论文部分内容阅读
在阅读理解中，对文章主旨大意的考查通常以考查文章主题（theme）、最佳标题（best title）、中心思想（main idea）及写作目的（purpose）等方式设问。比如：
What is the theme of the passage？
What would be the best title for the passage？
What does the author mainly intend to tell us？
The main purpose of the passage is ______.
What can be concluded from the passage？
...
说明文、议论文以及新闻报道这些体裁的文章，往往能直接从文章的首段、尾段或者首尾两段中，找到揭示主旨的句子。
而对其他类型的文章来说，大都需要浏览全文，概括出各段落主旨，通过综合这些段落主旨得出全文主旨。
然而，概括出文章主旨不等于能选对答案。命题者常常会在选项中设置陷阱，以下三点值得我们在做主旨大意题时多加留意。
莫把细节当主旨
混淆主要和次要
命题者经常会利用局部信息编制干扰项，所以，答题时切忌以偏概全，把细节当主旨，混淆主要信息和次要信息。
比如2013年高考英语重庆卷的C篇。
Almost every machine with moving parts has wheels， yet no one knows exactly when the first wheel was invented or what it was used for. We do know， however， that they existed over 5，500 years ago in Asia.
The oldest known transport wheel was discovered in 2002 in Slovenia. It is over 5，100 years old. Evidence suggests that wheels for transport didn’t become popular for a while， though. This could be because animals did a perfectly good job of carrying farming tools and human around.
But it could also be because of a difficult situation. While wheels need to roll on smooth surfaces， roads with smooth surfaces weren’t going to be constructed until there was plenty of demand for them. Eventually， road surfaces did become smoother， but this difficult situation appeared again a few centuries later. There had been no important changes in wheel and vehicle design before the arrival of modern road design.
In the mid-1700s， a Frenchman came up with a new design of road—a base layer of large stones covered with a thin layer of smaller stones. A Scotsman improved on this design in the 1820s and a strong， lasting road surface became a reality. At around the same time， metal hubs （the central part of a wheel） came into being， followed by the pneumatic tyre（充气轮胎） in 1846. Alloy wheels were invented in 1967， sixty years after the appearance of tarmacked roads（柏油路）. As wheel design took off， vehicles got faster and faster.
67. What is the passage mainly about？
A. The beginning of road design.
B. The development of transport wheels.
C. The history of public transport.
D. The invention of fast-moving vehicles.
【分析】 这篇文章的首尾两段没有明确的主题句，这就需要我们整合各段落的主旨得出全文主旨。通过查找各段的主题句，以及在没有主题句的情况下自行概括，可得各段主旨：
第1段： Wheels existed over 5，500 years ago in Asia.
第2段： The oldest known transport wheel and the reason why wheels didn’t become popular. 第3段： There had been no important changes in wheel and vehicle design before the arrival of modern road design.
第4段： Wheel design took off because of the development of road design.
据此，不难看出文章每一段都围绕着“轮子（wheels）的发展”展开叙述，所以这篇文章的主旨大意应该是The development of transport wheels，选B。
因为文章的第3段和第4段用了较大的篇幅讲述road design，所以有的同学会选择A选项The beginning of road design。但仔细分析这两段，可知作者写road design还是为了介绍轮子的发展，是不同材质道路的出现促进了轮子的发展。
还有同学会选择D选项The invention of fast-moving vehicles。文章最后一句确实提到了随着轮子的发展，交通工具的速度越来越快，但这是为了指出轮子发展的结果，“快速的交通工具的发明”并不是文章重点。所以，选项A和D都属于次要信息，不能涵盖文章的中心意义，不是文章的主旨大意。
有时，命题者会故意编制超出文章范围的选项来考查同学们是否能精准地把握文章主旨。外延过大的概括均是不准确的，答题时要注意剔除这类选项。
比如2012年高考英语浙江卷的C篇。
There will be always conflict in schools， but that doesn’t mean there needs to be violence. After students in Atlanta started a conflict resolution program， according to Educators for Social Responsibility， “64 percent of the teachers reported less physical violence in the classroom； 75 percent of the teachers reported an increase in student cooperation； and 92 percent of the students felt better about themselves”. Learning to resolve conflicts can help students deal with friends， teachers， parents， bosses， and coworkers. In that way， conflict resolution is a basic life skill that should be taught in schools across that country.
50. This article is mainly about .
A. the lives of school children
B. the cause of arguments in schools
C. how to analyze youth violence
D. how to deal with school conflicts
【分析】 2012年浙江卷的C篇是一篇说明文，介绍了校园冲突的解决办法，根据上面摘录的文章尾段很容易得出全文主旨。这一段的关键词是conflict resolution，即“冲突的解决办法”，通过亚特兰大市开展的“校园冲突化解计划”（conflict resolution program）来说明解决校园冲突的成效，最后一句强调了学校应该把解决冲突作为一项基本的生活技能教给学生，所以全文主旨应该是how to deal with school conflicts，选D。
A选项the lives of school children看似正确，其实概括得并不精准。校园生活涵盖面很广，该文只涉及如何处理校园冲突这一个方面，所以A选项明显范围过大，是一种扩大外延的概括。
在选择文章主旨时，同学们最容易被那些貌似准确、实则偏离主旨的干扰项误导。答题时，要非常仔细地辨别选项中关键词语表述的含义，进行分析对比，才能选择正确。
比如《2012年浙江省普通高考考试说明》中英语参考卷的C篇。
Bonus culture has become the subject of many studies nowadays. Many people have been angered by the way some bankers and high officials seem to have been rewarded for failure. Others find the idea of offering many-million-dollar bonuses morally disgusting.
...
A “do this and get that” approach might improve performance in the short term， but over longer periods it will always fail， Kohn says. People who receive bonus will naturally play safe， become less creative， cooperate less and feel less valued， he adds. What’s more， the studies also suggest that offering rewards can also stop people taking responsibility.
54. Which do you think is the best title of the passage？
A. What Is Bonus？
B. Does Bonus Work？
C. Why Is Bonus Offered？
D. How Does Bonus Work？
【分析】 以上是参考卷C篇的首尾两段。从首段的后两句可知，人们对一些银行家及高级官员得到大额奖金感到愤怒（anger）及厌恶（disgusting），这提示了文章后面要讲述的内容是对奖金制度的讨论。最后一段中Kohn的话更明确了奖金制度的负面效果： but over longer periods it will always fail... become less creative， cooperate less and feel less valued... offering rewards can also stop people taking responsibility。结合这两段可得全文主旨：质疑奖金制度的效果，所以选B。
不少同学会选D选项How Does Bonus Work，这个选项看起来与Does Bonus Work很接近，但表意完全不同。How Does Bonus Work意为“奖金是如何起作用的”，与文章主旨相去甚远。
还有部分同学会选C，Why Is Bonus Offered，这个选项意为“提供奖金的原因”，虽然与“奖金制度”有关，但还是偏离了“对奖金制度的质疑”这一主旨。
总之，解答主旨大意题要站在全文的角度考虑，把握作者的写作意图，选择涵盖文章主要内容、范围不过大也不过小、能精准表达作者观点的选项。
What is the theme of the passage？
What would be the best title for the passage？
What does the author mainly intend to tell us？
The main purpose of the passage is ______.
What can be concluded from the passage？
...
说明文、议论文以及新闻报道这些体裁的文章，往往能直接从文章的首段、尾段或者首尾两段中，找到揭示主旨的句子。
而对其他类型的文章来说，大都需要浏览全文，概括出各段落主旨，通过综合这些段落主旨得出全文主旨。
然而，概括出文章主旨不等于能选对答案。命题者常常会在选项中设置陷阱，以下三点值得我们在做主旨大意题时多加留意。
莫把细节当主旨
混淆主要和次要
命题者经常会利用局部信息编制干扰项，所以，答题时切忌以偏概全，把细节当主旨，混淆主要信息和次要信息。
比如2013年高考英语重庆卷的C篇。
Almost every machine with moving parts has wheels， yet no one knows exactly when the first wheel was invented or what it was used for. We do know， however， that they existed over 5，500 years ago in Asia.
The oldest known transport wheel was discovered in 2002 in Slovenia. It is over 5，100 years old. Evidence suggests that wheels for transport didn’t become popular for a while， though. This could be because animals did a perfectly good job of carrying farming tools and human around.
But it could also be because of a difficult situation. While wheels need to roll on smooth surfaces， roads with smooth surfaces weren’t going to be constructed until there was plenty of demand for them. Eventually， road surfaces did become smoother， but this difficult situation appeared again a few centuries later. There had been no important changes in wheel and vehicle design before the arrival of modern road design.
In the mid-1700s， a Frenchman came up with a new design of road—a base layer of large stones covered with a thin layer of smaller stones. A Scotsman improved on this design in the 1820s and a strong， lasting road surface became a reality. At around the same time， metal hubs （the central part of a wheel） came into being， followed by the pneumatic tyre（充气轮胎） in 1846. Alloy wheels were invented in 1967， sixty years after the appearance of tarmacked roads（柏油路）. As wheel design took off， vehicles got faster and faster.
67. What is the passage mainly about？
A. The beginning of road design.
B. The development of transport wheels.
C. The history of public transport.
D. The invention of fast-moving vehicles.
【分析】 这篇文章的首尾两段没有明确的主题句，这就需要我们整合各段落的主旨得出全文主旨。通过查找各段的主题句，以及在没有主题句的情况下自行概括，可得各段主旨：
第1段： Wheels existed over 5，500 years ago in Asia.
第2段： The oldest known transport wheel and the reason why wheels didn’t become popular. 第3段： There had been no important changes in wheel and vehicle design before the arrival of modern road design.
第4段： Wheel design took off because of the development of road design.
据此，不难看出文章每一段都围绕着“轮子（wheels）的发展”展开叙述，所以这篇文章的主旨大意应该是The development of transport wheels，选B。
因为文章的第3段和第4段用了较大的篇幅讲述road design，所以有的同学会选择A选项The beginning of road design。但仔细分析这两段，可知作者写road design还是为了介绍轮子的发展，是不同材质道路的出现促进了轮子的发展。
还有同学会选择D选项The invention of fast-moving vehicles。文章最后一句确实提到了随着轮子的发展，交通工具的速度越来越快，但这是为了指出轮子发展的结果，“快速的交通工具的发明”并不是文章重点。所以，选项A和D都属于次要信息，不能涵盖文章的中心意义，不是文章的主旨大意。
有时，命题者会故意编制超出文章范围的选项来考查同学们是否能精准地把握文章主旨。外延过大的概括均是不准确的，答题时要注意剔除这类选项。
比如2012年高考英语浙江卷的C篇。
There will be always conflict in schools， but that doesn’t mean there needs to be violence. After students in Atlanta started a conflict resolution program， according to Educators for Social Responsibility， “64 percent of the teachers reported less physical violence in the classroom； 75 percent of the teachers reported an increase in student cooperation； and 92 percent of the students felt better about themselves”. Learning to resolve conflicts can help students deal with friends， teachers， parents， bosses， and coworkers. In that way， conflict resolution is a basic life skill that should be taught in schools across that country.
50. This article is mainly about .
A. the lives of school children
B. the cause of arguments in schools
C. how to analyze youth violence
D. how to deal with school conflicts
【分析】 2012年浙江卷的C篇是一篇说明文，介绍了校园冲突的解决办法，根据上面摘录的文章尾段很容易得出全文主旨。这一段的关键词是conflict resolution，即“冲突的解决办法”，通过亚特兰大市开展的“校园冲突化解计划”（conflict resolution program）来说明解决校园冲突的成效，最后一句强调了学校应该把解决冲突作为一项基本的生活技能教给学生，所以全文主旨应该是how to deal with school conflicts，选D。
A选项the lives of school children看似正确，其实概括得并不精准。校园生活涵盖面很广，该文只涉及如何处理校园冲突这一个方面，所以A选项明显范围过大，是一种扩大外延的概括。
在选择文章主旨时，同学们最容易被那些貌似准确、实则偏离主旨的干扰项误导。答题时，要非常仔细地辨别选项中关键词语表述的含义，进行分析对比，才能选择正确。
比如《2012年浙江省普通高考考试说明》中英语参考卷的C篇。
Bonus culture has become the subject of many studies nowadays. Many people have been angered by the way some bankers and high officials seem to have been rewarded for failure. Others find the idea of offering many-million-dollar bonuses morally disgusting.
...
A “do this and get that” approach might improve performance in the short term， but over longer periods it will always fail， Kohn says. People who receive bonus will naturally play safe， become less creative， cooperate less and feel less valued， he adds. What’s more， the studies also suggest that offering rewards can also stop people taking responsibility.
54. Which do you think is the best title of the passage？
A. What Is Bonus？
B. Does Bonus Work？
C. Why Is Bonus Offered？
D. How Does Bonus Work？
【分析】 以上是参考卷C篇的首尾两段。从首段的后两句可知，人们对一些银行家及高级官员得到大额奖金感到愤怒（anger）及厌恶（disgusting），这提示了文章后面要讲述的内容是对奖金制度的讨论。最后一段中Kohn的话更明确了奖金制度的负面效果： but over longer periods it will always fail... become less creative， cooperate less and feel less valued... offering rewards can also stop people taking responsibility。结合这两段可得全文主旨：质疑奖金制度的效果，所以选B。
不少同学会选D选项How Does Bonus Work，这个选项看起来与Does Bonus Work很接近，但表意完全不同。How Does Bonus Work意为“奖金是如何起作用的”，与文章主旨相去甚远。
还有部分同学会选C，Why Is Bonus Offered，这个选项意为“提供奖金的原因”，虽然与“奖金制度”有关，但还是偏离了“对奖金制度的质疑”这一主旨。
总之，解答主旨大意题要站在全文的角度考虑，把握作者的写作意图，选择涵盖文章主要内容、范围不过大也不过小、能精准表达作者观点的选项。