阅读理解之主旨大意
1. 读首句抓大意。
说明文、议论文等多采用这种结构，文章段落的中心，即主题句在文章开头。因此，要寻找这类文章的主旨大意就需要研究文章的首句。
Kleptomania is an illness of the mind that gives a person the desire to steal. Such a person is not really a thief. They are sick and cannot help themselves. All small children act naturally and as they grow up they normally learn to control their actions. People with kleptomania for certain medical reasons have failed to develop control over their desire to take things that do not belong to them. With medical help they may become normal citizens again. The things that a kleptomaniac steals are seldom of great value. They often give away what they have stolen or collect objects without using them.
Question:
What is the topic of the text？
A. Young Thieves. B. An Unusual Illness.
C. Reasons for Stealing. D. A Normal Child’s Actions.
解析：该题的答案，就是由文章第一句话而得，答案为B。
2. 读尾句抓大意。
有时文章的主题句安排在文章的结尾，作为对全篇的总结。
On the night of the party Merlin rolled into the room playing his violin. Everyone was astonished to see him. There was just one problem. Merlin had no way to stop his roller skater. He rolled on and on. Suddenly he ran into a huge mirror that was hanging on the wall. Down fell the mirror, breaking to pieces. Nobody forgot Merlin's grand entrance for a long time!
Question：
What is the main point the writer is trying to make in the paragraph?
A. The roller skates needed further improvement.
B. The party guests took Merlin for a fool.
C. Merlin succeeded beyond expectation.
D. Merline got himself into trouble.
解析：这段文字从Merlin入场的细节开始叙述，到最后一句做了总结：“大家很长一段时间都没有忘记Merlin不同凡响的入场”，可见Merlin取得了意想不到的成功。答案为C。
3. 读首尾段抓大意。
有些文章或段落的开头和结尾部分都有主题句。这种结构是为突出主题思想而使用两次点题的写作方法。这两个主题句在句子结构和用词上有所不同，而且在内容上前句和后句也不重复。
As prices and building costs keep rising, the “do-it-yourself” (DIY) trend (趋势) in the US continues to grow.
...
John and Jim are not unusual people. Most families in the country are doing everything they can to save money so they can fight the high cost of living. If you want to become a “do-it-yourself”, you can go to DIY classes. And for those who don’t have time to take a course, there are books that tell you how you can do things yourself.
Question：
What would be the best title for the text?
A. The Joy of DIY. B. You Can Do It Too.
C. Welcome to Our DIY Course. D. Ross and Hatfield: Believers in DIY.
解析：读文章第一段和最后一段会发现答案是B。
【练习】
In ShanxiProvince you may be offered brains to eat. Frightened? You shouldn’t be, because these brains are only a kind of food, which is famous for its unusual name and rich nutrition (营养). Brains as a kind of food were invented more than 300 years ago by Fu Shan, an artist whose mother had been ill for a long time. To help her become well again, he studied medicine and invented a kind of soup made of meat, vegetables and a number of Chinese medicines. Rice wine was also used in the soup to help illness caused by old age. Fu’s soup became the talk of the town. Many people came to see him. One day a restaurant owner asked him what was in the soup. “I’ll tell you,” Fu said, “but if your restaurant is going to sell the soup, you must call it brains because of its shape and color. And your restaurant should be renamed after my mother.”
Question：
The best headline for this newspaper article is ____.
A. A Good Son B. A Special Soup
C. How to Make Brains D. How to Live a Long Life
Key: B