四六级备考经验-如何抓住英语四级阅读的主题思想

英语四级考试阅读部分经常出现询问文章主旨的题目，让很多考生难以选择.所谓主旨，即文章主题思想也称作中心思想，是the MainIdea.作者在文章中要表达的核心内容，也是作者自始自终要说明的问题.能否抓住一篇文章的主题思想，体现了读者总结、概括和归纳事物的能力.把握了主题思想也有助于对文中.因此，可以说，找出主题思想是一项最重要的阅读技能.、抓主题思想.我们首先要学会识别文章中那些最根本、最具有概括力的信息.这种信息应能归纳和概括文中其它信息所具有的共性.例一DirectionsChoose themost generalword.A chemistB physicistC scientist Dbiologist该问题要求找出最有概括性的词.Cscientist符合题意，因为它包含了chemist,physicist和biologist,而A,B和D都指某一具体学科的科学家,不能概括其它的词.因此,scientist最有概括性.例二DirectionsChoose themost generalsentence.A Thehotel offerscomplimentary coffeefrom7to10a.m.

7.The mainpurpose of the passage is.

8.The bestmost appropriatetitle offor this passage is.

9.What wouldbe themost appropriatetitle forthis passage

10.What isthe subjectof thispassage

11.Which of the followingbest summarizesthe passage

12.Which of the followingbest sumsup the main idea of thewholepassage建议大家在平时的阅读练习中进行全文快速浏览,尝试自己提炼和总结文章主旨.经过一段时间的练习,考试中必然能快速了解整篇文章大意，方便选出正确答案.daily.BThere aremany reasonswhy guestsfeel athome at the GloricttaBay Inn.C Thecoin-operated laundryroom has an ironingboard.D Thereare anumber ofextra servicesat theGloricttaBayInnincluding babysitting.A,C,D都是从不同的侧面说明旅馆的服务情况,相互间并无联系.而B却概括了A,C和⑻的共性的东西，即为什么旅客住在这家旅馆里有宾至如归的感觉.因此，B符合题意.倘若在一段文章中包含了以上A,B,C,D几条信息，那末，B就是该段中心思想.由于同样的道理,如果在一篇文章中，作者分段叙述几方面的内容,那末,这些段落所围绕和要说明的问题就是该文的中心思想.例三DirectionsChoose themain idea of anarticle.Following arethetopic sentencesof anarticle.1A mountingbody ofevidence suggeststhat fightingviolencewith violencerarely detersa crimein progressand greatlyincreasesthe chancesof changinga robberyinto aviolent attackon thevictim.2One reportshows thatat least100thousand handguns.are stolenfromprivate ownerseach year,the vastmajority duringburglaries...3Moreover,a studyof robberiesin eightAmerican citiesstatesthat inless than4percent of the crimesdid thevictim havetheopportunity touse aweapon....Which of the followingbest reflectsthemainideaofthe articleAWhat Happensto theVictim ofCrimeB IsYour FamilySafeC ShouldYou ArmYourself AgainstCrime第一段和第三段提到了victims受害者，第二段中提到了入室行窃,但是这三段说明的共同问题是人们是否应拥有自己的武器来反对犯罪行为.因此只有选择C才能概括这三段所共同说明的问题,也就是此文的中心思想.

二、主题思想应能恰如其分地概括文中所阐述的内容.面不能太窄，即不足以概括全部内容;但是面也不能太宽，即:包含了文中没有阐述的内容.例四:DirectionsRead thefollowing passageand choose the bestcentralthoughtSugar historyin theHawaiian Islandsis filledwith pioneering.In sailingship days,Hawaiian sugar growers weremany monthsfromsources ofsupplies andfrom markets.This isolationbuilt upamongthe Hawaiiangrowers anenduring spiritof cooperation.Growersshared withone anotherimprovements inproduction.Withoutgovernment aidof anysort,they builtgreat irrigationprojects.Without governmenthelp,they setup their own researchandexperiment organization.Pioneering togetherover theyears,theyhave providedHawaii withits largest industry.A Insailing days,Hawaiian sugar growers weremany monthsawayfrom suppliesand markets.B Hawaiiansugar growersbuilt theirgreat industrywithoutgovernment help.C Hawaiiansugargrowershave setup theirown researchorganizationand haveshared improvements.D Bypioneering together,sugargrowershave providedHawaiiwith itslargestindustry.A,B和C项只是文中提到的各项具体内容,作为主题思想面太窄了，只有D项才概括了全文要说明的问题,因此，D是该文的主题思想.要求抓主题思想的另一种形式是为短文选择合适的标题,因为短文的标题常常也体现它所围绕的主题或讨论的中心.因此,为短文选择标题实际上也反映了对主题思想的掌握.例五DirectionsRead thefollowing andchoosethetitle thatbestexpresses theideas ofthe passage.There isa simpleeconomic principleused todetermine prices.Itis calledthe lawof supplyand demand.Supply meansthe amountof,or accessto,certain goods.Demand representsthe numberof peoplewhowant those goods.If thereare more goods thanwanted,the priceofthem falls.On theother hand,if thedemand forthosegoodsismuch greaterthan thesupply,then theprice rises.Of course,manufacturers preferto sellmoregoodsat increasedprices.A EconomicPrinciplesB Lawof Supplyand DemandCMore Goods,Lower PricesDFewer Goods,Higher Prices该问题中，A泛指经济规律,面过宽；C和⑻只是供需规则的二个单独的方面不能包含全部,面太窄.正确的答案是B,因为这正是该短文自始至终谈论的主题.例六:DirectionsRead thefollowing passageand selectthe mostappropriatetitle Accordingto legend,the godsoftheancient Greekslived intheclouds onthe topof MountOlympus.Zeus,the fatherofthegods,carried abolt oflightning inhis handand ruledlike anearthlyking.Apollo wasthe sungod andhis beamswere goldenarrows;heshielded theflocks ofsheep andthe fieldsof grain.Athena wasthewarrior goddess,standing inshining armorready toprotect theGreekcities.There wereother godsas well,all withfamiliar humancharacteristics,but thesewere theleading gods.A TheGods ofthe AncientGreeksB TheLegend ofthe SkyGod ZeusCBeliefs ofthe AncientGreeksD ReligionsofthePast该问题中，B项只是文中提到的一项具体内容,作为主题思想面太窄了.C和D项泛指,面太宽.只有A项才概括了全文要说明的问题,是全文的主题.

三、一段文章的中心思想常常由主题句Topic Sentence表达.主题句常常位于段首或段尾处，间或出现在段落中间.同样,一篇文章的中心思想也常常在开始段或结尾段点出.因此在阅读中,我们要特别注意文章的开头或结尾.例七English isclearly aninternational language.It isspoken bypilotsand airportcontrol operatorson allthe airwaysoftheworld.Over70percent ofthe worldsradio programsare inEnglish本段主题句为首句,其后的内容均说明首句.例八Some studentsprefer astrict teacherwho tellsthem exactlywhatto do.Others preferto beleft towork ontheirown.Still otherslikea democraticdiscussion typeof class.No oneteaching methodcanbe devisedto satisfyall studentsatthesame time本段中心思想在结尾句得到体现,它是此段内容的结论.例九:For adultsa coldis notthat serious.However,this isnot thecasefor children.Cold symptomsin childrenmay besigns ofmore seriousdiseasesand shouldbe givenprompt medicalattention.本段主题句为第二句，因为在however后面才是作者真正的看法，并在本文中进一步作了说明.然而,我们也常常发现,有的主题思想并非直接由

一、二个句子表述,而是在文中间接暗示着.这就需要读者根据文中细节进行概括与归纳,找出主题思想.例十Its nowonder thatwe haveso manyrejections for physical reasonsinour SelectiveService.Since Octoberof1948,some sixmillionyoung menhave beenexamined for military duty.Of these,more thanamillion wererejected asphysically unfitformilitaryservice.To gettwo mentoday,the UnitedStates Armymust callseven men.Of thefive rejectedthree areturned downforphysical reasons andtwofor mentalproblems.To getthe196thousand additionalmen weneededfor Berlin,the governmenthad tocall up750thousand men.And therejection rateis increasingeach year.The reasonfor thisproblemis thatwe areunder exercisedasanation.We look,instead ofplay.We ride,instead ofwalk.The waywe livepreventsus frombeing healthy.本段中找不到某一句作为主题.根据文中的内容进行归纳,可找出主题思想，即The military,s rejectionrate forphysicalreasonis increasingbecausethis nation,s lackof exerciseis leadingto poorhealth.”在确定一篇文章的中心思想时,我们通常用快读的方法,从头至尾将全文浏览一遍,注意不要被个别词、句难住而停下来.要从上下文的连贯意思上来理解进行阐述的、有关这个主题我们了解了什么.这样,就可以比较有把握地概括出中心思想了.在阅读理解测试中,常常用于检查对主题思想的掌握的问题有

1.The maincentral,principal ideaof thispassage is■

2.The mainideaofthis selectionmay bebest expressedas

3.The maintheme topicofthepassageis

4.The passageis mainlyabout•

5.This passagedeals mainlyprimarily with

6.The author，s purposein writingthispassageis。