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
8 J& g" Y: z! k# U( o+ ?1 N) C 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.: J z( R3 R0 k4 @
后面的同位语告诉我们“desertification”的意思是“沙漠化。”, b5 W0 @- j: O" l9 F+ J5 J# \9 z; w1 t
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.
* ]) G( Q3 Q. g) x5 o/ E Anchaeopteryx — the first bird: “始祖鸟” 2.根据对词义的解释定义从而得到答案
0 x4 a6 ?8 \- S# h3 j+ ? 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
- b; r! f. o' q4 x! e7 B% E' X9 h( ]* w* e Jane was talking with others while Eliza remained reticent all the time.
# t: K) d# |7 a8 d: ^/ k* j6 Y “while”是一个显示对比的信号词,“reticent”与“talking”相对应,“reticent”:沉默的。
8 S% T% k$ K& S. m Most of us agreed; however, Bill dissented.6 M* i, L5 V x8 _! m) \1 j
“agreed”与“dissented”形成对比。 4.根据比喻的描述进行猜测0 Z& M% _+ {* p' j5 b5 \& f
The hot-air balloon took off. It was as buoyant in the air as a cork (软木塞) in water.0 _' q9 g& L0 ~, Z
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
: b5 z( {5 V( f& c k; `& [) e- q Venus rotates retrograde, or “backwards”, spinning in the opposite direction of its orbit around the Sun.
5 x* U$ L; l3 Q- ?9 a 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
# o& `+ W. P- ]; n' G } The door was so low that I hit my head on the lintel.5 b7 G( l+ t: _/ q5 W
门太低,我的头撞在“lintel门楣”上了。
& Y1 p, q. i& u8 @, I He got on the motorbike, I sat behind him on the pillion, and we roared off into the night.4 ?- t2 j2 Q* U
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6 c# C' U: b4 H2 f3 E d6 l
More recently, scientists have documented an alarmingly high occurrence of frogs with malformations.
" {, }' `( c, ?; ]9 y' W0 T 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。 * k7 k9 P! N" p0 d8 B+ _
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。 |