swallowed down. They must be carefully cultivated.（05广东)
Different from popular belief, most good leaders are made, not born. They learn their skills in their everyday life. But which do they develop? How do they (and how can you) get others to follow?
The underlined word “cultivated” roughly means________.
A encouraged B compared C examined D developed

(2)
Is it possible to beat high blood pressure without drugs ? The answer is “yes”, according to the researchers at Johns Hopkins and three other medical centers. After a study of 800 persons with high blood pressure, they found that after 6 months those devoted to weight loss---exercise and eating a low-salt, low-fat food---lost about 13 pounds and became fitter. Plus, 35% of them dropped into the “normal” category. This week, Dr. Alan Duckworth will tell you how people reduce their blood pressure to a level similar to what’s achieved with Hypertension drugs.
In Science\Health, “Johns Hopkins” is ________.
A a famous university B a medical center C a well-known doctor D a drug company

(3 )
The President has started using look-alikes during some public appearance. Dave is offered a chance to “serve his country” by being one.（05全国）
The underlined word “ one” refers to _______.
A the President B the director C an actor D a look-alikes

(4)
As a woman, I feel unsafe here. I spend a bomb on taxis because I will not take public transport after 10p.m. I used to use it, but now I’m afraid.
The underlined word “ it” refers to _______.
A a taxi B the money C a bomb D public transport

(5)
Here is The Pines , whose cook has developed a special way of mixing foreign food such as caribou ,wild boar ,and reindeer with surprising sauces . （2004年福建卷）
According to the passage ,The Pines is a __________ .
A．place in which you can see many mobile homes
B．mountain where you can get a good view of the valley
C．town which happens to be near the Banff National Park
D．restaurant where you can ask for some special kinds of food
(6)
Scientists are working to use that energy to make electricity. Most waves are created when winds blow across the ocean. “The wind starts out by making little ripples, but if they keep on blowing, those ripples get bigger and bigger and turn into waves.” Taylor said. “Waves are one of nature’s ways of picking up energy and then sending it off on a journey.”（05广东）
The underlined word “ picking up” is closest in meaning to _______.
A starting again B speeding to C gathering D improving

(7)
Cigarette smoking
Some people believe that cigarette smoking is dangerous and should therefore be considered a health hazard. They want their governments to create antismoking programs. People differ as to how strong these antismoking campaigns would try to completely eliminate cigarette smoking. Supporters of these programs would try to ban cigarette smoking completely in public places. Others would try only to restrict the number of places where people could smoke. Such restrictions would not try to eliminate public smoking completely, but only to curb smoking by reducing cigarette consumption.
1. hazard
A safety B danger C habit D damage
2. antismoking
A agreement with smoking B non-smoking C disagreement with smoking D cook smoking
3. campaigns
A actions or programs B jokes or hobbies C camping or outing D a kind of wine
4. eliminate
A elect or choose B buy or sell C receive or accept D get rid of or put away
5. ban
A forbid by law B support by law C break law D write law
6. restrict
A enlarge B enrich C limit D spread
7. curb
A control B cut C keep D raise
8. consumption.
A jumping B working C producing D using

(8)
Lottery
I like any game of chance, but I most enjoy taking part in a lottery. The lottery is like an unchanging religious ceremony, and it is perhaps this ritual quality of the lottery that people enjoy. Unlike other games of chance, a lottery does not require a great deal of paraphernalia. The only equipment needed is a bowl filled with slips of paper. I enjoy the excitement of watching the official pick the winning number. The moment before the drawing is very serious. The judge gravely approaches the bowl and looks at crowd soberly. The crowd is quiet except for the low murmur of excitement suddenly the winner is selected. After the lottery is over, everyone but the winner throws away his piece of paper and the discarded slips are soon blown away by the wind. People begin to disengage themselves from the crowd and the lottery is over.
1. unchanging
A without changes B changeable C small money like coin D changing
2. ritual
A rich B dinner C customary activities such as religious D timetable of a meeting
3. paraphernalia
A preparation B equipment C paragraph D participant
4. gravely
A careless B light-heartedly C casually D seriously
5. murmur
A sweet voice B shouting or crying
C low and quiet voice or sound D voice of singing
6. discarded
A thrown away B picked up C gathered D saved up
7. disengage
A find out B separate