詞義猜測 語境為本

陳軍

詞義猜測題考查的不僅有詞匯，還有短語和短句在語境中的含義；不僅有生詞，還有“熟詞新義”，即熟悉詞匯的陌生含義。這要求我們能夠結合自身的詞匯儲備，通過分析上下文語境，合情合理地推測所考查詞匯的含義。這種猜測不是胡亂、盲目的，而是有一定方法和技巧的。

代入語境看搭配，“語感”“常識”齊幫忙

猜測詞義最便捷的方法是將四個選項代入語境，根據語感和常識判斷代入后句意是否順暢、合邏輯，這種方法特別適用于動詞或動詞短語。

比如2013年高考英語福建卷B篇第61題：

The underlined phrase “pop up” in the third paragraph probably means “ ”.

A. develop rapidly B. get round quickly

C. appear immediately D. go over automatically

動詞短語pop up所在的段落如下：

The smartphone-like glasses will likely come out this year and cost between $250 and $600， the Times said， possibly including a variation of augmented（增強的） reality， a technology already available on smart?phones and tablets（平板電腦） that overlays information onto the screen about ones surroundings. So， for example， if you were walking down a street， indicators would pop up showing you the nearest coffee shop or directions could be plotted out and come into view right on the sidewalk in front of you.

這一段介紹了一種新型眼鏡，它采用了一種在智能手機和平板電腦中廣泛應用的技術：在屏幕上顯示周圍環(huán)境的信息。比如當你走在大街上，眼鏡上的顯示器（indicator）會pop up，顯示最近的咖啡館以及方向信息。

我們可以把四個選項逐個代入語境之中：

將A選項develop rapidly代入，句意為“眼鏡上的顯示器會迅速發(fā)展，顯示最近的咖啡館及方向信息”；

將B選項get round quickly代入，句意為“眼鏡上的顯示器會迅速傳播開來，顯示最近的咖啡館及方向信息”；

將C選項appear immediately代入，句意為“眼鏡上的顯示器會立即跳出，顯示最近的咖啡館及方向信息”；

將D選項go over automatically代入，句意為“眼鏡上的顯示器會自行檢查，顯示最近的咖啡館及方向信息”。

顯然，代入A、B選項后，句子前后意思不通暢；根據我們使用電腦的常識，顯示器只具備顯示功能，不存在檢查功能，所以D選項也不對；C選項是正確的。

具體事例助理解，定語從句幫猜詞

舉例說明是常用的寫作手法，因此，猜測詞義時，可以在該詞匯的前后語境中仔細搜索，看看有沒有能夠解釋詞義的具體事例。

比如2012年高考英語四川卷C篇第49題：

What does the underlined part in Paragraph 1 mean？

A. I was waiting for good fortune.

B. I was trying to find an admirable job.

C. I was being aimless about a suitable job.

D. I was doing several jobs for more pay at a time.

畫線部分所在的段落如下：

I left university with a good degree in English Literature， but no sense of what I wanted to do. Over the next six years， I was treading water， just trying to earn an income. I tried journalism， but I didnt think I was any good， then finance， which I hated. Finally， I got a job as a rights assistant at a famous publisher. I loved working with books， although the job that I did was dull.

畫線部分是一個短句I was treading water，旨在考查be treading water這一短語的含義。作者說自己是treading water，嘗試著賺錢（trying to earn an income），然后列舉了為賺錢做過的事：“我”試過當記者，但覺得并不合適；后來進入金融行業(yè)，發(fā)現自己不喜歡這一行；最后在一家著名的出版社供職，雖然覺得出版社的工作挺無聊的，但“我”喜歡與書籍打交道?？梢?，“我”一直在尋找一份合適的工作，頻繁跳槽，顯得漫無目的，所以選C。

除了舉例說明，有時候作者還會用定語從句來解釋詞義。因此，我們還可以在前后語境中找找是否有修飾考查詞匯的定語從句。

比如2013年高考英語全國卷ⅡC篇第47題：

The words “chocolate snobs” in Paragraph 3 probably refer to people who .

A. are particular about chocolate

B. know little about cocoa beans

C. look down upon others

D. like to try new flavors

chocolate snobs所在的段落如下：

The CRFs produce is “green”， made within the country and divided into 10 lines， with the Alcohol Series being the most popular. The Exotic Series — with Sichuan pepper， red bean， cheese and other flavors — also does well and is fun to taste. And for chocolate snobs， who think that they have a better knowledge of chocolate than others， the Connoisseur Series uses cocoa beans from Togo， Cuba， Venezuela， and Ghana， among others.

chocolate snobs后面緊跟了一個定語從句，發(fā)揮了“下定義”的作用，使解題難度大大降低。由定語從句who think that they have a better knowledge of chocolate than others可知，chocolate snobs對與巧克力相關的知識了解很深，有研究，有心得，自然就會比普通人挑剔些，所以選A。

這一段的其他文字也能印證這一點。段落介紹的是CRF出品的各系列巧克力，其中面向chocolate snobs推出的Connoisseur Series的特點是使用了不同產地的可可豆。普通人不會深究食物原材料的產地，但挑剔的人會根據原材料產地來判斷食物品質的高低。可見chocolate snobs是對巧克力比較挑剔的人。

內在邏輯須研讀，同義反義互釋義

文章句子、段落的前后順序是按照一定思路、線索排列的，一句（段）話與另一句（段）話之間會有如前因后果、對比反襯、解釋說明、層層遞進等邏輯關系。在猜測詞義時，可以細細研讀詞匯前后的語境，看看有沒有與它表意相近或者相反的詞句，利用同義轉化或反義對比的方法推測詞義。

比如2013年高考英語遼寧卷D篇第69題：

What does the word “flaw” in the last paragraph probably mean？

A. Explanation. B. Finding. C. Origin. D. Fault.

flaw一詞所在段落如下：

We also know the bug as a flaw in a computer program or other design. That meaning dates back to the time of Thomas Edison. In 1878 he explained bugs as “l(fā)ittle problems and difficulties” that required months of study and labor to overcome in developing a successful product. In 1889 it was recorded that Edison “had been up the two previous nights discovering ‘a bug in his invented record player”.

閱讀文章，我們應特別注意we also know the bug as a flaw和he explained bugs as “l(fā)ittle problems and difficulties”這兩個句子。在這兩個句子中，分別有兩組具有同義關系的詞，第一句中：bug = flaw，第二句中：bug = little problems and difficulties。通過同義轉換，我們可得：flaw = little problems and difficulties。

四個選項中， fault（缺陷） 最接近little problems and difficulties，所以選D。

又比如2013年高考英語北京卷A篇第58題：

The underlined word “evenly” in Paragraph 4 probably means .

A. continuously B. separately C. quickly D. equally

evenly所在的段落如下：

The advanced EP also heats the room evenly， wall to wall and floor to ceiling. It comfortably covers an area up to 350 square feet. Other heaters heat rooms unevenly with most of the heat concentrated to the center of the room. And they only heat an area a few feet around the heater. With the EP， the temperature will not vary in any part of the room.

文章介紹了一款名叫EP的新型加熱器。evenly后面緊跟了具有解釋作用的短語wall to wall and floor to ceiling，但我們還是無法直接從這個補充解釋中徹底理解evenly的含義。細讀下文，我們發(fā)現other heaters heat rooms unevenly中的unevenly是evenly的反義詞，可以以這個反義詞為突破口解題。對于unevenly，作者的解釋是：with most of the heat concentrated to the center of the room，加熱時大部分熱量集中在房間的中心地帶，即加熱不均勻，那么它的反義詞evenly當然就是“加熱均勻”的意思了。equally最接近“均勻”的意思，所以選D。

不論是把選項代入原文，還是分析詞匯附近的事例、定語從句，或者是同義、反義轉化，結合上下文語境合理分析是猜測詞義的要訣所在。