1、第二部分 阅读理解第一节 阅读理解专题四 主旨大意高考英语高考英语 北京专用北京专用一、考查文章主旨 通常情况下,我们可以从此类题的题干中看到“mainly tell us”,“mainly talk about”,“main purpose”,“suitable title”等关键词,提示我们需要进入文章中找到主旨信息。考生们倾向于在文章中的某些固定位置找寻主旨,一般在文章的首段或尾段。虽然自古套路得人心,但是阅读理解考查的更是随机应变、见机行事的能力。不关注文章的文体特点和提问方式而一味死板地遵循套路是行不通的。方法技巧方法技巧1.文章主旨出现在首段我们在考试中所接触的英文语篇,尤其是应用
2、文、说明文和议论文,大多会采用“开门见山”的写作手法,也就是在首段告诉读者文章主要的关注点是什么。从写作手法上来分析,在首段亮出主旨,下文才能围绕主旨展开叙述、说明或辩论。因此,在遇到主旨大意题时,尤其是需要确定主要内容或标题时,考生要先考虑首段信息。如:例1What can be a suitable title for the text?A.Keeping Fit by Eating SmartB.Balancing Our Daily DietC.Making Yourself a Perfect ChefD.Cooking Well for Less(原文)Good Morning B
3、ritains Susanna Reid is used to grilling guests on the sofa every morning,but she is cooking up a storm in her latest roleshowing families how to prepare delicious and nutritious meals on a tight budget.分析通过第一段的阅读我们发现,本段只有一句话,但是在这句话中有一个明显的标志破折号,当我们阅读第一段寻找主旨句时,一般会倾向于在段尾查看,因为段尾亮出主旨利于下文的开启,尤其当段尾出现破折号或冒
4、号时,此句话更应重点关注。句中的prepare delicious and nutritious meals与D选项中的Cooking Well对应,on a tight budget与D选项中的for Less对应。例2Why did Edward write this letter?A.To seek assistance from the administration.B.To inform the school of his course plans.C.To show his achievements in Latin.D.To apply for the teaching posi
5、tion.(原文)Dear Ms.Wang,I am writing to inform you of some arrangements about my composition course and Latin course next year.Ive decided to re-establish the 5-paragraph essay as the goal for the composi-tion course.I interviewed some of my former students and they all agreed that being able to write
6、 critically and continuously was important to them.分析通过文章的写作格式和本题题干可知此文为书信,书信的一大特点就是写信人一般会在文章的开头告知写信的目的,因此在看到对书信的写作目的进行设问的题目后,应第一时间去文章的第一段搜索有效信息。文中第一段的下划线部分即是写信的目的,与B选项对应。2.文章主旨出现在第二段我们在阅读文章时经常会发现,在第一段找不到主旨并且对此段话理解不透彻,在这种情况下,尤其是在说明文和议论文中,考生不必慌张,一般可以在文章的第二段找到主旨,这时再返回第一段进行理解就会发现,第一段起到了引出话题或者通过描写某个现象或情
7、境来达到让读者产生共鸣的目的。如:例3What is the best title for the text?A.Conversation Counts B.Ways of Making Small TalkC.Benefits of Small TalkD.Uncomfortable Silence(原文)Weve all been there:in a lift,in line at the bank or on an airplane,surrounded by people who are,like us,deeply focused on their smartphones or,w
8、orse,struggling with the uncomfortable silence.Whats the problem?It is possible that we all have compromised conversational intelligence.Its more likely that none of us start a conversation because its awkward and challenging,or we think its annoying and unnecessary.But the next time you find yourse
9、lf among strangers,consider that small talk is worth the trouble.Experts say its an invaluable social practice that results in big benefits.分析阅读完第一段之后我们发现此段只是对某些情况进行了描述,根本无法提取出主旨,也不知道究竟要以哪个点为切入口深入阐述。因此我们只能从第二段搜寻线索,第二段的第一句话Whats the problem?揭示出第二段在延续第一段的话题,对第一段的描述进行分析。在分析过问题之后,提出了解决方法,也就是第二段的下划线部分。下划
10、线部分中的small talk才是本文的关键词,与C项的Small Talk呼应,而下划线部分中最后几个词results in big benefits则与C项中的Benefits呼应,所以最合适的标题是C项。3.文章主旨出现在尾段一般来说,文章主旨需要在尾段搜寻时,题目会围绕着文章或作者的目的来设问;有的时候文章主旨会出现在尾段,但一般是起到再次强调的作用,不太可能在尾段首次出现主旨。如:例4The main purpose of this passage is to .A.share experiences in using social mediaB.provide some advic
11、e on social problems C.raise public awareness of social problems D.remind people to wisely use social media(原文)Social media has its advantages and drawbacks as each coin has two sides.It is up to each user to use social sites wisely to enhance their professional and social life,and exercise caution
12、to ensure they do not fall victim to online dangers.分析考生需搞清楚主要内容和写作目的的区别,作者围绕一个主旨进行阐述,这个主旨就是文章的主要内容,而作者写这篇文章可能是为了抒发感情、引起共鸣、号召参与、鼓励消费等等,这才是写作目的。只有在审题时区分清楚,才能准确定位阅读区域,并根据不同的语言特点进行分析。例题中就文章的主要目的提问,就是希望考生在读完文章后能抓住作者最想告诉我们的话,可能全文描述了目前大家使用互联网的情况,也具体分析了使用社交媒体的利弊,但它们都不是写作目的。作者动用各种写作手法是想起到什么作用?我们在文中尾段下划线部分找到
13、了答案,从里面我们能够获取到的有效信息为use social sites wisely,这就是作者通过文章给读者的告诫,与D项中的关键词对应。4.文章主旨需要总结通常情况下,我们在记叙文中无法快速地找到主旨,需要根据对文章的理解进行总结。这也比较符合记叙文的写作特点,试想一下,如果我们在讲述一件事情时,首段直接道出主旨,或告诉读者写这篇文章的目的或意义,读者很有可能就不会继续往下阅读了。我们在阅读记叙文时,作者是希望我们随着情节的起伏带入情感,与作者产生共鸣,所以在类似的文章中是不可能直接点出主旨大意的。如:例5What does the story mainly tell us?A.A ma
14、n owes his success to his family support.B.A winner is one with a great effort of will.C.Failure is the mother of success.D.One is never too old to learn.(原文)My First Marathon(马拉松马拉松)A month before my first marathon,one of my ankles was injured and this meant not running for two weeks,leaving me onl
15、y two weeks to train.Yet,I was determined to go ahead.I remember back to my 7th year in school.In my first P.E.class,the teacher required us to run laps and then hit a softball.I didnt do either well.He later informed me that I was“not athletic”.The idea that I was“not athletic”stuck with me for yea
16、rs.When I started running in my 30s,I realized running was a battle against myself,not about competition or whether or not I was athletic.It was all about the battle against my own body and mind.A test of wills!The night before my marathon,I dreamt that I couldnt even find the finish line.I woke up
17、sweating and nervous,but ready to prove something to myself.Shortly after crossing the start line,my shoe laces(鞋带)became untied.So I stopped to readjust.Not the start I wanted!At mile 3,I passed a sign:“GO FOR IT,RUNNERS!”By mile 17,I became out of breath and the once injured ankle hurt badly.De-sp
18、ite the pain,I stayed the course walking a bit and then running again.By mile 21,I was starving!As I approached mile 23,I could see my wife waving a sign.She is my biggest fan.She never minded the alarm clock sounding at 4 a.m.or questioned my expenses on running.I was one of the final runners to fi
19、nish.But I finished!And I got a medal.In fact,I got the same medal as the one that the guy who came in first place had.Determined to be myself,move forward,free of shame and worldly labels(世俗标签),I can now call myself a“marathon winner”.分析此篇文章的标题揭示了文章的主要内容,也就是文章具体围绕什么事情展开,而此题则关注的是通过这篇文章我们学到了什么或者是作者最想
20、告诉我们什么,更倾向于考查中心思想。通过文章内容能够确定作者参加的是马拉松比赛,而最后一段中作者给自己的定义是“marathon win-ner”,我们可以从winner这个切入点去进行分析,以此将D选项排除。通过对文章的理解,我们知道了其实作者并没有赢得比赛,但是凭借着意志力作者完成了比赛,战胜了自己,所以我们通过对作者在这件事上突显出的品质可以将答案锁定在B项上,a great effort of will指的就是强大的意志力,A winner呼应的则是marathon winner。二、考查段落主旨1.段落主要内容寻找段落主旨比寻找全篇文章的主旨简单一些,题干的指向非常明确,锁定的阅读区
21、域也固定,段落中词数有限,不需要耗时太久。如:例1Paragraph 2 is mainly about .A.which aircraft the author got to fly B.how the author learned to flyC.what the author learned about simulatorsD.why the author got a pilots license(原文)My group took part in activities ranging from learning about the history of aviation(航空)to fl
22、ying in state-of-the-art pilot training simulators(模拟装置).At least once a day,I devoted myself to learning one of the worlds best training aircrafts,the Cessna 182.Not only did I receive thorough ground instruction,but I also got to fly.In total,I flew five hours to receive my private pilots license.
23、In that one joyous and oh-so-short week,my passion for aviation grew even stronger.Now,whenever I see a plane flying overhead,I feel a sense of pride thinking Ive done that.分析段落中的主旨句一般会出现在首句,这一特点尤其适用于说明文和议论文,文中下划线处为主旨句,考生只要能够分析此句结构就可知道ranging.simulators为activities的定语,定语中from.to.展示了活动的范围,可以看出参与的活动都是与
24、飞行有关的学习,故选择B项。2.段落功能有的时候考查段落主旨并不直接问段落大意,而是要求考生通过对段落及文章主旨的把握来定义段落在语篇中的功能和作用。如:例2Where can you find the data that best supports“children are reading a lot less for fun”?A.In paragraph 2.B.In paragraph 3.C.In paragraph 4.D.In paragraph 5.(原文)Teens and younger children are reading a lot less for fun,acc
25、ording to a Common Sense Media report published Monday.While the decline over the past decade is steep for teen readers,some data in the report shows that reading remains a big part of many childrens lives,and indicates how parents might help encourage more reading.According to the reports key findi
26、ngs,“the proportion(比例)who say they hardly ever read for fun has gone from 8 percent of 13-year-olds and 9 percent of 17-year-olds in 1984 to 22 percent and 27 percent respectively today.”分析题干中的关键信息“children are reading a lot less for fun”即本文的主旨,一篇文章只可能围绕一个主旨展开,因此第三段所列的数据都是为文章的主旨服务的。如果考生做出如上分析,就能明白第
27、三段起到数据支撑作用,故选择B项。三、考查文章结构此类题一般会以逻辑结构题的形式出现,主要考查考生对文章整体结构以及段落之间的逻辑关系的掌握。作者为了表达某一主题,往往按照一定的逻辑方式把具体阐述的细节组织在一起,使它们之间具有密切相关的内在联系,成为一个结构严谨、层次分明的整体。例Which of the following shows the development of ideas in this passage?I:IntroductionP:Point Sp:Sub-point(次要点)C:Conclusion(原文)Technological change is everywher
28、e and affects every aspect of life,mostly for the better.However,social changes that are brought about by new technology are often mistaken for a change in attitudes.An example at hand is the involvement of parents in the lives of their children who are attending college.Surveys(调查)on this topic sug
29、gest that parents today continue to be“very”or“somewhat”overly-protective even after their children move into college dormitories.The same surveys also indicate that the rate of parental involvement is greater today than it was a generation ago.This is usually interpreted as a sign that todays paren
30、ts are trying to manage their childrens lives past the point where this behavior is appropriate.However,greater parental involvement does not necessarily indicate that par-ents are failing to let go of their“adult”children.In the context(背景)of this discussion,it seems valuable to first find out the
31、cause of change in the case of parents involvement with their grown children.If parents of earlier generations had wanted to be in touch with their college-age children frequently,would this have been possible?Probably not.On the other hand,does the possibility of frequent communication today mean t
32、hat the urge to do so wasnt present a generation ago?Many studies show that older parentstodays grandparentswould have called their children more often if the means and cost of doing so had not been a barrier.Furthermore,studies show that finances are the most frequent subject of communication betwe
33、en parents and their college children.The fact that college students are financially dependent on their parents is nothing new;nor are requests for more money to be sent from home.This phenomenon is neither good nor bad;it is a fact of college life,today and in the past.Thanks to the advanced techno
34、logy,we live in an age of bettered communication.This has many implications well beyond the role that parents seem to play in the lives of their children who have left for college.But it is useful to bear in mind that all such changes come from the technology and not some imagined desire by parents
35、to keep their children under their wings.分析首先,明确文章的主旨,然后明确各段的主旨和各段之间的逻辑关系,通过段与段之间的逻辑关系和各段与文章主旨之间的关系确定最终的答案。文章的首段起到引言的作用,第一段最后一句道出下文的写作方向:However,social changes that are brought about by new technology are often mistaken for a change in attitudes.第三段开头出现转折词However,这证明第二段与第三段有两个不同的论点,这两个论点都为文章的主旨服务。第五段的开头出现Furthermore,证明第四段和第五段是递进关系,根据段落主旨可以分析出第四段和第五段为并列次要点,同时支撑第三段的论点。而最后一段起到总结作用,与首段呼应,因此B项符合本文的逻辑结构。
