(1) 主題思想常見(jiàn)提問(wèn)方式及答題技巧
主題思想題在考試中出現(xiàn)的頻率較高，因?yàn)檫@類(lèi)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(gè)極為重要的方面。
這類(lèi)題在設(shè)題時(shí)常會(huì)用到title, subject, main idea , topic, theme等詞。常見(jiàn)的提問(wèn)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(lèi)題時(shí)常用略讀法，把注意力放在抓主要信息上，不去過(guò)分注意細(xì)節(jié)事實(shí)，否則會(huì)造成“只見(jiàn)樹(shù)木,不見(jiàn)森林”的結(jié)果。通常的辦法是，快速閱讀文章時(shí)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(shí)也放在段尾或段落中間，有時(shí)不明確寫(xiě)出，通讀文章后把各段主題句聯(lián)系起來(lái)，一般就能得出文章主題。
就整篇文章來(lái)講，首段和尾段一般對(duì)于解這類(lèi)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(gè)問(wèn)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(tīng)說(shuō)孩子們盼著長(zhǎng)大成人，老年人則希望返老還童。人生的每個(gè)階段總是歡樂(lè)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(lái)的歡樂(lè)，又沒(méi)有因虛度年華而終生后悔的人。第二段講述了一個(gè)人兒童時(shí)代的歡樂(lè)與苦惱，第三段則告訴讀者青年人的責(zé)任與義務(wù)，機(jī)遇和挑戰(zhàn)。從以上三段文字來(lái)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。