1 類屬法
即通過類屬來推測(cè)詞義。如:
■ Bananas,oranges, pineapples, coconuts and some other kinds of fruit grow in warm areas.
(資料圖片僅供參考)
說明:從句意我們知道pineapples和coconuts與bananas,oranges是同類事物,同屬水果(準(zhǔn)確地說是“菠蘿”和“椰子”)。
2 推理法
即根據(jù)文章的前后語境推出生詞的詞義。如:
■That museum is so immense that it will be impossible to see all the exhibits in one day.
說明:既然一天之內(nèi)看不完所有的展品,那么immense的意思應(yīng)該是“很大”了。
■Everyone agreed that the woman in the photo was gorgeous. It was easy to see why she had won the beauty contest.
說明:既然“她在選美比賽中獲勝”,說明她“很美麗”(gorgeous)。
3 列舉法
即通過對(duì)文章所列舉的事物來猜測(cè)生詞的詞義。如:
■Children like such creatures as dogs and monkeys.
說明:像dogs 和 monkeys 之類的“creatures”,顯然creatures的意思應(yīng)是“動(dòng)物”。
■In your spare time, you may look through any of these periodicals:Time Magazine, News Week, or The New Worker.
說明:periodical是生詞,但根據(jù)其后所列舉的例子,我們可以推測(cè)出它的意思可能是“期刊”或“雜志”。
4 構(gòu)詞法
即根據(jù)前綴、后綴、復(fù)合、派生等構(gòu)詞知識(shí)判斷生詞的詞義。如:
■Overwork may cause diseases.
說明:前綴over- 的意思是“過分的,過量的”,故 overwork的意思應(yīng)為“工作過度”。
■There was a dissatisfied look in the manager’s eyes.
說明:satisfied的意思是“滿意的”,前綴dis- 的意思是“不”,故dissatisfied 的意思應(yīng)該是“不滿意的”。
5 對(duì)比法
即根據(jù)文章前后的對(duì)比關(guān)系確定生詞的詞義。如:
■He had been getting better, but during the night his condition deteriorated .
說明:句中的but 表明deteriorate 應(yīng)該與get better 的意思相反,即“惡化”。
■In many countries there are two financial extremes, from penury to great wealth.
說明:上文說兩個(gè)經(jīng)濟(jì)上的極端,那么下文中penury應(yīng)與great wealth 相對(duì),即表示“貧困”。
■Mrs.Smith is loquacious while her husband is the silent type.
說明:while表對(duì)比,意為“而”,所以loquacious 應(yīng)是silent 的反義,即“多嘴的”。
■If you agree, draw a circle; and a cross if you dissent.
說明:既然畫圈表示同意,那么畫叉便是“不同意”(dissent)。
6 同位法
同位語是對(duì)所修飾詞語的進(jìn)一步說明和解釋,若對(duì)所修飾的詞語不熟悉,可通過其后同位語的“說明或解釋”來確定其詞義。如:
His father is an expert in phonetics, the study of the sounds of language.
說明:同位語 the study of the sounds of language 表示 phonetics 的意思應(yīng)該是“語音學(xué)”
Jean was born with spina bifida, a birth illness that damages the spine(脊骨).
說明:同位語 a birth illness that damages the spine 表明了spin abifida 是種病,一種對(duì)脊骨有損害的病。
7 釋義法
即根據(jù)文章中所提供的釋義關(guān)系來確定生詞的詞義。如:
They described him as a loon, or a mad man.
說明:句中的or 是對(duì)loon的解釋,即loon與a mad man同義,即表示“瘋“。
It will be very hard but also very brittle, that is, it will break easily.
說明:句中的 that is 表明 it will break easily 是對(duì)brittle 的解釋,從而猜測(cè)出其意為“脆”。
The herds man, who looks after sheep, earns about 500 yuan a year.
說明:定語從句who looks after sheep 表明herdsman 的詞義為“牧人”。
■There are three kinds of snow. One kind is a fluffy snow that is somewhat dry and feathery?
說明:定語從句that is somewhat dry and feathery(有點(diǎn)兒干、像羽毛似的)表明 fluffy snow 的意思可能是“鵝毛大雪”。
8 常識(shí)法
即根據(jù)普通常識(shí)推測(cè)生詞的詞義。如:
It’ s said that Bill Gates is the most affluent person in the world.
說明:根據(jù)常識(shí),Bill Gates 為世界首富,所以a fluent 可能是“富有的“。
As a scientist, Edison is very famous for his contrivances.
說明:根據(jù)常識(shí),Edison為發(fā)明大王,他應(yīng)因“發(fā)明”而聞名于世。