If you cannot find any signal words or key words as stated before, you may look around new words or unfamiliar words and try to guess them. The surrounding words may help you to understand the new words. See examples below.
e.g.
Children are too young to understand that swallowing gum can cause medical problems and so they shouldn't be allowed to chew it, doctors say.
unfamiliar words: swallowing and chew
What do these words mean?
How do you guess their meaning?
Exercise 8 Find the meaning of the underlined word by choosing the best answer for each question.
1. Professor Boonmee of the Thai Business Commerce School (TBC), Bangkok, had to do a presentation in Khonkaen and Bangkok on the same day, to be sure that he would be back to Bangkok on time, he bought a round trip ticket.
a) one way ticket b) two way ticket
2. In Bangkok on Monday morning, most streets are very crowded, so Penporn came to school late because she was trapped in traffic.
a) blocked b) caught
3. The accountant clerks are responsible to check for false signatures, thus they needed to verify all cheques with the original signature before paying the money.
a) fake b) true
8. Pictures
“A picture is worth more than a thousand words” (an old Chinese saying) so a picture can help you to guess the meaning of a new word. Look at the pictures below and choose the best answer to explain the pictures.
1.Which is the best description for the above picture?
a) computer devices b) computer hardware c) a microcomputer system
2.Which is the best description for the above picture?
a) Holiday on beach b) Beautiful beach c) Activity of people
Which is the best description for the above picture?
a) For Sale b) Equipment used in an office c) Instruments for you
9. Experience and background knowledge
Reading researchers confirmed that experience and background knowledge play an important role in reading comprehension. As EFL (English as a Foreign Language) students, you may read related Thai texts to gain knowledge before reading the English text. See example.
e.g.
Termites, ant-like insects, found in warm countries like Thailand, love to bite and eat most wood and paper. Once they start, they never stop until everything is gone or you stop them.
Look at the pictures below, which one is the termite? __________________________
Exercise 10 Find the meaning of the underlined word by choosing the best answer for each question.
1. Most Thais are Buddhists and they usually make merit by giving donations, listening to sermons, giving food, and meditating on religious days.
a) do good things b) work hard
2. Thailand has never been under the yoke of any other country. We are proud to have our own language, culture and tradition.
a) dependable b) ruled by
10. Imagination
You may try to use many strategies as stated previously to understand new words, but sometimes you still can’t understand. You can use your imagination in that case. Read the following passage and try to imagine how a father felt when his child got D or F grades.