黃連英

在全國及各省市高考英語試卷中，閱讀理解的分值普遍為40分，是占分比例最大的一道題，因此它的重要性不言而喻。同時(shí)，為了增加閱讀理解題的區(qū)分度，拉開差距，近年高考閱讀題中主旨題明顯增加。該類試題不僅考查考生略讀文章、領(lǐng)會大意的能力，也對考生的歸納、概括能力提出了較高的要求。從高考閱卷結(jié)果來看，許多考生在閱讀理解題中失分較多，尤其是主旨題。因此，提高考生把握主旨大意的能力顯得尤為重要。一般情況下，主旨題包含六種變體。筆者著重探討這六種變體及解題策略，以期為教師在進(jìn)行高考閱讀復(fù)習(xí)教學(xué)時(shí)提供借鑒。

一、中心大意題

文章的中心大意往往是由文章體裁所決定。議論文主要是論述作者的某個(gè)觀點(diǎn)，往往采用總—分—總的結(jié)構(gòu)：第一段提出論點(diǎn)，然后是論據(jù)部分，最后一段得出結(jié)論（論點(diǎn)的重申），所以主題句常在第一段或最后一段;說明文則是說明一個(gè)事物的用途或制作過程，主題句一般在首段;而新聞報(bào)道是報(bào)道一個(gè)人物事跡或重大事件，文章常采用倒三角形的寫法，主題句常出現(xiàn)在首段首句;記敘文一般沒有明顯的主題句，需要根據(jù)文中敘述的內(nèi)容和線索來概括文章大意，但是如果文章末段出現(xiàn)說理性的句子，則這個(gè)句子一般常為主題句。

中心大意題常見的提問方式有下列幾種：1. What is the authors main point？ ? 2. Which of the following best expresses the main idea？ 3. The main idea/theme of this passage is ______. 4. Which of the following best states the theme of the passage？

例1：（2014年山東卷C篇） Elizabeth Freeman was born about 1742 to African American parents who were slaves. At the age of six months she was acquired， along with her sister， by John Ashley， a wealthy Massachusetts slaveholder. She became known as “Mumbet” or “Mum Bett.”

For nearly 30 years， Mumbet served the Ashley family. One day， Ashleys wife tried to strike Mumbets sister with a spade. Mumbet protected her sister and took the blow instead. Furious， she left the house and refused to come back. When the Ashleys tried to make her return， Mumbet consulted a lawyer， Theodore Sedgewick. With his help， Mumbet sued（起訴） for her freedom.

While serving the Ashleys， Mumbet had listened to many discussions of the new Massachusetts constitution. If the constitution said that all people were free and equal， then she thought it should apply to her. Eventually， Mumbet won her freedom—the first slave in Massachusetts to do so under the new constitution.

Strangely enough， after the trial， the Ashleys asked Mumbet to come back and work for them as a paid employee. She declined and instead went to work for Segdewick. Mumbet died in 1829， but her legacy lived on in her many descendants（后裔）. One of her great-grandchildren was W. E. B. Du Bois， one of the founders of the NAACP， and an important writer and spokesperson for African American civil rights.

Mumbets tombstone still stands in the Massachusetts cemetery where she was buried. It reads， in part： “She was born a slave and remained a slave for nearly thirty years. She could neither read nor write， yet in her own sphere she had no superior or equal.”

55. What is the test mainly about？

A. A story of a famous writer and spokesperson.endprint

B. The friendship between a lawyer and a slave.

C. The life of a brave African American woman.

D. A trial that shocked the whole world.

【解析】答案為C。這是一篇記敘文，文章介紹了一位勇敢的美國黑人婦女奴隸為了維護(hù)自己的自由權(quán)利而和奴隸主斗爭的故事，故選C。

二、寫作目的題

寫作目的闡述文章為何要表達(dá)這個(gè)中心思想，即作者為何寫這篇文章。不同的文體寫作目的也不同。廣告的寫作目的或是推銷某種產(chǎn)品或某種服務(wù);說明文的寫作目的是向人們展示某物的用途或制作過程;研究報(bào)告的寫作目的是向人們展示某種研究過程和結(jié)果;議論文的寫作目的是論述一個(gè)道理或表述一個(gè)觀點(diǎn);記敘文的寫作目的是為了向人們分享經(jīng)歷、敘述一件事情或表達(dá)感情等。寫作目的題常用的提問形式有：What is the purpose of this text？ Whats the authors purpose in writing the passage？

例2：（2014年重慶卷B篇） There have always been a lot of commonly believed but false ideas about being fat and doing exercise. Some people believe that they cant help putting on weight as they get older， while others hold that if they stop exercising， their muscles will turn into fat. Here are some more myths：

Ill never lose weight—I come from a fat family

Wrong！ While we cant change the body type we are born with， we cant blame our genes for making us fat. Theres plenty of evidence that fatness runs in families， and the main reason is that they share the same habit of eating too much and exercise too little.

I am fat because I burn calories slowly

Wrong！ Fatness is not caused by a slow metabolism（新陳代謝）. In fact， although fat people consume more energy than slim people， they also fail to realize how much they eat！ Keeping a diary can help you work out your daily food intake more accurately.

Exercise is boring

Wrong！ Anything will become boring if you do it repetitively. The key is to develop a balanced and varied program thats fun as well as progressive. If you enjoy a Sunday walk， take a different route. If you do yoga， try a tai chi class. If you like swimming， set yourself a distance or time challenge.

No pain， no gain

Wrong！ Exercise is not meant to hurt. Indeed， pain is your body telling you somethings wrong， and continuing to exercise could lead to serious injury. You may experience mild discomfort as you begin to exercise regularly， but this is your body adapting to the positive changes in your lifestyle and the aches should disappear relatively quickly. If they dont， rest and seek medical advice.

43. What is the purpose of the passage？

A. To declare the importance of keeping fit.

B. To clarify some misconceptions about fatness and exercise.

C. To confirm what has long been believed about keeping fit.

D. To explain some medical facts about being fat and doing exercise.endprint

【解析】答案為B。根據(jù)文章第一句話“There have always been a lot of commonly believed but false ideas about being fat and doing exercise”以及該段最后一句“Here are some more myths”可知，作者寫這篇文章是為了給讀者澄清人們關(guān)于運(yùn)動(dòng)和肥胖的一些誤區(qū)，故選B。

三、標(biāo)題確立題

一般說來，標(biāo)題具有醒目性、概括性和針對性的特點(diǎn)。醒目性是為了吸引讀者的注意力，喚起讀者對文章閱讀的興趣;概括性，就是指標(biāo)題要覆蓋文章的主要內(nèi)容，體現(xiàn)文章的主題;針對性是指標(biāo)題要直接指向文章的主要特點(diǎn)。標(biāo)題確立題與中心大意題具有共同之處，當(dāng)文章主旨是一個(gè)短語或一句簡潔的話時(shí)，我們可把它看作標(biāo)題。但是文章主旨往往是對作者寫作目的或?qū)懽鲀?nèi)容的歸納，一般不作為文章標(biāo)題。此外，標(biāo)題必須反映文章的中心大意，概括性強(qiáng)，表達(dá)精確，這就要求選項(xiàng)的歸納要恰如其分，范圍合理。標(biāo)題確立題常用的提問方式有：What would be the best title for the text？ Which is the best title for the passage？

例3：（2014年新課標(biāo)II A篇） Arriving in Sydney on his own from India， my husband， Rashid， stayed in a hotel for a short time while looking for a house for me and our children.

During the first week of his stay， he went out one day to do some shopping. He came back in the late afternoon to discover that his suitcase was gone. He was extremely worried as the suitcase had all his important papers， including his passport.

He reported the case to the police and then sat there， lost and lonely in a strange city， thinking of the terrible troubles of getting all the paperwork organized again from a distant country while trying to settle down in a new one.

Late in the evening， the phone rang. It was a stranger. He was trying to pronounce my husbands name and was asking him a lot of questions. Then he said they had found a pile of papers in their trash can（垃圾桶） that had been left out on the footpath.

My husband rushed to their home to find a kind family holding all his papers and documents. Their young daughter had gone to the trash can and found a pile of unfamiliar papers. Her parents had carefully sorted them out， although they had found mainly foreign addresses on most of the documents. At last they had seen a half-written letter in the pile in which my husband had given his new telephone number to a friend.

That family not only restored the important documents to us that day but also restored our faith and trust in people. We still remember their kindness and often send a warm wish their way.

24. Which of the following can be the best title for the text？

A. From India to Australia.

B. Living in a New Country.

C. Turning Trash to Treasure.

D. In Search of New Friends.

【解析】答案為C。本文主要講述的是作者的丈夫Rashid手提箱中的文件丟失后，被人在垃圾箱中發(fā)現(xiàn)并歸還給他，找回這些資料對Rashid來說簡直如獲至寶。因此，C項(xiàng)能很好體現(xiàn)作者要表達(dá)的主題。

四、概括段落大意題

要準(zhǔn)確概括某段話的大意，務(wù)必要知道該段話的邏輯結(jié)構(gòu)。段落如是按總—分順序組織，首句做總的說明，其他句子對其進(jìn)行具體論述，這種結(jié)構(gòu)的主題句就在段首;如是按分—總順序組織，主題句就在段尾;如是按分—總—分的順序組織，則主題句就在這段話的中間。如是對比各事物，那么它們的共同點(diǎn)或不同點(diǎn)就是該段大意。概括段落大意題常有下列提問方式：What does the author tell us in Para ... ？ The main idea of the ... paragraph probably is ______. Which of the following can best summarize Para ... ？endprint

例4：（2014年四川卷C篇） [Para 8]Truck driver Colm， 35， suffered a mystery allergic reaction on Saturday and was taken to hospital， but was sent home only for it to happen again the next day. The second attack was so serious that his airway swelled， preventing him from breathing， his blood pressure dropped suddenly， and his heart stopped for a moment.

41. What does Paragraph 8 mainly talk about？

A. What Colm suffered.

B. Colms present condition.

C. What caused Colms allergy.

D. Symptoms of Colms allergic reaction.

【解析】答案為A。這一段講了Clom的兩次過敏反應(yīng)，尤其講了第二次過敏反應(yīng)的癥狀。D有很大迷惑性，但它只提了過敏反應(yīng)的癥狀，概括不夠，而A（他所遭受的事情）概括較全面，因此選A。

五、文脈結(jié)構(gòu)題

這類題要求考生搞清作者是按什么思路組織文章的。一般來說，議論文是按總—分—總的順序排列，首段提出論點(diǎn)，然后利用論據(jù)進(jìn)行論證，最后總結(jié)全文。說明文和記敘文則可能多是按分—總的順序排列。新聞報(bào)道和研究報(bào)告多數(shù)也是按總—分—總的結(jié)構(gòu)組織。文脈結(jié)構(gòu)題常用的設(shè)問形式有：Which of the following shows the organization/structure of the passage？

例5：（2013年陜西卷C篇） According to sociologists（社會學(xué)家）， every modern industrial society has some form of social stratification（階層）. Class， power and status are important in deciding peoples rank in society.

Class means a persons economic position in society. A commonly used classification is lower class， middle class and upper class. While sociologists disagree on how these terms should be exactly defined， they do describe societies like the United States quite well. One study shows that 53% of Americans belong to the lower class， 46% the middle class， and 1% the upper class. Interestingly， a surgeon earning $500，000 a year and a bus driver earning $50，000 a year both regard themselves as the middle class！

Power refers to the amount of control a person has over other people. Obviously， people in positions of great power （such as governors） exercise（行使） big power， but people who take orders from others have less power. Power and class do not always go hand in hand， however. For example， the governor of a state has great power， but he or she may not belong to a corresponding（相應(yīng)的） economic class. Generally， however， there is a relationship between power and class. ?To our knowledge， there arent too many people who arent millionaires in the US Senate！

Status is the honor or respect attached to a persons position in society. It can also be affected by power and class， but not necessarily so. For example， a university professor may have a high status but not belong to a high social class or have a lot of power over others.

56. Which of the following shows the structure of the whole text？endprint