猜测词义猜测词义陕西省山阳中学 黄从军

4 types of questions in reading comprehension:

Questions for general idea

Questions for details

Questions for logical deduction

Questions for guessing meaning

Which of the following is the closest in

meaning to the word ？The word... could best be replaced by ：In the... paragraph, the word... means

(refers to).

According to the passage,... probably

means.

The author uses the word... to mean.

……

Questions for guessing meaning:

1. Definition 定义法

3. Similarity 相似法

2. Contrast 对比法

4. Cause and effects 因果法

5. Example 例举法

8. Common Sense 普通常识

6. Word Formation 构词法

猜

测

词

义

猜

测

词

义7. Context 上下文

Do you know what a “territory” is ? A territory is an

area that an animal, usually the male, claims （声称） as

its own.（ 2005 年湖北卷）

1. Definition 定义法： 一般通过定义、定语（从句）或同位语（从句）来确定词义。

( 领地 )

The herdsman , who looks after sheep, earns about 650

yuan a year. (n. 牧羊人 )

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

◆◆

2. Contrast 对比法：利用文中的反义词以及表对 比关系的词（组）猜测词义。 表示对比的词有

but、 while、 however 、 otherwise 等。

Most of us agreed, however, Bill dissented.

She is usually promptprompt for all her classes, but today she

arrived in the middle of her first class.

A. on time B. late C. slowly D. quickly AA

((v.v. 不同不同意意 ))

3. Similarity 相似法：利用同义词、近义词或词组猜测词义。

Cleaning up waterways is an enormous task .The job

is so large, in fact, that the government may not be

able to save some of the rivers and lakes which have

been polluted.(adj. 巨大的 ; 极大的 )

4. Cause 4. Cause ＆＆ Effect Effect 因果法：从原因推测结果，因果法：从原因推测结果，从结果推测原因。从结果推测原因。

One who is destitute has a great need for food and

clothing.

That museum is so immense that it will be impossible

to see all the exhibits in one day.

((adj.adj. 贫穷的贫穷的 ,, 穷困穷困的的 ))

(adj. 大的 )

5. Example 例举法：利用文中的举例猜测词义。常见的举例的提示词有 for instance, for

example, such as 等 。

Today young couples often spend lots of their money

on appliances, for instance, washing machines,

refrigerators and color televisions.(n. 电器用具 )

6. Word Formation 构词法：英语单词大多是由词根、词头（前缀）和词尾（后缀）所组成。词根是单词最基本的部分，表达单词的基本含义。在词根前或后加上前缀或后缀，可以用来引申或转变原词的意义和词性。只要我们掌握了各种词根、词头和词尾的基本含义，那么就可以很容易猜测出由其构成的新词的含义了。

中学英语中常见的前缀和后缀有：

super- (超 ) mini- ( 极小的 , 微小的 )

micro- （极微小的） re- （再，反复） mis- （误，恶） im- （不） un- （不，非） in- （不，非）non- （不，非） -able （能…的 ） -less （不，无） -wards (向 )

superman microwave

( 超人 )

nonnatural mispronouce

( 非自然的 )

homeless nonsmoker

( 无家可归的 )

rebuild eastwards

( 重建 )

Can you guess the right meanings?

( 微波 )

( 非烟民 )

( 发错音 )

( 向东 )

7. Context 上下文：利用语境及前后的提示来猜测词义。

Tom saw an owl in a tree last night ．A． a bird B． an animal C. a star

Tom saw an owl last night ．A． a bird B． an animal C. a star

Tom saw an owl in a tree last night but it flew away when he got near ．A． a bird B． an animal C. a starA

A B C

A B

(n. 猫头鹰 )

((n.n. 猿猿 ))

The children are looking at an ape.

A. a kind of monkey B. a kind of tree

C. a kind of bird

The children are looking at an ape at the zoo．A. a kind of monkey B. a kind of tree

C. a kind of bird

The children are looking at a large, hairy ape at the

zoo．A. a kind of monkey B. a kind of tree

C. a kind of bird

AA

AA BB

CC

..

AA

CC

8. Common sense 普通常识：根据普通常识和生活经验来猜测词义。

在阅读的过程中，如遇到生词，有时可以根据自身的直接或间接的经验，或运用自己已有的常识将其推测出来。比如了解一些英美国家的天文地理、风俗习惯、宗教信仰、政治结构、社会制度等，可以帮助加深对文章的理解，遇到生词时，猜测词义的能力自然就会增强。

Birds fly with their wings, and they pick up their foods, and then eat them with their beaks and they use their claws for tearing, seizing, pulling or holding objects.

beaks 是“喙”； claws 是“爪子”。

Most of the roses are beginning to wither because of the cold.

wither 表示“枯萎”。

Inquiry-oriented ActivitiesInquiry-oriented Activities

探究活动探究活动

Can you guess the correct meanings of the following words?-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. There are some glaciers moving down the mountain valleys. A glacier is a river of ice. A. 雪山 B. 树枝 C. 冰河 D. 冰 2. He is a resolute man. Once he made up his mind to do something, he won’t give it up halfway. A. weak B. firm C. kind D. clever 3. Mr. Brown is now working at Princeton University far away from home. For this reason he has to rent a room near the office where he works. A. 租用 B. 借出 C. 购买 D. 参观

CC

AA

BB

4. The official asked the man what his occupation was.

The man told him that he worked as an engineer.

A. work B. study C. name D. interest

5. The old woman has a strange habit to keep over 100

cats in her house. Her neighbor all call her an eccentric

lady.

A. 爱猫的 B. 古怪的 C. 闲不住 D. 动物保护主义者6. In many countries there are two financial extremes,

from penury to great wealth.

A. 便士 B. 温饱 C. 非常贫困 D. 虚弱

AA

BB

CC

7. Mrs. Smith is loquacious while her husband is the

silent type.

A. 活泼的 B. 好动的 C. 多嘴多舌的 D. 可爱的 8. Those new comers were not used to the life in the

suburbs which was so different from that inside the city.

A. town B. capital C. countryside D. house

9. This boy is not stupid, on the contrary, no one could

be more intelligent.

A. 勤奋的 B. 愚蠢的 C. 聪明的 D. 情报

CC

CC

CC

10. Children are always boasting. They say things like

“My Dad’s car is much bigger than your Dad’s,” “My

Mom is much smarter than yours.” and “My family has

much more money than yours.”

The word “The word “boastingboasting” means _____.” means _____.

A. A. 骄傲 骄傲 B. B. 吹牛 吹牛 C. C. 顽皮 顽皮 D. D. 幼稚幼稚BB

同学们在做词义猜测题时注意不要脱离语境。有些常用词在特定的上下文中，或专业性文章中，具有特殊的或专门的词义。在解这类题时，必须仔细地研读划线部分的上下文，有时阅读的视野还要扩大一些。如果离开特定的语言环境来理解生词意义，必然会理解错误。

教师点评：

1. Definition 定义法

3. Similarity 相似法

2. Contrast 对比法

4. Cause and effect 因果法

5. Example 例举法

8. Common Sense 普通常识

6. Word Formation 构词法

猜

测

词

义7. Context 上下文

Homework:

运用今天所学到的解题方法，

完成《分类详解》专题十八猜测词义练习题。

Any comment is welcome.