医博英语考试 | 阅读理解中如何有效利用上下文猜测词义

小白老师说：猜词悟义是应用英语的重要能力，也是医博英语考试阅读理解中必须掌握的一项重要技能。猜测词义需要我们准确无误地理解上下文，而且平时要有较大的泛读量。考生应学会通过构词、定义、同位、对比、因果、常识、同义、反义及上下文线索等确定词义。

在阅读理解中，在所难免要遇到不认识的单词或短语，或者遇到熟悉的单词在文章中被赋予了新的意义。如果这些词或短语不影响对文章主要内容的理解，我们便可以将它们略过，继续阅读。如果这些词的含义对正确理解文章很重要，那我们就必须想办法猜测词义。

通常说来，猜测词义有以下几种方法：

1. 根据构词法猜测

2. 根据上下文猜测

3. 根据文化背景知识猜测

在医博英语考试中，词汇量还是很重要的，因为关键的单词和短语往往涉及到题材背景、句子结构、文章主旨、作者的观点态度等，“一词不会，全文抓瞎”想想都悲催啊。

但是如果我们能学一点猜测词义的技巧，很多难词都能迎刃而解。

近几年医博英语考试阅读理解的生词率略有上升，这更需要我们再尽量扩充词汇量的同时，要学习一次猜测词义的技巧。命题者往往会考查考生利用同义或反义关系、构词法、语法和语篇文脉等理解关键词的能力。而联系主旨、整合上下文信息是解答这类题的关键。

今天就先来给大家说说如何根据上下文猜测词义。根据上下文猜词可以分为以下这几种情况：

1. 利用解释（定义）猜词

2. 利用例子猜词

3. 利用近义词猜词

4. 利用反义词或对比关系猜词

5. 利用因果关系猜词

1. 利用解释（定义）猜词

解释生词时常用的关键词和句型有：

… means

… is / are

… is / are called 被叫做

… is / are known as 被称为

… can be defines as 可被定义为

例如：

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”。

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

从后面 that is (也就是说) 的解释中我们可以了解到 brittle 是“脆”的意思。

The herdsman, who looks after sheep, earns about 650 yuan a year.

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

阅读中出现的难词有时后面紧跟一个同位语，对前面的词进行解释，这时可利用同位关系对前面或后面的词义或句意进行猜测。例如：

The invention of snorkel, a long air tube that reaches up to the surface, has made it possible for submarines (潜艇) to use their diesel engine even when they are submerged.

句中 snorkel 一词的意思，可通过其同位语 “a long air tube that reaches up to the surface” 来猜得。由此，我们可确定该词义为“通气管”。

2. 利用例子来猜词

利用例子猜词常见的关键词有：

such as

like

especially

for instance

for example

例如：

In cities, centralized production, distribution and exchange create the “agglomeration effect” —which reduces costs while increasing efficiency,” says Zhu Caibin, PhD in urban and environmental science and expert in city planning at the China Urban Construction Design & Research Institute. To put it simple, a factory will find it easier to hire hands and gather material. Whereas you can sell a product to only one person in a village, you might attract 10 potential customers in a city.

例文中，作者通过通俗易懂的例子（begin with " to put it simple"）来解释了专业词汇“agglomeration effect”（集聚效应）。

3. 利用近义词来猜词

常见的用来引出同义词或近义词的表达有：

or…

that is

that is to say

in other words

to put it another way

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 jeopardize 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”。

Article 47 of the law also includes clear and detailed regulations on compensation. It says: “ An employee shall be paid a severance pay based on the number of years worked with the employer at the rate of one month’s wage for each full year worked.”

在这段话中，compensation 和 severance 是同义词。例文理解为: 这部法律的第47条也清楚且详尽地列出一系列有关补偿的规定。其中规定: “经济补偿按劳动者在本单位工作的年限，每满一年支付一个月工资的标准向劳动者支付 。”

4. 利用反义或对比关系来猜词

例如：

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 前后的意思正好相反。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 prompt （准时）的结论。

We can allow time to slip by and let it be our enemy. Or we can take control of it and make it our ally.

前一句说“我们可以让时间流逝或让它成为我们的敌人”，下面一句由or引出，表示相反的意思，即：我们可以控制时间，让时间成为我们的 ally （朋友）来支持我们。

Brussels, home to the EU and many top international institutions, is known for its family-friendly and cultivated lifestyle but the mayor wants to crack down on the everyday unpleasantness found in any big city.

but 一词表示转折，因此 but 前后的意思正相反。前半句的意思是“布鲁塞尔是欧盟总部和很多高级国际机构的所在地，以有利于家庭和有教养的生活方式而著称”。通过转折关系的推理，我们猜测后半句的意思是“市长却想打击 (crack down) 在所有大城市都存在的脏话问题”。

5. 利用因果关系猜词

例如：

French commentators described Miss Trierweiler’s legal action as hypocritical given that she declined to attack her own employer, saying she felt “ ill at ease” doing so.

从后面的原因“她拒绝告自己的雇主，说自己这样做会感到‘不安’”中，可以推测结果中的 “hypocritical” 的意思是“虚伪的”。（法国评论员认为瓦莱丽的法律行动十分虚伪。）

最后，请大家利用刚才小白老师给大家介绍的技巧，来猜测两个词的意思。

1. Though much could still go wrong, the case for Western intervention is being vindicated.

The underlined word means ___________.

A. necessary B. justifiable C. wrong D. mistaken

2. NEW DEHLI (Reuter) — An encephalitis outbreak has claimed 325 lives in the past month, a State Health Department spokesman said yesterday.

Encephalitis, a viral brain disease spread by mosquitoes, killed 2,715 people in India last year, according to official statistics.

What do you know about encephalitis from the news?

请回复关键词“20160711”到公众号参看答案。