PETS二级考试猜词技巧指导

推测词义是应用英语的重要能力，也是考试有的题型。它不但需要准确无误地理解上下文，而且要有较大的泛读量，掌握或认识较多的课外词汇，学会顺藤摸瓜，通过构词、语法、定义、同位、对比、因果、常识、上下文等线索确定词义。下面介绍几种猜词的方法:

①定义法，即通过文章中对生词的定义确定其词义，如:

Annealing is a way of making metal softer by heating it and then letting it cool very slowly.

句子给予annealing 以明确的定义，即"退火"。再如:

It will be very hard but also very brittle-that is, it will break easily.

从后面的解释中我们可以了解到brittle 是"脆的、容易折断的"意思。又如: The herdsman, who looks after sheep, earns about 650 yuan a year.

定语从句中 looks after sheep表明了herdsman 的词义为"牧羊人"。

②同位法，即通过句子中的同位成分如同位语、同位语从句、破折号后的词组或语句来确定词义, 如: They traveled a long way, at last got to a castle, a large building in old times.

同位语部分a large building in old times 给出了 castle 的确切词义，即"城堡"。

We are on the night shift-from midnight to 8 a.m.-this week.

两个破折号之间的短语很清楚地表明night shift 是"夜班"的意思。

③对比法，即通过同义、反义或转折词的关系来确定词义, 如:

She is usually prompt for all her class, but today she arrived in the middle of her first class.

but一词表转折，因此but 前后的意思正相反。后半句的意思是她今天"第一节上了一半才来"，因此反向推理，可得出她平时一向"准时"的结论。

④构词法(前缀、后缀、复合、派生等)，即运用词根、词缀的意义判断词义，如:

Perhaps, we can see some possibilities for next fifty years. But the next hundred?

possibility 是 possible 的同根名词，据此可以判断定 possibility 意思是"可能性"。

⑤因果法，即运用因果关系和因果词如so, because, therefore, hence等来判断词义，如:

The lack of movement caused the muscles to weaken. Sometimes the weakness was permanent. So the player could never play the sport again.

从后面的结果"永远不能再运动"中，可以推测 permanent 的意思为"永远的，永久的"。