高考阅读理解猜词悟义七大技巧

阅读理解一直是高考的重头戏，而词义猜测题基本上是阅读每年必考的题型。从近三年的高考考试大纲来看，高考已将以往考纲中的“根据上下文推断生词的词义”修改为“根据上下文推断单词和短语的含义”，这意味着高考对考生猜词悟义的能力要求更高了。鉴于此，下面笔者结合高考真题介绍七种猜词悟义的方法，希望帮助大家攻克词义猜测题。

根据定义、释义或同位语进行猜测

有些文章，特别是科技说明文，作者通常会对一些关键词或专业术语下定义，通过阅读定义和解释部分，考生便可理解该词或短语的意思。有时，需要猜测的单词或短语后面会紧跟一个同位语，作为对前面的词或短语的解释说明。有时，文章会用冒号、破折号、括号等对某个词或短语加以解释说明。例如：

① What does the underlined word "tyrannies" in Paragraph 2 refer to？ （2015年江苏卷D篇）

A. Countries where their people need help.

B. Powerful states with higher civilization.

C. Splendid empires where people enjoy freedom.

D. Governments ruled with absolute power.

原文

Some 2，500 years ago Greece discovered freedom. Before that there was no freedom. There were great civilizations， splendid empires， but no freedom anywhere. Egypt and Babylon were both tyrannies， one very powerful man ruling over helpless masses.

解析

所猜测单词tyrannies后面出现了同位语one very powerful man ruling over helpless masses （一个很有权势的人统治一大群无助的人）来进行解释说明，四个选项中只有D项“用绝对权力来统治的政府”与其意思相符，故答案为D。

② The underlined sentence "the opposite is true" in Paragraph 2 probably means that trees ______. （2014年辽宁卷C篇）

A. compete for survival B. protect their own wealth

C. depend on each other D. provide support for dying trees

原文

Although Charles Darwin thought that trees are competing for survival of the fittest， Simard shows just how wrong he was. In fact， the opposite is true： trees survive through their co-operation and support， passing around necessary nutrition "depending on who needs it".

解析

划线句子后面用冒号引出了对其的解释说明。由后面的解释可知，树是通过合作和相互支持来生存的，而四个选项中与该意思相符的只有C项（相互依存），故答案为C。

根据构词法进行猜测

英语中通过词根加词缀或两个单词合成的方式可以构成新词。因此，掌握了一定的构词知识，再结合上下文语境，也可以快速猜测词义。例如：

The underlined word "outlawed" in Paragraph 2 probably means "_______". （2010年福建卷B篇）

A. allowed B. banned

C. offered D. refused

原文

Five million more families in sub-Saharan Africa will get a TV over the next five years. In 2005， after the fall of the Taliban （塔利班）， which had outlawed TV， 1 in 5 Afghans had one. The global total is another 150 million by 2013—pushing the numbers to well beyond two thirds of families.

解析

划线单词outlaw中的out-为前缀，在构成动词时有“超越，超过”的意思，与law连用，字面意思是“超越了法律”，即为法律所不容或法律禁止。再结合原文“In 2005， after the fall of the Taliban， which had outlawed TV， 1 in 5 Afghans had one.”可知，2005年塔利班垮台以后，五分之一的阿富汗人有了电视机，而在这之前电视应该是“被禁止的”。四个选项中只有ban有“禁止”的意思，故选B项。

根据因果关系进行猜测

在阅读理解文章的句子或段落中，若两个事物或两种现象之间构成因果关系，这时我们可以根据这种因果逻辑关系推断词或短语的含义。表示因果关系的标志词有because、so、thus、therefore、as a result of、since、so that、so/such ... that ...等。例如：

What does the underlined word "disrupting" in Paragraph 4 probably mean？ （2013年陕西卷D篇）

A. Breaking. B. Following.

C. Attending. D. Disturbing.

原文

My son could not follow the teacher&apos；s directions， he told me， and thus， Scola was disrupting the class. Didn&apos；t he know my son did not speak English yet？

解析

划线单词所在的句子出现了因果关系标志词thus，由前面的原因“我儿子听不懂老师的指示”可以推知，“他因此认为我儿子Scola干扰了课堂”，故选D项。其余三项都不符合这一因果逻辑关系。

根据指代关系进行猜测

英语文章中常使用代词代替上文中的名词或名词短语，将上下文内容连贯起来，使前后相呼应。文章中的代词可以指上文提到的人或物，其中it和that还可以指代一件事。有时代词指代的对象相隔较远，需要认真查找；有时需要对前面提到的内容进行总结，才能得出代词所指代的对象。解题时需要返回原文找到代词所在的句子，仔细分析，然后向前查找，找出离该代词最近的名词、短语或句子，以之替换该代词，看句子是否通顺。例如：

① The underlined word "it" in the second paragraph refers to "_____". （2015年福建卷B篇）

A. one new thing B. a request

C. the news D. some comment

原文

We would talk about the news of the day； no matter how insignificant， it was never taken lightly.

解析

本题需要猜测代词it所指内容，向前查找，可以发现名词短语the news of the day，再结合前文句意“我们会谈论这一天的新闻，无论多么微不足道”可知，it指代前文中的the news，代入后句意为“无论多么微不足道，这些新闻从未被草率对待”，故选C项。

② The underlined word "they" in the third letter refers to ______. （2015年湖南卷A篇）

A. accidents B. vehicles

C. pedestrians D. cyclists

原文

Other road users， including horse riders， manage to obey the rules so why not cyclists？

It&apos；s about time they had to be registered and insured， so when they do hit a pedestrian or a vehicle， or cause an accident， at least they can be traced and there might be an opportunity to claim.

解析

根据划线词语所在句子的句意可知，划线处的they与前面两个they指代的是同一个对象，因此我们需要跨越前面两个代词they到上一段寻找。上一段符合they指代复数名词或短语的有road users、horse riders、the rules、cyclists，将其分别代入划线词语所在的句子后可以发现，只有名词cyclists符合语境，故选D项。

根据同义或近义关系进行猜测

在划线单词或短语前后有时会出现与之同义或近义的词语或结构，它往往暗示了该词或该短语的含义，这时可从熟悉的词语中推知生词或短语的含义。常见的表示相同或相近意义的词和短语有and、or、like、as well、similarly、too、also、either等。例如：

① What does the word "contributions" in the last paragraph refer to？ （2015年新课标I卷C篇）

A. Artworks. B. Projects.

C. Donations. D. Documents.

原文

The fine selection of the major works was done in close collaboration （合作） with the Museo Nacional Reina Sofia in Madrid， Spain， and with contributions from other institutions like the Salvador Dali Museum in St. Petersburg， Florida.

解析

划线单词contributions前出现了and，可利用同义或近义关系进行猜测。And前面提到了the fine selection of the major works （精选的重要作品），后面说contributions来自其他机构，由并列关系可以推断出contributions应该属于works的范畴，同时文中明确表示contributions是来自museum的，故选A项。

② What does the underlined word "nocturnal" in Paragraph 5 mean？ （2015年四川卷D篇）

A. Active at night.

B. Inactive at night.

C. Active during the day. D. Inactive during the day.

原文

And it is not just robins that are being kept awake by artificial light. Blackbirds and seagulls are also being more nocturnal.

解析

划线词语所在的句子出现了also，可利用同义或近义关系进行猜测。前文说“不仅知更鸟在人造光下会一直醒着”，后文中的also表明与前面表达的意思相近，即“黑鹂和海鸥也更清醒”。因此，可推断nocturnal应该与awake是近义词，四个选项只有A项与其意思相近，故选A，nocturnal意为“夜间活动的”。

根据反义、转折或对比关系进行猜测

有些需要猜测词义的词或短语前后会出现表示转折或对比的词语，运用这些词语也可以帮助猜测词义。能体现转折、对比关系的词汇很多，常见的有but、yet、however、while、unlike、instead （of）、on the other hand、rather than、on the contrary等。例如：

What does the underlined word "sedate" probably mean？ （2015年重庆卷D篇）

A. Wild and romantic. B. Slow and peaceful.

C. Hungry and thirsty. D. Active and excited.

原文

In the evening， rides are usually at a more relaxed and unhurried pace， with golden light streaming across the grassy delta and the animals coming out to eat and drink. Sedate though they are， rides at this time of day are still very impressive.

解析

划线词语所在句子的句意为“虽然它们_____，但是在一天的这个时候骑马观赏仍然令人印象非常深刻”。由though可知前后两句是转折关系，再结合前一句中提到的at a more relaxed and unhurried pace可知，应选B项，sedate意为“不慌不忙的”。

根据上下文进行猜测

有些词义猜测题找不到以上标志线索，这时可以利用上下文提供的情景和线索进行合乎逻辑的综合分析，进而推测词义，这也是近几年来高考考查的热点。例如：

The underlined part "lubricated the paths" in Paragraph 4 means ____. （2015年四川卷E篇）

A. made the paths wet B. made the paths hard

C. made the paths wide D. made the paths slippery

原文

The most popular view is that Egyptian workers slid the blocks along smooth paths. Many scientists suspect workers first would have put the blocks on sleds （滑板）. Then they would have dragged them along paths. To make the work easier， workers may have lubricated the paths either with wet clay or with the fat from cattle. Bonn has now tested this idea by building small sleds and dragging heavy objects over sand.

解析

由上文中的slid the blocks along smooth paths以及下文中的either with wet clay or with the fat from cattle可以推测，他们这样做的目的是让道路变得光滑，便于移动物体。四个选项中只有D项包含这层含义，故选D。

俗话说：“熟能生巧。”希望各位同学在平时做题时多多运用并熟练掌握这些方法技巧，争取在高考中拿下词义猜测题。