劉思宇

高考試卷閱讀理解題設(shè)置的一個重要原則就是必須含有一定量的生詞，而根據(jù)上下文猜測詞義是提高閱讀水平的重要途徑。如何通過語言環(huán)境和上下文聯(lián)系，再結(jié)合正確的方法快速而準(zhǔn)確地猜測出生詞，對閱讀理解和做好考題相當(dāng)重要。當(dāng)然，猜測生詞還可以通過派生、分解、轉(zhuǎn)換、加減前后綴等方法來獲取生詞的詞義。

[根據(jù)定義猜詞義]

文中常用解釋性詞語引出生詞含義，如that is，mean，stand for，namely，in other words，to be等，有時用破折號，括號來表示，或者以同位語、定語從句的形式出現(xiàn)。

例1 Have you ever wondered what a Degree might be worth to you in your job or career？

解析 這里or表示job與career同義，所以career譯為職業(yè)較妥。

例2 Decision-thinking is not unlike poker....This card game has often been of considerable interest to people.

解析 從后面句子的解釋不難看出，poker應(yīng)是一種玩紙牌游戲。This card game就是poker的解釋。

例3 The herdsman， who looks after sheep， earns about 650 yuan a year.

解析 句中herdsman是生詞，但后面的定語從句已對該詞作了解釋，我們馬上就能理解它的詞義。

[根據(jù)同義詞猜詞義]

例4 He replied quickly. But after he considered the problem more carefully， he regretted having made such a hasty decision.

解析 句中hasty是生詞，根據(jù)上文所提供的信息所知，hasty是形容詞，與quick同義。

例5 The old woman had a strange habit. She kept over 100 cats in her house. Her neighbors all called her eccentric lady.

解析 句中eccentric是生詞，根據(jù)句中所提供的信息，我們可以斷定該詞是形容詞，與strange是同義。

[根據(jù)反義詞猜詞義]

例6 David does not see it that way. He says that computertown UK was formed for just the opposite reason， to bring computers to people and make them “people-literate”.

We can infer from the text that “computer-literate” means .

A. being able to afford a computer

B. being able to write computer programs

C. working with the computer and finding out its value

D. understanding the computer and knowing how to use it

解析 D。句中的computer-literate是生詞，根據(jù)文中所提供的信息，同學(xué)們可以斷定computer-literate與people-literate相反。

例7 Unlike his brother， who is truly handsome man， John is quite homely.

解析 句中unlike是關(guān)鍵詞。它提示了John與他的兄弟情況相反。由此可知handsome與homely是反義詞。故homely應(yīng)是ordinary-looking的意思。

[根據(jù)因果關(guān)系猜詞義]

如果上下文中有連詞because，as，since，so，therefore，so ... that，such ... that連接，由已知的“原因”推出“結(jié)果”，反之亦然。

例8 The biggest power failure happened yesterday. All of our ice cream and frozen foods melted.

解析 同學(xué)們可以從停電的原因上猜出冰淇淋、冷凍食品化冰的必然結(jié)果，因此melted是“溶化”之意。

例9 There， his sister and brother， taking short and quick breaths and coughing， collapsed on the lawn.

解析 文中的兄妹二人呼吸忽急忽緩，且咳個不停，最終的結(jié)果只能是“癱倒”在草坪上了。上半句是出現(xiàn)的現(xiàn)象，導(dǎo)致結(jié)果是“癱倒”在地。

[根據(jù)對比關(guān)系猜詞義]

如果句中兩個意義相對比的詞，只要把握其中一詞，就不難推出另一詞的含義，這時句中會有unlike，although，but，while等信息詞。

例10 Thousands of people got stuck in lifts. But no one panicked. We passed the time telling stories.

解析 panicked為生詞，數(shù)千人困在電梯中，情況應(yīng)該不妙，可but引出的后半句卻告訴我們“人們還在講故事消磨時間”，因此panicked應(yīng)為“慌張、恐懼”之意。

例11 One idea about business is that it can be treated as a game of perfect information. Quite the reverse， business， politics， life itself are games which we must normally play with very imperfect information.

解析 由前句中perfect information到后面imperfect information這一組對比關(guān)系的詞，我們不難推斷生詞Quite the reverse應(yīng)表示“對比、相反”的意思。

[根據(jù)同類關(guān)系猜詞義]

同類關(guān)系常由such as，like，for example，for instance等詞列舉同類詞匯。

例12 I like many musical instruments such as piano， violin and guitar.

解析 Guitar與鋼琴、小提琴同屬樂器，結(jié)合發(fā)音可知其含義為“吉他”。

例13 One morning more than thirty years ago， I entered the Track Kitchen， a restaurant where everyone from the humblest （卑微的） to the most powerful came for breakfast. I noticed an empty chair next to an elderly， unshaven man， who looked somewhat disheveled. He was wearing a worn-out hat and was alone. I asked if I might join him. He agreed quietly and I sat down to have my breakfast.

We cautiously began a conversation and spoke about a wide rang of things. We never introduced ourselves. I was concerned that he might have no money and not be able to afford something to eat. So as I rose to go back to the counter and buy a second cup of coffee， I asked，

“My I get you something？” “A coffee would be nice.”

Then I bought him a cup of coffee， We talked more， and he accepted another cup of coffee， Finally， I rose to leave， wished him well， and headed for the exit. At the door I met one of my friends. He asked，

“How did you get to know Mr. Galbreath？”“Who？”

“The man you were sitting with. He is chairman of the Board of Churchill Downs.”

I could hardly believe it. I was buying， offering a free breakfast， and feeling pity for one of the worlds richest and most powerful men！

My few minutes with Mr. Galbreath changed my life. Now I try to treat everyone with respect， no matter who I think they are， and no matter another human being with kindness and sincerity.

What does the underlined word “disheveled”in paragraph 1 mean？

A. Unfriendly B. Untidy

C. Gentle D. Kind

解析 B。前面的unshaven（不剃須的）和后面的wearing a worn-out hat and was alone都是對外貌的描寫，所以可以猜測此處仍然是對外貌的描寫，untidy（不修邊幅的、邋遢的）符合語境。

[根據(jù)構(gòu)詞法猜詞義]

在閱讀過程中，同學(xué)們還會碰到一些熟詞的派生詞和合成詞，如果平時注意詞綴的用法，有意識地進(jìn)行歸納記憶，考試時就會順利抓住文章大意。

有一道高考英語閱讀英語題，僅recycle一詞，下文就出現(xiàn)了4個派生詞：recyclables，unrecyclables，nonrecyclables，recycled。分別譯為“可回收利用的材料”，“不可回收利用的材料”，“無法回收利用的材料”，“被回收利用的材料”。

利用構(gòu)詞法知識猜測詞義，關(guān)鍵應(yīng)在理解詞根的基礎(chǔ)上，掌握前后綴規(guī)律，如re-，non-，un-，im-，in-，dis-等前綴和-able，-an，-ive，-ist，-ise，-ty，-ness，-less等，要懂得這些詞綴與詞干結(jié)合起來可組成新的單詞，即派生詞。近年高考試卷中出現(xiàn)的派生詞，如imperfect，yellowish，popularity，inexpensive，rethink，unmistakable等。

[根據(jù)上下文猜詞義]

高考試題中，還有一些要求同學(xué)們用上下文提供的情景和線索猜測詞義的題目。

例14 What did Cory Luxmoore mean when he said “Im on high”？

A. Im rich B. Im famous

C. Im excited D. Lucky

解析 C。從文中可以看出Cory Luxmoore丟失日記后，深感難過，后來日記失而復(fù)得，他對記者說Its wonderful， Im on high. 由此可以推斷出Im on high應(yīng)是“快樂，激動”的意思。

例15 The words “deluxe sedans”“minivans” and “station wagons” used in the text refer to .

A. cars in the making B. car rental firms

C. cars for rent D. car makers

解析 C。通過上下文，可判斷出這些詞應(yīng)指cars for rent。

例16 Thousands of people living in the Chinese capital will celebrate the start of the Chinese New year by heading for the ski resorts （滑雪場）. Never mind that Beijings dry weather seldom produces snow. It is cold enough in winter for snow-making machines to make a covering for the hills north to the capital. And the rapid growth of a pleasure-seeking middle class has formed the basis for this new craze （熱潮）.

Since Beijings first ski resort was opened ten years ago， the sport has enjoyed astonishing increase. There are now more than a dozen resorts. Clothes markets in the city have added bright colored ski suits to their winter collections. Mr. Wei， a manager of a newly-opened ski resort in Beijing， sees the growth of an industry that could soon lead Chinese to head for the ski resorts of Europe， In recent years ski resorts offering natural snow have opened in China. But many are in faraway areas of the country and cant really match the equipment and services of some ski resorts in Europe.

Beijings skiing craze is partly a result of the recent increase in private （私有的） cars. This has led to the growth of a leisure industry in the capitals suburbs （郊區(qū)）， which until the late-1990s were unreachable to ordinary people， According to Mr. Wei， about 40% of the visitors to his resort come in their own cars. The rest are bused in by schools， businesses or government Offices.

The problem is making money. Starting ski resorts requires quite a lot of money； hiring land from the local government， preparing the hills， buying snow machines， making sure there are enough water and electricity to run them， and buying ski equipment for hiring out to customers.

The ski resort where Mr. Wei works cost nearly $4m to set up. And as so often in China when someone comes up with a good idea， many others hash in and price wars break out. Beijing now offers some of the cheapest ski training classes in the world， though with most people rather new to the sport， expecting a few more doing the same job.

The underlined words “l(fā)eisure industry” in Paragraph 3 refer to .

A. transport to ski resorts

B. production of family cars

C. business of providing spare time enjoyments

D part-time work for people living in the suburbs

解析 C。根據(jù)上下文關(guān)系，文章第三段最后一句“bout 40% of the visitors to his resort come in their own cars. The rest are bused in by schools， businesses or government Offices.”可推知：滑雪運(yùn)動的開始催生了給人們提供休閑活動這一生意。