1 - 如何做主旨大意题

英语阅读技巧——如何做主旨大意题？

主旨题型特点：要求考生能够把握文章全文主题和理解中心思想的能力，也包括分析归纳文章的段落大意、重要情节、人物特征、环境特点的能力。要求把握文章的总体，并真正理解主题和中心。 主旨题的题干表现形式有以下几类： 1．Main Idea 类型： 选项形式为陈述句。要求考生选择表达作者思想、观点的句子。

1．What is the main idea/point of this passage？ 2. The main idea of this article is ______. 3. This passage is mainly about ______.

4. The text mainly talks abouut _________________.

2．Main Topic类型： 选项形式为名词或名词词组。要求考生指出文章的Topic（论题）或 Subject（主题），或 Title（标题）等。典型问题形式： 1. What is the main topic of this passage？ 2. What is the main subject of the passage?

3. The best title /headline for this passage might be _____.

4. The best title/headline for this passage should be ________. 5. The passage can be entitled _________.

3．Purpose类型： 选项形式多为动宾结构。要求考生找到主要的写作目的。 典型问题形式：

What is the author's main purpose in the passage?

The author's purpose of writing this passage is to _____. 要正确理解一篇文章，关键是要抓住文章的主题思想。阅读中如何才能抓住文章的主旨大意呢？通常有两种方法：

1. 找出主题句。一般来讲，文章或段落的主题句在文章或段落的开头或结尾。但也有一些段落，其主题句在段落的中间 。

2. 找出主题词。如果文章或段落中找不到主题句，考生就要找出主题词或关键词，然后根据对文章的理解自己归纳概括出文章的中心思想。

（一）、找主题句

主题句是在段落中最能概括说明段落中心思想的句子。

据估计，英语中有60%——90%的说明文和科技文献都有主题句，其中50%的主题句在段首，30%的主题句在段尾，15%的主题句在段落中间。因此，如果文章只有一段，看懂文章的开头两句是极为重要的。如果文章有几段，则每一段的第一句都要仔细地读，尤其是最长的一段更要注意它的主要内容。边阅读边在主题段或主题句或重要的词句下面划线，读完全文后再回过头来重读划线部分，然后就会得出作者的主要意图。

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（1）主题句在段首。

一个主题句常常是一个段落的开头，其后的句子则是论证性细节。 在论说文，科技文献和新闻报道中多采用这种格式。

有些段落，在主题句后面有明显的引出细节的信号词。常见的信号词有for example，an example of，the most important example of；first，second，next，last，finally；to begin with，also，besides that；one ； the other，some，others，等等。在阅读中应尽量利用上述信号词来确定主题句的位置。 例一

People have different tastes in food. Some feel that they haven't eaten a meal unless they have had steak or other red meat. Some prefer chicken or fish and eat one or the other at every meal. Others prefer vegetables and fruits or grains and would enjoy a meal of spaghetti（意大利面条）, eggplant, and fresh fruit. Others could live on what were called fast——foods: a hamburger or hot dog, French fries and a soft drink. ( )Which of the following statements best expresses the main idea of the paragraph?

A. Some people like steak and others red meat. B. Vegetables are very healthy for you.

C. How food is prepared has a lot to do with how well a person may like it.

D. Different people have different tastes in food. 例二

请快速阅读下段文章，用划线划出文章的中心句和信号词：

Smoking cigarettes is harmful to your health. Experiments show that cigarette smoking can cause cancer. Besides the most serious and terrible disease(illness), cancer, cigarette smoking also can cause other health problems. For example, it can give one a “smoker’s cough”. Finally, studies have shown it is easy for cigarette smokers to catch colds. Whether you get an unimportant cold or terrible killer, cancer, smoking is harmful. Is it worth it?

（2）主题句在段尾。

一般说来，当一种观点不易向人解释清楚，或不易被人接受时，主题句便会到段落的末尾才出现。 有些文章以列举事实依据开头，通过论证，最后讲出作者自己所阐述的核心论点。 在做阅读理解试题时，要充分利用引出结论的信号词，如clearly，plainly；so，therefore，thus，consequently；In conclusion，in short等来确定主题句的位置在段尾。当无明显的此类信号同时，可添加一个引出结论的信号词以

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确定主题句是否是段落的最后一句话。 例如： 例一：

Americans might be embarrassed because their Japanese friends are so formal with them. Japanese might feel insulted because American acquaintances greet them casually. Still, the forms of greeting in both countries only show respect for others. It just happens that Americans and Japanese have a different way of looking at human relationships and thus have a different way of showing respect. This passage mainly tells us_________. A. how Americans show respect to others

B. how Japanese show respect to their American acquaintances

C. Americans and Japanese have different ways of showing respect D. Japanese are not satisfied with American casual behavior 例二：

请快速阅读下段文章，用划线划出文章的中心句和引出结论的信号词

Often no one looks more guilty than the innocent（清白的）. On the other hand, nobody may look more innocent than a professional criminal. And the man who knows “everything” may really only be trying to hide his own weakness. So, it is foolish to try to judge a person only by his appearance

（3）主题句在段中。

有时段落是先介绍背景和细节，接着用一句综合或概括性的话概括前面所说的内容或事例，然后再围绕主题展开对有关问题的深入讨论。这种文章的主题句往往会在段落中间出现，但不是就在正中间。 例一：

In spite of the fact that cars from Germany and Japan are flooding the American market, Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler are employing more workers than ever before. The flood of cheaper foreign cars has not cost American autoworkers their jobs as some experts predicted. Ford operates as far as Asia, and General Motors is considered Australia's biggest employer. Yet General Motors has its huge American work force and employs hundreds of people every day to meet the needs of an insatiable society. What is the main idea of the passage?

A. The foreign cars have not taken away the jobs of American autoworkers.

B. General Motors is one of the largest car producers. C. Ford operates not only in the USA, but also in Asia.

D. The flood of cheaper foreign cars is terrible for American autoworkers.

请阅读下列短文并找出主题句

例二

What does the doctor need to know about his patient? In the initial（最初的）interview the doctor needs to know as much as possible about

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him, as it relates to his ailments（疾病）. This is the medical history, and although informal and brief, it is the first step at arriving at a diagnosis（诊断） The sooner a correct diagnosis, the quicker he can get effective therapy（治疗）

例三

Just as I settle down to read or watch television, he demands that I play with him. If I get a telephone call, he screams in the background or knocks something over. I always have to hang up to find out what's wrong with him. Baby-sitting with my little brother is no fun. He refuses. to let me eat a snack in peace. Usually he wants half of whatever I have to eat. Then, when he finally grows tired, it takes about an hour for him to fall asleep.

Baby-sitting with my little brother is no fun

（二）找主题词

有时段落中没有明显的主题句。作者用一种间接的方式表达了段落的中心思想。这时我们不能轻而易举地判断出主旨或主题这样，主题句是含蓄的，它隐含在短文或段落之中，需要考生从段落中寻找主题词或词组。然后用这些主题词或词组概括和归纳出段落的中心思想。

例一：

Bats are the only animals that truly fly. These animals use their leathery wings differently from birds. Birds flap their wings up and down, while bats use both their wings and legs, which makes them seem as if they are swimming through the air. Even though bats take much longer, stronger strokes than birds, they still can beat their wings as often as twenty times per second!

此段落的主题词是： bats, birds , different , fly The main idea of this paragraph is that _ Bats are different from birds in flying..

例二：

Joshua Bingham studied four years at the University of Paris and decided to leave before his graduation. He transferred to the University of Berlin and graduated with honors. Harvard Law School and, later, Boston College provided him with an excellent legal background. He is presently a corporation lawyer in Miami, Florida.

此段落的主题词是：study at the university, graduate with honors The main idea of this paragraph is that ______.

A. Tom, who had studied at Paris Universities for four years, moved to another university.

B. Tom became a lawyer since his graduation from Harvard Law School and later from Boston College.

C. Tom was an excellent student when he studied at Berlin university. D. Tom received an excellent education. (三) 主旨大意题的干扰项

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