医学考博英语阅读：根据上下文猜测词义的五种方法

　　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。)

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