1 類(lèi)屬法

即通過(guò)類(lèi)屬來(lái)推測(cè)詞義。如：

■ Bananas,oranges, pineapples, coconuts and some other kinds of fruit grow in warm areas.

說(shuō)明：從句意我們知道pineapples和coconuts與bananas，oranges是同類(lèi)事物，同屬水果(準(zhǔn)確地說(shuō)是“菠蘿”和“椰子”)。

2 推理法

即根據(jù)文章的前后語(yǔ)境推出生詞的詞義。如：

■That?museum is so immense that it will be impossible to see all the exhibits in one?day.

說(shuō)明：既然一天之內(nèi)看不完所有的展品，那么immense的意思應(yīng)該是“很大”了。

■Everyone?agreed that the woman in the photo was gorgeous. It was easy to see why she had?won the beauty contest.

說(shuō)明：既然“她在選美比賽中獲勝”，說(shuō)明她“很美麗”(gorgeous)。

3 列舉法

即通過(guò)對(duì)文章所列舉的事物來(lái)猜測(cè)生詞的詞義。如：

■Children?like such creatures as dogs and monkeys.

說(shuō)明：像dogs 和 monkeys 之類(lèi)的“creatures”，顯然creatures的意思應(yīng)是“動(dòng)物”。

■In your spare time, you may look through any of these periodicals：Time Magazine, News Week, or The New Worker.

說(shuō)明：periodical是生詞，但根據(jù)其后所列舉的例子，我們可以推測(cè)出它的意思可能是“期刊”或“雜志”。

4 構(gòu)詞法

即根據(jù)前綴、后綴、復(fù)合、派生等構(gòu)詞知識(shí)判斷生詞的詞義。如：

■Overwork?may cause diseases.

說(shuō)明：前綴over-?的意思是“過(guò)分的，過(guò)量的”，故 overwork的意思應(yīng)為“工作過(guò)度”。

■There?was a dissatisfied look in the manager’s eyes.

說(shuō)明：satisfied的意思是“滿意的”，前綴dis-?的意思是“不”，故dissatisfied 的意思應(yīng)該是“不滿意的”。

5 對(duì)比法

即根據(jù)文章前后的對(duì)比關(guān)系確定生詞的詞義。如：

■He had?been getting better, but during the night his condition deteriorated .

說(shuō)明：句中的but 表明deteriorate 應(yīng)該與get better 的意思相反，即“惡化”。

■In many?countries there are two financial extremes, from penury to great wealth.

說(shuō)明：上文說(shuō)兩個(gè)經(jīng)濟(jì)上的極端，那么下文中penury應(yīng)與great wealth 相對(duì)，即表示“貧困”。

■Mrs.Smith is loquacious while her husband is the silent type.

說(shuō)明：while表對(duì)比，意為“而”，所以loquacious 應(yīng)是silent 的反義，即“多嘴的”。

■If you?agree, draw a circle; and a cross if you dissent.

說(shuō)明：既然畫(huà)圈表示同意，那么畫(huà)叉便是“不同意”(dissent)。

6 同位法

同位語(yǔ)是對(duì)所修飾詞語(yǔ)的進(jìn)一步說(shuō)明和解釋?zhuān)魧?duì)所修飾的詞語(yǔ)不熟悉，可通過(guò)其后同位語(yǔ)的“說(shuō)明或解釋”來(lái)確定其詞義。如：

His?father is an expert in phonetics, the study of the sounds of?language.

說(shuō)明：同位語(yǔ) the study of the sounds of language 表示 phonetics 的意思應(yīng)該是“語(yǔ)音學(xué)”

Jean was?born with spina bifida, a birth illness that damages the?spine(脊骨).

說(shuō)明：同位語(yǔ) a birth illness that damages the spine 表明了spin abifida 是種病，一種對(duì)脊骨有損害的病。

7 釋義法

即根據(jù)文章中所提供的釋義關(guān)系來(lái)確定生詞的詞義。如：

They described him as a loon, or a mad man.

說(shuō)明：句中的or 是對(duì)loon的解釋?zhuān)磍oon與a mad man同義，即表示“瘋“。

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

說(shuō)明：句中的 that is 表明 it will break easily 是對(duì)brittle 的解釋?zhuān)瑥亩聹y(cè)出其意為“脆”。

The?herds?man, who looks after sheep, earns about 500 yuan a year.

說(shuō)明：定語(yǔ)從句who looks after sheep 表明herdsman 的詞義為“牧人”。

■There?are three kinds of snow. One kind is a fluffy snow that is somewhat dry and?feathery?

說(shuō)明：定語(yǔ)從句that is somewhat dry and feathery(有點(diǎn)兒干、像羽毛似的)表明 fluffy snow 的意思可能是“鵝毛大雪”。

8 常識(shí)法

即根據(jù)普通常識(shí)推測(cè)生詞的詞義。如：

It’ s said that Bill Gates is the most affluent person in the world.

說(shuō)明：根據(jù)常識(shí)，Bill Gates 為世界首富，所以a fluent 可能是“富有的“。

As a scientist, Edison is very famous for his contrivances.

說(shuō)明：根據(jù)常識(shí)，Edison為發(fā)明大王，他應(yīng)因“發(fā)明”而聞名于世。