中考英语阅读理解中猜测词义的方法

---厦门新东方学校优能中学部中考英语 Eduardo

一、中考阅读理解猜测词义的方法
无论是英语成绩好或差的学生，对于阅读理解题都存在着或多或少的疑惑，而这些疑惑中，对于陌生词汇的处理问题尤为突出。下面，我就针对这一问题，提出几点解决办法：
猜测未学过的词义方法很多。做题时要从被考察词语所处的语境和上下文的联系进行分析，通过把握文章大意及前后文之间的内容联系，根据文章中心或主题、构词法（合成、派生和转化）、同义关系（词语诠释、同义词、同位语和定语从句等）、同等关系、对比关系（对比和比较关系）、反义关系、因果关系、生活经验或常识、示例法等方法来猜测词义。具体分析如下：
1、根据文章中心或主题法：一般来说，要查找的生词都是与揭示文章主题有一定联系的，因此如果能够把握好文章的中心，往往有助于猜测出文章中的生词的含义。
2、利用构词法猜测词义：前缀通常改变原来词语的词义，而不改变原来词语的词性。后缀通常改变原来词语的词性，但对词义的影响有时不明显，有时很明显。派生词的词义可依据“前缀变词义，后缀变词性”的原则来猜测词义。在阅读中，如果我们熟悉构成合成词的每个独立单词的词义，就可能猜出合成词的意思。同一个词有不同的词类，不同的词义，称为兼类词。兼类词在不同的语境中词类和词义都不同，要根据句子结构和句子成分掌握其词类和词义。
3、根据上下文的同义或对比关系来理解词义：同位关系是指文章中与之相关的同义词，同位语、定语（从句）等，如果能够借助它们的解释或定义，则很容易猜测出词义来。根据同义关系猜测词义，关键是要了解显示同义关系的线索。换句话说，破折号、逗号等标点符号，以及or, and, in other words, that’s to say，namely等词或短语就是这种线索。定语从句主要起修饰限制或补充说明先行词内容或性质的作用。因此，我们可以根据定语从句的内容推测出先行词的词义。对比关系是指上下文中的一些连词经常被用来表示转折关系，如果能够抓住说明事物的这种比较和对照的方法，就会给人柳暗花明的感觉。常见的表示转折关系的词有but, however, instead, yet等。上文中的某些词或句子往往会为下文的生词埋下伏笔或作出暗示。上文中的某些词或句子往往会在下文有回应的地方。
4、同等关系：所谓“同等关系”，指的是一组词或词组在句子中作同一成分，而且它们表示的词义属于同一义域。因此，只要我们能认识其中一个或几个词，就能确定其中某个生词所属的义域，甚至能够推知它的意思。
5、根据上下文的因果关系或顺承关系法：有什么样的原因就会产生什么样的结果，因果关系是文章中一种普遍的语言表达关系。在这种关系中如果知道了原因，结果也就知道了；反之，如果知道了结果，原因也就不难发现。
6、生活经验或常识法：已有的生活经验或常识，往往会给阅读后的理解提供有力的支持。借助于已有的，推测陌生的，这就上升到了能力的提高，使生词的破解成为了可能。
7、示例法：例子是用来帮助说明某种具体的情况或目的的。在语篇中，作者经常要用一些例子说明一种抽象的理论或阐述某种观点，因此借助例子的帮助，将有助于考生进一步领悟陌生词语的含义。
当然，有时还要综合应用几种方法才能正确猜测词义。
二、中考阅读理解常见猜测词义的提问形式
1. The word “…” in the … paragraph means .
在第……段落中的单词 “……” 意思是_________。
2. The sentence “…” means .
句子 “……” 意思是 。
3. What does the underlined word “…” probably mean？
划线单词 “……” 很可能是什么意思。
4. The word “…” in the … paragraph means in Chinese.
在第……段中的单词 “……” 汉语的意思是 。
5. Here “…” means _________.
这里 “……” 意思是 _________。
三、中考试题分析
【中考试题1】A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. He held up a sign which said, “I am blind, please help.” There were only a few coins in the hat.
A man was walking by. He took a few coins from his pocked and dropped them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words. He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by would see the new words.
Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy. That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how things were. The boy recognized（听出）his footsteps and asked, “Were you the one who changed my sign this morning? What did you write?”
The man said, “I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a different way.”
What he had written was, “Today is a beautiful day; I cannot see it.”
Of course both signs told people the boy was blind. But the first sign simply said the boy blind. The second sign told people they were lucky that were not blind. Should we be surprised that the second sign was more effective（有效的）?（2009年云南省，文后只选取与论述有关的试题，并保留原题号，以下同）
68. The underlined words “help up” in the first paragraph mean ___________.
A.阻碍 B. 举着 C. 承受 D. 坚持
【答案及分析】答案为B。本题主要采用根据上下文的因果关系的方法猜测词义。本文主要介绍了一位举着乞讨牌而又失明的男孩在一位男子改变乞讨牌上的标语后获得很多硬币的故事，说明用不同方法处理同一问题，会产生不同效果。根据短文第一自然段的细节内容可知，这个失明的男孩坐在一栋高楼的台阶上乞讨，他的脚旁摆着放钱的帽子，结合被选项，男孩应该举着乞讨牌。故选B。
【中考例题2】Heve you ever had problems in you life ad don’t know how to be happy? If so, you will find “Being a Happy Teenager” by an Australian writer Andrew Matthews useful.
In his book, Matthews tells us how to have a happy life and answers the questions of teenagers.
The book says we should stop being angry. The book also tells us about some useful skills.For examples, if you want to make your memory better, you can put what you’ve learned into pictures of your mind.Many teenagers think that happiness comes from good grades or prise from other people. But you can still be happy when there are no such “good” things.
Success comes from a good attitude. If you learn from problems, you will have success in the future. Some school boys have problems such being too tall or too short, but Matthews tells us happiness comes from thinking about things in a positive way.
If you are tall, yo can get a better view（视线）at the movie; If you are short, your clothes and shoes take less room in your bedroom! This is Matthews most important lesson: You choose to be happy!
79. The underlined word “positive” in the fourth paragraph means ________.
A. 积极的 B. 消极的 C. 先进的 D. 落后的
【答案及分析】答案为A。本题主要采用根据文章中心或主题方法猜测词义。短文通过介绍澳大利亚一位著名作家写的书“Being a Happy Teenager”，告诉我们：应该停止生气 ；成功来自于良好的态度，我们时刻要用积极的方式来看待一切，就会永远幸福。根据短文中心，并具体结合第四自然段中的第一句 “Success comes from a good attitude.（成功来自于好的态度）” 以及最后自然段的 “ If you are tall, you can get a better view at the movie;（假如个子高，你在影院能够有较好的视域 ） If you are short, your clothes and shoes take less room in your bedroom!（假如个子矮，你的服装和鞋只占据较少的空间）” 的细节可以猜测positive的意思是“积极的”。故选A。
【中考例题3】What do you think the future will be like? Here are some answers from some students.
Mary: If we don’t take good care of the earth now, our children and grandchildren will be born into a world with much pollution（污染）. There will be fewer trees and more buildings, because there will be more people.
Jack: I agree with Mary. Things will be worse. The weather in the future will be much hotter. Humans won’t be able to live on the earth. We will have to look for another planet to live on.
Linda: I think the life in the future will be better. Most people in the world will use “green cars” by 2020, so there will be less pollution and people will live to be 200 years old. As for space travel, I would say, we will visit Mars（火星）in about fifty year.
58. What does the underlined world “planet” mean in Chinese?
A.飞船 B. 岛屿 C. 星球
【答案及分析】答案为C。本题主要采用根据文章上下文因果关系的方法来猜测词义。由Jack所说的话可知，人类将不能生活在地球上，所以人类将不得不寻找另一个生活的星球，而A和B不符合Jack说的话。故选C。
【中考试题4】A famous foreign company in China wanted a clerk for its public relation department（公关部）.
A beautiful girl with a masters degree（硕士学位）went through a lot of challenges and her name was on the list. In the final stage she faced an interview together with another girl. Both of them were outstanding, not only in looks but also in education.
The girl was successful in the interview. It seemed that she would get the chance. At last the examiner asked her, “Can you come to the office next Monday?” Shocked by the unexpected question, the beautiful girl couldn’t make a decision at the moment, so she said, “I have to talk with my parents before I give an answer.” The examiner felt surprised but said calmly, “If so, lets wait till you are ready.”
The next day, the girl came to tell the examiner that her parents had agreed to let her begin work next Monday. But the examiner said regretfully （遗憾地）, “Sorry, another suitable candidate（选手）has got the job. You had better try another place.” The beautiful girl was surprised. She asked for a explanation（解释）and was told, “What is needed here is a person who knows her own mind.”
That was how a good opportunity right under the nose of a beautiful girl ran away.
64. The underlined phrase “right under the nose of ” probably means __________.
A. 就在鼻子下 B. 想要得到的 C. 没有把握的 D.就在眼前的
【答案及分析】答案为D。本题主要采用根据文章中心或主题方法猜测词义。根据短文大意，美丽女孩没有把握住机会，机会就在眼前溜走了。因此，可推断划线部分 “right under the nose of ”的意思是 “就在眼前的”。故选D。