解答词义猜测题的五种方法

李华军

阅读文章时，常常会遇到一些过去未见过的单词和短语，但许多这类词语的含义可以通过上下文推断出来。这种不使用词典而通过阅读上下文来推断词语含义的能力，是一个合格的读者必须具备的能力，因此也是阅读理解部分经常考查的一种能力。从历年已考过的单词或词组来看，既可以考查超纲词的含义、也可考查熟词生义。

自2014年以来，16套全国卷共出现16道题考查词义猜测，即每年每套题考查1道题。

一、常见提问方式

1. What does the underlined word /phrase“...”in paragraph ... refer to？

2. What does the underlined word /phrase“...”in paragraph ... probably mean？

3. What do the underlined words“...”in paragraph ... mean？

4. Which of the following best explains“...”underlined in paragraph ...？

5. What is“...”in the last paragraph？

6. What does the author mean by“...”in paragraph ...

7. Which of the following can（best）replace the underlined word/phrase“...”in Paragraph ...？

8. What does that term“...”in the text mean？

9. The underlined word“...”probably refers to ________.

10. In the last paragraph“...”probably means ______.

二、具體解题方法

1. 上下文语境法

利用上下文提供的语境和线索进行合乎逻辑的综合分析，从而推断词义。

[经典例题]（2019年全国Ⅰ卷B篇）

But hes nervous.“Im here to tell you today why you should ... should ...”Chris trips on the“-ld，”a pronunciation difficulty for many non-native English speakers. His teacher， Thomas Whaley， is next to him， whispering support.“... Vote for ... me ...”Except for some stumbles， Chris is doing amazingly well. When he brings his speech to a nice conclusion， Whaley invites the rest of the class to praise him.

What does the underlined word“stumbles”in paragraph 2 refer to？

A. Improper pauses.            B. Bad manners.

C. Spelling mistakes.           D. Silly jokes.

思路点拨：由前文中的“Im here to tell you today why you should ... should ...”及 “... Vote for ... me ...”可知，由于紧张，Chris在演讲过程中打结巴，出现了多处停顿，而这些停顿显然是不恰当的，故选A项。Bad manners（没有礼貌）、Spelling mistakes（拼写错误）、Silly jokes（愚蠢的笑话）明显不符合文意。

2. 定义法

考生可根据对需要猜测其含义的单词或词组后的定义来推断其含义，或通过破折号、冒号、括号、定语从句或同位语从句等方式进行的解释说明来推断其含义。常见的标志词有：in other words， that is， that is to say等。

[经典例题]（2017年天津卷C篇）

The proposal attempts to deal with what some call the “death valley”of autonomous vehicles（自动驾驶车辆）：the grey area between semi-autonomous and fully driverless cars that could delay the driverless future.

What does the phrase“death valley”in Paragraph 2 refer to？

A. A place where cars often break down.

B. A case where passing a law is impossible.

C. An area where no driving is permitted.

D. A situation where drivers role is not clear.

思路点拨：冒号后面的内容是对death valley的解释：death valley指的是半自动驾驶和全自动驾驶汽车之间的灰色地带（界限不明，难以界定的领域），即“驾驶员角色不明确的情形”，故选D项。

3. 举例法

如果需要猜测的单词或词组后有具体的例子，考生可以根据这些例子来理解该词的词义。常见的表示举例的标志词有：like， such as， for instance， for example等。

[经典例题]（2014年江西卷D篇）

However， at the back of the minds of many people， especially those who missed the“good old days”，efficiency comes with a price. When communication becomes efficient， people are able to contact one another no matter where they are and at whatever time they wish to. The click of a button allows people miles apart to talk or to see each other without even leaving their homes. With the communication gadgets， such as mobile phones and ipads， people often do not take the effect to visit one another personally. A personal visit carries with it the additional feature of having to be in the persons presence for as long as the visit lasts. We cannot unnecessarily excuse ourselves or turn the other person off.

The underlined word“gadgets”is closest in meaning to _______.

A. tools       B. messages       C. barriers       D. skills

思路點拨：由划线词后的“such as mobile phones and ipads”可知，gadgets指的是“工具”，故选A项。

4. 逻辑法

（1） 并列关系

利用并列成分意思的相近性猜测词义。

[例3]（2019年全国Ⅲ卷B篇）

“China is impossible to overlook，”says Hill.“Chinese models are the faces of beauty and fashion campaigns that sell dreams to women all over the world， which means Chinese women are not just consumers of fashion—they are central to its movement.”Of course， not only are todays top Western designers being influenced by China—some of the best designers of contemporary fashion are themselves Chinese.“Vera Wang， Alexander Wang， Jason Wu are taking on Galliano， Albaz， Marc Jacobs—and beating them hands down in design and sales，”adds Hill.

What do the underlined words“taking on”in paragraph 4 mean？

A. learning from               B. looking down on

C. working with                D. competing against

思路点拨：由下文的“and beating them hands down in design and sales”可知，Vera Wang， Alexander Wang， Jason Wu在设计和销售方面击败他们。由此可推断，taking on一词应该是“与……竞争”之意，故选D项。

（2） 因果关系

由原因推断结果，或由结果推断原因。常见的标志词有：because， so， for等。

[经典例题]（2016年全国Ⅲ卷C篇）

There are also varieties developed to suit specific local conditions. One of the very best varieties for eating quality is Orleans Reinette， but youll need a warm， sheltered place with perfect soil to grow it， so its a pipe dream for most apple lovers who fall for it.

What does the underlined phrase“a pipe dream”in Paragraph 3 mean？

A. A practical idea.    B. A vain hope.

C. A brilliant plan.    D. A selfish desire.

思路点拨：句意为：“Orleans Reinette是味道最好的品种之一，但是，因为你需要一个温暖又隐蔽的环境，且要有良好的土壤，才可以种植它，所以对大多数喜欢它的苹果爱好者来说，它只是a pipe dream”，由因（种植条件苛刻）推果（想种种不了），那就只能是“白日梦”了，故选B项。

（3） 转折关系

考生可利用前后的转折关系猜测词义。常见的表示转折的标志词有：but， however， although/though， while（然而），on the contrary等。

[经典例题]（2017年全国Ⅲ卷C篇）

Gray wolves once were seen here and there in the Yellowstone area and much of the continental United States， but they were gradually displaced by human development. By the 1920s， wolves had practically disappeared from the Yellowstone area. They went farther north into the deep forests of Canada， where there were fewer humans around.

What does the underlined word“displaced”in paragraph 2 mean？

A. Tested   B. Separated.   C. Forced out.  D. Tracked down.

思路点拨：画线词的前一分句说“灰狼曾经在黄石地区和大部分美洲大陆上随处可见”，由but话锋一转，“但是由于人类的发展，它们渐渐地_____”。渐渐地怎么了？由后句可知“到20世纪20年代灰狼在黄石地区几乎消失了，它们去了人口稀少的加拿大森林了”，可见灰狼是因人类的发展而“被迫离开（forced out）”美洲大陆去了更远的北方加拿大，故选C项。

（4）对比关系

利用两个事物或现象的对比性描述来猜测其中某个生词的词义。

[经典例题]（2013年北京卷A篇）

The advanced EP also heats the room evenly， wall to wall and floor to ceiling. It comfortably covers an area up to 350 square feet. Other heaters heat rooms unevenly with most of the heat concentrated to the center of the room. And they only heat an area a few feet around the heater. With the EP， the temperature will not vary in any part of the room.

What does the underlined word“evenly”in Paragraph 4 probably mean？

A. Continuously.            B. Separately.

C. Quickly.                   D. Equally.

思路點拨：由“Other heaters heat rooms unevenly with most of the heat concentrated to the center of the room.”可知，其他取暖器只能使大部分热量集中在房间中央，换言之，其他取暖器只能让房间局部受热，而EP取暖器可以让房间“均匀”受热，故选D项。

（5）条件关系

最为常见的是由If引导的条件状语从句。

[经典例题]（2018年全国Ⅱ卷B篇）

If you have a juicer， you can simply feed in frozen bananas and some berries or sliced fruit. Out comes a“soft-serve”creamy dessert， to be eaten right away. This makes a fun activity for a childrens party; they love feeding the fruit and frozen bananas into the top of the machine and watching the ice cream come out below.

What is“a juicer”in the last paragraph？