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，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，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
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 , 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 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: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。
