1．根据定义、解释猜测词义

　　We all know that ants are ferocious 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 poultry 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 reticent 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 dissented.

　　“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 cork (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。