主題思想題在考試中出現(xiàn)的頻率較高，因為這類題可考查考生抓主要信息的能力，而能夠抓住文章的主要信息又是閱讀能力的一個極為重要的方面。

　　這類題在設(shè)題時常會用到title, subject, main idea , topic, theme等詞。常見的提問形式有以下幾種：

　　What is the main idea of the passage?

　　Which of the following would be the best title?

　　What’s the best title for the passage?

　　The main idea of the passage is that _____.

　　This passage tells us _____.

　　Which of the following statements best expresses the main idea of the passage?

　　What does the passage mainly discuss?

　　做這類題時常用略讀法，把注意力放在抓主要信息上，不去過分注意細節(jié)事實，否則會造成“只見樹木,不見森林”的結(jié)果。通常的辦法是，快速閱讀文章時注意找出各段主題句。英文文章各段主題句常放在段首，有時也放在段尾或段落中間，有時不明確寫出，通讀文章后把各段主題句聯(lián)系起來，一般就能得出文章主題。

　　就整篇文章來講，首段和尾段一般對于解這類題更為重要。我們以97年統(tǒng)考試卷中閱讀理解部分的第一篇文章為例：

　　How often one hears children wishing they were grown up, and old people wishing they were young again. Each age has its pleasures and its pains, and the happiest person is the one who enjoys what each age gives him without wasting his time in useless regrets.

　　Childhood is a time when there are few responsibilities to make life difficult. If a child has good parents, he is fed, looked after and loved ,whatever he may do .It is impossible that he will ever again in his life be given so much without having to do anything in return .In addition ,life is always presenting new things to the child——things that have lost their interest for older people because they are too well-know. But a child has his pains: he is not so free to do what he wishes to do; he is continually being told not to do things, or being punished for what he has done wrong.

　　When the young man starts to earn his own living, he can no longer expect others to pay for his food, his clothes, and his room, but has to work if he wants to live comfortably. If he spends most of his time playing about in the way that he used to as a child, he will go hungry. And if he breaks the laws of society as he used to break the laws of his parents, he may go to prison. If however, he works hard, keeps out of trouble and has good health, he can have the great happiness of building up for himself his own position in society.

　　文章后面第四個問題是：

　　The main idea of the passage is that _____.

　　A. life is not enjoyable since each age has some pains

　　B. young men can have the greatest happiness if they work hard

　　C. childhood is the most enjoyable time in one’s life

　　D. one is the happiest if he can make good use of each age in his life

　　文章的第一段講的是人們常聽說孩子們盼著長大成人，老年人則希望返老還童。人生的每個階段總是歡樂伴著苦惱，而最幸福的人則是那些既享受人生每一階段所帶來的歡樂，又沒有因虛度年華而終生后悔的人。第二段講述了一個人兒童時代的歡樂與苦惱，第三段則告訴讀者青年人的責(zé)任與義務(wù)，機遇和挑戰(zhàn)。從以上三段文字來看，第一段中第二句即是主題句，所以我們應(yīng)選D為正確答案。

　　閱讀理解包括三篇短文，總閱讀量不超過900個詞。每篇短文后設(shè)5個問題，每題2分，共30分。所選短文內(nèi)容包括人物傳記、熱門話題、社會、文化、日常知識、科普常識等。閱讀理解題要求考生讀后能掌握文章的主旨大意，了解說明主旨大意的事實和細節(jié)，并根據(jù)所讀內(nèi)容進行一定的判斷和推論。

　　閱讀理解題是一種綜合性的技能測試，它不僅要求考生具有較強的理解能力，還要求考生要有一定的閱讀速度。而通常影響閱讀理解的主要有三大因素：詞匯量、語法知識、背景知識。從前些年三級統(tǒng)考的實際情況看，考生們反映最困難是詞匯量太小，其直接后果是感覺時間太緊，答不完試卷。至于后兩項也是弱項的考生來說就更困難了�？忌�要在這一項上取得高分，除了要在詞匯量、語法知識、背景知識三個方面多下功夫外，還必須學(xué)會掌握一些最基本的閱讀技能，了解這部分試題的基本設(shè)題思路及解題方法和技巧。下面我分“閱讀技巧”和“解題類型及應(yīng)試技巧”兩部分給同學(xué)們做詳細介紹。(一)閱讀技巧

　　根據(jù)不同的閱讀目的，可以采用不同的閱讀方法，或稱閱讀技巧。一般來說，閱讀方法有略讀、尋讀和細讀三種。

　　(1)略讀(Skimming)

　　“略讀”又稱“瀏覽”，是指跳過細節(jié)，跳過不重要的描述與例子，進行快速閱讀以求抓住文章的大意和主題思想的方法。閱讀時速度要快，一般來說，250字左右的短文應(yīng)在二、三分鐘之內(nèi)看完。略讀時精力必須十分集中，不要去記憶細節(jié)，遇到個別生詞或難懂的詞句均可略過，以求對全文總體意思的了解。為了更好地抓住全文的中心思想，略讀時要特別注意文章的起始段和結(jié)束段以及文章中每一段的段首句和結(jié)尾句，因為它們往往是對文章內(nèi)容最好的概括。

　　(2)尋讀(Scanning)

　　尋讀是快速尋找某一特殊信息的閱讀方法。它的目的非常明確，即找到所需要的信息。日常生活中我們對這一方法并不陌生。例如從人群中找出你認識的朋友，從貨架上找出你想購買的商品，在書架上尋找一本你要找的書，從一本指南中找出某個單位的地址等，都是利用這種方法。在尋讀時，目光要自上而下，一目數(shù)行地尋視與答題相關(guān)的詞句，與此無關(guān)的內(nèi)容要很快掠過。當(dāng)回答who, when, where等有關(guān)文章細節(jié)時，我們用這種方法很快就能找到答案。

　　(3)細讀(Reading for full understanding)

　　細讀是在找到文章中的有關(guān)部分以后，在此范圍內(nèi)逐句閱讀，特別要對關(guān)鍵詞、句仔細琢磨，以便對其有比較深刻、準(zhǔn)確的理解。不僅要理解其字面意思，還要通過推理和判斷，弄清文章中字里行間所隱含的意思。在細讀的過程中，對沒有學(xué)過的生詞，可根據(jù)上下文的背景知識來推測其詞義；對難以看懂的長句，可借助語法手段，對其加以分析，以達到正確理解的目的。

　　總之，在閱讀一篇文章的過程中，我們應(yīng)根據(jù)不同的要求，采用不同的閱讀方法，對有些閱讀理解問題知其大意即可，另一些需要尋讀，而少數(shù)則需要細心推敲。在三級統(tǒng)考中我們應(yīng)當(dāng)充分利用以上三種閱讀方法，即用“略讀”法瀏覽全文，以求抓住文章的大意和主題思想。在此基礎(chǔ)上根據(jù)問題的要求，采用尋讀或細讀的方法來解答問題。

　　(二)解題類型及應(yīng)試技巧(2) 主要事實和細節(jié)題設(shè)題思路及答題技巧

主要事實和細節(jié)題就是我們平時所說的由who ,what ,where ,when ,why ,which ,how引出的問題。這是極為常見的閱讀理解題。這類題主要是針對論證支持主題的事實或例證設(shè)題，可能涉及數(shù)學(xué)計算、概念理解以及是非判斷等。

　　這類題的方法一般是先用尋讀法找出與問題相關(guān)的詞語或句子，再對相關(guān)部分進行細讀，找出問題答案。

　　這類題提問的形式多種多樣，常見的有以下幾種：

　　Which of the following (statements) is Not mentioned in the passage?

　　According to the passage，which of the following statements is true?

　　According to the passage, all of the following are true except _____

　　How many…？

　　What…?

　　Why…?

　　解這類題時，審題是關(guān)鍵，首先一定得看清問題。比如一句結(jié)論性的話后邊到底是…is true,還是is not true。另外，由于細節(jié)題比較容易，有時為了增加測試難度，命題人員在題干或選項中要增加一些文字或意義上的干擾。所以考生很少能在原文中找到一模一樣的現(xiàn)成答案。

　　我們引用2002年試題為例。

　　On November 19, 1863, Abraham Lincoln went to Gettysburg in Pennsylvania to speak at the National Soldiers Cemetery. The Civil War was still going on. There was much criticism of President Lincoln at the time. He was not at all popular. He had been invited to speak at Gettysburg only out of politeness. The principal speaker was to be Edward Everett, a famous statesman and speaker of the day. Everett was a handsome man and very popular everywhere.

　　It is said that Lincoln prepared his speech on the train while going to Gettysburg. Late that night, alone in his hotel room and tired out, he again worked briefly on the speech. The next day Everett spoke first. He spoke for an hour and 57 minutes. His speech was a perfect example of the rich oratory of the day. Then Lincoln rose. The crowd of 15,000 people at first paid little attention to him. He spoke for only nine minutes. At the end there was little applause. Lincoln turned to a friend and remarked , "I have failed again." On the train back to Washington, he said sadly, "That speech was a flat failure, and the people are disappointed."

　　Some newspapers at first criticized the speech. But little by little as people read the speech they began to understand better. They began to appreciate its simplicity and its deep meaning. It was a speech which only Abraham Lincoln could have made.

　　Today, every American school child learns Lincoln's Gettysburg Address by heart. Now everyone thinks of it as one of the greatest speeches ever given in American history.

　　文章的最后一題是：

　　Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?

　　A. Lincoln's Gettysburg Address has deep meaning.

　　B. Lincoln's Gettysburg Address is simple in style.

　　C. Lincoln's Gettysburg Address is memorized by every American schoolchild.

　　D. Lincoln's Gettysburg Address is the greatest speech ever delivered in the United States.

　　答案可以在文章的第三段和第四段找到。“他的演講含義深刻、風(fēng)格簡樸；如今美國所有的在校的學(xué)生都能背誦他的演講”；文章中他談到：“現(xiàn)在所有的人都認為他的演講是美國歷史上最好的演講之一。”而不是美國最好的演講。所以D是錯誤的。

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