2014考研英语复习：阅读理解之词义题破解

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在英语学习中，我们自然会遇到许多生词。这时，许多人立即翻阅字典，查找词义。其实这种做法是不科学的。它不但费时费力，而且影响阅读速度。事实上，阅读材料中的每个词与它前后的词语或句子甚至段落有着互相制约的关系。我们可以利用语境（各种已知信息）推测、判断某些生词的词义。

综上所述，利用各种已知信息推测、判断词义是一项重要的阅读技巧。在实践中，我们可以灵活运用，综合运用上面提到的几种猜测技巧，排除生词的障碍，顺利理解文章的思想内容，提高阅读速度。

所以考生应重点避免以下两种情况：第一，考生往往会随便猜一个选项，错误率很高。第二种情况下，考生往往落入命题专家的陷阱，不知不觉地失了分，原因是考生并没有掌握阅读词汇题的基本命题原则。在阅读部分的词汇题要考的并不是考生认不认识题中所考的单词，否则便是命题失效。此处要考的是考生阅读中的推断能力，也就是说题中所考单词的词义必定能根据上下文推断出来。所以考生在遇到阅读中的词汇题时，一定要冷静，去上下文中细找，推断出词义后，可将词义代入原文看是否通畅。

例如2003年第54题：

Railroads justify rate discrimination against captive shippers on the grounds that in the long run it reduces everyone's cost. If railroads charged all customers the same average rate, they argue, shippers who have the option of switching to trucks or other forms of transportation would do so, leaving remaining customers to shoulder the cost of keeping up the line. It's a theory to which many economists subscribe, but in practice it often leaves railroads in the position of determining which companies will flourish and which will fail. "Do we really want railroads to be the arbiters of who wins and who loses in the marketplace?" asks Martin Bercovici, a Washington lawyer who frequently represents shippers.

The word "arbiters" most probably refers to those_________.
[A] who work as coordinators
[B] who function as judges
[C] who supervise transactions
[D] who determine the price

该题的解题关键在于是否知道arbiters后的介宾短语of who wins and who loses in the marketplace就是对该词的最准确定义，依据该介宾短语，不难得出arbiters是决定谁输谁赢的人，四个选项中只有B选项和这个意思最为接近。

再例2004年第43题：

For any job search, you should start with a narrow concept-what you think you want to do-then broaden it. "None of these programs do that," says another expert. "There's no career counseling implicit in all of this." Instead, the best strategy is to use the agent as a kind of tip service to keep abreast of jobs in a particular database; when you get E-mail, consider it a reminder to check the database again. "I would not rely on agents for finding everything that is added to a database that might interest me," says the author of a job-searching guide.
The expression "tip service" most probably means .

[A] advisory
[B] compensation
[C] interaction
[D] reminder

该题的解题关键在于充分利用分号，分号前面的短语use the agent as a kind of tip service和分号后的consider it a reminder属于并列关系，it和the agent都是指的文章中所说的搜索代理，自然我们就找到了tip service的同义词reminder。所以该题答案D。

词义题解题方法

针对推测生词含义题型，我们可以从两个方面进行分析：

1）利用内在逻辑关系。即根据内在逻辑关系推测词义是指运用语言知识分析和判断相关信息之间存在的逻辑关系，然后根据逻辑关系推断生词词义或大致义域。

a．根据对比关系猜测词义

在一个句子或段落中，有对两个事物或现象进行对比性的描述，我们可以根据生词或难词的反义词猜测其词义。例如：

Andrew is one of the most supercilious men I know. His brother, in contrast, is quite humble and modest. 该例中supercilious对许多人来说可能是个生词，但是句中短语in contrast，（相对照的，相对比的）可以提示我们supercilious和后面词组humble and modest（谦卑又谦虚）是对比关系。分析出这种关系后，我们便能猜出supercilious意为"目空一切的，傲慢的"。

表示对比关系的词汇和短语主要是unlike，not，but，however，despite，n spite of，in contrast 和while 引导的并列句等。例如，A good supervisor can recognize instantly the adept workers from the unskilled ones. 该句中并未出现上面提到的表示对比关系的词或短语，但是通过上下文可以判断出句子前后是对比关系，即把熟练工人与非熟练工人区分开。这时我们也能够推断出生词 adept的词义，"熟练的"。

b．根据比较关系猜测词义

同对比关系相反，比较关系表示意义上的相似关系。

例如：Green loves to talk，and his brothers are similarly loquacious.

该句中副词similarly表明短语loves to talk与生词loquacious之间的比较关系。以此可以推断出loquacious词义为"健谈的"。表示比较关系的词和短语主要是similarly，like，just as，also等。

c．根据因果关系猜测词义

在句子或段落种，若两个事物、现象之间构成因果关系，我们可以根据这种逻辑关系推知生词词义。

例如：Tom is considered an autocratic administrator because he makes decisions without seeking the opinions of others. 根据原因状语从句的内容，我们可以推断出生词autocratic指"独断专行的"。There were so many demonstrators in the Red Square that he had to elbow his way through the crowd. 此句为结果状语从句，根据从句的描书"许多示威者"，我们便可推知elbow的词意 "挤，挤过"。

d．根据同义词的替代关系猜测词义

在句子或段落种，我们可以利用熟悉的词语，根据语言环境推断生词词义。

例如： Although he often had the opportunity, Mr. Tritt was never able to steal money from a customer. This would have endangered his position at the bank, and he did not want to jeopardize his future. 作者为避免重复使用endanger一词，用其同义词jeopardize来替代它，由此推知其词义为"使……陷入危险，危及、危害"。

Doctors believe that smoking cigarettes is detrimental to your health. They also regard drinking as harmful. 句中detrimental是个生词，但判断出harmful替代detrimental后，不难推断出其词义 为"不利的，有害的"。

2）外部相关因素。即，外部相关因素是指篇章(句子或段落)以外的其他知识。有时仅靠分析篇章内在逻辑关系无法猜出词义。这时,就需要运用生活经验和普通常识确定词义。

例如： Husband：It's really cold out tonight. Wife: Sure it is. My hands are practically numb. How about lighting the furnace? 根据生活经验，天气寒冷时，手肯定是"冻僵的，冻得麻木的"。

The snake slithered through the grass. 根据有关蛇的生活习性的知识，我们可以推断出slither词义为"爬行"。

在猜测词义过程中，除了使用上面提到的一些技巧，我们还可以依靠构词方面的知识， 从生词本身猜测词义。

此外利用词缀亦不失为一种有效的手段。

a．根据前缀猜测词义

例如：He fell into a ditch and lay there, semiconscious, for a few minutes. 根据词根conscious（清醒的，有意识的），结合前缀semi（半，部分的，不完全的）， 我们便可猜出semiconscious词义"半清醒的，半昏迷的"。I'm illiterate about such things. 词根literate意为"有文化修养的，通晓的"，前缀il表示否定，因此illiterate指 "一窍不通，不知道的"。

b．根据后缀猜测词义

例如：Insecticide is applied where it is needed. 后缀cide表示"杀者，杀灭剂"，结合大家熟悉的词根insect（昆虫），不难猜出 insecticide意为"杀虫剂"。 Then the vapor may change into droplets. 后缀let表示"小的"，词根drop指"滴，滴状物"。将两个意思结合起来，便可推断出droplet词义"小滴，微滴"。

c．根据复合词的各部分猜测词义

例如：Growing economic problems were highlighted by a slowdown in oil output. highlight或许是一个生词，但是分析该词结构后，就能推测出其含义。它是由high （高的，强的）和light（光线）两部分组成，合在一起便是"以强光照射，使突出" 的意思。 Bullfight is very popular in Spain. Bull（公牛）和fight（打，搏斗）结合在一起，指一种在西班牙颇为流行的体育运动--斗牛。