作為閱讀理解的一種題型，詞義猜測(cè)題雖然在高考中所占比例較小，但基本每年都考。近幾年來，詞義猜測(cè)題增加了對(duì)短語及句意的猜測(cè)，難度逐年增加，考生需要綜合分析上下文才能得出答案。那么，如何“順藤摸瓜”，通過上下文來確定詞義呢？下面，筆者介紹幾種利用上下文進(jìn)行詞義猜測(cè)的方法，希望可以幫助各位同學(xué)攻克詞義猜測(cè)題。

釋義法

所謂釋義法，是指在上下文中尋找對(duì)所猜測(cè)的詞語或句子進(jìn)行解釋說明的信息。通常，這種信息會(huì)以如下方式出現(xiàn)在上下文中：①以定義、定語（從句）、同位語的形式出現(xiàn)，此時(shí)常見的線索詞有that is、which is、in other words等；②用逗號(hào)、冒號(hào)、破折號(hào)等標(biāo)點(diǎn)符號(hào)引出并加以解釋說明。例如2014年遼寧卷C篇第29題。

The underlined sentence "the opposite is true" in Paragraph 2 probably means that trees _______.

A. compete for survival

B. protect their own wealth

C. depend on each other

D. provide support for dying trees

首先根據(jù)題干可以定位到原文第二段第三句：In fact， the opposite is true： trees survive through their co-operation and support， passing around necessary nutrition "depending on who needs it". 很顯然，冒號(hào)后的部分是解釋說明劃線句子的。根據(jù)該部分的句意可知，樹是靠相互合作和支持才得以生存，故選C。

同義法

所謂同義法，是指在上下文中尋找與要猜測(cè)的部分語義相同或相近的詞或短語等。這類詞或短語有時(shí)與要猜測(cè)的部分之間有并列連詞and或or連接，有時(shí)會(huì)在上/下文出現(xiàn)其同義詞或短語。例如2014年福建卷A篇第58題。

The underlined word "intimidated" in the fourth paragraph probably means "______".

A. astonished B. struck

C. frightened D. excited

首先根據(jù)題干可以定位到原文第四段：As we walked up to her， my son became intimidated by all the blood and medical equipment. He said he was just too scared to go up to her. 后面句子提到他太害怕（scared）而不敢靠近，由此可知“我”的兒子應(yīng)該是被嚇到了，scared為intimidated的同義詞。四個(gè)選項(xiàng)只有frightened可表示“被嚇到了”，故選C。

對(duì)比轉(zhuǎn)折法

對(duì)比轉(zhuǎn)折法是指通過意思相反或是相對(duì)應(yīng)的兩個(gè)詞語或句子來判斷其中一個(gè)的意思。只要知道其中一個(gè)的含義，另一個(gè)的含義也就一目了然。兩部分之間常見的標(biāo)志詞有but、yet、however、while、on the other hand、on the contrary等。例如2014年福建卷D篇第69題。

The underlined sentence in the second paragraph probably implies that _______.

A. however materially rich， they never seem to be satisfied

B. however materially rich， they remain spiritually poor

C. though their house is big， they prefer a simple life

D. though their house is big， it seems to be a cage

首先根據(jù)題干可以定位到原文第二段劃線句子：They live in too big a house with too many rooms， yet their house of life is a hut. 根據(jù)本句中的轉(zhuǎn)折連詞yet 可知，逗號(hào)前后應(yīng)該是相反的意思。句中的too many rooms強(qiáng)調(diào)的是物質(zhì)方面，所以yet后應(yīng)該強(qiáng)調(diào)精神方面，故選B。

舉例法

舉例法是指根據(jù)作者所列舉的例子來猜測(cè)詞語或句子的意思。常見的線索詞包括such as、for example等。例如2014年江西卷D篇第71題。

The underlined word "gadgets" is closest in meaning to _______.

A. tools B. messages

C. barriers D. skills

首先根據(jù)題干可以定位到原文第二段：With the communication gadgets， such as mobile phones and iPads， people often do not take the effort to visit one another personally. 根據(jù)such as后面列舉的mobile phones、iPads可知，這些都是人們經(jīng)常使用的通信工具，可推斷gadgets應(yīng)該表示“工具”的含義，故選A。

代詞替代法

一般來講，代詞所指代的內(nèi)容多在其所在句子的前后句中。做題時(shí)首先分析句子，找到代詞指代的內(nèi)容，然后將其放在代詞的位置上，看其是否符合上下文語境，來判定其是否為正確答案。這種方法就是代詞替代法，例如2014年山東卷B篇第47題。

What does the underlined word "It" in Paragraph 3 refer to？

A. The heat.

B. The theater.

C. The Music Man.

D. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.

首先根據(jù)題干可以定位到原文第三段：Then， we sat and watched The Music Man followed by The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. We'd already seen the second movie once before. It had been at the theater since January， because Mr. Bellow loved anything with John Wayne in it. 根據(jù)“It”前面的兩句話可知，第二部電影“我們”已經(jīng)看過一次，所以it在此指上文提到的第二部電影The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance，故選D。

因果關(guān)系法

一定的原因會(huì)導(dǎo)致一定的結(jié)果，如果要猜測(cè)的詞語或句子處于有因果關(guān)系的句子或段落中時(shí)，就可以通過因果關(guān)系法來猜測(cè)詞義或句意。常見的表因果關(guān)系的詞語有since、as、because、for、so、thus、consequently、therefore、result in/from、as a result、for this reason、so that、so ... that、such ... that等。例如2014年廣東卷D篇第41題。

The underlined phrase swap meets in Paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to _______.

A. fitting rooms B. trading fairs

C. business talks D. group meetings

首先根據(jù)題干可以定位到原文第一段最后一句話：There were so many shoes that people were setting up swap meets to try and match left and right shoes to sell or wear. 由前面的so和后面的that從句可知前后為因果關(guān)系。再根據(jù)that引導(dǎo)的結(jié)果狀語從句中的to try and match和to sell or wear，特別是sell，可推斷出是建立交易市場(chǎng)，故選B。

情境推斷法

猜測(cè)任何詞義、句意都離不開文章的語言情境，因此我們還可以通過推斷具體的情境來猜測(cè)詞義或句意。例如2014年遼寧卷B篇第27題。

The underlined word "belated" in Situation IV probably means _______.

A. predicted B. returned

C. cancelled D. delayed

根據(jù)題干可定位到Situation IV中的對(duì)話：Q： If I remember my friend's birthday a day late， should I apologize or just wish her a happy birthday like nothing happened？ A： This is the reason why the word belated was invented. "Happy belated birthday！" is short for： "Well， I know I forgot， but then I remembered. Forgive me and happy birthday." 由對(duì)話可知對(duì)朋友說Happy belated birthday是在忘記朋友生日后進(jìn)行的補(bǔ)救措施，由此可推斷belated應(yīng)該是指“遲到的，晚來的”，故選D。

作者簡(jiǎn)介：

葛春燕，山東省東營(yíng)市利津縣第一中學(xué)教師，多年被評(píng)為教學(xué)先進(jìn)個(gè)人，并有多篇論文發(fā)表于省市級(jí)期刊。