Question

    When you are reading something in English and you see a word or words you do not know what do you do? Do you pause and look up the meanings? Or do you put down the reading and find something different to read?

Neither solution is satisfying. Unless you are reading at a level that is clearly too high for you, avoiding reading may leave you feeling defeated. And pausing to look up every word can slow down your reading. Using context clues works. A context clue is a piece of information that appears near an unknown word or phrase and makes its meaning clearer. Context clues are right there in the text. But sometimes we don’t see them. There are some kinds of context clues that can help you become a better reader.

The first kind is synonyms. As you come across unknown words while reading, look for synonyms. A synonym is a word or phrase that has a similar meaning to the unknown word. Antonyms are words that mean the opposite of a word. One way to identify an antonym is to look for contrast words, such as “but”, “however”, “though”, “although”, “unlike”, “whereas” and “despite”. These words signal that some opposite idea or meaning is coming. Another kind of clue is appositives. An appositive is a noun or noun phrase that comes after another noun, where the second gives the meaning of the first. Examples can also help explain the meaning of a word or idea. In English, the most common ways we introduce examples are with the phrase “for example”, “for instance”, “such as” and “like”.

And now for some closing thoughts. Leaning to use context clues can take time. Don’t pressure yourself to be great at the skill too quickly. Also, it is often not necessary to know the meaning of every word to understand what you are reading. So next time you come across a word you don’t know, ask yourself whether you can understand the sentence without it.

1.When you meet with new words in English reading, what should you do?

A.Use context clues. B.Ask teachers for help.

C.Look them up in the dictionary. D.Stop to read another new book.

2.What may be the result of giving up reading when you come across new words?

A.Becoming a better reader. B.Slowing down your reading.

C.Creating a sense of failure. D.Making the meaning clearer.

3.How many clues are mentioned in paragraph 3?

A.Two. B.Three. C.Four. D.Five.

4.What is the purpose of this passage?

A.To inspire us to learn English. B.To tell us English is easy to learn.

C.To persuade us to buy an English dictionary. D.To introduce a way of English learning.

5.Which of the following shows the development of ideas in the passage?

A. B. C. D.

Answer

1.A

2.C

3.C

4.D

5.B

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。英语阅读时难免遇到生词，避免阅读可能会让你感到挫败，停下来查每一个单词都会减慢你的阅读速度，所以使用文章中的上下文线索是有效的。文章主要介绍了使用上下文线索中常见的四个线索。学习使用上下文线索需要时间。不要急于让自己在这一技能上出类拔萃。

1.

细节理解题。根据第二段中A context clue is a piece of information that appears near an unknown word or phrase and makes its meaning clearer. Context clues are right there in the text. But sometimes we don’t see them. There are some kinds of context clues that can help you become a better reader.可知使用上下文线索是有效的。上下文线索是出现在一个不认识的单词或短语附近，使其意思更清楚的一条信息。上下文线索就在文本中。但有时我们看不到它们。有一些上下文线索可以帮助你成为一个更好的读者。由此可知，当你在英语阅读中遇到生词时，你应该做使用上下文线索。故选A。

2.

细节理解题。根据第二段中Neither solution is satisfying. Unless you are reading at a level that is clearly too high for you, avoiding reading may leave you feeling defeated.可知除非你的阅读水平对你来说明显太高了，否则避免阅读可能会让你感到挫败。由此可知，当你遇到生词时，放弃阅读会制造一种失败感。故选C。

3.

细节理解题。根据第三段The first kind is synonyms. As you come across unknown words while reading, look for synonyms. A synonym is a word or phrase that has a similar meaning to the unknown word. Antonyms are words that mean the opposite of a word. One way to identify an antonym is to look for contrast words, such as “but”, “however”, “though”, “although”, “unlike”, “whereas” and “despite”. These words signal that some opposite idea or meaning is coming. Another kind of clue is appositives. An appositive is a noun or noun phrase that comes after another noun, where the second gives the meaning of the first. Examples can also help explain the meaning of a word or idea. In English, the most common ways we introduce examples are with the phrase “for example”, “for instance”, “such as” and “like”.可知第一种是同义词。当你阅读时遇到不认识的单词，寻找同义词。同义词是与未知单词有相似意思的单词或短语。反义词是指与一个词意思相反的词。鉴别反义词的一种方法是寻找对比词，如“but”， “however”，“though”，“although”，“different”，“whereas”和“despite”。这些词预示着一些相反的想法或意思即将到来。另一种线索是同位词。同位词是跟在另一个名词后面的名词或名词短语，后者表示前者的意思。例子也可以帮助解释一个单词或想法的意思。在英语中，我们介绍例子最常见的方式是使用短语“例如”，“例如”，“例如”和“像”。由此可知，第三段提到了四条线索。故选C。

4.

推理判断题。根据第一段When you are reading something in English and you see a word or words you do not know what do you do? Do you pause and look up the meanings? Or do you put down the reading and find something different to read?可知当你在阅读英语时，看到一个或多个你不认识的单词，你会怎么做？你会停下来查一下意思吗？还是放下阅读，找些不一样的东西来读？结合文章说明了英语阅读时难免遇到生词，避免阅读可能会让你感到挫败，停下来查每一个单词都会减慢你的阅读速度，所以使用文章中的上下文线索是有效的。文章主要介绍了使用上下文线索中常见的四个线索。学习使用上下文线索需要时间。不要急于让自己在这一技能上出类拔萃。由此可推知，这篇文章的目的是介绍一种学习英语的方法。故选D。

5.

推理判断题。根据文章内容可知第一段为总起全文，引入阅读英语会遇到生词的问题；第二段提出解决生词的有效办法是联系上下文线索；第三段介绍了上下文线索中常见的四种其他线索；最后一段进行总结，学习使用上下文线索需要时间。由此可推知，B选项最符合文章结构。故选B。