探究3：詞義推斷題命題解讀及備考策略

陳鳳蓮

一、命題解讀

閱讀能力是高考英語科的關(guān)鍵能力之一。根據(jù)《基于高考評價體系的英語科考試內(nèi)容改革實施路徑》的表述，閱讀理解考查7種能力：理解詞匯，理解具體信息，理解主旨要義，理解觀點、態(tài)度，理解目的，推斷，理解文章結(jié)構(gòu)、類型。詞匯是閱讀理解的基本要素，考生應(yīng)能辨別句子及語篇中詞語（單詞、詞組或固定搭配）的意思或指代關(guān)系，并能夠根據(jù)上下文判斷詞語在特定語境中的含義。

在閱讀理解文章中，總會有一些單詞或短語超出了《課程標(biāo)準(zhǔn)》詞匯表的范圍，但又沒有附加注釋，所以需要考生猜測其含義，這也是對詞義推斷的一種間接考查。近幾年高考試卷中，閱讀理解部分生詞量有所擴(kuò)大，試題難度也有所增加。這些單詞既不在《課程標(biāo)準(zhǔn)》規(guī)定的詞匯表內(nèi)，又未加注釋，這就意味著考生不僅僅需要完成試題中直接的詞義推斷題，還需要憑借自己的知識積累和學(xué)習(xí)能力猜測出未加注生詞的詞義，這樣才能透徹地理解文章，完成閱讀理解任務(wù)。

高考中詞義推斷題的常見命題方式：

What does the underlined phrase“...” in paragraph 3 mean？

What does the underlined phrase“...” in paragraph 3 refer to？

What does the underlined word “...” in paragraph 4 （probably） mean？

What does the underlined word “...” in paragraph 4 refer to？

Which of the following can replace the underlined phrase “...” in Para. 2？

What is the meaning of the underlined word in paragraph 1？

Which of the following is the closest in meaning to the underlined phrase “...” in Para. 3？

Which of the following has the closest meaning to “...” in paragraph 4？

What is “...” in the last paragraph？

What does the underlined word “it/that” in paragraph 3 refer to？

What does the underlined part in paragraph 3 probably mean？

近年來，高考對詞義推斷題的考查體現(xiàn)出以下幾種命題趨勢：

1. 要求根據(jù)閱讀材料所提供的信息，結(jié)合中學(xué)生應(yīng)有的常識和經(jīng)驗，正確判斷生詞詞組的含義或熟詞在特定語境中表達(dá)的具體含義以及一些句子的意思。

2. 要求所被推斷詞義的詞一般為實詞及其詞組，可通過構(gòu)詞、定義、對比、因果、聯(lián)想及上下文等線索確定詞義的具體內(nèi)容。

3. 代詞指代關(guān)系理解題也是推斷詞義的?？碱愋汀８鶕?jù)語篇厘清人物及事物之間的邏輯關(guān)系是關(guān)鍵所在。

二、解題策略

1. 利用構(gòu)詞法推斷詞義

構(gòu)詞法指的是前綴、后綴和合成。前綴詞如disadvantage、incorrect、misunderstand等;后綴詞如handful、kindness、drinkable等;合成詞如warm-hearted、greenhouse、passer-by等。閱讀中常常會遇到一些由熟悉的單詞派生或合成的新詞，因此掌握構(gòu)詞法對推斷詞義很有幫助。比如，unforeseeable這個詞可以根據(jù)構(gòu)詞法把它拆成un、fore、see與able;其中see是詞根，fore是“先;前;預(yù)”的含義，un是否定，able是“能……的;可……的”，因此unforeseeable是“未能預(yù)見到的”的意思。

●根據(jù)前綴推斷詞義

例如：Do you have any strong opinion on co-educational or single-sex schools？

根據(jù)詞根educational （教育的），再結(jié)合前綴co-（共同），我們便可以猜出co-educational的意思是“男女同校的”。

●根據(jù)后綴推斷詞義

例如：It's a quiet， comfortable hotel overlooking （俯瞰） the bay in an uncommercialized Cornish fishing village on England's most southerly point.

后綴-ise/ize意思是“使成為……;使……化”，結(jié)合詞根commercial（商業(yè)的），不難猜出 uncommercialized 的意思是“未被商業(yè)化的”。

●根據(jù)復(fù)合詞的各部分推斷詞義

例如：①Good 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（別扭的）hand positions.

well-designed 或許是個生詞，但我們分析該詞的結(jié)構(gòu)后，就能推測出其含義。它由well （好;優(yōu)秀）和design （設(shè)計）兩部分組成，合在一起便是“設(shè)計精巧的”的意思。

②We live in a technological society where most goods are mass-produced by unskilled labor. Because of this， most people think that craft （手藝） no longer exists.

根據(jù)合成詞mass-produce中的mass（大量的）和produce （生產(chǎn)），我們可以推測出mass-produce的意思是“大批量生產(chǎn);規(guī)模生產(chǎn)”。

【典題鏈接】（2018·浙江卷閱讀B篇）

Americans use more than 100 billion thin film plastic bags every year. So many end up in tree branches or along highways that a growing number of cities do not allow them at checkouts（收銀臺）. The bags are prohibited in some 90 cities in California， including Los Angeles. Eyeing these headwinds， plastic-bag makers are hiring scientists like Stein to make the case that their products are not as bad for the planet as most people assume.

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

A. Bans on plastic bags.

B. Effects of city development.

C. Headaches caused by garbage.

D. Plastic bags hung in trees.

【點石成金】A? ?上文介紹在許多美國大城市塑料袋被禁用，看到這種現(xiàn)狀，塑料袋生產(chǎn)商雇用Stein等科學(xué)家是為了證明他們的產(chǎn)品并不像大多數(shù)人想象的那樣對地球有害。headwinds是一個合成詞，意為“逆風(fēng)”，此處用來比喻塑料袋被禁用的現(xiàn)狀，即Bans on plastic bags，故選A。

【典題鏈接】（2018·全國甲卷閱讀B篇）

Frozen bananas will last several weeks， depending on their ripeness and the temperature of the freezer.

If you have a juicer， you can simply feed in frozen bananas and some berries or sliced fruit. Out comes a “soft-serve”creamy dessert， to be eaten right away.

26. What is “a juicer” in the last paragraph？

A. A dessert.? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? B. A drink.

C. A container.? ? ? ? ? ?D. A machine.

【點石成金】D? ?juice是果汁，根據(jù)構(gòu)詞常識，

后綴-er要么指人，要么指機(jī)器。再結(jié)合語境可知，本段談到了榨汁機(jī)的功能，故可獲取正確答案。

2. 利用同義詞、近義詞推斷詞義

在生詞所出現(xiàn)的上下文中，有時會出現(xiàn)與之同義或近義的詞語或結(jié)構(gòu)，這時可從熟悉的詞語中推知生詞的含義。當(dāng)這些詞或短語之間有并列連詞and或or時，這些詞語或短語在句中作相同的成分，并且and或or連接的兩項內(nèi)容在含義上是接近的或遞進(jìn)的，由此確定同等關(guān)系中的某個生詞所屬的義域，甚至推出它的大致詞義。

...Fermat's Last Theorem（定理）， was first put forward by the French mathematician Pierre de Fermat in the seventeenth century. The theorem had baffled and beaten the finest mathematical minds， including a French woman scientist who made a major advance in working out the problem， and who had to dress like a man in order to be able to study at the Ecole Polytechnique.

Which of the following best explains the meaning of the word “baffle” in the text？

A. To encourage people to raise questions.

B. To cause difficulty in understanding.

C. To provide a person with an explanation.

D. To limit people's imagination.

【點石成金】B? ?根據(jù)語境可知，F(xiàn)ermat的定理使得最具有數(shù)學(xué)頭腦的科學(xué)家絞盡腦汁（beat）。句中的beaten和baffled處于同等的并列關(guān)系，根據(jù)這一信息可以推出baffle表示“使困惑;難倒;難以理解”的意思。

3. 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，對比的事物是互為相反的，因此根據(jù)反義或?qū)Ρ汝P(guān)系可從已知推出未知。利用反義詞來說明生詞的意義，如反義詞hot and cold、

perfect and imperfect，甚至前、后句為肯定與否定或是與不是等。這在句內(nèi)詞與詞之間，在段內(nèi)句與句之間的關(guān)系上起著互為線索的作用。

...A child's birthday party doesn't have to be a hassle; it can be a basket of fun， according to Beth Anaclerio， an Evaston mother of two， ages 4 and 18 months...

What does the underlined word “hassle” probably mean？

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.

【點石成金】C? ?根據(jù)前面的否定doesn't與后面的肯定can be這一對比關(guān)系可以判斷出，hassle的意思應(yīng)該與fun相反。

4. 利用上下文語境推斷詞義

任何一篇文章中的句子在內(nèi)容上都不是絕對孤立的，它們都和句子所在的段落及整篇文章有關(guān)。利用上下文提供的情景和線索，進(jìn)行合乎邏輯的綜合分析進(jìn)而推測詞義，是閱讀過程中的一大關(guān)鍵，這也是近年來高考考查的熱點。

【典題鏈接】（2019·天津卷閱讀D篇）

We've all known people who run out of steam before they reach life's halfway mark. I'm not talking about those who fail to get to the top. We can't all get there. I'm talking about people who have stopped learning on growing because they have adopted the fixed attitudes and opinions that all too often come with passing years.

52. What does the underlined part in Paragraph 3 probably mean？

A. End one's struggle for liberty.

B. Waste one's energy taking risks.

C. Miss the opportunity to succeed.

D. Lose the interest to continue learning.

【點石成金】D? ?根據(jù)段中的“I'm talking about people who have stopped learning on growing because they have adopted the fixed attitudes and opinions that all too often come with passing years.”可知，作者談?wù)摰牟皇悄切]有到達(dá)頂峰的人，而是談?wù)撃切┎辉賹W(xué)習(xí)、成長的人，故可知run out of steam在文中的意思為“失去繼續(xù)學(xué)習(xí)的興趣”。

5. 利用定義和解釋推斷詞義

有些文章，特別是科技文章，通常會對一些關(guān)鍵詞給予定義，故我們可以利用定義來猜測這些詞的意思。釋義法就是根據(jù)文章內(nèi)容，對生詞以定語（從句）、表語甚至用逗號、破折號等標(biāo)點符號引出并加以解釋說明的方式。

“Organic produce is always better，” Gold said. “The food is free of pesticides （農(nóng)藥）， and you are generally supporting family farms instead of large farms. And more often than not it is locally（本地） grown and seasonal， so it is more tasty.” Gold is one of a growing number of shoppers buying into the organic trend， and supermarkets across Britain are counting on more like him as they grow their organic food business.

What is the meaning of “the organic trend” as the words are used in the text？

A. Growing interest in organic food.

B. Better quality of organic food.

C. Rising market for organic food.

D. Higher prices of organic food.

【點石成金】A? ?由Gold is one of a growing number of shoppers buying可以推斷出，越來越多的顧客像Gold一樣開始購買有機(jī)食物，其實也就是對這類食物產(chǎn)生了越來越濃厚的興趣。

6. 根據(jù)語義轉(zhuǎn)折推斷詞義

有時文章的作者為了增強(qiáng)表達(dá)效果，會用一些表示轉(zhuǎn)折意思的連詞、副詞或短語。如：

though、although、still、but、yet、instead、instead of、however、while、on the contrary、on the other hand、unlike、rather than、for one thing、for another等，這樣我們可以根據(jù)轉(zhuǎn)折意思推斷詞義。

...However obvious these facts may appear at first glance， they are actually not so obvious as they seem except when we take special pains to think about the subject.

In Paragraph 3， what does the underlined phrase “take special pains” probably mean？

A. Try very hard.

B. Take our time.

C. Are very unhappy.

D. Feel especially painful.

【點石成金】A? ?將However從句當(dāng)中的at first glance（乍一眼看上去），與下文中的take special pains進(jìn)行對比，既然不是一眼就能看出來那么簡單，那么自然要費力去想了。

7. 利用經(jīng)驗和常識推斷詞義

閱讀時，我們通常會儲備一些與文本內(nèi)容相關(guān)的背景知識。這些背景知識有助于我們更好地理解文章。同學(xué)們在平時的學(xué)習(xí)中要廣泛閱讀，積累更多的經(jīng)驗常識，以便為閱讀理解掃清背景知識儲備不足的障礙。

“I was on the way to a personal-injury accident in West Nashville. As I got onto Highway 40， blue lights and sirens（警笛） going， I fell in behind a gold Pontiac Firebird that suddenly seemed to take off quickly down the highway. The driver somehow panicked at the sight of me. He was going more than a hundred miles an hour and began passing cars on the shoulder.”

The meaning of “panicked” in Paragraph 2 is related to? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?.

A. shame? ? ? B. hate

C. anger? ? ? D. fear

【點石成金】D? ?根據(jù)本段內(nèi)容描述，可以知道panicked意思是“驚慌”，與fear有關(guān)。

8. 利用標(biāo)點符號推斷詞義

省略號、破折號、問號等標(biāo)點符號往往都成了解題的突破口，閱讀時應(yīng)當(dāng)細(xì)心體會。

【典題鏈接】（2019·全國乙卷閱讀B篇）

But he's nervous. “I'm here to tell you today why you should ... should ...” Chris trips on the “-ld，” a pronunciation difficulty for many

non-native English speakers. His teacher， Thomas Whaley， is next to him， whispering support. “... Vote for ... me ...” Except for some stumbles， Chris is doing amazingly well. When he brings his speech to a nice conclusion， Whaley invites the rest of the class to praise him.

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

A. Improper pauses.? ? B. Bad manners.

C. Spelling mistakes.? D. Silly jokes.

【點石成金】A? ?根據(jù)Whaley的點評——學(xué)生Chris做得非常棒（amazingly well），除了……可知，some stumbles是演講中的弱點，然而，A、B、C、D都是弱點。所以，本題再結(jié)合省略號可知，Chris講話吞吞吐吐、結(jié)結(jié)巴巴，短語trips on意為“絆倒在……;卡在……上”，綜合考慮選A。

9. 利用例證推斷詞義

表示例證關(guān)系的詞匯主要有：for example、 for instance、such as、like、including、 besides等。

【典題鏈接】（2018·全國乙卷閱讀C篇）

In recent centuries， trade， industrialisation， the development of the nation-state and the spread of universal compulsory education， especially globalisation and better communications in the past few decades， all have caused many languages to disappear， and dominant languages such as English， Spanish and Chinese are increasingly taking over.

29. Which of the following best explains “dominant” underlined in paragraph 2？

A. Complex.? ? ? ? ? B. Advanced.

C. Powerful.? ? ? ? ? D. Modern.

【點石成金】C? ?本句話提到，所有種種都導(dǎo)致許多語言消失，而英語、西班牙語和漢語這些語言占了上風(fēng)，結(jié)合常識——英語、西班牙語、漢語是國際通用語言，綜上說明這三門語言生命力很強(qiáng)。

10. 利用批判性思維推斷詞義

批判性思維體現(xiàn)在閱讀上就是立足文本，即讀者的“主觀”應(yīng)該盡量靠近閱讀文本的“客觀”。讀者的理解越靠近文本實際表達(dá)，說明讀者的批判性思維能力越強(qiáng)。

【典題鏈接】（2019·全國甲卷閱讀B篇）

“You can use me as a last resort（選擇）， and if nobody else volunteers， then I will do it.” This was an actual reply from a parent after I put out a request for volunteers for my kids' lacrosse（長曲棍球） club.

I guess that there's probably some demand-

ing 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 par-ent 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 par-ent 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? ?那位家長一開始并不太愿意去“我”的孩子們的長曲棍球俱樂部當(dāng)志愿者?！拔摇本陀忠淮螄L試打感情牌，訴說“我”的可憐處境及那位教練的無私。不少考生選C項（倡議做好事），后面的教練的確是在做好事，但至于“我”，只能說是盡家長的義務(wù)，不能算是做好事。也只有“打動某人的心、打感情牌”才能全面概括后面兩件事，在概括范圍上與文本吻合，批判思維度較高。

三、總結(jié)

詞義推斷題屬于閱讀中相對簡單的題型，只要能夠掌握以上介紹的做題技巧并在平時的練習(xí)中多琢磨、多應(yīng)用，該題就能夠拿到分?jǐn)?shù)。