利用比较、对照关系
比较关系表示意义上的相似关系，在作者比较事物时，强调它们相同之处。考生可以利用比较的部分来理解不熟悉的词汇。这种关系常用like, as等词语来表达。
例1.
The snow was falling big flakes drifted with the wind like feathers.
该句中的"flake"一词不太常见，通过比较我们可以猜出其词义。"下雪了，大片的flakes如同羽毛一般随风中飘落"；"flakes"被比作羽毛，用介词like来表示这种关系。为此，我们不难猜出"flake"在此是指"雪片"，即：flakes of snow.
例2.
The hotair balloon took off. It was as buoyant in the air as a cork(软木塞) in water.
The word "buoyant"in this sentence most probably means
［A］ able to be used
［B］ able to move from one place to another
［C］ able to float or rise to the surface
［D］ able to carry anything
我们知道，"Cork"是软木塞或塑料塞，在水中肯定要浮上水面，因为水的浮力大。气球在空中就跟水中的软木塞一样能够飘起来，因为空气的浮力也很大。利用这种比较关系我们就不难猜出"buoyant"的词义，它是指"有浮力的、易浮的"，正确答案是C。
对照关系强调的是事物之间的区别和对立，用来表示的词语往往是反义词，需要考生运用语言知识和分析能力去领会相关信息之间存在的逻辑关系，利用语句中所使用的对比表达法得到某个单词或短语意义的线索。表示这类关系常见的词语有："unlike"，"but","however","while"。
例3.
Birds are day animals while others, just as engaging in their waymice are creatures of the night. Question.
Mice described as being "creatures of the night"because they are
［A］ frightening to many people
［B］ hunted by birds
［C］ studied while in hibernation
［D］ active after dark.
本句用的是对比的手法，连词while把"Birds are day animals"和"mice are creatures of the night"连接起来，形成两个前后完全对应的成分，既然"鸟类是白天(活动的)动物"，那么"老鼠就是夜晚(活动的)动物"，故正确答案选D项。
例4.
The male and female mosquito make an odd couple. The female is a vampire and lives on blood. The male is a vegetarian that sips nectar and plant juices. Females of different species choose different hosts on which to dine. Some feed exclusively on cattle, horses, birds, and other warm-blooded creatures. Some favor cold-blooded animals. Still others prefer man. While the female's menu varies, her bite remains the same. She drives her sharp, tubular snout through the skin, injects a fluid to deep the blood from clotting, and drinks her fill, which takes a minute or less. It is the fluid she injects that carries disease. After her blood meal, she rests while her eggs develop. She then looks for a moist or flooded place to lay them.
1. The word "vampire" in this passage most nearly means
［A］ a vegetarian
［B］ a coldblooded animal
［C］ an evil spirit that suck the blood
［D］ a kind of warmblooded creature
2. In this passage, the word "moist" in the last line most probably means
［A］ damp
［B］ dry
［C］ shiny
［D］ dark
第一题中"vampire"的词义既可以根据重述部分"lives on blood"来猜测，又可以利用对比关系来推断。首先，段落一开始就阐明公蚊与母蚊形成鲜明对比，母蚊子是个"vampire"，以血度日；公蚊是个素食主义者，它只吸花蜜及植物汁。由此可见"vampire"是"vegetarian"的反义词，它们之间存在着对比的逻辑关系。故正确答案是C项--吸血鬼。
第二题可以利用重述关系来解决。母蚊子吸完血休息后，要找地方产卵，"moist"是什么地方我们不知道；但它后面的重述部分"flooded place"为我们提供了线索。因而正确答案选择A项。
3.2.4 利用比较、对照关系推断词义
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