尋找主題句 巧解主旨題

閱讀理解中的主旨要義題要求對文章的整體或局部(如段落)進(jìn)行概括，歸納相關(guān)部分的中心大意(main idea)，選擇標(biāo)題(title)，判斷作者的寫作目的(purpose)等，旨在考查考生加工與濃縮信息的能力。

迅速準(zhǔn)確地找到主題句是解答這類題的關(guān)鍵所在，主題句一般有以下三個特點(diǎn):

1. 主題句所表達(dá)的意思具有概括性;

2. 句子結(jié)構(gòu)簡單明了， 作者一般不會采用長句或結(jié)構(gòu)復(fù)雜的句子作為文章的主題句;

3. 文章或段落的其他句子是對主題句的進(jìn)一步解釋、說明、論證或擴(kuò)展。

那么，在閱讀中如何迅速找到主題句?主題句在什么地方呢?

一、在文段開頭

主題句常常是一個段落的開頭，其后的句子則是論證性細(xì)節(jié)。在說明文、議論文、科技文獻(xiàn)和新聞報道中多采用這種格式。因此，要尋找這類文章的主旨大意就需研究文章的首句。如:

One of the most important weapons used during the Second World War was not a weapon used against people， but rather a drug used against disease. The wartime use of penicillin saved thousands of lives. In the First World War， for example， pneumonia was responsible for eighteen percent of all the deaths in the United States army. In the Second World War， the rate went down to less than one percent. In addition， penicillin was instrumental in keeping wounds from getting infected and in helping to speed the healing process of those wounds that did become infected.

Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

A. A Dangerous Weapon

B. Guns in the Second World War

C. A Terrible Pneumonia

D. An Important Drug

文章第一句說明二戰(zhàn)期間最重要的武器之一并非打仗的武器而是一種抵抗疾病的藥物。故選D。

順便提醒:在文段開頭處出現(xiàn)but或however等表示轉(zhuǎn)折的字眼時，要特別留意，其后往往是作者要著重講述的內(nèi)容，也就是文章的主旨所在。

二、在文段結(jié)尾

主題句經(jīng)常位于文段的尾句，在文末作總結(jié)或強(qiáng)調(diào)。如:

On the night of the party Merlin rolled into the room playing his violin. Everyone was astonished to see him. There was just one problem. Merlin had no way to stop his roller skates. He rolled on and on. Suddenly， he ran into a huge mirror that was hanging on the wall. Down fell the mirror， breaking to pieces. Nobody forgot Merlin’s grand entrance for a long time!

What is the main point the writer is trying to make in the last paragraph?

A. The roller skates needed further improvement.

B. The party guests took Merlin for a fool.

C. Merlin succeeded beyond expectation.

D. Merlin got himself into trouble.

答案選C。這是一道主旨題。Merlin之所以發(fā)明roller skate，其目的是想使人們對他產(chǎn)生深刻印象。根據(jù)最后一段最后一句話Nobody forgot Merlin’s grand entrance for a long time! 可知沒有人忘記這次偉大的入場，表明Merlin實(shí)現(xiàn)了自己的期望。

三、在文段中部

有些文章或段落的主題句在文段的中部，這種文段往往以一句或幾句話引出要表達(dá)的主題，在主題句出現(xiàn)后，再舉例陳述細(xì)節(jié)或繼續(xù)論證。如:

The 20 students—18 boys and 2 girls—had a thousand reasons to be proud of themselves. They had just climbed their way to the top rung out of 4 million students taking part in the Fifth National Hua Luogeng Gold Cup Mathematics Contest on Tuesday evening.

The 20 gold medal winners are all primary and middle school students under the age of 14.

“Many of the problems are of college level and these pupils can figure them out. It is just unbelievable!” said a teacher from Guangdong province.

Named after China’s most famous mathematician， Hua Luogeng， the contest started in 1986， one year after his death. In less than 10 years， it has been recognized by the State Education Commission as the country’s biggest and best contest of its kind.

This news story is mainly about .

A. when the contest started

B. how the contest got its name

C. the 20 pupils who have won gold medals in the contest

D. the 5th National Hua Luogeng gold Cup Mathematics Contest

選D。從文章可看出這篇新聞報導(dǎo)是關(guān)于第五屆華羅庚金杯數(shù)學(xué)競賽的結(jié)果。

四、沒有主題句

有些文段沒有明顯的主題句，只是暗示性地體現(xiàn)主題，這就要求考生在閱讀過程中根據(jù)文中所敘述的事實(shí)或提供的線索來概括總結(jié)主旨大意。

In Shanxi Province you may be offered brains to eat. Frightened? You shouldn’t be， because these brains are only a kind of food， which is famous for its unusual name and rich nutrition.

Brains as a kind of food were invented more than 300 years ago by Fu Shan， an artist whose mother had been ill for a long time. To help her become well again， he studied medicine and invented a kind of soup made of meat， vegetables and a number of Chinese medicines. Rice wine was also used in the soup to help illness caused by old age. Fu’s soup became the talk of the town. Many people came to see him. One day a restaurant owner asked him what was in the soup. “I’ll tell you.” Fu said， “but if your restaurant is going to sell the soup， you must call it brains because of its shape and color. And your restaurant should be renamed after my mother.”

The best headline for this newspaper article is

.

A. A Good Son

B. A Special Soup

C. How to Make Brains

D. How to Live a Long Life

要解答此題，必須通讀全文，弄清各段大意，本文主旨才顯出來，答案是B。

總之，解答主旨題的關(guān)鍵是快速找出主題句，而主題句多在文章的首尾段，或各段的首尾句。但并不是每一篇文章都有主題句，遇到?jīng)]有主題句的文段，我們就得通過瀏覽全文，抓住關(guān)鍵字眼，來把握文章主旨。

責(zé)任編校 蔣小青