導語：在閱讀考試中我們經常會遇到陌生詞彙，很多同學都會利用上下文進行猜測，但殊不知我們還可以從標點符號推斷出正確答案。如果能有效地掌握這種方法，勢必能讓考生在考試中減輕壓力。
(1)雙破折號
雙破折號在文章中經常出現，它用來解釋說明第一個破折號前面的資訊，當這個資訊是以生詞的形式表現出來的話，有了破折號也就不難理解了。再者，雙破折號的資訊去掉，也不會影響句子的整體意思。
① Sometimes it is slow: vast bubbles of magma—molten rock from the mantle—inch towards the surface, cooling slowly… . (C4T3P2)
解析：“molten rock from the mantle”用來解釋“vast bubbles of magma”，即“地殼中的熔岩”。
② For the so-called power events—that require a relatively brief, explosive release of energy, like the 100-metre sprint and the long jump—times and distances have improved ten to twenty percent. (C4T4P1)
解析：“that require a relatively brief, explosive release of energy, like the 100-metre sprint and the long jump”用來解釋“power events”，即“力量型賽事”。
(2)單破折號
單破折是用來解釋說明其前面的資訊的。
① Half of the world’s 6800 languages are likely to vanish within two generations—that’s one language lost every ten days. (C4T2P1)
解析：“that’s one language lost every ten days”用來解釋vanish，表示的是lost，兩者意思相同。
② …you can see the rough outlines of what are called tectonic plates—the plates which make up the earth’s crust and mantle. (C4T3P2)
解析：“the plates which make up the earth’s crust and mantle”用來解釋“tectonic plates”，即組成地球地殼的板塊。
③ Whereas most exercises are designed to build up strength or endurance, plyometrics focuses on increasing power—the rate at which an athlete can expend energy. (C4T4P1)
解析：“the rate at which an athlete can expend energy”用來解釋“increasing power”，即“運動員釋放能量的速度”。
2、插入語的雙逗號句子中經常會出現插入語，即前後用逗號與整個句子結構分開的短語，句子結構，這個成份如果是做同位語成分的名詞短語或者非限定性定語從句，通常是用來解釋第一個逗號前面的.資訊的。
Passive smoking, the breathing in of the side-stream smoke from the burning of tobacco between puffs or of the smoke exhaled by a smoker, also causes a serious health risk. (C3T1P2)
解析：如果學員不認識“passive smoking”，逗號後有解釋，即“吸入抽菸者吞吐菸草燃燒的煙霧”。
3、括號句子中出現的雙括號與雙逗號和雙破折號的功能是一樣的，括號內容用來解釋說明左半括號前面的名詞短語，不影響整個句子的結構。
(1)Some plastics are derived from natural sources, some are semi-synthetic (the result of chemical action on a natural substances). (C5T2P1)
解析：“semi-synthetic”即指(半合成品=天然物質發生化學反應的產物)。
(2)…, in which phenol and formaldehyde (from wood or coal) were initially combined under vacuum inside a large egg-shaped kettle. (C5T2P1)
解析：“phenol and formaldehyde”即指(苯酚和甲醛，源自木頭和煤炭)。
(3)…and hexa, a compound of ammonia and formaldehyde which supplied the additional formaldehyde necessary to form a thermosetting resin. (C5T2P1)
解析：“hexa”即指(氨與甲醛的合成物)。
4、冒號冒號在英語句子中也是起到解釋說明冒號前面資訊的作用。
Typically, children do not end up on the streets due to a single reason, but to a combination of factors: a dearth of adequately funded schools, the demand for income at home, family breakdown and violence. (C4T3P1)
解析：根據前後之間的並列關係，可以推測dearth是名詞，且是貶義，相當於lack、shortage、inadequacy、deficiency。
5、分號分號用來連線前後兩個句子，相當於適當的“逗號+並列練習and，but或or+句子”。詞彙猜測時，利用的是分號前後兩個句子之間的邏輯關係是列舉、轉折還是選擇。
Some corpora attempt to cover the language as a whole, taking extracts from many kinds of text; others are extremely selective, providing a collection of material that deals with only a particular linguistic feature. (C4T3P3)
解析：根據前後之間的語境，判斷出“extremely selective”即指“不全面的，只是包含一部分的”。
