導語：主旨大意題是全局性的問題，也就是說只有讀完全文，瞭解文章的大意才能做。因此我們建議這類問題最好在做完這篇閱讀理解所有問題後再去做，因爲你在做完局部性的、細節辨認性的問題後，自然會對文章大意有一定的瞭解。這時再去做主旨大意題，就可省去讀全文。
(一)常見的表述方式
What is the main topic of the passage?
With what topic is the passage primarily concerned?
The central idea conveyed in the above passage is that
Which of the following best sums up the passage?
The main idea of this passage is
The passage tells us
Which of the following statements best expresses/summarizes the main idea of the passage?
What is the main idea of the passage?
This article is mainly about
This passage deals mainly with
What does the passage mainly discuss?
Which of the following best states the theme of the passage?
In this passage the author/writer mainly argues that
The purpose of the author in writing the article is to
What does the author intend to convey through the passage?
(二)解題方法
1.重要位置解題法
任何一篇閱讀理解文章都有一箇中心思想。儘管絕大多數閱讀理解文章是從一篇較長的文章中摘選下來的，但不管摘選一段還是幾段，不管摘選哪幾段，不管摘選長短，摘選下來的句子必須本身是自成一體的，是有中心思想的。一般說來，絕大多數文章的中心思想是用一個句子表達出來。其特點是概括性的。中心思想句到哪兒找?它在文章中的位置比較有規律，一般出現在文章的開頭。
例1
Describing learning as meaning centered reminds us that the most fundamental concern of any learner is "making sense". In the relationship between reader and text, then,the making of meaning is primary. To describe the activities of reading and writing, we prefer the word "transacting" which "designates an ongoing process in which the elements or parts are seen as aspects or phases of a total situation. "A transactional view of reading and writing argues that writers construct texts "through transactions with the developing text and the meaning being expressed". Transformed in the process are the text itself and the writer's ways of organizing knowledge. During reading, readers construct texts by transacting with the page and indirectly with the author. Although reading is generally considered a "receptive" language process, this does not mean that the process is essentially passive. Readers use directions from the page to construct meaning from their own prior knowledge;the reader must read between and beyond the lines.
Like reading, the process of writing is generative of meaning:we do not simply write down ideas that are fully formed before we put them to paper. The act of composing itself bring us ideas and insights. As meaning-making processes, reading, writing and talking are dynamic;meanings are developed and changed,discovered and clarfied, during the activities themselves. Iser has described this aspect of reading as "setting the work in motion" and setting oneself in motion too.
Clearly in reading and writing the learner's prior knowledge plays an important role. There are many types of knowledge important to the acts of reading and writing. Since all meanings are made in the context of prior meanings,with each person bringing a unique fund of prior knowledge and experience,we should not expect everyone to respond to texts in the same way.
The passage is mainly about
A. reading and writing
B. learning as meaning-centered
C. reading through transactions
D. the importance of prior knowledge
讀了第一句Describing learning as meaning centered reminds US that the most fun-damental concern of any learner is "making sense"(把學習語言描寫成以意思爲中心，因爲學習者最關心的就是自己說的、寫的能否讓人懂。)根據我們粗讀和做其他題時得到的信息，這一句應是全文的中心思想。再讀選項，B)learning as meaning-centered正好和這句意思對上，因此是答案無疑了。當然中心思想句出現在文章的後幾段也有：
例2
A wise man once said that the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. So, as a police officer, I have some urgent things to say to good people.
Day after day my men and I struggle to hold back a tidal wave of crime. Something has gone terribly wrong with our once-proud American way of life. It has happened in the area of values. A key ingredient is disappearing, and I think I know what it is:ac-countability.
Accountability isn't hard to define. It means that every person is responsible for his or her actions and liable for their consequences.
Of the many values that hold civilization together--honesty, kindness,and so on--accountability may be the most important of all. Without it, there can be no respect, no trust, no law--and, ultimately, no society.
My job as a police officer is to impose accountability on people who refuse,or have never learned, to impose it on themselves. But as every policeman knows, external con-trols on people's behavior are far less effective than internal restraints such as guilt, shame and embarrassment.
Fortunately there are still communities--smaller towns, usually--wher schools maintain discipline and wher parents hold up standards that proclaim:"In this family certain things are not tolerated--they simply are not done!"
Yet more and more, especially in our larger cities and suburbs, these inner re-straints are loosening. Your typical robber has none. He considers your property his property ; he takes what he wants,including your life if you engage him.
The main cause of this break-down is a radical shift in attitudes. Thirty years ago, if a crime was committed,society was considered the victim. Now,in a shocking rever-sal,it's the criminal who is considered victimized : by his under-priviledged upbringing, by the school that didn't teach him to read, by the church that failed to reach him with moral guidance, by the parents who didn't provide a stable home.
I don't believe it. Many others in equally disadvantaged circumstances choose not to engage in criminal activities. If we free the criminal, even partly, from accountabili-ty,we become a society of endless excuses wher no one accepts responsibility for any-thing.
We in America desperately need more people who believe that the person who commits a crime is the one responsible for it. The key point of the passage is that
A. stricter discipline should be maintained in schools and families
B. more good examples should be set for people to follow
C. more restrictions should be imposed on people's behavior
D. more people should accept the value of accountability
這篇文章的中心思想句就出現在文章的第四段：Of the many values that hold civi-lization together——honesty, kindness, and so on——accountability may be the most im-portant of all. Without it, there can be no respect, no trust, no law――and, ultimately, no society(在許多人類文明的價值觀念中，負起責任是最重要的)。文章最後一句的總結也是這一意思：We in America desperately need more people who believe that the per-son who commits a crime is the one responsible for it.使更多的人認識到犯罪的人要對自己的罪行負起責任。對照選項， people should accept the value of accounta-bility就是這個意思。
也有中心思想旬在文章結尾出現的。
例3
The death of reading has been frequently, if not prematurely, reported. We are toldthat we live in an audio-visual age with radio,television, film, or other forms for ear and eye replacing the printed page. The picture is said to be faster to present, more adapta-ble to the message, and easier to comprehend.
How can anyone be expected to resist the tide, the torrent of competing images?
Can we preserve the printed page and the art and skills of reading? Untold teachers, writers,and others have struggled to show the rewards of reading,to demonstrate the practical values, and to encourage reading for personal discovery and growth. The ques-tion is whether the dedicated have had more influence than the image-flashers. Fortu-nately there are some hopeful signs.
We can note the publication of more books, magazines, and papers than in any pre-vious time in our history. Libraries report far greater use than ever before. Schools con-tinue to show large numbers at all ages(except the young,due to a changing birthrate)seeking to attend. Even the visual media acknowledge their great dependence on the production of the printed word. Reading is not dead, dying, or. seriously ill. It remains as the major avenue to individual learning and satisfaction.
If you agree with the point of view in this article you would probably
A. read less than ever
B. rely more on visual media
C. watch television selectively
D. attach due importance to reading
這道題繞了個圈子，問的`還是文章中心思想。根據中心思想句出現的位置和特徵，我們讀到文章第一句：The death of reading has been frequently, if not prematurely, reported.文章最後一句：Reading is not dead, dying, or seriously remains as the major avenue to individual learning and satisfaction.文章第一句是說人們一直認爲閱讀已消亡。經過一番論述，文章最後一句總結說閱讀沒有消亡，相反仍然是個人學習和滿足的主要途徑。可見這句是文章的中心思想句。用這句意思去看四個選擇項，不難發現ch due importance to reading是正確答案。
2.主題句解題法
主題句通常以判斷句的形式出現，在文章中的通常位置爲第一段首句、第一段末句和全文末句等地方。
(1)主題句在首段首句
許多文章開門見山，一開始就擺出要說明的主要對象或要論述的主要觀點，接下去的句子和段落都說明或論述它。這樣，文章的結構就屬於從一般到具體，主題也就在首段首句。
例4
Researchers have established that when people are mentally engaged, biochemical changes occur in the brain that allow it to act more effectively in cognitive(認知的)ar-eas such as attention and memory. This is true regardless of age.
People will be alert(警覺的)and receptive(願意接受的)if they are faced with information that gets them to think about things they are interested in. And someone with a history of doing more rather than less will go into old age more cognitively sound than someone who has not had an active mind.
Many experts are so convinced of the benefits of challenging the brain that they are putting the theory to work in their own lives. "The idea is not necessary to learn to memorize enormous amounts of information,"says James Fozard, associate director of the National Institute on Aging. "Most of us don't need that kind of skill. Such specif- ic training is of less interest than being able to maintain mental alertness. " Fozard and others say they challenge their brains with different mental skills, both because they enjoy them and because they are sure that their range of activities will help the way their brains work.
Gene Cohen, acting director of the same institute, suggests that people in their old age should engage in mental and physical activities individually as well as in groups. Cohen says that we are frequently advised to keep physically active as we age, but older people need to keep mentally active as well. Those who do are more likely to maintain their intellectual abilities and to be generally happier and better adjusted, "The point is, you need to do both," Cohen says. "Intellectual activity actually influ-ences brain-cell health and size. "
本文以引經據典的方法強調了頭腦健康，尤其是老年人頭腦健康的重要性。這個中心內容在第一段第一句就已指出：人在用腦時，大腦會處於興奮狀態，這時大腦在諸如注意力和記憶力等屬於認知領域的能力方面會得到有效發揮。
What is the passage mainly about?
A. How biochemical changes occur in the human brain.
B. Why people should keep active not only physically but also mentally.
C. How intellectual activities influence brain-cell health.
D. Why people should receive special mental training as they age.
這道題的正確答案爲B.A與C均爲原文中的細節，而D與原文第三段第4～5行" specific training is of less interest than being able to maintain mental alert-ness"相矛盾，所以都不是正確答案。
(2)主題句在第一段末句
首段末句也是主題句常出現的地方。假若如此，這個主題句就不僅是對全文的總結，也是對第一段的總結，而且開啓第二段及以後的說明或論述。簡而言之，這種文章結構是：具體說明或論述(一段)一總結(一段末的主題句)一後文的具體說明或論述。
這種形式的主題句之前通常有表示總結的提示詞，如：in conclusion, to conclude, in summary, to sum up, in short, in brief, in a nutshell;或表示推斷的提示詞：there-fore, thus, as a result, accordingly;或表示轉折的提示詞：but, however等。轉折之後就出現主題句的情況較多，這種謀篇套路可以用“去舊取新、標新立異”八個字概括。文章中諸如"every parent"、"a popular belief"、"frequently assumed"、"universally accept-ed"等詞句提示作者可能在下文提出一個與之不同的觀點標新立異，假若如此，那麼作者“標新立異”之處的觀點就是主題大意。對於某一現象，過去已有解釋，作者提出新的解釋，新解釋就是主題大意。這體現了上述的“去舊取新”原則。
例5
Do you find getting up in the morning so difficult that it's painful? This might be called laziness, but Dr. Kleitman has a new explanation. He has proved that everyone has a daily energy cycle.
During the hours when you labour through your work you may say that you're 'hot’. That's true. The time of day when you feel most energetic is when your cycle of body temperature is at its peak. For some people the peak comes during the fore- noon. For others it comes in the afternoon or evening. No one has discovered why this is so, but it leads to such familiar monologues(自言自語)as: 'Get up, John! You'll be late for work again!' The possible explanation to the trouble is that John is at his temperature-and-energy peak in the evening. Much family quarrelling ends when hus- bands and wives realize what these energy cycles mean, and which cycle each member of the family has.
You can't change your energy cycle, but you can learn to make your life fit it bet- ter. Habit can help. Dr. Kleitman believes. Maybe you're sleepy in the evening but feel you must stay up late anyway. Counteract(對抗)your cycle to some extent by ha- bitually staying up later than you want to. If your energy is low in the morning but you have an important job to do early in the day, rise before your usual hour. This won't change your cycle, but you'll get up steam and work better at your low point.
Get off to a slow start which saves your energy. Get up with a leisurely yawn(呵欠)and stretch. Sit on the edge of the bed a minute before putting your feet on the floor. Avoid the troublesome search for clean elothes by laying them out the night be-fore. Whenever possible, do routine work in the afternoon and save tasks requiring more energy or concentration for your sharper hours.
If a person finds getting up early a problem, most probably
A. he is a lazy person
B. he refuses to follow his own energy cyde
C. he is not sure when his energy is how
D. he is at his peak in the afternoon or evening.
這段文章先提出現象：早晨起牀困難，接着以不肯定的口吻提出一種解釋，然後"but"一轉，提出Kleitman博士的新解釋：各人的精力在一天之中有個週期。這個"but"之後的新解釋就是主題句。
(3)文章首末兩段均有主題句
主題句到末段纔出現的情況較少，常見的情況是文章開門見山提出主題句，中間加以論述，文末複述首段的主題，這也是寫作方法之一。
