由寫作方法談主旨大意題的解法

程小明

迅速解答閱讀理解中的主旨大意題,需要快速了解作者的寫作方法,理清文章結構,根據不同情況找到主題句或歸納主旨,從而選出正確答案。作者表現主旨的方式主要有以下五種:

一、正三解形寫作法

即中心主題句出現在文章開頭第一、二句。開門見山,提出主題,隨之用細節來解釋、支撐或發展主題句所表達的主題思想,即先概述,隨后輔以細說、分析。這是英語中最常見的演繹法式寫作方式,即由一般到特殊,先提出觀點,后舉例論證,主題句則出現在段首的寫作方法。

新聞報道通常就采用這種寫法。新聞報道的首句通常稱為“新聞導語”,“導語”實際上就是主題句,是對全文內容的高度概括。大意題、標題一般可在第一句話找到答題依據。例:

[2009年山東卷D篇]An increase in students applying to study economics at university is being attributed to (歸因于)the global economic crisis awakening a public thirst for knowledge about how the financial system works.

Applications for degree courses beginning this autumn were up by 15% this January, according to UCAS, the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service. A spokesman for the Royal Economic Society said applications to do economics at A-level were also up.

Professor John Beath, the president of the society and a leading lecturer at St Andrews University, said his first-year lectures,which are open to students from all departments,were drawing crowds of 400, rather than the usual 250.

“There are a large number of students who are not economics majors, who would like to learn something about it. One of the things I have done this year is to relate my teaching to contemporary events in a way that one hasnt traditionally done.” He said.

University applications rose 7% last year, but there were rises above average in several subjects. Nursing saw a 15% jump, with peoples renewed interest in careers in the pubic sector(部門), which are seen as more secure in economic crisis.

A recent study showed almost two thirds of parents believed schools should do more to teach pupils about financial matters, and almost half said their children had asked them what was going on, although a minority of parents felt they did not understand it themselves well enough to explain.

Zack Hocking, the head of Child Trust Funds, said: “Its possible that one good thing to arise from the downturn will be a generation thats financially wiser and better equipped to manage their money through times of economic uncertainty.”

75. Whats the main idea of the text?

A. Universities have received more applications.

B. Economics is attracting an increasing numbers students.

C. College students benefit a lot from economic uncertainty.

D. Parents are concerned with childrens subject selection.

本文第一段提到全球性的金融危機使公眾想更多地了解有關經濟體系方面的一些問題,所以更多的學生申請經濟學專業,本文正是對此展開討論的。故選B。

二、倒三角形寫作法

即主題句出現在文尾,即先表述事實細節或交代論據,然后在結尾點出結論,也就是遵循從個別到一般、由特殊到普遍的寫作思路。

[2009全國卷一A 篇]I suddenly heard an elephant crying as though frightened. Looking down, I immediately recognized that something was wrong, and ran down to the edge of the near bank. There I saw Ma Shwe with her three-month-old calf struggling in the fast-rising water, and it was a life-and-death struggle. Her calf was floating and screaming with fear. Ma Shwe was as near to the far bank as she could get, holding her whole body against the rushing water, and keeping the calf pressed against her huge body. Every now and then the rushing water would sweep the calf away.

There was a sudden rise in the water and the calf was washed clean over the mothers body and was gone. Ma Shwe turned quickly to reach it and pressed the calf with her head and trunk(象鼻) against the rocky bank. Then with a huge effort, she picked it up in her trunk and tried until she was able to place it on a narrow shelf of rock.

Just at this moment, she fell back into the river. If she were carried down, it would be certain death. I knew, as well as she did, that there was one spot (地點) where she could get up the bank, but it was on the other side from where she had put her calf.

While I was wondering what I could do next,I heard the sound of a mothers love.Ma Shwe had crossed the river and got up the bank and was making her way back as fast as she could,roaring(吼叫)all the time,but to her calf it was music.

59. What can be the best title for the text?

A. A Mothers Love

B. A Brave Act

C. A Deadly River

D. A Matter of Life and Death

全文講述了一頭母象不顧自身的安危營救一頭小象的經過,贊美了母愛的力量。最后一段中的 “I heard the sound of a mothers love”一句揭示了主題,因此A作為標題非常貼切。

三、圓形寫作法

即首尾呼應的寫作方法。為突出主題,作者先提出主題,結尾時再次點出主題,這種首尾呼應的寫作方式也較為多見。通常,前后表述主題的句子不是簡單的重復,后面的往往有進一步的引申或發展的意味。

[2009年北京卷 D篇]When students and parents are asked to rate subjects according to their importance, the arts are unavoidably at the bottom of the list. Music is nice, people seem to say, but not important. Too often it is viewed as mere entertainment, but certainly not an education priority(優先). This view is shortsighted. In fact, music education is beneficial and important for all students.

Music tells us who we are. Because music is an expression of the beings who create it, it reflects their thinking and values, as well as the social environment it came from. Rock music represents a lifestyle just as surely as does a Schubert song. The jazz influence that George Gershwin and other musicians introduced into their music is obviously American because it came from American musical traditions. Music expresses our character and values. It gives us identity as a society.

Music provides a kind of perception(感知)that cannot be acquired any other way. Science can explain how the sun rises and sets. The arts explore the emotive(情感的)meaning of the same phenomenon. We need every possible way to discover and respond to our world for one simple but powerful reason: No one way can get it all.

The arts are forms of thought as powerful in what they communicate as mathematical and scientific symbols. They are ways we human beings “talk” to each other. They are the language of civilization through which we express our fears, our curiosities, our hungers, our discoveries, our hopes. The arts are ways we give form to our ideas and imagination so that they can be shared with others. When we do not give children access to an important way of expressing themselves such as music, we take away from them the meanings that music expresses.

Science and technology do not tell us what it means to be human. The arts do. Music is an important way we express human suffering, celebration, the meaning and value of peace and love.

So music education is far more necessary than people seem to realize.

71. What is the main idea of the passage?

A. Music education deserves more attention.

B. Music should be of top education priority.

C. Music is an effective communication tool.

D. Music education makes students more imaginative.

文章開門見山地指出音樂的教育功能和益處被低估,最后一段又重申了音樂教育的重要性,所以本文旨在呼吁人們更多地關注音樂。故選A。

四、菱形寫作法

即主題句出現在語篇中間的短文,一般包括三個層次,即引題——點出主題——解釋說明。

[2009年陜西卷D篇]Brian arrived at the San Francisco airport two hours before the flight to Paris. He was wearing three shirts, a jacket, two pairs of socks, a pair of shorts, and two pairs of jeans. He was carrying one small backpack, which was very full, but he didnt have any other luggage. Brian needed to meet a man named Tony before he checked in for his flight. He found Tony near the Air France counter. Tony gave him a round-trip ticket and a small package.

“Give this package to Jean-Paul at the airport in Paris. He will have a sign with your name on it. I think you can find him easily ,” Tony said, ”You dont have any luggage, right?”

“Only this backpack,” Brian answered. ”You said I could bring one carry-on bag.”

“Thats right. One carry-on bag is fine. Have a good trip.”

“Thanks.”

Is Brian a criminal(罪犯)? Not at all. He is an air-courier. And he paid only $110 for the round-trip ticket to Paris. Air couriers get cheap airline tickets because they take important packages and papers to foreign countries. Businesses sometimes need to get packages and papers to people in foreign countries by the next day. Often, the only way they can do this is to use an air-courier company. It is not cheap for a business to send a package with an air courier, but it is quick.

Every year about 80,000 people worldwide travel as air couriers. The number of tickets for courier travel is growing by about 10 percent a year. However, air-courier travel isnt for everyone. But if you have very little money, can be flexible(靈活的) about your travel plans, and dont mind wearing the same clothes for a week, it can be a great way to take a vacation!

56. The author of the text mainly______.

A. describes the activities of a law-breaker

B. suggests an ideal way to travel

C. argues against the air-courier travel

D. tells us about a developing business

本文先描述Brian作為投送員的一個小片段引出話題,然后點出主題:是罪犯還是航空投送員?最后解釋說明投送員的工作性質、職責和待遇。故選D。

五、正方形寫作法

由于文章的體裁不同,或者由于材料是節選的段落,文章的中心主題隱含在全文之中,沒有明顯的主題句。閱讀這樣的文章,就要求考生從歸納每段的要點開始,將各要點集中概括,歸納出隱含的主題思想。分析的方法是,先弄清該段落主要講了哪幾個方面的內容,這些內容在邏輯上有什么聯系,然后加以歸納形成主題。這就需要考生具有很強的邏輯概括能力。切記要把握好推理范圍,防止主觀臆斷。

[2009 浙江卷D篇]In ancient Egypt, the pharaoh(法老)treated the poor message runner like a prince when he arrived at the palace, if he brought good news. However, if the exhausted runner had the misfortune to bring the pharaoh unhappy news, his head was cut off.

Shades of that spirit spread over todays conversations. Once a friend and I packed up some peanut butter and sandwiches for an outing. As we walked light-heartedly out the door, picnic basket in hand, a smiling neighbor looked up at the sky and said, “Oh boy, bad day for a picnic. The weatherman says its going to rain.”I wanted to strike him on the face with the peanut butter and sandwiches. Not for his stupid weather report, for his smile

Several months ago I was racing to catch a bus. As I breathlessly put my handful of cash across the Greyhound counter, the sales agent said with a broad smile ,“Oh that bus left five minutes ago.”Dreams of head-cutting!

Its not the news that makes someone angry. Its the unsympathetic attitude with which its delivered. Everyone must give bad news from time to time, and winning professionals do it with the proper attitude. A doctor advising a patient that she needs an operation does it in a caring way. A boss informing an employee he didnt get the job takes on a sympathetic tone. Big winners know, when delivering any bad news, they should share the feeling of the receiver.

Unfortunately, many people are not aware of this. When youre tired from a long flight, has a hotel clerk cheerfully said that your room isnt ready yet? When you had your heart set on the toast beef, has your waiter mainly told you that he just served the last piece? It makes you as traveler or diner want to land your fist right on their unsympathetic faces.

Had my neighbor told me of the upcoming rainstorm with sympathy, I would have appreciated his warming .Had the Greyhound salesclerk sympathetically informed me that my bus had already left, I probably would have said, ” Oh, thats all right.Ill catch the next one.” Big winners, when they bear bad news ,deliver bombs with the emotion the bombarded(被轟炸的)person is sure to have.

56. What is the main idea of the text?

A. Delivering bad news properly is important in communication.

B. Helping others sincerely is the key to business success.

C. Receiving bad news requires great courage.

D. Learning ancient traditions can be useful.

本文作者通過故事和自己的親身經歷告訴我們在日常交流中,當向別人傳達壞消息時應該委婉地表達出來,以照顧到對方的感受,這在人際交往中非常重要。故選A。

責任編校蔣小青