一段文章的中心思想常常由主题句(Topic Sentence)表达。主题句常常位于段首或段尾处,间或出现在段落中间。同样,一篇文章的中心思想也常常在开始或结尾段点出。因此在阅读中,我们要特别注意文章的.开头或结尾。例四:
English is clearly an international is spoken by pilots and airport control operators on all the airways of the 70 percent of the worlds radio programs are in English.
本段主题句为首句,其后的内容句均说明首句。例五:
Some students prefer a strict teacher who tells them exactly what to rs prefer to be left to work on their l others like a democratic discussion type of one teaching method can be devised to satisfy all students at the same time.
本段中心思想在结尾句得到体现,它是此段内容的结论。例六:
For adults a cold is not that ver,this is not the case for symptoms in children may be signs of more serious diseases and should be given prompt medical attention.
本段主题句为第二句,因为在however后面才是作者真正的看法,并在下文中进一步作了说明。
然而,我们也常常发现,有的主题思想并非直接由一、二个句子表述,而是在文中间接暗示着。这就需要读者根据文中细节进行概括与归纳,找出主题思想。