利用常识性知识
有些情况下，考生可以根据自己的切身经验在这方面的常识，判断出某个生词或词组的特定的上、下文中的含义。
例1.(1990年考题)
Tourists were surprised to see a woman driving a huge orange tractor down one of Rome's main avenues. Italy's political leaders and some of its male union chiefs are said to have been more puzzled to see that the tractor was followed by about 200000 women in a parading procession that took more than three hours to snake through central Rome.
The expression "snake through central Rome" probably means "to move "
［A］ quietly through central Rome
［B］ violently through central Rome
［C］ in a long winding line through central Rome
［D］ at a leisurely pace through central Rome
文中说：由20万名妇名组成的游行队伍跟在拖拉机后边，花了3个多小时才通过罗马市中心。关键是要抓住"more than three hours",花这么长时间，那么行进方式一定有什么奇特的地方，否则作者不会强调时间的长短。另外，"snake"的原意是"蛇"，两条线索结合起来不难判断出C"in a long winding line through central Rome"(像蛇那样蜿蜒前进)为正确答案。
例2.
Mark got on the motorbike, I sat behind him on the pillion, and we roared off into the night.
The word "pillion" in this sentence probably means _____ .
［A］ an object used for sleeping
［B］ a bay on which one can rest
［C］ a seat for second person on a motorcycle
［D］ a place for sitting
"pillion"是个不太常见的生词，但根据常识性知识我们能够推断出其正确词义。摩托车上有两个座位，Mark骑着摩托，而"我"坐在摩托上也只能坐在其后座上了。所以，该题的正确答案是C项。D项只是一般的泛指"座位"，没能明确地表达"pillion"的词义。
3.2.5 利用常识性知识推断词义
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