主旨大意题的解题方法教师版(赵进)

2014-03-15高二英语培优讲案

英语阅读理解主旨大意题的解题技巧

高考阅读理解对文章的主旨大意进行命题，旨在考查考生通过对原文快速浏览正确

获取语篇的大意，并对文章的主题、标题、段落、中心思想加以归纳理解以及辨别主要信息和次要信息的能力。要求考生在阅读短文时，能够提炼文章的中心情节，体会作者的主要意图，充分运用逻辑概括能力，透过字里行间获取文章最具代表性的观点、中心论点及作者的情感倾向。

在高考阅读理解中，针对短文主旨常见的命题形式如下：

1. The main topic/subject of the passage is _____.

2. What is mainly discussed in the text/X paragraph？

3. What is the main idea of the passage？

4. The purpose of this passage is _____.

5. The passage mainly focused on _____.

6. What would be the best title/topic/headline of the text？从上述命题形式可以看出，此类阅读测试题主要可概括为两大类，即怎样理解段落及文章整体的中心思想和怎样拟定或选择恰当的标题。下面结合高考题实例来具体分析此类题目的解题技巧。

●怎样理解段落及文章整体的主旨大意

——主题句定位法

文章是由段落组成的。段落是发展一个主题的一群句子，段落围绕着中心思想展开，而段落的中心思想又是为文章整体的中心思想服务的。寻找具体段落的中心思想的方法是：通过分析篇章结构，找出每小段的主题句，通过主题句找出文章的主题。找准文章的主题句是确定文章主旨大意的关键。主题是文章要表达的中心思想，文章的主题句通常都有一个话题，它是文章的核心。“主题句定位法”是一种行之有效的方法。

但是由于文章的不同，表现的手法也各有不同，主题句出现的位置也不是一成不变的。在许多情况下，尤其在阅读说明文和议论文时，根据其篇章特点我们可以通过寻找短文的主题句来归纳出文章的主题。主题句在文章中的位置通常有三种情况：开头、中间、结尾（含在开头结尾同时出现、首尾呼应的主题句）。因此，仔细阅读这类文章或段落的首尾句是关键。做主旨大意类试题多采用浏览法(skimming)，浏览时，一般不需逐句细读，只选读文章的首段、尾段，或每段的首句和尾句，重点搜索主题线索和主题信息。

文章主题常常可以通过文章的写作方法来体现，有以下五种情况：

1. 正三解形写作法（开门见山式）

即中心主题句出现在文首，开门见山，提出主题，随之用细节来解释、支撑或发展主题句所表达的主题思想。这是英语中最常见的演绎法写作方式，即由一般到特殊，先提出观点，后举例论证，主题句则出现在段首的写作方法。

新闻报道通常就采用这种写法。新闻报道的首句通常称为“新闻导语”，“导语”实际上就是主题句，是对全文内容的高度概括。大意题、标题一般可在第一句话找到答题依据。

例题：(高考—重庆卷E篇)（备注：所有高考题均保留原题号。）

In modern society there is a great deal of argument about competition. Some value it highly, believing that it is responsible for social progress and prosperity. Others say that competition is bad; that it sets one person against another; that it leads to unfriendly relationship between people.

…

71. What does this passage mainly talk about?

A. Competition helps to set up self-respect.

B. Opinions about competition are different among people.

C. Competition is harmful to personal quality development.

D. Failures are necessary experience in competition.

答案与解析：选B。文中第一句便提出了中心论点。

2. 倒三角形写作法（藏头露尾式）

即主题句出现在文尾。在细节后，归纳要点、印象、结论、建议或结果，以概括主题。这是英语中最常见的归纳法写作方式，即细节表述的句子在前，概括性的句子居后，主题句则常位于末段。

例题1：(全国卷IV A篇)

The famous American gorilla(大猩猩) expert Diane Fossey had a completely new way to study gorillas — she pretended to be one of them. She copied their actions and way of life —eating plants and getting down on her hands and knees to walk the way a gorilla does. It was a new relationship.

Diane Fossey was murdered in Rwanda in 1985 and her story was made into the popular film Gorillas in the Mist. It was a long way from King Kong, which is about a gorilla as a monster (a frightening animal), and helped to show a new idea: the real monster is man, while the gorilla is to be admired.

Today there are thought to be around 48,000 lowland gorillas and maybe 400—450 mountain gorillas in the wild. From the Congo in West Africa, to Rwanda and Uganda further east, they are endangered by hunting and by the cutting down of their forest homes.

Some time ago, I found in my letterbox a little magazine from the World Wide Fund for Nature. It had two photos side by side. One was of a young gorilla. “This is a species of mammal(哺乳类动物),” said the words below it. “It is being destroyed by man. We must save it for our own good.”The other photo showed a human baby. The words also read, “This is a species of mammal,” but then went on: “It is the most destr uctive(破坏性的) on earth. We must retrain it for its own good.”

56.The text mainly talks about _____.

A. Diane Fossey

B. the gorillas in Rwanda

C. the protection of the gorillas

D. the film Gorillas in the Mist

答案与解析：选C。文章第一段谈到Diane Fossey大猩猩的研究；第二段谈到根据她的事迹所拍摄的影片；第三段谈到了大猩猩数量减少的原因；最后一段谈到保护大猩猩的宣传措施。前面三段都是为最后一段作铺垫的, 从最后一段“It is being destroyed by man. We must save it for our own good.”可知，最主要的目的还是要人们保护大猩猩。

例题2：On the Internet, we can read news at home and abroad and get as much information as we can. We often send e-mails or make telephone calls to our families as well as to our friends by Internet. What’s more, we can go to school on the net, read a lot of books and even teach ourselves foreign languages. We also enjoy music, watch ball matches on the net and play computer games. With the help of the net, we can do shopping even without leaving our homes. The Internet is playing a more and more important part in our daily life.

1. What’s the main idea of the passage?

A. Keep away from the Internet.

B. Surf the net.

C. The Internet is playing an important part in our daily life.

D. We can entertain ourselves on the Internet.

答案与解析：选C。最后一句“The Internet is playing a more and more important part in our daily life.”（因特网在我们的生活中起着越来越重要的作用）是全文的主题句。A

项（远离网络）与主题不符。B项（上网）过于笼统。D项（网上娱乐）只不过

是短文中的一个细节，不全面。

3. 圆形写作法（首尾呼应式）

即首尾呼应的写作方法。为突出主题，作者先提出主题，结尾时再次点出主题，这种首尾呼应的写作方式也较为多见。通常，前后表述主题的句子不是简单的重复，后面的往往有进一步的引申或发展的意味。

例题：Lacrosse (曲棍球) is a popular sport in Canada. The Indians in Canada invented it. They used it to train for war. They invented this game before Columbus arrived in the New World.

People play lacrosse outdoors. The lacrosse field is seven meters long. At each end of the field there is a goal. The goal is a net. There are ten players on each team. Each player has a stick called “ cross”. The player hit a ball into the net as many times as possible. Lacrosse is a very fast game because the players can catch and pass the ball at a high speed with their sticks. Players often get great fun it playing lacrosse.

There are many lacrosse clubs and lacrosse teams all over Canada. Every night Canadians can watch the lacrosse games on TV or listen to the lacrosse games over the radio.

At one time lacrosse was the national summer sport in Canada. Today it is still popular with Canadians.

1.The passage is mainly about .

A. How to Play Lacrosse

B. Lacrosse in Canada

C. The History of Lacrosse

D. Lacrosse—A Popular Game in Canada

答案与解析：选D。作者先后两次提到“长曲棍球在加拿大很受欢迎”，显然选项D最符合短文的主题。

4. 菱形写作法（抛砖引玉式）

即主题句出现在文章的中间。通常前面只提出问题，文中的主题由随之陈述的细节或合乎逻辑的引申在文中导出，而后又作进一步的解释、支撑或发展。

例题：(全国高考—江苏卷C篇)

The Sahara Festival is a celebration of the very recent past. The three-day event is not fixed to the same dates each year, but generally takes place in November or December. It is well attended by tourists, but even better attended by locals.

During the opening ceremonies, after the official greetings from the government leaders, people who attend the festival begin to march smartly before the viewing stands, and white camels transport their riders across the sands. Horsemen from different nations display their beautiful clothes and their fine horsemanship. One following another, groups of musicians and dancers from all over the Sahara take their turn to show off their wonderful traditional culture. Groups of men in blue and yellow play horns and beat drums as they dance in different designs. On their knees in the sand, a group of women in long dark dresses dance with their hair: their long, dark, shiny hair is thrown back and forth in the wind to the rhythm of their dance.

…

67. This passage mainly tells readers_______.

A. what happens on the opening day of the Sahara Festival

B. how people celebrate during the three-day Sahara Festival

C. what takes place at the closing ceremonies of the Sahara Festival

D. how animals race on the first and the last days of the Sahara Festival

答案与解析：从文中第二段第一句话“During the opening ceremonies,”可以看出，本文主要是介绍“撒哈拉节”开幕式上的活动。答案选A。

5. 正方形写作法（藏龙卧虎式）

即中心主题隐含在全文之中，没有明确的主题句。阅读这样的文章，就要求考生根据文章的细节来分析，概括出段落的主题，从而推导出文章的主旨。分析的方法是，先弄清该段落主要讲了哪几个方面的内容，这些内容在逻辑上有什么联系，然后加以归纳形成主题。该类型的试题则迎刃而解。

例题1：(全国高考—安徽卷C篇)

Handshaking, though a European practice is often seen in big cities of China. Nobody knows exactly when the practice started in Europe. It is said that long long ago in Europe when people met, they showed their unarmed (无武器的) hands to each other as a sign of goodwill. As time went on and trade in cities grew rapidly, people in cities began to clap each other’s hands to make a deal or to reach an agreement. This practice was later changed into shaking hands among friends on meeting or leaving each other. “Let’s shake (hands) on it” sometimes means agreement reached.

Do the Europeans shake hands wherever they go and with whomever they meet? No. Sometimes the Chinese abroad reach out their hands too often to be polite. It is really very impolite to give your hand when the other party, especially when it is a woman, shows little interest in shaking hands with you and when the meeting does not mean anything to him or-her. Even if, for politeness, he holds out his unwilling hand in answer to your uninvited hand, just touch it slightly. There is generally a misunderstanding (误解) among the Chinese that westerners are usually open and straightforward, while the Chinese are rather reserved (保守的) in manner. But in fact some people in western countries more reserved than some Chinese today. So it is a good idea to shake hands with a westerner only when he shows interest in further relations with you.

65. The first paragraph mainly tells us ______.

A. where handshaking was first practiced

B. how handshaking came about

C. about the relationship between handshaking and trade

D. about the practice of handshaking both in Europe and in China

答案与解析：选B。主旨大意题。在文章第一段说明了握手的来历。实际上也就是谈论握手是怎样产生的。

67. The main purpose of the text is ______.

A. to tell us some differences between the East and the West

B. to offer us some important facts about handshaking

C. to introduce us to some different customs in the West

D. to give us some advice before we travel abroad

答案与解析：选B。主旨大意题。本文没有明确的主题句，中心主题隐含在全文之中。

明显的主题句。通读全文后可知，文章主要是给我们介绍了握手的一些具体事实。

由此可知答案B正确。

例题2：(全国高考—山东卷A篇）

Last August, Joe and Mary Mahoney began looking at colleges for their 17-year-old daughter, Maureen. With a checklist of criteria in hand, the Dallas family looked around the country visiting

half a dozen schools. They sought a university that offered the teenager’s intended major, one located neat a large city, and a campus where their daughter would be safe.

“The safety issue is a big one,” says Joe Mahoney, who quickly discovered he wasn’t alone in his worries. On campus tours other parents voiced similar concerns, and the same question was always asked: what about crime? But when college officials always gave the same answer —“That’s not a problem here,”—Mahoney began to feel uneasy.

“No crime whatsoever?” comments Mahoney today. “ I just don’t buy it.” Nor should he: in 1999 the U.S. Department of education had reports of nearly 400,000 serious crimes on or around our campuses. “Parents need to understand that times have changed since they went to college,” says David Nichols, author of Creating a Safe Campus. “Campus crime mirrors the rest of the nation.”

But getting accurate information isn’t e asy. Colleges must report crime statistics(统计数字)by law, but some hold back for fear of bad publicity, leaving the honest ones looking dangerous. “The truth may not always be serious,” warms S. Daniel Carter of Security on Campus, Inc., the nation’s leading campus safety watchdog group.

To help concerned parents, Carter promised to visit campuses and talk to experts around the country to find out major crime issues and effective solutions.

60. What is the text mainly about?

A. Exact campus crime statistics

B. Crimes on or around campuses

C. Effective solutions to campus crime

D. Concerns about kids’ campus safety

答案与解析：选D。该篇文章没有明显的主题句，但通过对文章四段的主旨分析，很容易得出全文紧紧围绕“关注大学校园安全问题（Concerns about kids’ campus safety）”。

●怎样选择或拟定文章的标题

对文章主旨大意的考察，不仅可以直接以理解段落及文章的主旨大意的形式出现，而且也可以用选择或拟定文章标题的形式出现。因此，选择文章标题，首先可以按照主旨大意的确定方式，先弄清文章的主旨大意，再定标题。

标题位于文章之首，用来高度概括文章内容，点明文章主题。它是段落中心思想最精练的表达形式。标题可帮助读者迅速推测出整篇文章的主要内容，抓住文章的中心，把握作者的观点和意图。那么如何选择文章的标题呢？

首先，要考虑标题对文章的概括性或覆盖面如何。一般要求能覆盖全文内容，体

现文章主旨。要避免下列三种情况：①概括不够（多表现为部分代整体，从而导致范围太小）；

②过度概括（多表现为脱离本文章内容的发挥）；③以事实、细节替代抽象具体的大意。

其次，要考虑标题的针对性，即标题范围要恰当，针对性强。要在阅读原文的基础上，仔细考虑所选标题与文章主题是否有密切的关系。既不能太大，也不能太小，太大则中心就不突出，太小也发挥不了应起的作用；精确度高，不能随意改变语言的表意程度及色彩。它可以是单词、短语，也可以是句子。

再次要注意标题的醒目性，标题的选择要简洁、突出、新颖，标题是文章的点睛之笔，是文章的灵魂和门面。标题的好坏往往影响了文章的可读性，读者常常从标题上决定文章的阅读取舍。故标题一般比较醒目，甚至比较离奇，以此来吸引读者对文章的兴趣。

最后要注意，要恰当地选好标题，还需要了解标题的基本拟定方法。一般说来，拟定标题是以话题为核心。

例题1：(全国高考—江西卷A篇)

He wishes the holiday season would end already. His back aches, his red suit feels like a spacesuit, his cheeks have gone tight from smiling for 12 hours …

The questions from children these days are harder than ever. Now, with thousands of children expecting a father or mother serving in Iraq or Afghanistan, the questions are as heart-breaking as they are unanswerable. For example, “Can you please bring Daddy home from the war in time for Christmas morning?”

Santas also have a pretty good chance of getting sued (指控)…

59．What would be the best title for the passage?

A．Christmas: Not a Good Festival for Santas

B．Is Santa Claus Really Alive? C．A Christmas Story

D．What Does Santa Claus Do for Children?

答案与解析：选A。通览全文，由第一段首句“He wishes the holiday season would end already. His back aches”，第二段首句“The questions from children these days are harder than ever.”以及第三段首句“Santas also have a pretty good chance of getting sued (指控).”，不难看出本文主要讲述圣诞老人的辛苦。A选项最恰当。文中没有谈及B选项内容，C选项标题范围太大,没有针对性，D选项没有概括文中内容。

例题2：（2008年全国卷III A篇）

Every year on my birthday, from the time I turned 12, a white gardenia was delivered to my house. No card came with it Calls to the flower-shop were not helpful at all. After a while I stopped trying to dis cover the sender’s name and just delighted in the beautiful white flower in soft pink paper.

But I never stopped imagining who the giver might be. Some of my happiest moments were spent daydreaming about the sender. My mother encouraged these imaginings. S he’d ask me if there was someone for whom I had done special kindness. Perhaps it was the old man across the street whose mail I’d delivered during the winter. As a girl, though, I had more fun imagining that it might be a boy I had run into.

One month before my graduation, my father died. I felt so sad that I became completely uninterested in my upcoming graduation dance, and I didn’t care if I had a new dress or not. But my mother, in her own sadness, would not let me miss any of those things. She wanted her children to feel loved and lovable. In truth, my mother wanted her children to see themselves much like the gardenia lovely, strong and perfect with perhaps a bit of mystery (神秘) My mother died ten days after I was married. I was 22. That was the year the gardenia stopped coming.

41. Which of the following would be the best title for the text?

A. A childhood Dream.

B. A Mother’s Love.

C. A Graduation Party.

D. A Special Birthday.

答案与解析：选B。本题考察了篇章理解和主旨概括能力。结合整篇，尤其是最后一段不难看出母亲对女儿的一片良苦用心。“母爱”这一标题简洁、形象又能突出本文主题。

2014-03-14英语培优练习题

阅读理解主旨大意题

1) If you were planning to buy a television set, the following advertisement would certainly draw your attention: “Color TV. Only ＄79. Two days sale. Hurry.” However, when you go to the store ready to buy. You may discover that they are sold out. But the shop assistant is quick to tell you that he has another model. A much better set which is “just right for you” It costs ＄395. This sales method is called “bait and switch”. Buyers are baited with a sale s advertisement, and then they are switched to another more expensive one. Buying things on sale needs careful consideration of the goods and the reason for the sale.

※The paragraph could be entitled _________.

A. Buying a TV Set

B. A Selling Method

C. Buyer Beware

D. TV On Sale

2) Tom 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.

※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.

3) Everyone becomes a little more forgetful as they get older, but men's minds decline more than women's, according to the results of a worldwide survey. Certain differences seem to be inherent in male and female brains: Men are better at maintaining and dealing with mental images (useful in mathematical reasoning and spatial skills), while women tend to excel (擅长) at recalling information from their brain's files (helpful with language skills and remembering the locations of objects)....

※The author aims to tell us that __________.

A. women’s minds perform better than men’s

B. men’s minds decline more with age

C. everyone becomes a little more forgetful as they get older

D. a survey on human’s mind decline was done recently.

4)It seems that politicians around the world are thinking about the health of their countries. While in China, Chen Zhu has announced his plans for a universal health service and reform across health services. Gordon Brown, the UK Prime Minister, has also announced he is planning to make some changes in our health service.

The crux of Mr. Brown's proposals are related to giving the NHS (National Health Service) a greater focus on prevention, rather than just curing patients.

He is planning to introduce increased screening for common diseases ...

※The author of this passage intends to tell us______.

A. the NHS should be reformed right away.

B. more and more people are dying from diseases.

C. the plan to reform the NHS in the UK.

D. the criticism of Mr. Brown's proposals.

5) In the 1930s, a lot of people in the USA were out of work. Among these people was a man named Alfred Butts. He always had an interest in word games and to fill his time he planned a game which he called “Lexico”. However, he was not completely satisfied wi th the game, so he made a number of changes to it and changed its name from “ Lexico” to “Alph” and then to “Criss

Cross”. He wanted to make some money from his new game but he didn’t have any real commercial(商业性的)success.

※The text is mainly about________.

A. Lexico

B. Three men

C. A word game

D. Alfred Butts.

6) Reading is the key to school success and, like any skill it Takes practice. A child learns to walk by practicing until he no longer has to think about how to put one foot in front of the other. A great athlete practices until he can play quickly, accurately(精确), without thinking. Tennis players call that“ being” in the zone.” Educators call it “ automaticity’ (自动性).

※The first paragraph tells us _______.

A. what automaticity is

B. how accuracy is acquired (获得)

C. how a child learns to walk

D. how an athlete is trained.

7)Boston---- Thieves dressed as police entered a museum early Sunday and stole 11 paintings, including major works by Rembrandt, Dagas , Manet and Verme rr, FBI (美国联邦调查局) and the museum officials said.

The first judgment placed value of at least $100 million on the works stolen from the Isabella Gardener Museum, said Boston police spokes-man Jim Tordan. ………

William Bobinson, of Hardvard Unive rcity’s Foggel Museum, called the objects stolen “major works.”

※What is the best headline for this newspaper article ?

A. Theft Took Place in Boston

B. Artworks stolen by Thieves

C. Major Works

D. Investigation into the Theft

8)As pri ces and building costs keep rising, the “do-it-yourself” (DIY) trend in the U.S. continues to grow. ……

John and Jim are not unusual people. Most families in the country are doing everything they can to save money so they can fight the high cost of living. If you want to become a “do-it-yourself’, you can go to DIY classes. And for those who don’t have time to take a course, there are books that tell you how you can do things yourself.

※What would be the best title for the text?

A. The Joy of DIY

B. You can Do it Too!

C. Welcome to Our DIY Course!

D. Ross and Hatfield: Believers in DIY

9) You dream each night, even though you may not remember your dreams. While you dream your eyes move and your heart beats faster. Even your brain-wave pattern changes. Some scientists think that dreaming is important for the sake of health. They claim that without dream, people would go crazy.

※What does the passage mainly tell us?

A.How people stay healthy

B. How sleep is necessary

C. Why dreams are important

D. When people remember their dreams

10)In America we have Halloween. In Mexico they have Todos Santos, which means “ All Saints”. This is the day in which people remember family and friends who have died. They v isit the cemetery instead of going out to trick-or-treat. But they do have pictures of skeletons and ghosts hanging around. They also have many candy skulls to eat.

※What does the story mainly tell ?

A.What holidays are like

B. What Halloween is like in Mexico

C. What happens during Todos Santos

D. What we do on Halloween

Key:

1)- 5) B D B C C 6)- 10) A B D C C