1． 猜测词义是一种确定词义的方法
阅读中碰到生词，通常采用查词典来了解词义。这里介绍一种猜测词义(guessing the meaning of a word)的方法。例如：
The bright lights of the car on the dark country road dazzled my eyes.
这句中dazzled是生词，它是什么意思呢？我们可以从全句所提供的语义作出判断：在漆黑的乡间公路上，碰到一辆汽车，明亮的车灯会使我们眼睛产生一种什么感觉？耀眼。这个词正是这个意思。这种确定词义的方法，称为猜测词义。
2． 依靠 “上下文”猜测词义
依靠 “上下文”（context）是猜测词义的一种方法。 “上下文”是指词在交际中所的
具体语言环境。一个词一旦进入句子，就立即与周围的词语发生这样或那样联系，并受它们的制约。词的意思直接或间接取决于所处的 “上下文”。因此只要我们依靠 “上下文”，学会寻找与生词有关的 “上下文线索“（context clues）,是可对生词的词义进行不同程度的猜测的。
“上下文线索“一般说来可分为两类：
第一类：说明性的线索。就是指在局中或语段中存在着说明、解释生词的词语线索。如：（1）The new building,a five-story edifice,was completed last month.
(生词 edifice 的词义由 building 说明，二者同义。)
（2）----Can you help me this evening?
----No-way; I must go to a meeting.
(I must go to a meeting. 说明no-way 具有 “否定“的含义。)
（3）You can trust Henry to take good care of the money,for he is very honest.
(…can be trusted to take good care of the money 正好说明honest 词的词义)
第二类：语义情景性或逻辑性的线索。在句子或语段里虽没有直接用来说明、解释生词的词语，但从 “上下文“的总的联系上来看，有助于我们判断词义。如：
（1） The sweat dropped down his face. His clothes were wet as if he had fallen into water… weather was very hot.
(sweat词义可从这三句所提供的情景推断出，作“汗水”“汗”解)
（2） Since she sent you a basket of fruit when you were in hospital,it is meet that you do the same for her while shi is ill.
(meet 词义可从陈述的逻辑线索推断，这里作 “恰当”“适当”解。)
3． 猜测词义的准确性与上下文提供线索的充分程度有关。例如：
（1） He was haughty.
（2） People don’t like him because he was haughty.
（3） Even his friends began to dislike him because he was haughty and kept on telling about himself and what he had done.
前两句难于判断 haughty 的词义，上下文线索不充分。第2句仅可判断它指的是一个不好的品质。可是，第3句不一样：有充足的上下文线索，可以猜测haughty 是作 “傲慢”(boastful/pround)解。
PRACTICE
I. Use context clues to figure out the meaning of the italicized word in each sentence below.
1. What are you all goggling at me like that for?
Have I got two heads or something?
2. We will meet you in the foyer,the entrance hall of the theatre.
3. What he said was just flattery,for he praised me so much that I am sure he did not mean what he said.
4. Unlike his sister,who is a warm,interested person,John is apathetic to everyone and everything.
5. This fish has been out of the ice box too long;it smells bad and must be rancid.
6. The people nearly enjoy gathering in the plaza,which is much like a public square,tochat.
7. If the driver of a car is carefuless,there will probably be an accident.
8. “What!”said the man,”Do you actually have the effrontery to ask me for the money when I’ve just told you that you can’t have any more?”
II. read the following sentences and fill in the blanks by using context clues.
1. The night was so ________ that not a sound could be heard.
2. Last week I went to the ________. I had a very good film was very exciting.
3. Elephants have very long noses which we call ________ .
4. China is a ________ country with a history of more than five thousand years.
5. Comrade Wang wanted to buy some material to make a shirt. So he went to the nearest ________ store.
6. ________ is my favorite game. I often fish on Sundays. Sometimes I fish for hours without catching. But this does not ______me.
7. It’s too cold. Let’s ________ the stove.
8. If you listen to the questions carefully,you can ________ them easily.
SELECTION
“Good Is Your Friendly Robot Speaking.”
1. “Hell,I’m eight years old and American. I’m five four inches tall and I weigh eleven stone. I have a head and two arms but no legs. I can speak many different languages. Above all,I am reliable. I am a good servant and I work for eight hours every day. But I cost ￡ 2300。 Who am I ?”
er:This is a robot. It is made by Quasar Industries. After eight years of work on the robot,Quasar now sell it to customers and to companies. It can “listen” to instructions,memorise them and then carry out certain takks.
far ,the robot seems to be best at cleaning the house. You can programme it to do different tasks-clean the carpets,polish the floors,dust the shelves. But it’s sociable too. When visitors arrive at your door,it can say, “May I announce yoy,please?” and takes their you give it the right instructions,it can even serve dinner to you at the table.
robot is security-consious too. If someone breaks into the house,it will sound the alarm. It is also programmed to “notice”any signs of fire or other dangers and to “tell”its owner about them.
ar Industries say that their robot has a basic vocabulary of 250 English words but if necessary,it can speak any language from Japanese to Swahill. You can make sure it speaks to you in a way that suits you-this servant never answers back. Aftr eight hours,it runs down and its batteries need recharging. Many owners will be glad when this servant/friend stops working and leaves them alone. But if you want,you can increase its working hours and have it with you for twenty-four hours a day.
robot recently took a holiday and come to London. It stayed in a hotel,and took a walk to Buskingham Palace. ‘This is my birthday,”it said. “I am happy to be here.” It certainly must make a change from cleaning floors and answering doors.
COMPRENSION
or different?
selection is about a trip to London.
robots made by Quasar Industries can do a lot of house work.
they are not able to speak.
the following into two columns and tell what the robot can do and what it can’t do.
Column A
The robot can ______ . Column B
The Robot can’t ______.
a walk unce visitors
e a car k several languages
swim and dive basket ball
er doors e dinners
alarms ir machines
for 24 hours a day rize the instructions given by the owner
programmed to do some tasks care of children
a lot of apples sh the floors
context clues in the selection to figure out the meanings of the following words.
able: A.勤奋的 B.可靠的 C。聪明的
2．Sociable: A。社会的 B.努力的 C。友好的
3．Security-conscious A.安全的 B。有觉悟的 C。有警惕的
