根據上下文猜測詞義八大技巧

在閱讀中，我們往往會遇到一些不認識的單詞或短語，或者認識的單詞在文章中有了新的意義，這時，我們就必須根據上下文對它們的意義進行猜測，使之不影響對文章的理解。需要注意的是，一個單詞通常有好幾個意思，然而我們要解決的是這些詞在文中所表達的意思。因此，不可脫離上下文，只根據自己以前了解的詞義來確定其意義。那么如何在特定的語言環境下猜測詞義呢？通常，猜測詞義可采用以下幾種方法：

一、利用同義詞、近義詞猜測詞義

作者可能會用一個同義詞或者近義詞去解釋另一個更難的詞，以便使他的文字意思更清楚，同義詞或近義詞往往出現在同一句或者同一段落中。如：

1. Doctors believe that smoking is detrimental to people’s health. They also regard drinking as harmful.

由下文的also，可以推斷出“detrimental”的意思為harmful， 即“有害的”。

2. All the other members are of the same opinion. They are unanimous.

unanimous與of the same opinion同義，可猜為“一致同意的”。

3. I see people， old and young alike， are now taking tests of intelligence， education and skill. I wonder why there is not test of one’s virtue or goodness.

句中or后的goodness解釋了virtue，其意為“善行”。

4. 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.

文中enormous 的詞義可猜測為與so large 的意思相近。

5. One of the predominant concerns today is the future of our natural resources. This issue is of greatest importance because it is becoming clear to many people that our present resources will not last forever.

文中predominant的詞義可猜測為與of greatest importance的意思相近。

二、利用文中的反義詞猜測詞義

表示對比或相反的詞有unlike; instead; but; while; however; otherwise; on the other hand等。如：

1. Unlike her gregarious sister， Jane is a shy person， who does not like to go to parties， or to make new friends.

根據文中Unlike的意思，a shy person， who does not like to go to parties， or to make new friends表達了“gregarious”相反的意思，所以gregarious的意思為“好交際的”。

2. Most of them agreed; however， John dissented.

通過however與agreed對比，很容易得到dissented的意思為“反對”。

3. Jane was talking with others while Bliza remained reticent all the time.

根據while的提示， 前后對照， reticent的含義是\"沉默寡言的\"。

4. American businessmen expect employees to be punctual. They do not expect that the workers will come late.

文中punctual的意思， 可理解為not come late， 即“準時，不遲到”。

三、利用文中定義、解釋或舉例猜測詞義

通過定義，定語從句，同位語來確定詞義，如詞或詞組 (is; was; mean; that is; that’s to say;or; namely; in other words; to put it another way; i.e.， such as; like; especially; for instance; for example)。例如：

1. In some cultures， certain foods are taboo. Taboo is a word from the language of the Fiji Islands， used to describe something forbidden.

根據對Tatoo的解釋，可猜測Taboo為“禁忌”。

2. An expedition is a long， organized trip or journey， which is made into an unfamiliar area for a particular purpose by a group of people.

句中which引導的定語從句進一步解釋了expedition之意為“探險；遠征隊”。

3. Tom was a roamer， a wanderer who could never stay in one place.

句中roamer的意思，可通過其后的同位語wander可猜得是“流浪漢”。……