LectureFour主旨大意题的解题技巧及应试策略(Ⅱ)

1、Lecture Four 主旨大意题的解题技巧及应试策略（）如何挑选答案中心思想类：What is the main idea of this passage? The passage is chiefly about ? What is the authors main concern?做此类主旨题时注意分析文章的结构，查找文章的中心句及每段的主题句。英语四级阅读大多数文章都有较明确的中心句，一般出现在首段或末段；每段的主题句一般是首句或末句。对于引导段、过渡段和描述性段落等没有主题句的段落，可以忽略一些枝节性内容，根据作者的夹叙夹议归纳中心。Most people would agree

2、that, although our age exceeds all previous ages in knowledge, there has been no corresponding increase in wisdom. But agreement ceases as soon as we attempt to define “wisdom” and consider means of promoting it.There are several factors that contribute to wisdom. Of there I should put first a sense

3、 of proportion: the capacity to take account of all the important factors in a problem and to attach to each its due weight. This has become more difficult than it used to be owing to the extent and complexity of the special knowledge required of various kinds of technicians. Suppose, for example, t

4、hat you are engaged in research in scientific medicine. The work is difficult and is likely to absorb the whole of your mind. You have no time to consider the effect which your discoveries or inventions may have outside the field of medicine. You succeed (let us say) as modern medicine has succeeded

5、, in enormously lowering the infant death rate, not only in Europe and America, but also in Asia and Africa. This has the entirely unintended result of making the food supply inadequate and lowering the standard of life in the parts of the world that gave the greatest populations. To take an even mo

6、re dramatic example, which is in everybodys mind at the present time: you study the makeup of the atom from a disinterested (无利害关系的) desire for knowledge, and by chance place in the hands of a powerful mad man the means of destroying the human race.Therefore, with every increase of knowledge and ski

7、ll, wisdom becomes more necessary, for every such increase augments (增强) our capacity for realizing our purposes, and therefore augments our capacity for evil, if our purposes are unwise.What is the main idea of the passage?(A) It is unwise to place the results of scientific research in the hands of

8、 a powerful mad man.(B) The more knowledge one has, the wiser one becomes.(C) Any increase of knowledge could lead to disastrous results without the guidance of wisdom.(D) Wisdom increase in proportion to ones age.选择标题类：This passage is most probably taken from an article entitled . The best title fo

9、r this passage would be .标题是文章主题的高度概括，做这类题时应全面把握文章的中心大意，避免犯以偏概全的错误；标题应具有概括性、全面性和简洁性，若选项内容过宽或过窄，均属偏颇单一，应当排除；标题一般以短语的形式出现，其中的词常为文中多次出现的单词或词组，因此还可通过文中的高频词汇来推断标题。Space is a dangerous place, not only because of meteors (流星) but also because of rays from the sun and other stars. The atmosphere again acts

10、as our protective blanket on earth. Light gets through, and this is essential for plants to make the food which we eat. Heat, too, makes our environment endurable. Various kinds of rays come through the air from outer space, but enormous quantities of radiation from the sun are screened off. As soon

11、 as men leave the atmosphere, they are exposed to this radiation but their spacesuits or the walls of their spacecraft, if they are inside, do prevent a lot of radiation damage.Radiation is the greatest known danger to explorers in space. The unit of radiation is called “rem”. Scientists have reason

12、 to think that a man can put up with far more radiation than 0.1 rem without being damaged; the figure of 60 rems has been agreed on. The trouble is that it is extremely difficult to be sure about radiation damage - person may feel perfectly well, but the cells of his or her sex organs may be damage

13、d, and this will not be discovered until he birth of deformed (畸形的) children or even grandchildren. Missions of the Apollo flights have had to cross belts of high radiation and, during the outward and return journeys, the Apollo crew accumulated a large amount of rems. So far, no dangerous amounts o

14、f radiation have been reported, but the Apollo missions have been quit short. We simply do not know yet hoe men are going to get on when they spend weeks and months outside the protection of the atmosphere, working in a space laboratory. Drugs might help to decrease the damage done by radiation, but

15、 no really effective ones have been found so far.The best title for this passage would be .(A) The Atmosphere and Our Environment (B) Research on Radiation(C) Effects of Space Radiation (D) Importance of Protection Against Radiation写作目的类：This passage was written to explain ?The authors purpose in wr

16、iting this passage is to ?这类题主要问作者为什么写这篇文章或某一具体部分。作者写文章一般都是为了表明某种观点看法，而整篇文章都应该是为该中心服务的，对于某一具体部分来说也一样。因此通过确认中心句或概括大意了解主要内容，作者的写作目的也就一目了然。(96-1-2)Taste is such a subjective matter that we dont usually conduct preference tests for food. The most you can say about anyones preference, is that its one per

17、sons opinion. But because the two big cola companies - Coca-Cola and Pepsi Cola are marketed so aggressively, weve wondered how big a role taste preference actually plays in brand loyalty. We set up a taste test that challenged people who identified themselves as either Coca-Cola or Pepsi fans: find

18、 your brand in a blind tasting.The authors purpose in writing this passage is to .(A) show that taste preference is highly subjective(B) argue that taste testing is an important marketing strategy(C) emphasize that taste and price are closely related to each other(D) recommend that blind testing be

19、introduced in the quality control of colas 查找或推测主题句是回答主旨大意题的关键。一般来说，主题句是文章的第一句或最后一句。如果两者都不是，还可通过in short, that is to say, actually, therefore, in fact, in my opinion等与上下文联系，看其引导的是否是中心句。比其它选项表述更概括的一般是正确答案。概括范围过大，超出文章讲述内容的选项不能选为答案；概括范围过小，只指文章一部分内容的选项不能选为答案；如果选项中的内容文章没有涉及，那更不能选为答案。Exercise I: Suppose w

20、e built a robot (机器人) to explore the planet Mars. We provide the robot with seeing detectors to keep it away from danger. It is powered entirely by the sun. Should we program the robot to be equally active at all times? No. The robot would be using up energy at a time when it was not receiving any.

21、So we would probably program it to cease its activity at night and to wake up at dawn the next morning. According to the evolutionary (进化的) theory of sleep, evolution equipped us with a regular pattern of sleeping and waking for the same reason. The theory does not deny (否认) that sleep provides some

22、 important restorative functions. It merely says that evolution has programmed us to perform those functions at a time when activity would be inefficient and possibly dangerous. However, sleep protects us only from the sort of trouble we might walk into; it does not protect us from trouble that come

23、s looking for us. So we sleep well when we are in familiar, safe place, but we sleep lightly, if at all, when we fear that bears will nose into the tent. The evolutionary theory accounts well for differences in sleep among creatures. Why do cats, for instance, sleep so much, while horses sleep so li

24、ttle? Surely cats do not need five times as much repair and restoration as horses do. But cats can afford to have long periods of inactivity because they spend little time eating and are unlikely to be attacked while they sleep. Horses must spend almost all their waking hours eating, because what th

25、ey eat is very low in energy value. Moreover, they cannot afford to sleep too long or too deeply, because their survival depends on their ability to run away from attackers.1. The author uses the example of the robot in space exploration to tell us _.(A) the differences between robots and men (B) th

26、e reason why men need to sleep (C) about the need for robots to save power (D) about the danger of men working at night2. Evolution has programmed man to sleep at night chiefly to help him _.(A) maintain a regular pattern of life （B）prevent trouble that comes looking for him(C) avoid danger and inef

27、ficient labor (D) restore his bodily functions3.According to the author, we cannot sleep well when we _.(A) are worrying about our safety (B) are overworked (C) are in a tent (D) are away from home4.Cats sleep much more than horses do partly because cats _.(A) need more time for restoration(B) are u

28、nlikely to be attackers(C) are more active than horses when they are awake(D) spend less time eating to get enough energy5.Which of the following is the main idea of the passage? _.(A) Evolution has equipped all creatures with a regular pattern of sleeping and waking.(B) The study of sleep is an imp

29、ortant part of the evolutionary theory.(C) Sleeping patterns must be taken into consideration in the designing of robots.(D) The sleeping pattern of a living creature is determined by the food it eats. Exercise II: " Congratulations, Mr. Jones, it's a girl."Fatherhood is going to have

30、a different meaning and bring forth a different response from every man who hears these words. Some feel pride when they receive the news, while others worry, wondering whether they will be good father. Although there are some men who like children and may have had considerable experience with them,

31、 others do not particularly care for children and spend little time with them. Many fathers and mothers have been planning and looking forward to children for some time. For other couples, pregnancy (怀孕) was an accident that both husband and wife have accepted willingly or unwillingly.Whatever the r

32、eaction to the birth of a child, it is obvious that the shift from the role of husband to that of father is a difficult task. Yet, unfortunately, few attempts have been made to educate fathers in this resocialization process. Although numerous books have been written about American mothers, only rec

33、ently has literature focused on the role of a father.It is argued by some writers that the transition to the father's role, although difficult, is not nearly as great as the transition the wife must make to the mother's role. The mother's role seems to require a complete transformation i

34、n daily routine (生活规律) and highly innovative (创新的) adaptation, on the other hand, the father's role is less demanding and immediate. However, even though we mentioned the fact that growing numbers of women are working outside the home, the father is still thought by many as the breadwinner in th

35、e household.1. According to the author, being a father _.(A) brings a feeling of excitement to some men(B) has a different meaning for those who have daughters(C) makes some men feel proud and others uneasy(D) means nothing but more responsibilities2. It is stated in the passage that _.(A) some pare

36、nts are not prepared to have a child(B) young couples do not like children at all(C) working couples do not have much time to take care of their children(D) many parents look forward to having a boy as their first child3. In the second paragraph, the author _.(A) criticizes fathers for not taking en

37、ough responsibilities in bringing up their children(B) excuses the American writers for ignoring the difficulties of being a father(C) supports the idea that the chief role of a father is to earn money for the family(D) complains about the lack of social programs to help husbands adjust themselves t

38、o being a father4. The transition to the mother's role requires that the wife _.(A) change her life style in a highly innovative way(B) make a complete change in her everyday life to deal with the new situation(C) stay at home to take care of the baby(D) help her husband in his resocialization p

39、rocess5. Some writers argue that with respect to the change of roles, fathers, compared with mothers, _.(A) have to shoulder more burdens (B) have to make more difficult adaptations(C) have an easier job to do (D) can usually do a better jobExercise III: Fast ReadingThomas Hardy was born near Dorche

40、ster, in that area of southwest England that he was tomake the "Wessex" of his novels. He attended local schools until the age of fifteen, when he was apprenticed to a Dorchester architect with whom he worked for six years. In 1861 he went to London to continue his studies and to practice

41、as an architect. Meanwhile he was completing his general education informally through his own erratic reading and was becoming more and more interested in both fiction and poetry. After some early attempts at writing both short stories and poems, he decided to concentrate on fiction. His first novel

42、 was rejected by the publishers in 1868 on the recommendation of Ceorge Meredith, who nevertheless advised Hardy to write another. The result was Desperate Remedies, published anonymously in 1871, followed the next year by his first real success (also published anonymously), Under the Greenwood Tree

43、. Hardys career as a novelist was now well launched; he gave up his architectural work and produced a series of novels that ended with Jude the Obscure. The hostile reception of this novel sent him back to poetry. His remarkable epic-drama of the Napoleonic Wars, The Dynasts, came out in three parts

44、 between 1903 and 1908 ; after this he wrote mostly lyric poetry.Hardy's novels, set in a predominantly rural "Wessex," show the forces of nature outside and inside individuals combining to shape human destiny. Against a background of immemorial agricultural labor, with ancient monumen

45、ts such as Stonehenge or an old Roman amphitheater reminding us of the human past, he presents characters at the mercy of their own passions or finding temporary salvation in the age-old rhythms of rural work or rural recreation. Men and women in Hardy's fiction are not masters of their fates; t

46、hey are at the mercy of the indifferent forces that manipulate their behavior and their relations with others, but they can achieve dignity through endurance and heroism through simple strength of character. The characteristic Victorian noveliste. g. , Dickens and Thackeray-was concerned with the be

47、havior and problems of people in a given social milieu, which were described in detail; Hardy preferred to go directly for the elemental in human behavior with a minimum of contemporary social detail. Most of Hardy's novels are tragic, although Under the Greenwood Tree has an idyllic character p

48、ossessed by no other of his novels. But even here the happy ending is achieved only by ending the story with the marriage of the hero and heroine and refusing to go further; the texture of the narrative, for all its moments of gaiety and charm, has already suggested the bitter ironies of which life

49、is capable. His later work explores those ironies with sometimes an almost malevolent staging of coincidence to emphasize the disparity between human desire and ambition on the one hand and what fate has in store for the characters on the other. But fate is not a wholly external force. Men and women

50、 are driven by the demands of their own nature as much as by anything from outside them. Tess of the D'Urbervilles (1891) is the story of an intelligent and sensitive girl, daughter of a poor family, driven to murder and so to death by hanging, by a concatenation (串联) of events and circumstances

51、 so bitterly ironic that many readers find it the darkest of Hardy's novels, while others would award that distinction to Jude the Obscure, the disturbingly powerful account of an ambitious rustic trapped between his intellect and his sensuality and as a result delivered to destruction.Hardy him

52、self denied that he was a pessimist, calling himself a "meliorist, " i. e. , one whobelieves that the world may be made better by human effort. But there is little sign of meliorismin either his most important novels or his lyric poetry. In his poems-which alone are representedhere because

53、 no extract could do justice to Hardy's power as a novelistmany of his characteristic attitudes and ideas and many of his favorite situations can be found. A number of his poems are verse anecdotes illustrating the perversity of fate, the disastrous of ironic coincidence. But his best poems go b

54、eyond his mood to present with quiet gravity and a carefully controlled elegiac feeling some aspect of human sorrow or loss or frustration or regret, always projected through a particular, fully realized situation. Hap shows Hardy in the characteristic mood of complaining about the irony of human de

55、stiny in a universe ruled by chance, but a poem such as The Walk (one of a group of poems written after the death of his first wife in 1912) gives, with remarkable power, concrete embodiment to a sense of loss. That power-we see it also in A Broken Appointment and She Hears the Storm-is achieved thr

56、ough a kind of verbal as well as an emotional integrity. Hardy's poetry, like his prose, often has a self-taught air about it; both can be odd or pretentious or awkward or clumsy. But at their best both his poetry and his prose have an air of persuasive authenticity. The association of a given e

57、motion with particular visual memories in Neutral Tones, for example, is impressive because it carries such extraordinary conviction, and it carries that conviction because the rhythms and rhymes are handled so as to suggest the kind ofutterance actually wrung from the poet ( consider, e. g. , the c

58、urious dead fall of " They had fallen from an ash, and were gray" ). At the same time, Hardy will use an antique or a poetic word or phrase ( " thereby, " " a-wing" ) if it fits in with the movement of the poem and keeps him from having to stop and search for something

59、more deft : the result is an effect not of artificiality but of spontaneity. Hardy's use of ballad rhythms often helps to give an elemental quality to his poetry, suggesting that this incident or situation, carefully particularized though it is, nevertheless stands for some profound and recurring themes in human ex