我们在阅读时会不可避免地遇到些生词，频繁地查字典实在不是一个上策（要知道新托福考试是不容许查字典的），因为，那样即耽误了阅读时间又中断了阅读思路，使大脑处于“停机”状态，阅读理解的质量当然就会很差。那又如何是好呢？
       其实，阅读的目的在于获得整个句子、整个段落、乃至整个篇章的思想，而不是各个孤立的词汇的意义。新托福口语考试中的阅读，考查的是考生对段落中心思想整体把握的能力，只要能获得阅读材料的主要信息，并随后能用自己的话加以陈述，一两个生词不会有什么大碍。
       不可否认，巨大的词汇量是高质量的阅读和高质量的口语的基础。但当遇到生词时总查字典又不现实（特别是在考试时），那么我们不妨利用上下文来推测，看看我们有多大的猜词本领。强大的猜词本领无疑会有助于阅读速度和阅读能力的提高。

       1．根据定义、解释猜测词义
　　We all know that ants are ferocious¹ eaters. They differ widely in their diets and may be carnivorous, herbivorous, or omnivorous,meaning that some eat meat; others eat only plants while others eat a combination of both.
       由后面的解释我们可以得知：“carnivorous”的意思是“食肉的”；“herbivorous”的意思是“食草的”；“omnivorous”的意思是“杂食的”。
 
       2．根据复述（同位语、定语等）
　　Today, I’d like to talk about some of the changes land can undergo, specifically desertification, process through which land becomes part of a desert.
       后面的同位语告诉我们“desertification”的意思是“沙漠化。”Since the fossil of the Anchaeopteryx, the first ‘bird’, was discovered in Germany in 1861, there has been continuous disagreement as to whether or not it could actually fly. Anchaeopteryx — the first bird: “始祖鸟”
 
       3．根据举例
　　After breakfast, many people go to church; but the children will be playing with their new toys, and the mother will probably be preparing the Christmas dinner. This includes poultry² for the main course (e.g. chicken, turkey, duck, goose), salads, breads, and vegetable, and features a variety of desserts, for example, pies, puddings, and ice cream.
“chicken, turkey, duck, goose”同属“poultry：家禽”。
 
       4．根据对比关系
　　Jane was talking with others while Eliza remained reticent³ all the time.
　　“while”是一个显示对比的信号词，“reticent”与“talking”相对应，“reticent”：沉默的。
　　Most of us agreed; however, Bill dissented⁴.
　　“agreed”与“dissented”形成对比。
 
       5．根据比喻关系
　　The hot-air balloon took off. It was as buoyant in the air as a cork⁵ (软木塞) in water.
       把热气球比作水中的软木塞，说明“buoyant ”的意义：“漂浮；浮力。”
 
       6．根据同义词的替代
　　Venus rotates retrograde, or “backwards”, spinning in the opposite direction of its orbit around the Sun.
       由“backwards”这一替代词得知“retrograde”的意思：“向后的。”
 
　　7．有时也可根据一般性常识/生活经验猜测词义
　　The door was so low that I hit my head on the lintel.
       门太低，我的头撞在“lintel门楣”上了。
　　He got on the motorbike, I sat behind him on the pillion, and we roared off into the night.
       由经验得知“pillion”是motorbike的“后座、后鞍。”
 
　　8．也可根据词形构造猜测词义
　　More recently, scientists have documented an alarmingly high occurrence of frogs with malformations.
　　form是词根, formation“形式”，mal-:构词前缀，可表示“坏、恶、不良”，还可表示“不、不正常、不当、非法。”malformation的意思就应该是“畸形。”更多的例子如：malnutrition: 营养不良；malconduct:（公职人员的）胡作非为；maladjustive: 引起失调的；不利调节的。
       当然，要想做到这一点，就必须掌握英语常用的前缀、后缀及词根的意义。