楊小蓮
高考閱讀理解中的主旨大意題(main idea,mainly about)、給文章選標(biāo)題(title)、推斷作者的寫作目的(purpose,intend to)等題型主要是考查學(xué)生在閱讀全文的基礎(chǔ)上歸納總結(jié)文章大意的能力。解答這類題的關(guān)鍵是找準(zhǔn)主題句。主題句在哪里?可根據(jù)不同文體來(lái)找主題句。
一、議論文或說(shuō)明文
議論文或說(shuō)明文的主題句一般在文首,但有的在文尾,也有的首尾呼應(yīng)。
[例1](2016年全國(guó)Ⅰ卷D篇 )
[說(shuō)明文]The meaning of silence varies among cultural groups. Silences may be thoughtful, or they may be empty when a person has nothing to say. A silence in a conversation may also show stubbornness, or worry. Silence may be viewed by some cultural groups as extremely uncomfortable; therefore attempts may be made to fill every gap(間隙) with conversation. Persons in other cultural groups value silence and view it as necessary for understanding a persons needs.
Many Native Americans value silence and feel it is a basic part of communicating among people, just as some traditional Chinese and Thai persons do. Therefore, when a person from one of these cultures is speaking and suddenly stops, what may be implied(暗示) is that the person wants the listener to consider what has been said before continuing. In these cultures, silence is a call for reflection.
Other cultures may use silence in other ways, particularly when dealing with conflicts among people or in relationships of people with different amounts of power. For example, Russian, French, and Spanish persons may use silence to show agreement between parties about the topic udner discussion. However, Mexicans may use silence when instructions are given by a person in authority rather than be rude to that person by arguing with him or her. In still another use, persons in Asian cultures may view silence as a sign of respect, particularly to an elder or a person in authority.
Nurses and other care-givers need to be aware of the possible meanings of silence when they come across the personal anxiety their patients may be expericencing. Nurses should recognize their own personal and cultural construction of silence so that a patients silence is not interrupted too early or allowed to go on unnecessarily. A nurse who understands the healing(治愈) value of silence can use this understanding to assist in the care of patients from their own and from other cultures.
35. What may be the best title for the text?
A. Sound and Silence
B. What It Means to Be Silent
C. Silence to Native Americans
D. Speech Is Silver; Silence Is Gold
解析:本文為說(shuō)明文,由文章的首句The meaning of silence varies among cultural groups以及第二段和第三段的首句可知文章主要介紹了在不同文化背景下談話期間沉默的不同含義。故選B項(xiàng)。endprint
二、新聞報(bào)道
新聞報(bào)道的主題句就是導(dǎo)語(yǔ),即文章的首句或首段。正文采取倒金字塔形式,最重要事實(shí),次要事實(shí),最次要事實(shí)。
[例2](2017年全國(guó)卷C篇)
After years of heated debate, gray wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park. Fourteen wolves were caught in Canada and transported to the park. By last year, the Yellowstone wolf population had grown to more than 170 wolves.
Gray wolves once were seen here and there in the Yellowstone area and much of the continental United States, but they were gradually displaced by human development. By the 1920s, wolves had practically disappeared from the Yellowstone area. They went farther north into the deep forests of Canada, where there were fewer humans around.
The disappearance of the wolves had many unexpected results. Deer and elk populations—major food sources (來(lái)源) for the wolf—grew rapidly. These animals consumed large amounts of vegetation (植被), which reduced plant diversity in the park. In the absence of wolves, coyote populations also grew quickly. The coyotes killed a large percentage of the parks red foxes, and completely drove away the parks beavers.
As early as 1966, biologists asked the government to consider reintroducing wolves to Yellowstone Park. They hoped that wolves would be able to control the elk and coyote problems. Many farmers opposed the plan because they feared that wolves would kill their farm animals or pets.
The government spent nearly 30 years coming up with a plan to reintroduce the wolves. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service carefully monitors and manages the wolf packs in Yellowstone. Today, the debate continues over how well the gray wolf is fitting in at Yellowstone. Elk, deer, and coyote populations are down, while beavers and red foxes have made a comeback. The Yellowstone wolf project has been a valuable experiment to help biologists decide whether to reintroduce wolves to other parts of the country as well.
28. What is the text mainly about?
A. Wildlife research in the United States.
B. Plant diversity in the Yellowstone area.
C. The conflict between farmers and gray wolves.
D. The reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone Park.
解析:本文是報(bào)道類文章,主題句就是導(dǎo)語(yǔ),即首段首句。由After years of heated debate, gray wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park可知答案是D項(xiàng)。
三、科研報(bào)告或調(diào)查報(bào)告
反映科學(xué)實(shí)驗(yàn)或調(diào)研結(jié)果的報(bào)道或科普類說(shuō)明文,其內(nèi)容主要包括“科研實(shí)驗(yàn)結(jié)果或調(diào)查結(jié)果+實(shí)驗(yàn)研究過(guò)程或調(diào)查的具體情況”兩大部分,文章主旨就是科研或調(diào)查結(jié)果,因此主題句通常在首段,且常伴有according to a study,a study showed/proved,this is suggested by the results of new research on,scientists recently reported,a study claimed等。endprint
[例3](2016年全國(guó)丙卷D篇 )
Bad news sells. If it bleeds, it leads. No news is good news, and good news is no news. Those are the classic rules for the evening broadcasts and the morning papers. But now that information is being spread and monitored (監(jiān)控) in different ways, researchers are discovering new rules. By tracking peoples e-mails and online posts, scientists have found that good news can spread faster and farther than disasters and sob stories.
“The‘if it bleeds rule works for mass media,” says Jonah Berger, a scholar at the University of Pennsylvania.“They want your eyeballs and dont care how youre feeling. But when you share a story with your friends, you care a lot more how they react. You dont want them to think of you as a Debbie Downer.”
Researchers analyzing word-of-mouth communication—e-mails, Web posts and reviews, face-to-face conversations—found that it tended to be more positive than negative (消極的), but that didnt necessarily mean people preferred positive news. Was positive news shared more often simply because people experienced more good things than bad things? To test for that possibility, Dr. Berger looked at how people spread a particular set of news stories: thousands of articles on The New York Timeswebsite. He and a Penn colleague analyzed the“most e-mailed” list for six months. One of his first findings was that articles in the science section were much more likely to make the list than non-science articles. He found that science amazed Times readers and made them want to share this positive feeling with others.
Readers also tended to share articles that were exciting or funny, or that inspired negative feelings like anger or anxiety, but not articles that left them merely sad. They needed to be aroused (激發(fā)) one way or the other, and they preferred good news to bad. The more positive an article, the more likely it was to be shared, as Dr. Berger explains in his new book, “Contagious: Why Things Catch On.”
35. What can be a suitable title for the text?
A. Sad Stories Travel Far and Wide
B. Online News Attracts More People
C. Reading Habits Change with the Times
D. Good News Beats Bad on Social Networks
解析:由第一段But后,特別是scientists have found that good news can spread faster and farther than disasters and sob stories可知,通過(guò)追蹤人們的郵件和網(wǎng)上的帖子,科學(xué)家們發(fā)現(xiàn)好消息比災(zāi)難性的,令人傷心的消息在網(wǎng)絡(luò)上傳播得更快,影響更深遠(yuǎn)。故選D項(xiàng)。
四、記敘文
純記敘文通常沒(méi)有主題句,需要讀者自己領(lǐng)悟,從中歸納提煉;但有的在文尾作者會(huì)發(fā)表感慨、感悟或就此發(fā)表議論,主旨也就在此;還有的先發(fā)表某種議論或感慨再講一個(gè)故事或經(jīng)歷,主旨就在文首。endprint
[例4](2017年全國(guó)II卷 B篇 )
I first met Paul Newman in 1968, when George Roy Hill, the director of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, introduced us in New York City. When the studio didnt want me for the film—it wanted somebody as well-known as Paul—he stood up for me. I dont know how many people would have done that; they would have listened to their agents or the studio powers.
The friendship that grew out of the experience of making that film and The Sting four years later had its root in the fact that although there was an age difference, we both came from a tradition of theater and live TV. We were respectful of craft(技藝)and focused on digging into the characters we were going to play. Both of us had the qualities and virtues that are typical of American actors: humorous, aggressive, and making fun of each other—but always with an underlying affection. Those were also at the core (核心) of our relationship off the screen.
We shared the belief that if youre fortunate enough to have success, you should put something back—he with his Newmans Own food and his Hole in the Wall camps for kids who are seriously ill, and me with Sundance and the institute and the festival. Paul and I didnt see each other all that regularly, but sharing that brought us together. We supported each other financially and by showing up at events.
I last saw him a few months ago. Hed been in and out of the hospital. He and I both knew what the deal was, and we didnt talk about it. Ours was a relationship that didnt need a lot of words.
27. What is the authors purpose in writing the text?
A. To show his love of films
B. To remember a friend
C. To introduce a new movie
D. To share his acting experience.
解析:本文是純記敘文,沒(méi)有主題句。第一段寫作者與Paul初相識(shí),第二段和第三套講建立長(zhǎng)久友誼的原因,第四段談Paul病逝前作者看望Paul時(shí)的情景,全文都是講作者與Paul的友誼的,可見(jiàn)作者寫這篇文章是為了紀(jì)念一個(gè)朋友。故選B項(xiàng)。
除主旨推斷法外,也還有詞句提醒法。如:
1. 表轉(zhuǎn)折的詞語(yǔ)。有but,however,in fact等語(yǔ)意轉(zhuǎn)折的地方,其后通常是作者要表達(dá)的觀點(diǎn),即主題句。
2. 在例證前。作者表述觀點(diǎn)之后通常會(huì)有for example來(lái)佐證,也就是說(shuō),在舉例之前即為作者要表達(dá)的觀點(diǎn)。
3. 對(duì)開(kāi)頭問(wèn)句的回答。若是以問(wèn)句開(kāi)頭的文章,其答句很可能就是文章的主題句,要著重理解。
4. 反復(fù)出現(xiàn)的詞。在每個(gè)段落中或多個(gè)段落中反復(fù)出現(xiàn)的詞語(yǔ),很可能就是體現(xiàn)文章主旨的關(guān)鍵詞,抓住了這樣的關(guān)鍵詞也就抓住了文章的主旨。
這些方法本文就不舉例了,請(qǐng)同學(xué)們?cè)谄綍r(shí)的閱讀中留意。
責(zé)任編輯 蔣小青endprint