高考英语阅读理解之掌握主旨大意

高考英语阅读理解之掌握主旨大意

只有比别人更早、更勤奋地努力，才能尝到成功的滋味。 1 掌握主旨大意 《全日制普通高级中学英语教学大纲〔试验修订版〕》明确规定，高中英语教学目的之一是 “侧重提高阅读能力”。据此，历年全国高考英语试题都把阅读能力作为主要考查项目。阅 读能力通常指两个方面：理解和速度。阅读速度快、理解正确率高是阅读能力强的标志。提 高阅读能力要注重阅读速度，更要注重阅读理解率。只有阅读速度而没有阅读理解率就达不 到阅读的目的。 提高阅读理解率，不仅需要大量的阅读实践，而且需要掌握阅读的基本技巧。高考阅读理 解题要求考生掌握下面六种阅读技巧： 1，掌握主旨大意 2。理解具体信息 3。推测词语意义 4。推断深层含义 5。理解文章结构 6。理解作者的意图和态度 这六种技巧提供了解答以多项选择为考查形式的阅读理解题的思路。这样，就可明确考题 的考查目的，掌握阅读技巧，从而提高解答阅读理解题的正确率。 掌握主旨大意 主旨大意题考查对一个段落或一篇文章的主题思想的理解。一个段落或一篇文章通常是围 绕一个主题展开的，作者会从不同的角度，围绕这个主题进行阐述、论证和分析。阅读时仅 仅注意对句子的理解而忽视从语篇上对文章或段落的整体理解和把握是不够的。如果只理解 了各个单句的意思而没有抓住文章或段落的主题，其结果只能是获取了凌乱而不系统的信 息，因而也就无法解答有关主旨大意题型的阅读理解题。 理解一个段落的主题思想首先要学会寻找主题句。一般说来，在英语篇章中，主题句在段 落中的位置是有规律可循的。 〔一〕主题句在段落中常见的表现形式 1。主题句在段首 在有主题句的段落中，主题句往往置于段首。英语文章的段落通常用演绎法撰写，遵循从 概括到具体的写作程序，即以概述开始，随之详细解说，以支撑段落的主题。 例⒈ Insects come in many sizes．Some are big and some are small．The smallest ones are so smal1that it takes one hundred of them to form one inch．The biggest insects are not big，but they are one thousand times as big as the smallest．They are about ten inches in length！ 第一句即为主题句，概述本段的主题思想“昆虫的大小不同”。接着，在主题句后面的句 子里，作者为阐述这个主题，指出昆虫有大有小，并对最小的昆虫和最大的昆虫分别加以陈 述。 例⒉（NMET 2002） Underground systems are already in place．Many cities have underground car parks．In some cities，such as Tokyo，Seoul and Montreal, there are large underground shopping areas，The “Chunnel”，a tunnel（隧道）connecting England and France；is now complete． 第一句为主题句，本段中的其他句子都是用未说明“地下设施”是以何种形式在地球上“已 经存在”的具体实例。 2。主题句在段尾 与主题句位于段首的情况相反，主题句位于段尾时，段落是采用归纳法撰写的。表述细节 的句子在前，概述性的句子在后，并以此结尾。位于段尾的主题句往往是基于上文细节得出 只有比别人更早、更勤奋地努力，才能尝到成功的滋味。 2 的结论或建议，归纳出的要点或共性，得到的印象或结果等。 例 3： One of the most important uses of gold is for money．Gold can be used to make rings， earings，and other things，Gold is also used to make a gold leaf, a very flat ribbon of gold that is often used on picture frames．Cups and dishes can also be made from gold. Gold has many uses. 本段共有五句。前四句主要列举了金子的一些用途。根据上述细节，段落的最后一句给出 结论，即金子有多种用途。这种带结论性的句子应视为主题句。 3。主题句在段中 主题句位于段中时，段首句往往是段落主题的引言，而主题则由随之引出的句子来表达。 为阐明主题思想，在主题句之后，仍有一些句子陈述细节，或做合乎逻辑的引申。这一类的 段落包括三个层次：引题——主题——解释，或提问——回答——解释。 例 4 People who live in countries with many doctors and modern hospitals are world’s healthiest people -- right？Not necessarily. Some groups of people who have no doctors or hospitals at all are among the world’s healthiest. For example，people who live on small, faraway islands get very few diseases because there are no outsiders to bring in germs or new illness. 本段的三个层次比较明显。第一句以设问的方式提出该文段要讨论的主题：生活在有许多 医生和现代化医院的国家中的人是世界上最健康的人吗？此句起到了引出主题的作用。第三 句对前面的提问做出笼统的回答：许多生活在没有大夫和医院环境中的人也是世界上最健康 的人。此句起到了陈述主题思想的作用，应枧为主题句。段落的最后则举例对主题做进一步 的解释。 例 5 Joe is happy about being on a bowling team that bowls once a week. He also enjoys playing basketball twice a month. During the summer，he tries to play baseball on weekends. Joe really does enjoy all sports activities. He goes swimming as often as he can. Whenever he can’t participate directly，he loves to watch a football game or a golf or tennis match. 本段的主题句为第四句 Joe really does enjoy all sports activities. 前三句引述了他喜欢的几 种体育活动，主题句后面的两句对中心思想做了进一步的解释和支撑。段落结构包括三个层 次：引出主题——呈现主题——解释主题。 4．主题句在段首和段尾 在一些文段中，作者为了突出主题思想，采用了前后呼应，两次点题的写作手法。值得注 意的是，表述同一主题思想的两个主题句，在句型结构和措辞方面往往不尽一致，而且在内 容上后者也不是前者的简单重复，往往有所引申或顺应其细节的铺叙而有所侧重。 例 6 Good manners are important in all countries ， but ways of expressing good manners are different from country to country. Americans eat with knives and forks ； Japanese eat with chopsticks. Americans say “Hi” when they meet；Japanese bow. Many American men open doors for women；Japanese men do not. On the surface，it appears that good manners in American are not good manners in Japan，and in a way this is true. But in any country，the mamers that are important are those involving one person’s behavior toward another person. In all countries it is good manners to behave considerately toward others and bad manners not to. It is only the way of behaving politely that differs from country to country. 本段主要说明“礼貌在所有国家都很重要，然而各国表达礼貌的方式却不同”。文段的第 一句明确陈述了这一看法。接着作者列举了美国人和日本人在表达礼貌上的不同方式，即不 只有比别人更早、更勤奋地努力，才能尝到成功的滋味。 3 同的吃饭方式、不同的打招呼方式，以及男人对待女人的态度。然后使用逻辑连词（but） 指出礼貌之所以重要是涉及了人与人之间的行为举止，既总结上述细节，又引起一个结论性 的句子作为结尾。很明显首尾两句表述的是同一个主题思想，句型结构和用词都有不同、而 且段尾的一句还顺应细节的铺述而有所侧重。 5．主题句暗含在段落中 不是所有的段落都有主题句。尤其是在含有较多段落的文章中，主题句通常不明确表述出 来，而是通过对细节的陈述或各段的主要思想。含蓄地表达段落的主题思想。对于无主题句 的段落，不可能采用辨认主题句的方法来确定其主题，而应正确理解作者提供的所有细节， 包括事实、观点和事件等等形成初步印象，并根据作者提供的细节，综合归纳成一般概念。 这种概念不一定能达到主题句那样完整，但只要是切合段落的主题即可。 例 7 An ant can pick up an object more thanfifty time its own weight. A bee can pull a load more than one hundred andfifty times its weight. If we were as strong in proportion to our size，we could pull a five-ton truck？If we had the jumping ability of a grasshopper，we could leap a third the length of a football field！ 此段文章无主题句。所陈述的都是细节。一只蚂蚁可搬起比自身重量重 50 倍的东西。一 只蜜蜂可拉动比自身重量重 150 倍的重物。如果我们的力气与身材成比例的话，我们可能拉 动 5 吨的卡车。如果我们具有蚱蜢的弹跳力，我们可能跃过三分之一的足球场。根据以上事 实，我们即可概括出本段落的主题思想是: 动物的力量”。 例 8（NMET 1998） 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! 此段落也无明确的主题句。本段说 Merlin 按计划拉着小提琴，穿着自制的旱冰鞋，滑进 化装舞会，令在场的人大吃一惊，由于停不住竟然将墙上的巨大镜子撞碎，则更使人久久不 能忘怀。根据上文及本段的描述，可概括出本段的主题思想是“Merlin 的闪亮登场取得意料 之外的成功”。 （二〕考查主旨大意题常见的题干 考查对文章主旨大意的理解，命题者大多就段落〔或短文〕的主题（theme or topic）、主 题思想（main idea）、标题（title）等进行拟题。例如： 1.The subject of the paragraph（text／passage）is . 2.The paragraph（text／passage）deals with . 3.What topic is treated in this paragraph（text／passage）？ 4.The main idea of the paragraph（text／passage）is . 5.From the paragraph（text／passage）we know that . 6.The paragraph（text／passage）could be entitled . 7.Which of the following is the best title for the paragraph（text／passage）？ 8.The best title for this（text／passage）could be . 9.The paragraph（text／passage）is mainly about . 10.Which of the following statements is best supported by the last paragraph？ 11.What topic is the paragraph（text／passage）primarily discussed？ 12.The purpose of the paragraph（text／passage）is . 例⒈ 只有比别人更早、更勤奋地努力，才能尝到成功的滋味。 4 Rats are still almost as big a danger to peop1e as they were long ago. They still spread disease and eat crops. Much of the hunger we have today is caused by rats. They eat half of the grain harvested in the world. This paragraph mainly tells us . A. that we are short of grain because of rats B. why rats are still an enemy of people C. how rats destroy our food D. why rats cause discase 此题是根据本段落的主旨大意而出的。不难看出第一句是本段的主题句，即“老鼠对人类 仍旧是巨大的威胁”。其他句子都是具体细节，说明和支撑主题句。选项 B 的意思〔为什么 老鼠仍旧是人类的敌人〕与主题句吻合，只是换了一个说法，而其他选项都是本段的细节， 因此选项 B 是本题的答案。 例⒉（NMET 2003 北京卷〕 A newspaper in Helsinki，Finland，recently published a cartoon of a baby with a mobile phone，telling his parents his diaper（尿布）needed changing. But it’s hardly a joke. Helsinki is home to Nokia，the mobile-phone maker. It’s one of the most “mobile” cities in the world: About 92 percent of its households have at least one mobi1e phone. And the kids start young． ……. “One of the first things we discuss when school starts is the rules for mobile phones”says Tina Korppi，a teacher．Among the rules: You have to put it away out of sight. You cannot turn it on. You cannot send text messages to your friends, or play amusing tunes（令人发笑的曲调）in class，Or call your parents or ca11 for a pizza during history. The textis mainly about . A. different usces of mobile phones B. a successful mobile phone maker C. effects of mobile phones on children D. school rules for the use of mobile phones 此题是根据本文段的主旨大意而设计的。虽然文中并没有明确的主题句，但是根据具体信 息可推断和归纳出主题思想“诺基亚手机在其产地 Helsinki，Finland 对孩子的影响”。因此 选项 C 是本题的答案。 只有比别人更早、更勤奋地努力，才能尝到成功的滋味。 5 专项训练一 阅读下面短文，从各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C 和 D）中，选出最佳选项。 A Wouldn’t it be terrible if we didn’t have grass？We would have to walk on bare soil. Can you guess what our playgrounds would look like？On a rainy day, we would get all muddy. On a dry day we would breathe clouds of dust. 1. The short text mainly deals with . A. why we need rain C. how grass helps us B. how grass is kept green D. why we breathe dust B The word Waterloo has become a Synonym for defeat----total defeat and complete disaster. Waterloo, a town in Belgium, was the scene of a battle in 1851 that brought overwhelming defeat to Napoleon Bonaparte,s French Army. At stake were the whole continent of Europe and Napoleon’s dream of an empire. In a few days, over forty thousand French soldiers died. With their deaths a new word for disaster was born --- Waterloo. l. The subject of the text is . A. where Waterloo is B. who named Waterloo C. why Napoleon was defeated D. how Waterloo came to mean defeat C What are the tallest plants in the world? Many people would say that giant redwood trees of California. Actually, the tallest plants are in the oceans. These are seaweeds that grow almost seven hundred feet tall. Compared to this height, the giant redwoods are pygmies of only four hundred feet. To get some idea of these heights, consider the Statue of Liberty. This huge figure rises only three hundred feet. 3. The text can be entitled A. The Tallest Plants B. The Statue of Liberty C. Plants in Oceans D. Redwoods in California D We think of a f1ood or an earthquake as a natural disaster. To many of nature’s animals, however, the greatest disaster is the coming of large numbers of humans. When settlers came from the East to America’s great western plains, they killed millions of bison, poisoned the prairie dogs, and shot the coyotes. All this upset the area’s balance of nature. For the animals, it was worse than a flood or earthquake. 4. Which of the following is the best title for the text? A. Floods and Earthquake B. Humans -- Disaster to Nature C. American Settlers D. Nature Balance Itself E When a piece of paper burns, it is completely changed. The ash that is left behind does not look like the original piece of paper. When dull-red rust appears on a piece of tin ware, it is quite different from the gleaming tin. The tarnish that forms on silverware is a new substance unlike the silver itself. Animal tissue is unlike the vegetable substance from which it is made. A change in which the original substance is turned into a diferent substance is called a chemical change. 5. The author writes this text to tell us . 只有比别人更早、更勤奋地努力，才能尝到成功的滋味。 6 A. how paper burns B. how dull-red rust appears C. what animal tissue is D. what a chemical change is F “Even when a man is said to be a best friend,” Rubin writes, “ the two share little about their innermost feelings. Whereas a woman’s closest female friend might be the first to tell her to leave a failing marriage. It wasn’t unusual to hear a man say he didn’t know his friend’s marriage was in serious trouble until he appeared one night asking if he could sleep on the sofa” 6. Which of the following statements is best supported by the last paragraph? A. Men keep their innermost feelings to themselves. B. Women are more serious than men about marriage. C. Men often take sudden action to end their marriage. D. Women depend on others in making decisions. G Rats are still almost as big a danger to peop1e as they were long ago. They still spread disease and eat crops. Much of the hunger we have today is caused by rats. They eat half of the grain harvested in the world. This paragraph mainly tells us . A. that we are short of grain because of rats B. why rats are still an enemy of people C. how rats destroy our food D. why rats cause discase H A newspaper in Helsinki，Finland，recently published a cartoon of a baby with a mobile phone，telling his parents his diaper（尿布）needed changing. But it’s hardly a joke. Helsinki is home to Nokia，the mobile-phone maker. It’s one of the most “mobile” cities in the world: About 92 percent of its households have at least one mobi1e phone. And the kids start young． ……. “One of the first things we discuss when school starts is the rules for mobile phones”says Tina Korppi，a teacher．Among the rules: You have to put it away out of sight. You cannot turn it on. You cannot send text messages to your friends, or play amusing tunes（令人发笑的曲调）in class，Or call your parents or ca11 for a pizza during history. The textis mainly about . A. different usces of mobile phones B. a successful mobile phone maker C. effects of mobile phones on children D. school rules for the use of mobile phones Keys: CDABD ABC