即使已经掌握了相当的词汇量,在做托福阅读时还是会无法避免地碰到生单词.有的同学一在材料里看到不会的单词就习惯性翻字典,一篇阅读做下来思维很不连贯,即耽误了阅读时间又中断了阅读思路,自然很大程度影响了阅读理解的能力。那么怎样才能克服生单词多产生的阅读障碍,顺利读懂文章大意呢?秦苏珊英语中心的专家老师建议学生,应该在平时做阅读的过程中逐渐培养猜词解词的能力. 其实,阅读的目的在于获得整个句子、整个段落、乃至整个篇章的思想,而不是各个孤立的词汇的意义。新托福口语考试中的阅读,考查的是考生对段落中心思想整体把握的能力,只要能获得阅读材料的主要信息,并随后能用自己的话加以陈述,一两个生词不会有什么大碍。 不可否认,巨大的词汇量是高质量的阅读和高质量的口语的基础。但当遇到生词时总查字典又不现实(特别是在考试时),那么我们不妨利用上下文来推测,看看我们有多大的猜词本领。强大的猜词本领无疑会有助于阅读速度和阅读能力的提高。 1.根据后文出现的同位语或定语进行词义猜测
: P p5 w8 n- Q& ` Today, I’d like to talk about some of the changes land can undergo, specifically desertification, process through which land becomes part of a desert.
0 z a$ p, C8 _9 l 后面的同位语告诉我们“desertification”的意思是“沙漠化。”
% Y- F+ }) I8 H0 N Since the fossil of the Anchaeopteryx, the first ‘bird’, was discovered in Germany in 1861, there has been continuous disagreement as to whether or not it could actually fly.
9 P2 I$ h# K& Z Anchaeopteryx — the first bird: “始祖鸟” 2.根据对词义的解释定义从而得到答案& o% K: f/ c) R+ X, A# c2 `
We all know that ants are ferocious eaters. They differ widely in their diets and may be carnivorous, herbivorous, or omnivorous, meaning that some eat meat; others eat only plants while others eat a combination of both.由后面的解释我们可以得知:“carnivorous”的意思是“食肉的”;“herbivorous”的意思是“食草的”;“omnivorous”的意思是“杂食的”。 3.根据句子的前后意思推测出语意
) m" G, J- k' {2 \" f- `/ h Jane was talking with others while Eliza remained reticent all the time.
/ _& z" D# s) H, f “while”是一个显示对比的信号词,“reticent”与“talking”相对应,“reticent”:沉默的。; m9 v! t; q2 b/ I7 ~ n7 F- I8 m# d
Most of us agreed; however, Bill dissented.
1 i9 f! {& W% X6 e. K. i4 L “agreed”与“dissented”形成对比。 4.根据比喻的描述进行猜测
# d8 |: A: a6 v/ y, p; g. U The hot-air balloon took off. It was as buoyant in the air as a cork (软木塞) in water.4 k) _7 k/ E4 ^5 ^) b
把热气球比作水中的软木塞,说明“buoyant ”的意义:“漂浮;浮力。” 5.根据其同义词的替代
( W. q+ ~0 t- z! X Venus rotates retrograde, or “backwards”, spinning in the opposite direction of its orbit around the Sun.2 y. |1 Y) }" J& f4 D
由“backwards”这一替代词得知“retrograde”的意思:“向后的。” 6.根据生活的经验常识联想猜词
( G% o* X+ L$ d3 B- U The door was so low that I hit my head on the lintel.
. R; x) ]6 v- g( d3 ~ 门太低,我的头撞在“lintel门楣”上了。
& |* Z8 F2 i& e; u He got on the motorbike, I sat behind him on the pillion, and we roared off into the night.* G& r$ E& _: {; [& \# {. D
由经验得知“pillion”是motorbike的“后座、后鞍。” 7.也可根据词形构造猜测词义
C+ a* N( Y8 v. t$ I More recently, scientists have documented an alarmingly high occurrence of frogs with malformations.
9 r5 {1 g' e, O form是词根, formation“形式”,mal-:构词前缀,可表示“坏、恶、不良”,还可表示“不、不正常、不当、非法。”malformation的意思就应该是“畸形。”更多的例子如:malnutrition: 营养不良;malconduct:(公职人员的)胡作非为;maladjustive: 引起失调的;不利调节的。 , D5 n# m+ s) r4 I$ m4 ]
最后一条对学生能力要求比较高,如果想要能做到这一点,熟练掌握英语常用的前缀、后缀及词根的意义是非常必要的。 |