根據《2010年新高考的考試說明》,新高考的英語試卷滿分共120分,而閱讀理解占了其中的50分。單從分值上,我們可以很明顯地看出閱讀理解的重要性。那么如何提高學生在閱讀理解題上的得分率就成了我們這些高三英語老師們必須要解決的幾個重大問題之一。而考試說明又對閱讀理解做了詳細的要求。根據上下文推斷詞義在歷年的高考試卷的閱讀理解中一般占4-6分,也就是2-3個題目。
一、 猜測詞義題目類型
1.對考綱內熟詞新義的猜測
I had first known she was wrong, that her anxiety had clouded her judgment. (04全國卷)
“cloud” means “_____________________.”
2.對代詞的猜測
The chances opened up by trade are vast, she argues, but free markets need the correcting force of politics to keep them in check.(06全國卷)
“them” refers to “________________.”
3.對句義的猜測
The biggest finding in brain research in the last ten years is that the brain at any age is highly plastic. If you ask your brain to learn, it will learn.(07四川卷)
By saying “the brain at any age is highly plastic”, the writer means the brain can be _____.
A. used B. mastered C. developed D. researched
4.對考綱外生詞的猜測
Many United Nations employees are polyglots: Mr. Jim, for example, speaks five languages fluently.
“polyglot” most probably means “_______________.”
二、 常見的猜測詞義題設問方式
1.The underlined word is closest in meaning to the word…? (07上海卷)
2.We can learn from the underlined part… that…(06遼寧卷)
3.Which of the following best explains the meaning of the word… as it is used in the text?(03全國卷)
4.By saying…, the author means to say that…(07 四川卷)
5.The underlined sentence in… paragraph implies/ refers to/ means …
三、 解題策略
策略一:根據生活常識
生活常識是指一般人通過生活實踐而學會的知識,而有些猜測詞義題我們就可以根據生活中所積累的常識來做題。例如:
1.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.
“beak” here means ______________.
根據常識我們知道,鳥用翅膀飛翔,用喙來叼起食物,并且吃掉食物。所以這個題目我們可以很容易的猜測出來“beak”指的是鳥的嘴巴,也就是喙。
策略二:根據邏輯聯系
邏輯聯系包括:定義關系,對比關系,因果關系,類比關系,同位語關系等等。
1.Mr. Smith loves to talk, and his wife is similarly loquacious.
這個題目屬于同義關系,由句中的詞“similarly”(類似地)可得知。又有前文的關鍵短語“love to talk”,得知“loquacious”應該是和“love to talk”具有相近的意義,因此我們可以得出“loquacious”指的是愛說話的意思。常見表示同義關系的信號詞: and ,or ,such as, like,for example, for instance等。
2.It will be very hard but also very brittle——that is, it will break easily.
3.The herdsman, who looks after sheep, earns about 650yuan a year.
4.A calendar is a list of the days, weeks, months of a particular year.
5.We are on the night shift ——from midnight to 8 a.m.——this week.
這幾個題目是屬于定義或釋義關系。第2題中,有個關鍵的短語“that is”(也就是說)。可得知“brittle”的意思就是“that is ”后面的句子“it will break easily”,就是易碎的。第3題中,有一個定語從句“who looks after sheep”,這也就告訴我們“herdsman”的意思是牧羊人。第4題中,有個關鍵詞“is”(是)。所以后面的短語“a list of the days, weeks, months of a particular year”也就是“calendar”的意思,日歷。第5題中有兩個破折號,這是對“night shift”意思的解釋,所以它的意思就是“from midnight to 8 a.m.”,夜班。常見表示定義或釋義關系的信號詞:定語從句,同位語,冒號,破折號, is,or,that is (to say), in other words,be called,be known as, be defined as等。
策略三:根據上下文,猜測詞義。
有時候在一個單獨的句子中很難猜測出一個生詞的意思,但如果我們把這個句子同它的前后幾個句子聯系起來就能夠輕松而準確地猜測出這個詞的意義來。如:
1.Jane is usually prompt.
A.late B.on time C.pleased
單從這一個句子我們很難猜測出“prompt”的意思。但如果再給它一些信息,就能夠明確一點。如:Jane is usually prompt for her classes.這個句子得到的信息比第一個句子要豐富一些,但還是不夠,于是就有了第三個句子:
Jane is usually prompt for all her classes,but she arrived in the middle of her first class.
由這個句子我們就能夠準確地猜測出來“prompt”的意思是準時的,所以答案選C。這個策略就要求學會看文章時,不能夠一個句一個句子獨立開來看而要結合相關的幾個句子甚至是一個段落,來得出作者要表達的準確意思,從而能夠準確地猜測出某個生詞的意思。
結束語
猜測詞義的能力不僅在考試時很重要,就連我們平時閱讀英語文章時也很用。有些學生在讀英語文章時,一碰到生詞就去查詞典。一旦養成這樣的習慣,在平時閱讀時就會特別地去注意那些不認識的詞,這樣就會減慢了閱讀速度。而我們要求學生對于那些不影響閱讀的生詞要選擇忽略,而不是逐個去查詞典。如果長期依賴詞典,在考試的過程會因沒有詞典而產生心理恐懼,從而對作題也會產生不好的影響。因此培養學生們能根據語境去猜測生詞的意思是一個刻不容緩的任務。
參考文獻
[1]教育部:《2009年浙江省普通高考考試說明(英語)》,2008年12月.
[2]《英語單詞構詞法研究》.
[3]楊曙霞:《How to guess unknown words 》, JOURNAL OF HEBEI INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTURAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY(EDITION OF SOCIAL SCIENCE), 2006年 .