阅读交流--如何掌握猜词技巧（续）

语境线索或上下文

       即利用语境来推测生词含义的方法。这是我们用来推测词义的主要方法之一。

例一： Here are some simple ways to beat the stress of modern life.

    Don’t be available all the time. Turn off your mobile phone at certain times of the day. Don’t check your e-mail every day. Don’t reply to somebody as soon as they leave a text message just because you can. It may be fun at first, but it soon gets annoying.

       根据语境我们知道available的词义为“可与之交谈的”或“有空的”。

例二： We found the bar at last. I didn’t have to ask again because of the huge letters over the window -- Star Bar. There were some iron tables outside with plastic chairs around them. A few people listlessly sat looking at a portable television set that someone had brought out of the bar. They were all in thin summer dresses or short sleeved-shirts; even at that late hour it was stifling. Two thin dogs lay under one of the tables with their tongues out, and some of the women were fanning themselves unenthusiastically (无精打采地) with magazines.

       根据语境我们猜出stifling的词义为“极热的”。

同义词的替代关系

例一： Although he often had the opportunity, Mr. Tritt never stole money from a customer. This would have endangered his position at the bank, and he didn’t want to jeopardize his future.

       为避免重复使用endanger一词， 用同义词jeopardize来替代它, 我们推知jeopardize词义为“使陷入危险，危及，危害”。

       利用主系表结构来猜词主系表结构的句子有两种功能：一是说明主语的形状和特征；二是主语和表语是同位关系。

例一： To malign someone is to slander an innocent person. 

       表语意为“诽谤无辜的人”， 那样主语就是“中伤，诽谤”的意思。

生活常识

       根据日常生活中的常识和相关的背景知识，大胆想像，合理发挥，推测出生词的含义。

例一： Warm-blooded desert animals such as rats and mice rest during the day, often in cool underground burrows.

       根据常识我们知道鼠类一般藏在洞里，因此生词burrows的意思为“地洞，洞穴”。

构词法

       英语词汇的构词法主要有三种：派生，合成，转化构词。我们主要利用派生构词来推断生词的含义。一般来说，前缀改变词根的意思；后缀改变词性。

常见的前缀有：

    super- 超……
    mini- 小型的……
    re- 再，又……
    pre- 前
    fore- 前

后缀有：

    -ment 名词的后缀
    -less 不，无
    -proof 防……的

例句： Remember that people online may not be who they seem. Because you can’t see or even hear the person, it is easy for someone to misrepresent himself or herself. Someone who says “I’m a 12-year-old girl” could in fact be a much older man or woman.

       根据语境和misrepresent的构词方式， 前缀mis-的意思是“误，错的”，词根represent的意思是“表达，展示”之意, 合在一起我们知道misrepresent的词义为“误述，歪曲”。

文中代词指代的推测

       一般来说它实际指代的对象在含有代词的句子前半部分或前一句话。我们把它叫做“前指”。

例一： The book contained a significant number of clues to help readers find the hare but the author put in many “red herrings,” or false clues, to mislead the reader.

       根据语境them指代上文的readers。

       虽然掌握一些猜词技巧能帮助我们猜测词义，但是我们不能只依靠这些，最重要的还是掌握全篇文章。