高屋建瓴悟主旨，事半功倍巧解題
——“論說(shuō)文”語(yǔ)篇主旨呈現(xiàn)方式探秘

北京

論說(shuō)文在高考英語(yǔ)試卷中占有舉足輕重的地位。本文總結(jié)了近幾年高考英語(yǔ)試卷和大型模擬考試試卷中論說(shuō)文的語(yǔ)篇主旨呈現(xiàn)方式，以幫助學(xué)生在英語(yǔ)論說(shuō)文閱讀中科學(xué)、高效地領(lǐng)悟語(yǔ)篇主旨，快而準(zhǔn)地解答相應(yīng)題目。

一、論說(shuō)文的概念界定

首先，論說(shuō)文是針對(duì)某一個(gè)主題表達(dá)主張、說(shuō)明事理、闡發(fā)見(jiàn)解的文章。它涉及的主題可大可小，從宇宙天地、社會(huì)人生，到一事一物、一言一行，都可論可說(shuō)。就這個(gè)意義而言，散文、雜文、時(shí)評(píng)、演講，甚至學(xué)術(shù)類文章都屬于論說(shuō)文行列。其次，在高中英語(yǔ)教學(xué)語(yǔ)境中，由于說(shuō)明文和議論文的遣詞用句特征和語(yǔ)篇宏觀結(jié)構(gòu)相似，所以經(jīng)常把兩者合稱為論說(shuō)文。本文所用實(shí)例均為高考或模擬試卷中的說(shuō)明文和議論文篇目，為行文方便，筆者把它們統(tǒng)稱為論說(shuō)文。

二、總結(jié)主旨呈現(xiàn)方式的重要性

典型的論說(shuō)文通常由三部分組成：開(kāi)頭（introduction）、展開(kāi)（development）和結(jié)論（conclusion），但作者們?cè)趯懽鞣绞缴鲜乔ё內(nèi)f化、彰顯個(gè)性的，不同的文章在主旨呈現(xiàn)方式、論證和說(shuō)明方法，以及結(jié)尾方式三個(gè)方面各顯神通。有時(shí)，主旨在一段中就能表達(dá)清楚，有時(shí)需要段群才可以清晰說(shuō)明。而高考英語(yǔ)論說(shuō)文的命題幾乎全部圍繞主旨和支撐主旨的細(xì)節(jié)展開(kāi)。因此，厘清主旨是什么以及主旨是如何表現(xiàn)的是閱讀論說(shuō)文的首要問(wèn)題。本文通過(guò)總結(jié)論說(shuō)文主旨的呈現(xiàn)方式和命題特征幫助學(xué)生高屋建瓴地領(lǐng)悟文章主旨，統(tǒng)領(lǐng)全文理解，避免不必要的錯(cuò)誤。

三、多樣的主旨呈現(xiàn)方式及解題指導(dǎo)

主旨的呈現(xiàn)方式就是作者表達(dá)觀點(diǎn)的方式，雖然表達(dá)觀點(diǎn)的手段多樣，但大致可歸納為轉(zhuǎn)折式、提問(wèn)式、舉例式、開(kāi)門見(jiàn)山式等等。題目設(shè)置會(huì)隨著作者表達(dá)主旨觀點(diǎn)的方法的變化而變化。

（一）轉(zhuǎn)折式

所謂轉(zhuǎn)折式呈現(xiàn)主旨是指先陳述現(xiàn)象或大家普遍認(rèn)同的道理，然后提出自己的觀點(diǎn)，一般通過(guò)but,however,while,although,though,still,in fact,in my opinion等語(yǔ)篇銜接詞引出主旨。轉(zhuǎn)折式呈現(xiàn)主旨重在闡釋自己的觀點(diǎn)，一般不全盤否定、不批判別人的觀點(diǎn)。如：

【例1】（2018年北京卷閱讀理解D篇）

Preparing Cities for Robot Cars

The possibility of self-driving robot cars has often seemed like a futurist’s dream,years away from materializing in the real world.Well,the future is apparently now.The California Department of Motor Vehicles began giving permits in April for companies to test truly self-driving cars on public roads.The state also cleared the way for companies to sell or rent out self-driving cars,and for companies to operate driverless taxi services.California,it should be noted,isn’t leading the way here.Companies have been testing their vehicles in cities across the country.It’s hard to predict when driverless cars will be everywhere on our roads.But however long it takes,the technology has the potential to change our transportation systems and our cities,for better or for worse,depending on how the transformation is regulated.

While much of the debate so far has been focused on the safety of driverless cars (and rightfully so),policymakers also should be talking about how self-driving vehicles can help reduce traffic jams,cut emissions (排放) and offer more convenient,affordable mobility options.The arrival of driverless vehicles is a chance to make sure that those vehicles are environmentally friendly and more shared.

47.According to the author,attention should be paid to how driverless cars can ______.

A.help deal with transportation-related problems

B.provide better services to customers

C.cause damage to our environment

D.make some people lose jobs

48.As for driverless cars,what is the author’s major concern?

A.Safety. B.Side effects.

C.Affordability. D.Management.

第一段結(jié)尾句以轉(zhuǎn)折的方式強(qiáng)調(diào)“城市交通體系是向好還是向壞轉(zhuǎn)變?nèi)Q于該轉(zhuǎn)變是如何被規(guī)范的”，這就是本文的主旨；而第二段以“While...,...also should...”開(kāi)頭，首先肯定需要關(guān)注“safety”，然后強(qiáng)調(diào)更應(yīng)關(guān)注如何“reduce traffic jams,cut emissions...”，這樣本文的主旨就更加具體化了。

命題人精準(zhǔn)地在轉(zhuǎn)折環(huán)節(jié)設(shè)置了題目，這兩個(gè)題的正確選項(xiàng)都源自篇章主旨，47題答案“A.help deal with transportation-related problems”是對(duì)第二段首句的概括，48題的答案“D.Management.”是對(duì)第一段結(jié)尾詞“regulated”的解釋。而學(xué)生錯(cuò)選選項(xiàng)都是因其忽略了或未能正確解讀句子的轉(zhuǎn)折意義。例如：47題，不少學(xué)生認(rèn)為無(wú)人駕駛汽車會(huì)帶來(lái)方便，而想當(dāng)然地?zé)o視主旨意義，從而誤選B項(xiàng)；48題，由于A選項(xiàng)“Safety”是原文詞匯復(fù)現(xiàn)，一些學(xué)生受其誤導(dǎo)忽視了第二段首句的轉(zhuǎn)折意義，從而誤選A項(xiàng)。

（二）提問(wèn)式

文章有時(shí)會(huì)帶有特殊問(wèn)句式或一般問(wèn)句式標(biāo)題，作者往往在疑問(wèn)中隱含所指所想，用問(wèn)句做標(biāo)題是為了引起讀者的思考。在標(biāo)題或開(kāi)篇部分的設(shè)問(wèn)一般都要在文章中進(jìn)行回答，一問(wèn)一答有時(shí)就構(gòu)成了文章的主體結(jié)構(gòu)。如：

【例2】（2016年北京卷閱讀理解D篇）

Why College Is Not Home

The college years are supposed to be a time for important growth in autonomy(自主性) and the development of adult identity.However,now they are becoming an extended period of adolescence,during which many of today’s students are not shouldered with adult responsibilities.

67.What’s the author’s attitude toward continued parental guidance to college students?

A.Sympathetic. B.Disapproving.

C.Supportive. D.Neutral.

69.According to the author,what role should college play?

A.To develop a shared identity among students.

B.To define and regulate students’ social behavior.

C.To provide a safe world without tension for students.

D.To foster students’ intellectual and personal development.

特殊問(wèn)句式標(biāo)題一般以why,what,how提問(wèn)居多。一般，如果在篇章開(kāi)始部分設(shè)問(wèn)，后文就會(huì)有所回答。以Why College Is Not Home為例，全文就是在回答why。

第一段首句明確提出大學(xué)應(yīng)該是“a time for important growth in autonomy（自主性）and the development of adult identity”，這和標(biāo)題的隱含意義是一致的，因此可以確定其就是本文的主旨句。然而，現(xiàn)在大學(xué)卻成了“an extended period of adolescence”。命題人緊緊抓住“大學(xué)不該是什么，應(yīng)該是什么”這個(gè)核心設(shè)置了67題和69題。如果學(xué)生關(guān)注文章標(biāo)題，敏感地捕獲到作者觀點(diǎn)和態(tài)度，僅根據(jù)第一段內(nèi)容就可以高效地解答這兩個(gè)題目。67題題干中的“continued parental guidance to college students”和第一段第一句的意思相反，故67題答案為B；69題D選項(xiàng)“To foster students’ intellectual and personal development”和第一段第一句的意思一致，故69題答案為D。

（三）舉例式

舉例式是指通過(guò)描述普遍事實(shí)、特性事例、研究對(duì)象等引入主旨。這種方式一般也是為了引起讀者的興趣和思考。如：

【例3】（2016年6月浙江卷閱讀理解A篇）

“Did you hear what happened to Adam Last Friday?”Lindsey whispers to Tori.

With her eyes shining,Tori brags,“You bet I did.Sean told me two days ago.”

Who are Lindsey and Tori talking about? It just happens to be yours truly,Adam Freedman,I can tell you that what they are saying is (a) not nice and (b) not even true.Still,Lindsey and Tori aren’t very different from most students here at Linton High School,including me.Many of our conversations are gossip (閑話).I have noticed three effects of gossip:it can hurt people,it can give gossipers a strange kind of satisfaction,and it can cause social pressures in a group.

41.The author uses a conversation at the beginning of the passage to _____________ .

A.introduce a topic

B.present an argument

C.describe the characters

D.clarify his writing purpose

42.An important negative effect of gossip is that it _______________ .

A.breaks up relationships

B.embarrasses the listener

C.spreads information around

D.causes unpleasant experiences

43.In the author’s opinion,many people like to gossip because it _______________ .

A.gives them a feeling of pleasure

B.helps them to make more friends

C.makes them better at telling stories

D.enables them to meet important people

作者在開(kāi)篇以生動(dòng)事例引入主旨，即“three effects of gossip:it can hurt people,it can give gossipers a strange kind of satisfaction,and it can cause social pressures in a group”。

41題問(wèn)開(kāi)篇所舉事例的作用。從寫作角度看，生動(dòng)的例子是為了引入寫作話題，引起讀者關(guān)注，故41題的答案為A。后兩個(gè)題目則是在問(wèn)考生主旨中的兩個(gè)細(xì)節(jié)點(diǎn)（hurt people和a strange kind of satisfaction）?！癱auses unpleasant experiences”和“hurt people”為同義轉(zhuǎn)換，“a feeling of pleasure”和“a strange kind of satisfaction”為同義轉(zhuǎn)換，故42題和43題的答案分別是D、A。本篇閱讀理解一共設(shè)了5個(gè)題，如果考生能理解主旨，其中3個(gè)題就迎刃而解了。

（四）開(kāi)門見(jiàn)山式

開(kāi)門見(jiàn)山式就是直接陳述觀點(diǎn)和事實(shí)。雖然這種方式比較簡(jiǎn)單，但需要注意承載主旨的句子或句群的關(guān)鍵信息聯(lián)系，否則會(huì)出現(xiàn)理解偏差。如：

【例4】（2019年北京卷閱讀理解D篇）

By the end of the century,if not sooner,the world’s oceans will be bluer and greener thanks to a warming climate,according to a new study.

At the heart of the phenomenon lie tiny marine microorganisms（海洋微生物）called phytoplankton.Because of the way light reflects off the organisms,these phytoplankton create colourful patterns at the ocean surface.Ocean colour varies from green to blue,depending on the type and concentration of phytoplankton.Climate change will fuel the growth of phytoplankton in some areas,while reducing it in other spots,leading to changes in the ocean’s appearance.

42.What are the first two paragraphs mainly about?

A.The various patterns at the ocean surface.

B.The cause of the changes in ocean colour.

C.The way light reflects off marine organisms.

D.The efforts to fuel the growth of phytoplankton.

45.What is the main purpose of the passage?

A.To assess the consequences of ocean colour changes.

B.To analyze the composition of the ocean food chain.

C.To explain the effects of climate change on oceans.

D.To introduce a new method to study phytoplankton.

開(kāi)篇直接介紹一項(xiàng)研究結(jié)果，隨后在第二段初步解釋結(jié)果的成因，這實(shí)質(zhì)上是直接陳述主旨。因?yàn)榍皟啥蔚闹髦家簿褪潜疚牡闹髦?，所?2題和45題考查的內(nèi)容在實(shí)質(zhì)上是一樣的，只是角度不同而已。42題和45題的正確選項(xiàng)B和C都是對(duì)本篇文章主旨的闡釋。

教師需要提醒學(xué)生注意的是，開(kāi)門見(jiàn)山式主旨呈現(xiàn)方式的語(yǔ)篇主旨雖然直接展現(xiàn)在讀者面前，但其一定要全面、連貫地理解主干信息。如果考生沒(méi)有關(guān)注到第一段中的“thanks to a warming climate”，其信息提取則會(huì)受到干擾，這兩個(gè)題都可能出現(xiàn)失誤。

（五）批判式

所謂批判式是指在闡釋自己的觀點(diǎn)時(shí)對(duì)錯(cuò)誤認(rèn)識(shí)或現(xiàn)象進(jìn)行批判。如：

【例5】（2020年北京市東城區(qū)高考英語(yǔ)一模閱讀理解D篇）

Last fall,I happened to overhear a student telling the others he had decided not to sign up for an introductory philosophy course.The demands of his major,he said seriously,meant he needed to take“practical”courses,and“enlightenment”would simply have to wait.For now,employability was the most important.

The students’conversation fits into a larger alarming narrative about the role of the humanities in higher education.In a time of dizzying technological achievement and of rapid scientific innovation,sceptics of the humanities may question the usefulness of studying Aristotle,the Italian Renaissance or Chinese fiction.

Actually,I regret not interrupting that student to argue for taking that introductory philosophy course...

42.What does the students’ conversation show?

A.Students feel employment difficult.

B.Students think philosophy less important.

C.Students find scientific innovation amazing.

D.Students consider university courses unsatisfying.

44.The author may agree that humanities _______________ .

A.discover students’ artistic ability

B.prepare students for graduation

C.raise awareness of social status

D.provide great insights into life

被批判的觀點(diǎn)和現(xiàn)象是命題點(diǎn)之一。42題考查考生是否理解文章在批判什么。雖然第一段中有一些生詞，但通過(guò)主干信息考生可以獲得第一段的主旨“...he needed to take‘practical’courses...For now,employability was the most important.”?！?B.Students think philosophy less important.”體現(xiàn)了段落主旨，也正是本文要批判的觀點(diǎn)，故答案為B。

第三段，作者開(kāi)始展示自己的態(tài)度“argue for taking that introductory philosophy course”。后文中逐層論證自己的觀點(diǎn)，批判錯(cuò)誤現(xiàn)象。44題是考查考生推測(cè)作者的觀點(diǎn)的題目，也就是對(duì)篇章主旨的理解。因?yàn)榕械木褪禽p視哲學(xué)這樣的人文社科的現(xiàn)象，所以作者一定會(huì)認(rèn)同“人文社科提供對(duì)生活的深刻見(jiàn)解”這一觀點(diǎn)，故答案為D。

（六）對(duì)比/比較式

以對(duì)比或比較方式呈現(xiàn)主旨就是在對(duì)比兩個(gè)或多個(gè)事物、現(xiàn)象和觀點(diǎn)的過(guò)程中，擺出差異點(diǎn)，凸顯優(yōu)異點(diǎn)，從而確立作者闡釋的重點(diǎn)。如：

【例6】(2018年北京市海淀區(qū)高考英語(yǔ)一模閱讀理解D篇)

Eudaimonia is an Ancient Greek word,particularly stressed by the philosophers Plato and Aristotle,which deserves far more attention than it has because it corrects the shortfalls（缺失）in one of the most central,but troubling words in our moden language:Happiness.

When we nowadays try to clearly express the purpose of our lives，it is the word “happiness” that we commonly turn to.We tell ourselves and others that the most important principle for our jobs,our relationships and the conduct of our day-to-day lives is the pursuit of happiness.It sounds like an innocent enough idea,but too much reliance on the term means that we frequently unfairly tend to quit or,at least,heavily question a great many challenging but worthwhile situations.The Ancient Greeks did not believe that the purpose of life was to be happy; they proposed that it was to achieve Eudaimonia,a word which has been best translated as “fulf illment”.

What distinguishes happiness from fulf illment is pain....

47.What do we know about“Eudaimonia”from the passage?

A.It was first created by two Greek philosophers.

B.It has received a lot of attention from the public.

C.It still has some shortfalls that need to be corrected.

D.It was regarded as the purpose of life in ancient Greece.

48.According to Paragraph 3,happiness _______.

A.is the opposite of fulfillment

B.is free from physical or mental pain

C.stresses the psychological difference

D.serves as a respected and noble life goal

50.The passage encourages the readers to _______.

A.find fulfillment with all efforts

B.seek for a pain-free existence

C.keep optimistic whatever happens

D.balance happiness and suffering

在開(kāi)篇前三段，如果可以理解作者對(duì)比闡釋的“happiness”和“fulf illment（Eudaimonia）”的差異，并在第二段捕捉到作者的態(tài)度傾向“...too much reliance on the term means that we frequently unfairly tend to quit or,at least,heavily question a great many challenging but worthwhile situations.”，那么以上三個(gè)題目就迎刃而解了。47題考查的是對(duì)Eudaimonia的理解。關(guān)于Eudaimonia的主干信息出現(xiàn)在第一段和第二段最后兩句。該題D項(xiàng)是對(duì)第二段和第一段有關(guān)信息的綜合概括（從第三段開(kāi)始，作者用常用詞fulfillment代替了Eudaimonia）。48題考查對(duì)另一個(gè)對(duì)比對(duì)象happiness的理解。50題考查作者經(jīng)過(guò)對(duì)比分析后的態(tài)度取向。

用不同的方法表達(dá)觀點(diǎn)、呈現(xiàn)主旨是論說(shuō)文語(yǔ)篇宏觀結(jié)構(gòu)的重要組成部分。訓(xùn)練學(xué)生全面理解承載語(yǔ)篇主旨的句和段是培養(yǎng)學(xué)生語(yǔ)篇意識(shí)的重要方法，也是高中英語(yǔ)閱讀教學(xué)的重要內(nèi)容，可以更科學(xué)地提高學(xué)生的閱讀效能。