詞義推斷題備考策略

河北 胡金瑩

一、命題解讀

詞義推斷題旨在考查考生根據(jù)上下文推斷單詞、短語或句子的意思的能力，突出考查考生對語境的分析和把握能力。它不僅涉及對考生的語言水平的考查，還涉及對考生的語言應(yīng)用能力和綜合素質(zhì)等方面的考查。考生應(yīng)學(xué)會通過構(gòu)詞法、定義、同位、對比、因果、常識、同義詞、反義詞及上下文線索等推斷詞義。

詞義推斷題雖不是閱讀理解題考查的重點，但也是?？碱}目，是對考生綜合能力的考查。近幾年，詞義推斷題難度略有增加，考生需在較為復(fù)雜的句式中通過上下文綜合分析才能得出答案。 在今后的高考中，這類試題出現(xiàn)的概率將保持平穩(wěn)，而且將增加對短語含義以及句意的考查。

二、解題策略

1. 利用構(gòu)詞法推斷詞義

英語中的許多詞匯，特別是不斷出現(xiàn)的新詞，大多是通過構(gòu)詞法生成的。通過了解構(gòu)詞法，考生不需要借助上下文便能夠大體推斷出詞義，然后再結(jié)合語境判定詞義。這樣事半功倍，大大提高了解題的效率和正確率。 因此，在做詞義推斷題時，可以先把握構(gòu)詞法，再結(jié)合語境解題。 構(gòu)詞法主要有合成法、派生法和轉(zhuǎn)化法三種形式。

（1）合成法。 合成法是指兩個或多個單詞按照一定的規(guī)律組合在一起，形成一個新的單詞。一般來說，合成詞的意思就是各個組成詞的意思的結(jié)合。例如：overestimate是由over和estimate組合而成的新單詞，意為“高估”?？忌陂喿x中經(jīng)常見到這樣的單詞，也能比較輕松地猜出它們的意思。根據(jù)復(fù)合詞的組成部分猜測詞義是詞義推斷的一條捷徑。

【典例鏈接】（2019·全國甲卷閱讀B篇）I guess that there's probably some demanding work schedule, or social anxiety around stepping up to help for an unknown sport.She may just need a little persuading. So I try again and tug at the heartstrings. I mention the single parent with four kids running the show and I talk about the dad coaching a team that his kids aren't even on... At this point the unwilling parent speaks up, “Alright. Yes, I'll do it.”

25. What does the underlined phrase “tug at the heartstrings” in paragraph 2 mean?

A. Encourage teamwork. B. Appeal to feelings.

C. Promote good deeds. D. Provide advice.

【點石成金】B 畫線部分中的heartstrings是合成詞，由heart和strings組成，由此可推斷此短語與心情有關(guān)。根據(jù)前文可知，作者猜測這位家長對參與一項不熟悉的運動可能有一些顧慮，而作者需要說服那位家長。根據(jù)“I mention the single parent with four kids running the show and I talk about the dad coaching a team that his kids aren't even on...”可知，作者是想從情感上打動這位家長，故選B。

（2）派生法。派生法是通過在單詞詞根上添加前綴或后綴來構(gòu)造新詞。一般來說，前綴改變詞義不改變詞性，而后綴改變詞性不改變詞義。 常見的前綴有：

①表示否定或相反意義的前綴dis-、un-、im-、in-、ir-、il-、non-等， 往往可以構(gòu)成原單詞的反義詞。 如：advantage（優(yōu)點）—disadvantage（缺點）、accurate（準(zhǔn)確的）—inaccurate（不準(zhǔn)確的）、polite（禮貌的）—impolite（不禮貌的）、logical（符合邏輯的）—illogical（不合邏輯的）、employment（就業(yè)）—unemployment（失業(yè)）、existence（存在）—nonexistence（不存在）、connect（連接）—disconnect（切斷）等。

②表示“又；再；重新”的前綴re-。如：reactivate（使重新出現(xiàn)）、readjust（重新適應(yīng)）、reborn（再生）、reunion（重逢）、reorder（重新排列）等。

③表示“和……一起；共同；聯(lián)合”的前綴co-。 如：co-author（合著者）、cooperate（合作）、co-education（男女同校）等。

④表示“超過”或“過度”的前綴out-。 如：outlive（比……活得長）、outnumber（比……多）、outweigh（超過）等。

（3）轉(zhuǎn)化法。 把一個單詞由一種詞性用作另一種詞性的方法稱為轉(zhuǎn)化法。 由于詞性的轉(zhuǎn)化，其詞義產(chǎn)生變化，故考生在推斷句子中某個詞的含義時，首先應(yīng)借助該詞所在句子的語法結(jié)構(gòu)判斷該詞的詞性，然后再借助該詞前后的搭配結(jié)構(gòu)、語義來推斷詞義。

【典例鏈接】（2018·北京卷閱讀D篇）A study from the University of California at Davis suggested that replacing petrol-powered private cars worldwide with electric, selfdriving and shared systems could reduce carbon emissions from transportation 80% and cut the cost of transportation infrastructure(基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施) and operations 40% by 2050. Fewer emissions and cheaper travel sound pretty appealing. The first commercially available driverless cars will almost certainly be fielded by ride-hailing services, considering the cost of self-driving technology as well as liability and maintenance issues (責(zé)任與維護(hù)問題). But driverless car ownership could increase as the prices drop and more people become comfortable with the technology.

49. What does the underlined word “fielded” in Paragraph 4 probably mean?

A. Employed. B. Replaced. C. Shared. D. Reduced.

【點石成金】A field常用作名詞，表示“場地”或“領(lǐng)域”，此處用作動詞，引申為“使用”或“應(yīng)用”。 根據(jù)畫線詞所在句中的The first commercially available driverless cars will almost certainly和下文中的as the prices drop and more people become comfortable with the technology可知，隨著價格的降低以及人們對這項技術(shù)開始應(yīng)用自如，第一批上市的無人駕駛汽車會“被應(yīng)用”到打車服務(wù)中。

2. 利用上下文線索推斷詞義

在有些文章中，特別是科技類說明文，作者通常會通過對一些關(guān)鍵詞或?qū)I(yè)術(shù)語下定義來幫助讀者理解詞義， 尤其在一些科普類、 社科類及與專業(yè)內(nèi)容相關(guān)的文章中。 下定義時，作者通常使用信號詞，如i.e.、is/are、is/are called、mean、refer to、define、represent、signify、be considered/known as等。 文章對詞義的解釋除了直接下定義外，還有一種間接釋義法，即通過描述、介紹、總結(jié)等方式就畫線單詞或短語等給出間接提示，考生可以從中推斷詞匯含義。

【典例鏈接】（2021·全國甲卷閱讀C 篇）Southbank, at an eastern bend in the Thames, is the center of British skateboarding, where the continuous crashing of skateboards left your head ringing. I loved it. I soon made friends with the local skaters. We spoke our own language. And my favorite: Safe. Safe meant cool. It meant hello. It meant don't worry about it. Once, when trying a certain trick on the beam（橫桿）, I fell onto the stones, damaging a nerve in my hand, and Toby came over, helping me up: Safe, man.Safe. A few minutes later, when I landed the trick, my friends beat their boards loud,shouting：“Safe! Safe! Safe! ” And that's what mattered—landing tricks, being a good skater.

9. What do the underlined words “Safe! Safe! Safe! ” probably mean?

A. Be careful!B. Well done!

C. No way!D. Don't worry.

【點石成金】B 根據(jù)題干關(guān)鍵詞 “Safe! Safe! Safe! ” 可定位到段中的“And that's what mattered—landing tricks, being a good skater.”（這就是重要的——著陸技巧，以及成為一名優(yōu)秀的玩滑板的人。 ），這句是對畫線部分的進(jìn)一步解釋與說明，表示做得好，所以應(yīng)該是鼓勵的話語。

3. 利用同義詞和近義詞推斷詞義

有時為了避免語言單調(diào)、重復(fù)，作者會在文章中使用意思相同或相近的詞。因此，在畫線單詞或短語等前后有時會出現(xiàn)與之同義或近義的詞或結(jié)構(gòu)，它們往往暗示了畫線部分的含義，考生可通過熟悉的詞匯推斷出畫線單詞或短語等的含義。

【典例鏈接】（2021·浙江卷閱讀B篇）In the past few years, an increasing number of people and organisations have begun coming up with plans to counter this trend. A couple of years ago, film-maker David Bond realised that his children, then aged five and three, were attached to screens to the point where he was able to say “chocolate” into his three-year-old son's ear without getting a response. He realised that something needed to change, and, being a London media type, appointed himself “marketing director from Nature”. He documented his journey as he set about treating nature as a brand to be marketed to young people. The result was Project Wild Thing, a film which charts the birth of the Wild Network, a group of organisations with the common goal of getting children out into nature.

26. Which of the following can replace the underlined word “charts” in paragraph 2?

A. recordsB. predictsC. delaysD. confirms

【點石成金】A “He documented his journey as he set about treating nature as a brand to be marketed to young people.”中的動詞documented與畫線詞是同義詞，再根據(jù)“The result was Project Wild Thing, a film which charts the birth of the Wild Network, a group of organisations with the common goal of getting children out into nature.”（結(jié)果是Project Wild Thing， 一部描繪了Wild Network誕生的電影，Wild Network是一個以讓孩子們?nèi)谌氪笞匀粸楣餐繕?biāo)的組織。 ）可知，畫線詞所在句主要闡述David Bond拍攝的紀(jì)錄片Project Wild Thing記錄了Wild Network的誕生，因此record（記錄）與畫線詞的含義最為接近，故選A。

4. 利用反義詞推斷詞義

對比是描述、說明事物的常用方式。在對比中，對比的事物通常是相反的，因此根據(jù)反義或?qū)Ρ汝P(guān)系可從已知推出未知。 因此， 考生可以利用反義詞來推斷生詞的意義，如hot and cold、perfect and imperfect。 詞與詞之間、句與句之間的關(guān)系起著互為線索的作用。

【典例鏈接】（2021·新高考Ⅰ卷閱讀C篇）When the explorers first set foot upon the continent of North America, the skies and lands were alive with an astonishing variety of wildlife. Native Americans had taken care of these precious natural resources wisely. Unfortunately, it took the explorers and the settlers who followed only a few decades to decimate a large part of these resources.Millions of waterfowl （水禽）were killed at the hands of market hunters and a handful of overly ambitious sportsmen. Millions of acres of wetlands were dried to feed and house the ever-increasing populations, greatly reducing waterfowl habitat （棲息地）.

29. What does the underlined word “decimate” mean in the first paragraph?

A. Acquire. B. Export. C. Destroy. D. Distribute.

【點石成金】C 根據(jù)“Unfortunately,it took the explorers and the settlers who followed only a few decades to decimate a large part of these resources.”（不幸地，這些探險者和定居者只花了幾十年的時間就毀掉了這些資源的很大一部分。）中的副詞Unfortunately可知，此處與前文的taken care of形成對比，故此處應(yīng)表示“破壞；毀壞”。

5. 根據(jù)上下文指代關(guān)系推斷詞義

在英語文章中，作者常使用代詞指代上文中的名詞或名詞短語，以此將上下文內(nèi)容連貫起來，使前后相呼應(yīng)。 文章中的代詞可以指上文提到的人或物，其中it和that還可以指代一件事。 一般來說，代詞的指代內(nèi)容大多在代詞所在句的前句中，解答這類題目時一定要遵循“就近原則”，即代詞往上找，就近原則不能忘，找出離代詞最近的名詞、詞組或句子等。有時，代詞指代的對象相隔較遠(yuǎn)，需要認(rèn)真查找；有時，需要對前面提到的內(nèi)容進(jìn)行總結(jié)，才能得出代詞所指代的對象。 因此，考生在解題時需要返回原文找到代詞所在的句子，仔細(xì)分析，然后向前查找，找出離該代詞最近的名詞、短語或句子，最后以其替換該代詞，看句子是否合理、通順。

【典例鏈接】(2020·浙江卷閱讀B篇)The traffic signals along Factoria Boulevard in Bellevue, Washington, generally don't flash the same length of green twice in a row, especially at rush hour. At 9：30am, the full red/yellow/green signal cycle might be 140 seconds. By 9：33am, a burst of additional traffic might push it to 145 seconds. Less traffic at 9：37am could push it down to 135. Just like the traffic itself, the timing of the signals changes.

That is by design. Bellevue, a fast-growing city just east of Seattle, uses a system that is gaining popularity around the US: intersection (十字路口) signals that can adjust in real time to traffic conditions. These lights, known as adaptive signals, have led to significant declines in both the trouble and cost of travels between work and home.

25. What does the underlined word “that” in paragraph 2 refer to?

A. Increased length of green lights. B. Shortened traffic signal cycle. C. Flexible timing of traffic signals. D. Smooth traffic flow on the road.

【點石成金】C That位于第2段句首，應(yīng)是指代第1段的內(nèi)容。 根據(jù)第1段內(nèi)容，尤其是第1段的最后一句“Just like the traffic itself, the timing of the signals changes.”(就像交通本身一樣，信號燈的時間也會變化。 )可知，第1段主要講述的是信號燈的時間會靈活變化?！癟hat is by design.”意為“那是有意為之”，由此可推知，That指代第1段中的“信號燈的靈活時間”，故選C項。

6. 根據(jù)上下文情境和語境推斷詞義

考生在做詞義推斷題時，有時找不到標(biāo)志性線索，但任何一篇文章中的句子在內(nèi)容上都不是絕對孤立的，都與句子所在的段落及整篇文章有關(guān)。 這時，考生可以利用上下文語境和文章提供的情景線索進(jìn)行合乎邏輯的綜合分析，進(jìn)而推斷詞義。有時作者在闡述某人、某物或某一現(xiàn)象的特點時，先是一般性地或概括性地說一下，然后再進(jìn)行具體的說明或解釋；或者反過來，先進(jìn)行具體的闡述，然后再進(jìn)行歸納、總結(jié)。如果考生能把握作者的思路，就能從那些具體的說明、解釋或歸納中找出詞義推斷的線索。

【典例鏈接】(2021·全國乙卷閱讀B篇)Still, 55 percent of Australians have a landline phone at home and only just over a quarter (29%) rely only on their smartphones,according to a survey （調(diào)查）. Of those Australians who still have a landline, a third concede that it's not really necessary and they're keeping it as a security blanket—19 percent say they never use it while a further 13 percent keep it in case of emergencies. I think my home falls into that category.

25. What does the underlined word “concede” in paragraph 3 mean?

A. Admit. B. Argue.

C. Remember. D. Remark.

【點石成金】A 根據(jù)Of those Australians who still have a landline(在那些仍然有固定電話的澳大利亞人中)可知，這個調(diào)查的目標(biāo)人群是仍然有固定電話的澳大利亞人；根據(jù)下文的it's not really necessary and they're keeping it as a security blanket—19 percent say they never use it while a further 13 percent keep it in case of emergencies (固定電話并不是必要的，他們將其作為一種安全保障——19%的人表示他們從未使用過固定電話，另有13%的人保留固定電話以防緊急情況)可知，很多澳大利亞人認(rèn)為固定電話并不是必須擁有的，有些人保留固定電話只是為了防止緊急情況的發(fā)生。 由此推知，在調(diào)查中，他們應(yīng)該是承認(rèn)了固定電話的非必要性。 因此，畫線詞concede意為“承認(rèn)”，故選A項。

7. 利用標(biāo)點符號推斷詞義

有的文章會用特定的標(biāo)點符號對某個單詞、短語或句子加以解釋說明，考生可以利用這一方法推斷詞義，尤其要注意冒號、破折號、分號等后面的內(nèi)容，以及引號或括號中的內(nèi)容。

【典例鏈接】（2019·全國丙卷閱讀B篇）“China is impossible to overlook,” says Hill.“Chinese models are the faces of beauty and fashion campaigns that sell dreams to women all over the world, which means Chinese women are not just consumers of fashion—they are central to its movement.” Of course, not only are today's top Western designers being influenced by China—some of the best designers of contemporary fashion are themselves Chinese. “Vera Wang, Alexander Wang, Jason Wu are taking on Galliano,Albaz, Marc Jacobs—and beating them hands down in design and sales,” adds Hill.

26. What do the underlined words “taking on” in paragraph 4 mean?

A. learning fromB. looking down on

C. working withD. competing against

【點石成金】D 畫線詞后的and beating them hands down in design and sales意為“并在設(shè)計和銷售上擊敗他們”。 由此可推斷“Vera Wang, Alexander Wang, Jason Wu are taking on Galliano, Albaz, Mare Jacobs”的意思是Vera Wang、Alexander Wang和Jason Wu正在與Galliano、Albaz和Mare Jacobs競爭，因此taking on意為“競爭”。

8. 利用生活經(jīng)驗和常識推斷詞義

英語閱讀理解試題選擇的素材具有時代性、新穎性和貼近生活的特點，尤其強(qiáng)調(diào)選擇一些與考生生活息息相關(guān)的素材，因此利用日常生活和文化背景相關(guān)的常識，考生可以更準(zhǔn)確地猜測句中畫線部分的含義。

【典例鏈接】（2019·江蘇卷閱讀B篇）Just at this time NASA decided to test some new high-altitude cameras by taking photographs of Yellowstone. A thoughtful official passed on some of the copies to the park authorities on the assumption that they might make a nice blow-up for one of the visitors' centers. As soon as Christiansen saw the photos, he realized why he had failed to spot the caldera: almost the whole park—2.2 million acres—was caldera. The explosion had left a hole more than forty miles across—much too huge to be seen from anywhere at ground level. At some time in the past Yellowstone must have blown up with a violence far beyond the scale of anything known to humans.

60.What does the underlined word “blow-up”in the last paragraph most probably mean?

A. Hot-air balloon. B. Digital camera.

C. Big photograph. D. Bird's view.

【點石成金】C 根據(jù)此段中的“Just at this time NASA decided to test some new highaltitude cameras by taking photographs of Yellowstone. A thoughtful official passed on some of the copies to the park authorities on the assumption that they might make a nice blow-up for one of the visitors' centers.”可知，美國國家航空航天局為測試一些新的高海拔相機(jī)而拍攝了黃石國家公園。 一位深思熟慮的官員把其中的一些照片的副本轉(zhuǎn)交給了公園管理部門，認(rèn)為他們可能會將其放大以供一個游客中心展示。 根據(jù)常識，公園管理部門將照片提供給游客中心展示，肯定要將照片放大，故此處blow-up意為“將照片放大”，故選C。

三、備考建議

要想做好詞義推斷題，考生必須熟練掌握課程標(biāo)準(zhǔn)規(guī)定的詞匯，在平時的訓(xùn)練中要注意積累生詞和短語，要有較大的泛讀量，掌握或認(rèn)識較多的課外詞匯；要掌握構(gòu)詞法的基本知識，對于各種前、后綴的變化形式了然于心；要學(xué)會“順藤摸瓜”和“上下取證”，即利用上下文提供的情境和線索，結(jié)合我們的生活常識和社會經(jīng)驗進(jìn)行符合邏輯的綜合分析，并以此來推斷詞義，切忌脫離上下文盲目猜測。