Skill-related Reading
Reading Skill（III）：Guessing Unknown Words and Expressions
When you come across a word or expression you are unfamiliar with，don’t immediately reach for your dictionary．Often by looking at the context—the sentence and paragraph in which the word or expression appears—you can get a good sense of its general meaning．Good readers often use context clues to figure out the meaning of an unknown vocabulary item．For example：
Anthropology is the scientific study of man．
In this sentence，we know that the word“anthropology”is a branch of a subject which means“the scientific study of man”．
How to guess unknown words and expressions？Generally，there are four ways as follows：
1．Specific interpretation
Specific interpretation refers to the explanations of some important concepts，difficult terms or vocabulary in the article to achieve better understanding．The information provided by these explanations is so specific that it is easy to guess the meaning of words．
（1）Guess the meaning of words by definition：
If the new words are the definitions explained by the sentence or paragraph，understanding the sentence or paragraph itself is the inference of the meaning．
e．g．In slang the term“jam”constitutes a state of being in which a person finds himself or herself in a difficult situation．
These kinds of verbs are concerned with giving definitions，such as be，mean，deal with，refer to，be called，be known as，define，represent，signify，constitute，etc．
（2）Guess the meaning of words by retelling：
Although the retelling is not as precise and detailed as the definition，it provides enough information for the reader to guess the meaning of the new words．The retelling parts can be words，phrases or clauses．
e．g．Semantics，the study of the meaning of words，is necessary if you are to speak and read intelligently．
In a retelling，commas are often used between the two parts that make up the appositive relationship，sometimes dashes，colons，semicolons，quotation marks，parentheses，etc．are often applied．It is important to note that in front of the appositives，there are adverbs or phrases such as or，similarly，that is to say，in other words，namely，or other，say，i．e．
（3）Guess the meaning of words according to examples：
Appropriate examples can provide important clues for guessing new words．
e．g．The consequences of epochal events such as wars and great scientific discoveries are not confined to a small geographical area as they were in the past．
2．Internal logical relation
To infer the meaning of words according to the internal logical relation means to analyze and judge the logical relation between relevant information by using language knowledge，and then to infer the meaning of new words or general meaning domain according to the logical relation．
（1）Guess the meaning of words according to the contrastive relation：
In a sentence or paragraph，when two things or phenomena are described in contrast，we can guess the meaning of a new or difficult word from its antonyms．
e．g．Andrew is one of the most supercilious men I know．His brother，in contrast，is quite humble and modest．
Words and phrases that express the contrastive relationship are mainly unlike，not，but，however，despite，in spite of，in contrast and the compound sentence led by while，etc．
（2）Guess the meaning of words according to the comparative relation：
As opposed to a contrastive relation，a comparative relation indicates a similar relation in meaning．
e．g．Green loves to talk，and his brothers are similarly loquacious．
Words and phrases that express comparative relations are mainly similarly，like，just as，also，and so on．
（3）Guess the meaning of words based on causality：
In a sentence or paragraph，if there is a causal relationship between two things or phenomena，we can infer the meaning of a new word from this logical relationship．
e．g．Tom is considered an autocratic administrator because he makes decisions without seeking the opinions of others．
Words and phrases that express causal relations are mainly because，as，due to，owing to，thanks to，as a consequence，etc．
（4）Guess the meanings of synonyms according to their substitutions：
In a sentence or paragraph，we can use familiar words and deduce the meaning of new words from the context．
e．g．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．
3．External relevant factors
External relevant factors refer to knowledge other than the text（sentence or paragraph）．Sometimes it is impossible to guess the meaning of words only by analyzing the internal logical relations of the text．This is where life experience and common sense are needed to determine the meaning of words．
e．g．—Husband：It’s really cold out tonight．(https://www.daowen.com)
—Wife：Sure it is．My hands are practically numb．How about lighting the furnace？
e．g．The snake slithered through the grass．
4．Word-building clues
（1）Guess the meaning from the prefix：
e．g．He fell into a ditch and lay there，semi conscious，for a few minutes．
I’m il literate about such things．
（2）Guess the meaning from the suffix：
e．g．Insecticide is applied where it is needed．
（3）Guess the meaning of a compound word according to its parts：
e．g．Growing economic problems were highlighted by a slowdown in oil output．
＼Reading Practice＼
I．Directions：Use context clues to figure out the meaning of the underlined words or expressions in each sentence．
1．At 16，I liked nothing better than getting behind the wheel of our family pickup．
A．farming tool B．tractor C．large toy D．small truck
2．That day I discovered that a good name was of immense value．
A．great B．extreme C．most D．precious
3．Compromising it would hurt not only those we loved but also those who loved us．
A．Doing damage to B．Destroying
C．Reaching an agreement with D．Neglecting
4．Doing drugs，abusing alcohol，stealing，getting a young woman pregnant out_of wedlock —today，none of these wrong things are the deep embarrassment they should be．
A．without being married B．without thinking of the consequences
C．on an impulse D．unlawfully
5．Yet，encouraged by the profanity on television and in music，kids don’t think twice about bad language．
A．misuse of language B．use of foul language
C．violence D．impoliteness
Ⅱ．Directions：Spend no more than 5 minutes reading each of the following texts，and then choose the best answer．
Passage One
When a student arrives at a college or university，they are likely to face many difficulties as they work towards earning their degree．Being far from their home，working a job in addition to the demands of their study programs and making friends are just a few of the issues they might deal with．Yet what many students may not expect is just what a mirage it can be to meet the academic expectations of their professors．Fuji Lozada says many students feel that simply gaining acceptance into a school is proof that they are ready for the requirements of their programs．But the truth is that almost every student，no matter the quality of their past educational experience，needs help，he says．That is why almost every college and university in the United States offers some kind of service to help students succeed with their studies．He notes that one area students often struggle with is writing．Most American high schools teach students shorter forms of writing，often working in the fiveparagraph essay form．College professors，however，expect students to be able to write about subjects at much greater length．They also expect students to present complex arguments supported with lots of research．
What does the underlined word“mirage”in this paragraph mean？
A．It is impossible to finish the task．
B．It is quite easy to live up to the professor’s standard．
C．It is difficult to meet the demands．
D．It is a beautiful view．
Passage Two
Lozada notes that colleges and universities do not want their students to fail．The problem is that many students either do not know their school has offices，like the Crosland Center，that are designed to help them，or they are afraid to admit they may need help．The first step for any studious college student is to recognize they are having some difficulties，he says．Then they should ask their professors for advice on the areas in which they need to improve and seek out their college’s academic support services．Lozada adds that one visit to such a center will not immediately solve the problem．Improving writing skills，for example，takes time．The same can be said about mathematics，computer science or any other subject．
What does the underlined word“studious”mean？
A．hardworking B．persistent C．radical D．tolerant