1 類屬法
即通過類屬來推測詞義。如：
■ Bananas,oranges, pineapples, coconuts and some other kinds of fruit grow in warm areas.
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說明：從句意我們知道pineapples和coconuts與bananas，oranges是同類事物，同屬水果(準確地說是“菠蘿”和“椰子”)。
2 推理法
即根據文章的前后語境推出生詞的詞義。如：
■That museum is so immense that it will be impossible to see all the exhibits in one day.
說明：既然一天之內看不完所有的展品，那么immense的意思應該是“很大”了。
■Everyone agreed that the woman in the photo was gorgeous. It was easy to see why she had won the beauty contest.
說明：既然“她在選美比賽中獲勝”，說明她“很美麗”(gorgeous)。
3 列舉法
即通過對文章所列舉的事物來猜測生詞的詞義。如：
■Children like such creatures as dogs and monkeys.
說明：像dogs 和 monkeys 之類的“creatures”，顯然creatures的意思應是“動物”。
■In your spare time, you may look through any of these periodicals：Time Magazine, News Week, or The New Worker.
說明：periodical是生詞，但根據其后所列舉的例子，我們可以推測出它的意思可能是“期刊”或“雜志”。
4 構詞法
即根據前綴、后綴、復合、派生等構詞知識判斷生詞的詞義。如：
■Overwork may cause diseases.
說明：前綴over- 的意思是“過分的，過量的”，故 overwork的意思應為“工作過度”。
■There was a dissatisfied look in the manager’s eyes.
說明：satisfied的意思是“滿意的”，前綴dis- 的意思是“不”，故dissatisfied 的意思應該是“不滿意的”。
5 對比法
即根據文章前后的對比關系確定生詞的詞義。如：
■He had been getting better, but during the night his condition deteriorated .
說明：句中的but 表明deteriorate 應該與get better 的意思相反，即“惡化”。
■In many countries there are two financial extremes, from penury to great wealth.
說明：上文說兩個經濟上的極端，那么下文中penury應與great wealth 相對，即表示“貧困”。
■Mrs.Smith is loquacious while her husband is the silent type.
說明：while表對比，意為“而”，所以loquacious 應是silent 的反義，即“多嘴的”。
■If you agree, draw a circle; and a cross if you dissent.
說明：既然畫圈表示同意，那么畫叉便是“不同意”(dissent)。
6 同位法
同位語是對所修飾詞語的進一步說明和解釋，若對所修飾的詞語不熟悉，可通過其后同位語的“說明或解釋”來確定其詞義。如：
His father is an expert in phonetics, the study of the sounds of language.
說明：同位語 the study of the sounds of language 表示 phonetics 的意思應該是“語音學”
Jean was born with spina bifida, a birth illness that damages the spine(脊骨).
說明：同位語 a birth illness that damages the spine 表明了spin abifida 是種病，一種對脊骨有損害的病。
7 釋義法
即根據文章中所提供的釋義關系來確定生詞的詞義。如：
They described him as a loon, or a mad man.
說明：句中的or 是對loon的解釋，即loon與a mad man同義，即表示“瘋“。
It will be very hard but also very brittle, that is, it will break easily.
說明：句中的 that is 表明 it will break easily 是對brittle 的解釋，從而猜測出其意為“脆”。
The herds man, who looks after sheep, earns about 500 yuan a year.
說明：定語從句who looks after sheep 表明herdsman 的詞義為“牧人”。
■There are three kinds of snow. One kind is a fluffy snow that is somewhat dry and feathery?
說明：定語從句that is somewhat dry and feathery(有點兒干、像羽毛似的)表明 fluffy snow 的意思可能是“鵝毛大雪”。
8 常識法
即根據普通常識推測生詞的詞義。如：
It’ s said that Bill Gates is the most affluent person in the world.
說明：根據常識，Bill Gates 為世界首富，所以a fluent 可能是“富有的“。
As a scientist, Edison is very famous for his contrivances.
說明：根據常識，Edison為發明大王，他應因“發明”而聞名于世。
