猜测生词的能力
克服生词干扰 ，培养词汇“猜测能力 ，辨析能力以及词汇语感”学生们往往反映 ：阅读材料中的生词太多 ，影响理解 。似乎只有掌握较多单词时 ，才能从事阅读 。其实，不尽然 。往往在句子与语篇的上下文中 ，充分利用 “冗余度”，便可将生疏词语的大意猜对八九分 ，这样便达到了“泛读”的目的 。如果事后有时间 ，再查阅一下词典 ，对生词的认识便十分准确了。
(1) We watched as the cat came quietly through the grass toward the bird. When it was just a few feet from the victim, it gathered its legs under itself, and pounced .
(2) What could John expect? He had left his wet swimming trunks in the dark closet for over a week. Of course they had begun to mildew.
(3) In spite of the fact that the beautiful egret is in danger of dying out completely, many clothing manufacturers still offer handsome prices for their long, elegant tail feathers, which are used as decorations on ladies’hats .
(4) When he learned that the club was planning to admit women, the colonel began to inveigh against all forms of liberalism; his shouting attack began with universal voting and ended with a protest against the volunteer army.
(5) Experts in kinetics, in their study of body motion as related to speech, hope to discover new methods of communication.
(6) Unlike her gregarious sister, Jane is a shy, unsociable person who does not like to go to parties or to make new friends.
(7) After a day of hunting, Harold is ravenous. Yesterday, for example, he ate two bowls of soup, salad , a large chicken , and a piece of chocolate cake before he was finally satisfied .
(8) The major points of your plan are clear to me , but the details are still hazy .
(9) By putting his fingers in his mouth and blowing hard through his teeth and fingers , Mr. Gilbreth produced a loud whistle .
(10) In order to discover who had a natural ability to learn language , the students were given tests to determine their language aptitude .
(11) Mother was tall, fat , and middle aged. The principal of the school was an old woman, almost as plump as Mother, and much shorter .
(12) I became angrier and angrier as Don talked , but I refrained from saying anything .
(13) Most dentists’offices are drab places, but Emilo’s new office is a bright, cheerful place .
(14) Most of us learn very young in life to control basic drives such as sex, hunger,and aggression .
(15) The memory of a bad experience can sometimes trigger the same fear caused by that experience . Thus , a child might be frightened by the sight of a dog even though he is safe , merely because he once had a bad experience with a dog . A bad experience can be the cue that triggers our fears .
(16) Because it is necessary to recognize a problem before it can be solved , admitting that we are afraid is an integral part of the process of mastering our fears .
(17) People who survive frightening situations frequently intersperse their story of the crisis with laughter . Part of the laughter expressed is relief that everything is all righ . During a crisis , everyone mobilizes energy to deal with the potential problem . If the danger is avoided we need to release that energy . For example , if a pilot averts a plane crash by making a safe emergency landing , he may laugh as he describes his experiences .
(18) The members of the family were so angry that I decided to stay away from the house until dinner . Their rage truly frightened me .
(19) I begged the family not to kill the scorpions , and they finally listened to my pleas .
(20) Mr and Mrs Firth had a long courtship . They dated for nine years before they got married.
21）After the scorpion affair the whole family tried in vain to get me to stop collecting animals and insects . They should have known that I wouldn’t stop collecting just because of one little scare .
(22) In the past , the world seemed to run in an orderly way . Now , however , everything seems to be in a state of turmoil .
(23) Monkeys are well known for their grooming habits ; they spend hours carefully cleaning bits of dirt straw from their coats .
(24) Robert is considered an autocratic administrator because he makes decisions without seeking the opinions of others .
(25) Instead of complaining to me that you’re ailing , you should see a doctor to find out what’s wrong with you .
(26) Many people believe that only primitive societies have a special ceremony to celebrate the time when a child becomes an adult ; however , anthropologists say that advanced cultures also have uberty rites .
(27) Doctors believe that smoking cigarettes is detrimental to your health . They also regard drinking as harmful .
(28) Sue has been blind from birth, but she did not let her handicap stop her from going to college .
(29) Rick spent all of his time playing sports instead of studying ; as a result his reading ability has been handicapped . His mental development lags behind his physical development .
(30) Alice shouted into the cave calling for her brother , but the only sound she heard was the echo of her own voice bouncing off the stone walls .
(31) When the child moved to the city she frequently got lost if she went out alone. She could never remember which direction she had come from ; she was unable to orient herself in her new surroundings .
(32) The singer’s performance was not very good; the notes he sang were often the wrong pitch --- sometimes they were too low and sometimes too high .
(33)The doctor said that if a person ate even one leaf of the hemlock plant, he would die, because the plant is a deadly poison.
(34) The murderer had developed a poison which could not be tasted or smelled when mixed with food . Because it was imperceptible , he was able to murder a number of people without being caught .
(35) “Since you are my best friend , and because I can trust you , I know I can be confidential with you . Listen carefully , because what I am going to tell you is a secret ,”said Henry .
(36) “I am able to oblige you , sir ; I can give you the item you wanted so badly .”
(37) There are times when one wants to be surrounded by people , and there are times when one needs solitude .
(38) The man was so jealous of his wife that he would not allow her to talk to other men .
Keys:
（1）由上文gathered its legs under itself 看到pounced = moved by gathering its legs under itself, 即= jumped :
（2）潮湿的游泳衣，放在阴暗的箱子内，一周之久，会怎样？当然“发霉”了。故，mildew = mold or rot (as a result) 。
（3）从die out 灭绝, tail feather羽毛尾巴 及上下文看到：egret 是一种bird 。（4）从上下文看到 ：inveigh against = attack shoutingly（吵吵闹闹地反对） (下文的：shouting attack )。
（5）kinetics = study of body motion as related to speech (同位语往往就是某个词汇的说明 或定义 。）
（6）因姐妹不同，故定语从句who便是gregarious的定义。gregarious = liking to go to parties or to making new friends or sociable （善于社交）。
（7）从在下文的表现，看到 ：ravenous = extremely hungry , greedy 。
（8）从上文的看到hazy的反义词是clear，故hazy = not clear。
（9）从上下文的描绘看到whistle的动作说明，即，whistle = put one’s fingers in one’s mouth and blow hard through one’s teeth and fingers , producing a loud sound。
（10）在上文中找到了aptitude的定义，即，aptitude = a natural ability to learn something special , such as a language etc.。
（11）在对比Mother和principal的描绘中，使用了三个形容词 ，即：tall 对shorter，middled aged对older，那么fat不就是对plump吗 ？因此plump = fat 这里使用了排除法）。
（12）借助上下文和介词from，看到refrained =上下文中并不存在的control（自我克制）。（13）下文中drab的反义词bright , cheerful指明drab = dark , cheerless , dull 。
（14）从上下文推出drives = needs = impulse（冲动）。
（15）从上下文推出 ：这个小语篇中的trigger = cause ，而cue又= trigger 。
（16）从上下文推出 ：integral = necessary即 integral = whole , cannot be separated, essential。
（17）从上下文推出：avert = avoid ,而 intersperse的定义则从其后面的介词with (= using）看到intersperse = put …into … , mix （即在叙述可怕的事情时，不时加入笑声 。）
（18）上下文中的不同词类也可以互相解释 ，如 ：angry与rage ，因此rage = anger 。
（19）同上。plea = begging。
（20）同上。courtship = date（= to talk to love with）的名词date（= love talk）。
（21）从下文的虚拟语气看到：全家人是白费力气了，因此 ：in vain = fruitlessly , without any success or any result。
（22）上文的反义词orderly指明turmoil = great disorder。
（23）上下文中的同一形式词汇互相解释，grooming = cleaning。
（24）下文解释上文，即 ：autocratic = dictatory , dictatorial , making decisions without seeking or asking for the opinions of others。
（25）下文的what’s wrong with you 说明 you’re ailing 因此ailing = ill, sick 。
（26）上文的长篇大论成为下文puberty rites的解释，即 ：a puberty rite = a special ceremony to celebrate the time when a child becomes an adult（= grown-up）。
（27）两个短句子的动词互相解释,即：regard = （近似于）believe ，而两个形容词也互相解释，即：detrimental = harmful 。
（28）这里的handicap并不完全等于blind from birth，但是却包含了blind的意思，handicap（残疾）= inability to see , to move about , to hear etc. difficulty in doing things。
（29）从上下文推出 ：lag behind = fall behind , develop more slowly than。
（30）从上下文推出 ：echo = the same sound sent back 。
（31）从上下文推出 ：orient = find where one is or where one is going , remember the direction in which one is moving ;
（32）从上下文推出 ：pitch = notes = level of sound , how high or how low one sings or speaks ;
（33）从上下文推出 ：poison与die有关，即 ：poison = something that , if eaten , would make people die 。
（34）从上下文推出 ：imperceptible = not able to be tasted or smell when mixed with。
（35）从best friend, I can trust you , I am going to tell you is a secret三个因素推出：be confidential = trust（v）。
（36）从下文I can give you the item you wanted so badly 看到 ：oblige = do you a favour with something you want badly 。
（37）从反义词词群wants to be surrounded by people 看到 ：solitude = do not want to be surrounded by people , being away from people 。
（38）从句义看到：the man是个“醋缸子”，因此jealous = unhappy to see ... on good terms with others or be friendly to others , afraid others would fall in love with ... 。