在阅读中我们经常会遇到许多生词。这时许多同学立即翻阅词典，查找词义。这样做不但费时费力，而且影响阅读速度、影响对语篇的整体把握。事实上，阅读材料中的每个词与它前后的词语或句子甚至段落都有联系。我们可以利用语境（各种已知信息）推测、判断某些生词的词义。近年来全国统一高考中加大了对考生猜词义能力的考查，因此，掌握一定的猜词技巧，对突破高考阅读理解、提高我们的英语语言能力都有非常重要的意义。
常见的题干有：
1) Which of the following is the closest in meaning to the word？
2) The word... could best be replaced by.
3) In the... paragraph, the word... means (refers to).
4) According to the passage,... probably means.
5) The author uses the word... to mean.
猜测词义时，一般可利用以下四个方面的线索：
一是针对性的解释
针对性解释是作者为了更好的表达思想，在文章中对一些重要的概念、难懂的术语或高深的词汇等所做的通俗化的解释。这些解释提供的信息明确具体，所使用的语言通俗易
懂，利用它们来猜测词义就非常简单。
1.根据定义（definition）猜测词义
如果生词有一个句子（定语从句或是同位语<同位语前常有 or, similarly, that is to say, in other words, namely, or other, say, i.g. 等>或是同位语从句）或段落来定义,或使用破折号，冒号，分号后的内容和引号括号中的内容加以解释和定义，那么理解这个句子或段落本身就是推断词义。定义常用的谓语动词多为：be, mean, deal with, be considered, to be, be called, define, represent, refer to, signify 等。
例1.Do you know what a “territory” is ? A territory is an area that an animal ,usually the male, claims（声称）as its own.（2005年湖北卷）
[分析]由定义可推知，这里territory指的是：“动物的地盘”。
例2.In fact, only about 80 ocelots, an endangered wild cat, exist in the U.S. today．（2005年浙江卷）
[分析]由同位语an endangered wild cat我们很快猜出生词ocelots的义域：一种濒临灭绝野猫。
例3. Here is The Pines ,whose cook has developed a special way of mixing foreign food such as caribou ,wild boar ,and reindeer with surprising sauces . （2004年福建卷）
According to the passage ,The Pines is a .
A．place in which you can see many mobile homes
B．mountain where you can get a good view of the valley
C．town which happens to be near the Banff National Park
D．restaurant where you can ask for some special kinds of food
[分析]通过whose引导的定语从句，我们可以推测到：The Pines 是一家餐馆的名字，由此不难推出理解题的答案为：D。
2.根据举例猜测词义
恰当的举例能够提供猜测生词的重要线索。
例4. The course gives you chances to know great power polities between nation states. It will provide more space to study particular issues such as relationship among countries in the European Union, third world debt, local and international disagreement, and the work of such international bodies as the United Nations, the European Union, NATO, and the World Bank.（2004年辽宁卷）
[分析]根据such as 后面列举的一系列例子，我们应该能推断出句中的issue 是指“议题”。
二是内在逻辑关系
根据内在逻辑关系推测词义是指应用语言知识分析和判断相关信息之间存在的逻辑关系，然后根据逻辑联系推断生词词义或大致义域。
1.根据对比、比较关系猜测词义
在一个句子或段落中，有对两个事物或现象进行对比性的描述，我们可以根据生词的反义词猜测其词义。表示对比关系的词汇和短语主要有：unlike, not, but, however, despite, in spite of, in contrast 等。 表示对比关系的句子结构：while 引导的并列句。同对比关系相反，比较关系表示意义上的相似关系。表示比较关系的词和短语主要有：similarly, like, just as, also, as well as 等。
例5.A child’s birthday party doesn’t have to be a hassle; it can be a basket of fun.
What does the underlined word “hassle” (paragraph 1) probably mean? （2002年NMET）
A.a party designed by specialists B.a plan requiring careful thought
C.a situation causing difficulty or trouble D.a demand made by guests
[分析]根据对比关系，这里hassle 和 a basket of fun 是相反的意义，很容易判断理解题的答案为C。
例6.Green loves to talk, and his brothers are similarly loquacious.
该句中副词similarly表明短语loves to talk和loquacious 之间的比较关系，其意义相近。由此我们可推断出loquacious的意思是“健谈的”。
2.根据因果关系猜测词义
在句子或段落中，若两个事物现象之间构成因果关系，我们可以根据这种逻辑关系推测生词词义。
例7.feel that since you are my superior , it would be presumptuous of me to tell you what to do .”
（2005年上海卷）
The word “presumptuous” in the middle of the passage is closest in meaning to “ ” .
A．full of respect B．too confident and rude C．lacking in experience D．too shy and quiet
[分析]根据since 引导的原因状语从句的内容（“既然你是我的上司”），我们可以推断这里presumptuous的意思是：“冒失的，放肆的”意思，后半句的意思是：我告诉你怎么做会是一种放肆/冒失的行为。对应的理解题答案为：B。
例8.Pruning is important because it encourages the growth of tender shoots,or young leaves.（2005年江西卷）
根据原因状语从句的内容，我们可以判断Pruning的意思是：“修剪（树枝等）”的意思。
3.根据说明、并列、同等同义近义、、反义等关系猜测词义
在句子或段落中，我们可以利用熟悉的词语，根据语言环境所表面的关系猜测词义。
例9.William Shakespeare said. “The web of our life is of a mingled yarn（纱线），good and ill together.” （2005年江苏卷）
The underlined word “mingled” in the last paragraph most probably means .
A．simple B．mixed C．sad D．happy
[分析]句中good and ill together 更具体地说明了a mingled yarn的意义，据此我们不难推测mingled的意思是：“混合的，交织的”。
例10.Is it possible to beat high blood pressure without drugs ? The answer is “yes”, according to the researchers at Johns Hopkins and three other medical centers. （2004年湖北卷）
[分析]根据and three other medical centers 这种并列关系，我们很容易推断出：Johns Hopkins是一家医疗中心。
例11.There is no reason to insult and defame the man simply because you do
not agree with him.
[分析]根据与insult“侮辱”的同等关系猜测defame为“诋毁” ，“中伤”或“诽谤”
例12.The game Americans call soccer is known around the world as football.
[分析]运用与football的同义关系推断为“足球”。
例13.The house stood at the end of a quiet neat street. The little dwelling, however,looked neglected and cheerless.
[分析]运用与The house近义关系可以推断dwelling与住所有关
例14.Most women in China ---educated and illiterated, urban and rural, the young and old-----work to earn an income in addition to maintaining their roles as housewives and mothers.
[分析]后面的urban and rural, the young and old之间都有反义关系，运用这个关系可以推断illiterated为“未接受过教育的，即文盲”
三是通过构词法
在猜测词义过程中，我们还可以依靠构词法方面的知识，从生词本身猜测词义。
1.根据前缀猜测词义
例15.Do you have any strong opinion on co-educational or single-sex schools?
根据词根educational （教育的），结合前缀co-（共同，一起），我们便可以猜出co-educational的意思是：“男女同校教育的”意思。（2005年江西卷）
2.根据后缀猜测词义
例16. It's a quiet, comfortable hotel overlooking (俯瞰) the bay in an uncommercialized Cornish fishing village on England's most southerly point．（2005年广东卷）
后缀 -ise/ize意思是“使成为…；使…化”，结合词根commercial（商业的），不难猜出 uncommercialized 的意思是：“未被商业化的”。
3.根据复合词的各部分猜测词义
例17.Good tool design is important in the prevention of overuse injuries. Well – designed tools and equipment will require less force to operate them and prevent awkward（别扭的）hand positions.（2005年北京卷）
Well-designed 或许是个生词，但我们分析该词的结构后，就能推测出其含义。它由well （好，优秀）和design （设计）两部分组成，合在一起便是“设计精巧的”意思。
例18. We live in a technological society where most goods are mass-produced by unskilled labor. Because of this, most people that craft (手艺) no longer exists.
（2004年浙江卷）
根据合成词中的mass （大量的）和produce （生产），我们可以推测 mass-produce的意思是：“大批量生产；规模生产”的意思。
4.猜测词性变换新词含义
例19.The other teams, disappointed, were on the bus heading home. （2004年山东卷）
head本为名词，表头。由the bus和home的语境逻辑可以推断，该句head为动词，表方向，结合全句可译为“开往、驶向”。
例20.I had first known she was wrong, that her anxiety had clouded her judgment. （2004全国卷Ⅱ）
cloud本为名词，表云。分析语境逻辑可知，忧虑会影响一个人的判断，因此该句clouded应译为使难以……。
四是根据生活常识
运用自身的生活经验及生活常识，根据上下文能读懂的部分，可以正确猜出词义。下面文字中划线单词的词义你能猜出来吗？
例21.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.
例22.Most of the roses are beginning to wither because of the cold.
句子的已知部分和我们的常识告诉我们：beaks是“喙”；claws是“爪子”；wither表示“枯萎”。 结合以上指导解下列两道阅读理解题：
A
Ever since news of widespread food recalls caused by a carcinogenic dye broke, there has been confusion（混淆） over possible links to the country of the same name, but Sudan officials say there is no connection whatever.
Sudan1 is a red industrial dye that has been found in some chilli powder,
but was banned in food products across the European Union (EU) in July 2003.
Since the ban was put in place, EU officials have been striving to remove some food products from the shelves. So far 580 products have been recalled.
Last week Sudan’s Embassy in the United Kingdom asked the Food Standards Agency (FSA) for clarification of the origin of the dye’s name.
Omaima Mahmoud Al Sharief, a press official at Sudan’s Embassy in China, explained the purpose of the inquiry was to clear up any misunderstanding over links between the country and the poisonous dye.
\"We want to keep an eye on every detail and avoid any misunderstanding there,\" she said. \"Our embassy to Britain asked them how the dye got that name and whether the dye had something to do with our country. But they told us there was no relationship.\"
The FSA, an independent food security watchdog in Britain, received a letter from the Sudanese embassy last week.
\"They asked us why the dye is named Sudan, however, we also do not know how it got the name,\" she said. \"People found the dye in 1883 and gave it the name. Nobody knows the reason, and we cannot give any explanation before we find out.\"
Sudan dyes, which include Sudan1 to 4, are red dyes（颜料） used for
colouring solvents（溶剂）, oils, waxes, petrol, and shoe and floor polishes. They are classified as carcinogens by the International Agency for Research on Cancer.
1. What does the underlined word mean in paragraph one?
A. Causing cancer. B. Having side effect. C. Containing poison. D.Poisonous.
2. How did the Sudan1 get its name?
A. The dye is often produced in Sudan.
B. The dye has something to do with the country named Sudan.
C. Nobody is sure of the origin of the name.
D. Many foods produced in Sudan contain the dye.
3. We can infer from the passage that.
A. the Sudan government is paying much attention to the food safety
B. Sudan1 is often used to be added to the food
C. people didn’t realize the danger of Sudan1 until 2003
D. many food shops will be closed down
4. Which of the following is the best title?
A. Keep away from Sudan1
B. No Sudan1 dye links to the country
C. How Sudan1 dye got its name?
D. Pay attention to the food safety
B
The Man of Many Secrets — Harry Houdini — was one of the greatest American entertainers in the theater this century. He was a man famous for his escapes — from prison cells, from wooden boxes floating in rivers, from locked tanks full of water. He appeared in theaters all over Europe and America. Crowds came to see the great Houdini and his “magic” tricks.
Of course, his secret was not magic or supernatural powers. It was simply strength. He had the ability to move his toes as well as he moved his fingers. He could move his body into almost any position he wanted.
Houdini started working in the entertainment world when he was 17, in 1891. He and his brother Theo performed card tricks in club in New York. They called themselves the Houdini Brothers. When Harry married in 1894, he and his wife Bess worked together as magician and assistant. But for a long time they were not very successful. Then Harry performed his first prison escape, in Chicago in 1898. Harry persuaded a detective to let him try to escape from the prison, and he invited the local newspapermen to watch.
It was the publicity(宣传) that came from this that started Harry Houdini’s success. Harry had fingers trained to escape from handcuffs and toes trained to escape ankle chins. But his biggest secret was how he unlocked the prison doors. Every time he went into the prison cell, Bess gave him a kiss for good luck — and a small skeleton key, which is a key that fits many locks, pass quickly from her
mouth to his.
Harry used these prison escapes to build his fame. He arranged to escape from the local prison of every town he visited. In the afternoon, the people of the town would read about it in their local newspapers, and in the evening every seat in the local theater would be full. What was the result? World-wild fame, and a name remembered today.
5. According to the passage, Houdini’s success in prison escapes depends on _______.
A. his special tricks and supernatural powers B. his unusual ability and a skeleton key
C. his magic tricks and unhuman powers D. his wisdom and magic tricks
6. In the fourth paragraph, the underlined word “this” refers to _______.
A. his first prison escape B. the year 1898 C. the publicity D. Harry Houdini’s success
7. It can be inferred from the passage that Houdini became famous _______.
A. in 1894 B. before he married C. at the age of 17 D. when he was about 24
8. Which of the following is the best title for the passage?
A. A Skeleton Key B. A Man of Many Secrets
C. World-wild Fame D. Great Escape
A篇【答案与解析】
1. A词义猜测题。根据They are classified as carcinogens by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. 可知这个词与癌症有关，故可推出carcinogenic意为\"致癌的\"。
2. C细节题。根据People found the dye in 1883 and gave it the name. Nobody knows the reason, and we cannot give any explanation before we find out.可知还没有人知道\"苏丹红\"名称的由来。
3. B推断题。根据EU officials have been striving to remove some food products from the shelves. So far 580 products have been recalled.可知某些食品因含有\"苏丹红\"而被召回。故可推断\"苏丹红\"经常用作食品添加剂。
4. B主旨大意题。根据there has been confusion over possible links to the country of the same name, but Sudan officials say there is no connection whatever. 可知本文主要讲\"苏丹红\"与苏丹这个国家是否有联系的问题，故B最佳。
B篇【答案与解析】本文介绍了Harry Houdini特技成功的经历和方法。
5. B。细节题。根据第4段第2句：Harry把手、脚都训练得很灵活来摆脱手链脚铐及第4句后半部分：妻子通过接吻传给他万能钥匙，可推知此题答案为B。
6. A。单词理解题。根据语境，this指上文所表演的事情：第一次越狱成功。由此可推知此题答案为A。
7. D。推断题。第3段第1句：他步入娱乐圈时是1891年，17岁；倒数第2句：第一次成功是1898年，时隔七年，应是24岁，可推知此题答案为D
8. D。主旨题。由文章第1段第2句：He was a man famous for his escapes — from prison cells, from wooden boxes floating in rivers, from locked tanks full of water，可知Harry 因逃脱出名，后面列举的例子谈的是他从监狱成功地逃出，所以答案为D。
因篇幅问题不能全部显示，请点此查看更多更全内容