主旨要義題的題型特點與解題技巧

《2007年普通高等學校招生全國統一考試英語科考試大綱的說明（廣東卷）》對閱讀的考試范圍與內容有6條規定，其中第一條就是：考生應能理解主旨和要義。高考閱讀理解“主旨要義題”通常是考查考生選擇恰當的標題、概括中心思想和段落大意的能力。

下面筆者針對閱讀理解“主旨要義”這一題型，探討其題干特征、選項特點與解題技巧。

一、題干特征

1. 標題類試題常見的題干形式

(1)The best title for this passage is .

(2)The suitable headline for this passage may be_______.

(3)A good title for this passage would be________.

(4)The title that best expresses the idea of the passage is_______.

(5)Which of the following can be the best title of this passage?

(6)Which of the following would be suitable as a title for the passage?

(7)Which of the following titles best sums up the whole passage?

(8)Which of the following would be the best title for the text?

(9)The passage can be entitled ________.

(10)Which of the following is the best title?

2. 中心思想類試題常見的題干形式

(1)This passage is mainly about_______.

(2)The passage talks about_______.

(3)The passage tells us that _______.

(4)This passage mainly/chiefly deals with_______ .

(5)What is the passage mainly about?

(6)What's the main idea/subject/topic of the passage?

(7)Which is the following statements best expressed the main idea of the passage?

(8)Which of the following best states the main idea of the passage?

(9)The main idea/ key point of this passage is that______.

(10)With what topic is the passage chiefly concerned?

3. 段落大意類試題常見的題干形式

(1)The main idea of the second paragraph probably is that______.

(2)The last paragraph is chiefly concerned with ______.

(3)What's the main idea of the second paragraph?

(4)Which of the following can best summarize Paragraph 4?

(5)What's the main idea discussed in the first paragraph?

二、選項特點

1. 正確選項的特點

(1)標題概括類題目：體現概括性，避免遠離主題；

(2)中心思想類題目：體現全面性，避免以偏概全；

(3)段落大意類題目：體現針對性，避免張冠李戴。

2. 干擾項的特點

(1)陳述過于籠統，超出短文涉及的范圍；

(2)以偏概全，覆蓋面太窄，歸納不完整；

(3)斷章取義，只屬某一要點或某一細節；

(4)對短文信息偷梁換柱，不符具體事實；

(5)與細節略有相關，但已偏離短文主題。

三、解題技巧

1. 解題步驟

(1)識別題型，分清主旨要義題。

(2)速讀短文首尾、各段首尾，找準主題句，或瀏覽全文，抓住關鍵詞句，把握短文主旨。

(3)去偽存真，判斷歸納，驗證選項，確定最佳答案。

2. 解題技巧

(1)識別題目提問方式，分清是“全文主旨”還是“段落主旨”。

(2)速讀短文首尾、各段首尾，找準主題句。

(3)若無明顯主題句，則要瀏覽全文，運用關鍵詞句，準確歸納主旨。議論文中要尋找最能體現作者觀點或態度的關鍵詞句，記敘文中要尋找最能概括情節的動詞和最能反映人物心理特征的形容詞。

(4)如果短文中出現兩種或兩種以上的不同觀點，或在某一過渡詞語（如however，but，yet，on the contrary，by contrast，in this instance， etc）后引出另一觀點，答題時要弄清哪個是作者的觀點；作者的觀點才是體現全文主旨，力求排除干擾信息。

(5)選擇標題時，既要排除斷章取義、以偏概全的標題，又要放棄范圍太大、過于籠統的標題；選擇標題必須做到緊扣主題。

(6)主題句在不同體裁的短文中出現的位置與頻率各不相同：記敘文的主題句常貫穿于全文，說明文和議論文的主題句多置于文首與文尾。

四、實例分析

例1

Do you want to live with a strong sense of peacefulness， happiness， goodness， and self-respect? The collection of happiness actions broadly categorized as “honor” help you create this life of good feelings.

Here's an example to show how honorable actions create happiness.

…

There is a beautiful positive cycle that is created by living a life of honorable actions. Honorable thoughts lead to honorable actions. Honorable actions lead us to a happier existence. And it's easy to think and act honorably again when we're happy. While the positive cycle can be difficult to start， once it's started， it's easy to continue. Keeping on doing good deeds brings us peace of mind， which is important for our happiness.（2007年廣東卷閱讀B篇）

50． Which of the following can be the best title of this passage?

A． How to Live Truthfully

B． Importance of Peacefulness

C． Ways of Gaining Self-respect

D． Happiness through Honorable Actions

分析：本題要求選擇標題。根據首段最后一句和末段最后一句，及第二段可知，誠實的行為可以給人帶來幸福，故選D。

例2

He's an old cobbler (修鞋匠) with a shop in the Marais， a historic area in Paris...

…

When I got back out into the street， the world seemed brand-new to me. He was something out of an ancient legend...above all， his pride in his craft.

These are times when nothing is important but the bottom line， when you can do things any old way as long as it “pays”， when， in short， people look on work as a path to ever-increasing consumption(消費) rather than a way to realize their own abilities. In such a period it is a rare comfort to find a cobbler who gets his greatest satisfaction from pride in a job well done.（2006年廣東卷閱讀B篇）

63． This story wants to tell us that______.

A． craftsmen make a lot of money

B． whatever you do， do it well

C． craftsmen need self-respect

D． people are born equal

分析：本題要求歸納中心思想。這個故事主要體現了一位技術嫻熟的修鞋匠及其精益求精的做事風格。最后一段，特別是最后一句體現了文章的中心，由此可知選B。

例3

How many people have I met who have told me about the book they have been planning to write but have never yet found the time? Far too many.

This is Life， all right， but we do treat it like a rehearsal (排演) and， unhappily， we do miss so many of its best moments.

…（2006年廣東卷閱讀D篇）

68． The first paragraph of the passage tells us that______.

A． we always try to find some time to write a book

B． we always make plans but seldom fulfill them

C． we always enjoy many of life's best moments

D． we always do what we really want to do

分析：本題要求歸納段落大意。由句意“我遇到的不知多少人一直在計劃寫本書，但迄今為止從來沒有時間寫”“這樣的人太多了”，由此推斷出本段是告訴我們：我們總是制定計劃但很少能圓滿完成。故選B。

五、學以致用

閱讀下列短文，選擇最佳答案。

(1)

Albert Einstein who made great contributions to people， was regarded as one of the greatest scientists in the world.

Once there was a young man who disliked doing anything but wanted to be successful. He asked Einstein to tell him the secret of success: Einstein wrote him a formula: A=X+Y+Z. Seeing this， the young man got puzzled. So he had to ask what it meant. Einstein explained it to him， “A stands for success and X stands for the proper way and Y， hard work...”“And what about Z”? The young man asked anxiously， expecting to get what he wanted. “Z stands for less empty talk and more hard work...” Answered Einstein slowly. On hearing these， the young man slipped away， feeling ashamed of himself.

●The title that best expresses the idea of the passage is______ .

A． Albert Einstein

B． one of the greatest scientists

C． the secret of success

D． a young man

(2)

As a human being you may have the choice of three basic attitudes towards life.

You may approach life with the philosophy of the vegetable， in which case your life will consist in being born， eating， drinking， sleeping， mating， growing old， and dying.

The second basic attitude is to look at life as if it were a business. A great many so-called successful men and women believe that life is a business， and they arrange， their conducts and behavior accordingly. If you believe that life is a business your first question of life， naturally， is “What do I get out of it?” and your first reaction to any new experience is ，”How much is this worth to me?” In a word， based on this attitude， happiness becomes a matter of successful competition.

The great majority of human beings today look at life as if it were a business. Their basic philosophy is one of competition and efficiency.

The third attitude toward life is the approach of the artist. Here the basic philosophy is “What can I put into it?”， and the basic relation of the individual to his fellow-men is one of co-operation and common sense. This point of view has been proved by history; for history remembers best those who have contributed most richly to the interests of their fellow-men. The more we investigate and the more we learn about living the more we become convinced that the artistic attitude is the only one which is consistent with human happiness.

●What's the main idea of the passage?

A． You may have three attitudes to life.

B． You may approach life with the philosophy.

C． The attitude toward life is the approach of the artist.

D． Happiness becomes a matter of successful competition.

(3)

As we proceed through life， we are faced with many types of situations. Each situation required us to behave in different ways. We may be faced with a large project which， in order to be accomplished efficiently， demands the cooperation of each person. In this instance， we must be flexible， supportive， and be willing to compromise. Each person is only a small part of a much large machine.

Being competitive also plays a role in life. The desire to succeed and do better than others inspires us to work harder. If there was no competition a sports meet would never be exciting and successful; we could never have champions.

To succeed in life， we must learn to be both cooperative and competitive. The most important thing to learn in life is to know when to be cooperative and when to be competitive.

●Which of the following can best summarize Paragraph 1?

A． We must learn when to be cooperative and when to be competitive.

B． To succeed in life， we must learn cooperation.

C． Each person is only a small part of a much large machine.

D． Being competitive also plays a role in life.

答案與解析：

1. C 考查標題概括。這個故事主要講述了一位不喜歡工作卻想成功的年輕人向科學家Albert Einstein咨詢他成功的秘訣，故答案為C。選項A和D陳述過于籠統，范圍太大。選項B不具有概括性，內容空洞，不突出主題。

2. A 考查中心思想。這篇議論文的主題句在第一段， 即three attitudes to life（對人生的三種態度），因此選項A為最佳答案。選項B為文中的“The first attitude”， 選項C為文中的“The third attitude”， 選項D只是“the second attitude”中的一個要點。

3. B 考查段落大意。找出本段的過渡詞語In this instance（在這種情況下），推斷作者的觀點：“we must be flexible， supportive， and be willing to compromise.”作者的言外之意即“要成功，必須學會合作”。可見B是最佳答案。選項A 提到“合作與競爭”為第三段的內容，選項C僅為第一段的一個要點，選項 D提到“競爭在生活中也很重要”則是第二段的內容。

責任編校蔣小青