英語四級考試經驗：考生如何快速把握閱讀文章的主題

　　盡管主旨題已經不再是四級閱讀的必考題型，但能夠準確的把握文章的主題對解決其他各種題型還是大有裨益的。尤其是近年來大量增加的觀點題和推理概括題，其答案的設計跟文章的主題有著密切的關系。

　　主題就是一篇文章的根本，就測試學來看，依據一篇文章來出的題目都是圍繞著主題進行設計，所以把握住了文章的主題就找到了破解各題的大方向。如何才能快速準確地找到文章的主題呢?

　　要想找到文章的主題，必須先了解四級文章的結構特點。四級的文章按結構可以分成兩大類：總分結構和觀點分述結構。從考試操作層面來看，最簡單的方法就是根據段落的數量來劃分 五段以內的(包括五段)基本都是總分結構;大于五段的基本可按觀點分述結構來處理。

　　如何把握總分結構文章的主題?總分結構文章的布局如下：總述(提出觀點) 分述(論述觀點) 總述(強調觀點)。總分結構文章的主題一般都在文章的首段。如果首段出現轉折詞，主題往往是首段轉折句;如果首段沒有明顯的轉折，則主題往往是首段首句。如果首段無轉折，且只是描述某種現象，則需要關注文章的二段或三段，這時候文章的主題很可能是二段或三段段首的轉折句。例如：

　　Why does cream go bad faster than butter? Some researchers think they have the answer， and it comes down to the structure of the food， not its chemical composition a finding that could help rid some processed foods of chemical preservatives.

　　Cream and butter contain pretty much the same substances， so why cream should sour much faster has been a mystery. Both are emulsions tiny globules (小球體) of one liquid evenly distributed throughout another. The difference lies in what s in the globules and what s in the surrounding liquid， says Brocklehurst， who led the investigation.

　　In cream， fatty globules drift about in a sea of water. In butter， globules of a watery solution are locked away in a sea of fat. The bacteria which make the food go bad prefer to live in the watery regions of the mixture. This means that in cream， the bacteria are free to grow throughout the mixture， he says.

　　When the situation is reversed， the bacteria are locked away in compartments (隔倉室) buried deep in the sea of fat. Trapped in this way， individual colonies cannot spread and rapidly run out of nutrients (養料)。 They also slowly poison themselves with their waste products. In butter， you get a self-limiting system which stops the bacteria growing， says Brocklehurst.

　　The researchers are already working with food companies keen to see if their products can be made resistant to bacterial attack through alterations to the food s structure. Brocklehurst believes it will be possible to make the emulsions used in salad cream， for instance， more like that in butter. The key will be to do this while keeping the salad cream liquid and not turning it into a solid lump.

　　這篇文章一共五段，可以按總分結構來提取主題，其首段無轉折詞，但段首句是問句，一般來說如果段首出現問句，后面的內容就是在對其作答。所以這篇文章的主題就是在解釋cream比butter壞得快的原因就是他們的內部結構不同。這篇文章沒有專門考主旨題，但考了一個觀點題

　　According to Brocklehurst， we can keep cream fresh by ________.

　　A) removing its fat

　　B) killing the bacteria

　　C) reducing its water content

　　D) altering its structure(D)

　　結合文章的主題我們不難猜出答案應該跟食物的結構有關，所以應該選D項。

　　如何把握觀點分述結構文章的主題?觀點分述結構的文章包括以下幾個部分：現象1(觀點1) 理由(解釋現象1或觀點1) 反對理由 結論(現象2或觀點2)。對于觀點分述型文章，找主題有兩種方法：一種是首段觀點+末段觀點(如果后面段落的段首出現轉折詞，則否定首段觀點，肯定末段觀點);另一種方法是直接看后半部分段落開頭的轉折句。例如：

　　Believe it or not， optical illusion (錯覺) can cut highway crashes.

　　Japan is a case in point. It has reduced automobile crashes on some roads by nearly 75 percent using a simple optical illusion. Bent stripes， called chevrons (人字形)， painted on the roads make drivers think that they are driving faster than they really are， and thus drivers slow down.

　　Now the American Automobile Association Foundation for Traffic Safety in Washington D.C. is planning to repeat Japan s success. Starting next year， the foundation will paint chevrons and other patterns of stripes on selected roads around the country to test how well the patterns reduce highway crashes.

　　Excessive speed plays a major role in as much as one fifth of all fatal traffic accidents， according to the foundation. To help reduce those accidents， the foundation will conduct its tests in areas where speed-related hazards are the greatest curves， exit slopes， traffic circles， and bridges.

　　Some studies suggest that straight， horizontal bars painted across roads can initially cut the average speed of drivers in half. However， traffic often returns to full speed within months as drivers become used to seeing the painted bars.

　　Chevrons， scientists say， not only give drivers the impression that they are driving faster than they really are but also make a lane appear to be narrower. The result is a longer lasting reduction in highway speed and the number of traffic accidents.

　　這篇文章一共6段，應該按觀點分述型文章來找主題。即首段觀點+末段觀點。所以該片文章的主題是optical illusion (錯覺) can cut highway crashes，而這種optical illusion (錯覺)來自一種新的路面設計Chevrons，這種設計可以讓駕駛員自動減速從而減少高速公路上的交通事故。這篇文章考到了主旨題：

　　The passage mainly discusses ________.

　　A) a new way of highway speed control

　　B) a new pattern for painting highways

　　C) a new approach to training drivers

　　D) a new type of optical illusion

　　根據文章主題，答案應該是選A。

　　盡管主旨題已經不再是四級閱讀的必考題型，但能夠準確的把握文章的主題對解決其他各種題型還是大有裨益的。尤其是近年來大量增加的觀點題和推理概括題，其答案的設計跟文章的主題有著密切的關系。

　　主題就是一篇文章的根本，就測試學來看，依據一篇文章來出的題目都是圍繞著主題進行設計，所以把握住了文章的主題就找到了破解各題的大方向。如何才能快速準確地找到文章的主題呢?

　　要想找到文章的主題，必須先了解四級文章的結構特點。四級的文章按結構可以分成兩大類：總分結構和觀點分述結構。從考試操作層面來看，最簡單的方法就是根據段落的數量來劃分 五段以內的(包括五段)基本都是總分結構;大于五段的基本可按觀點分述結構來處理。

　　如何把握總分結構文章的主題?總分結構文章的布局如下：總述(提出觀點) 分述(論述觀點) 總述(強調觀點)。總分結構文章的主題一般都在文章的首段。如果首段出現轉折詞，主題往往是首段轉折句;如果首段沒有明顯的轉折，則主題往往是首段首句。如果首段無轉折，且只是描述某種現象，則需要關注文章的二段或三段，這時候文章的主題很可能是二段或三段段首的轉折句。例如：

　　Why does cream go bad faster than butter? Some researchers think they have the answer， and it comes down to the structure of the food， not its chemical composition a finding that could help rid some processed foods of chemical preservatives.

　　Cream and butter contain pretty much the same substances， so why cream should sour much faster has been a mystery. Both are emulsions tiny globules (小球體) of one liquid evenly distributed throughout another. The difference lies in what s in the globules and what s in the surrounding liquid， says Brocklehurst， who led the investigation.

　　In cream， fatty globules drift about in a sea of water. In butter， globules of a watery solution are locked away in a sea of fat. The bacteria which make the food go bad prefer to live in the watery regions of the mixture. This means that in cream， the bacteria are free to grow throughout the mixture， he says.

　　When the situation is reversed， the bacteria are locked away in compartments (隔倉室) buried deep in the sea of fat. Trapped in this way， individual colonies cannot spread and rapidly run out of nutrients (養料)。 They also slowly poison themselves with their waste products. In butter， you get a self-limiting system which stops the bacteria growing， says Brocklehurst.

　　The researchers are already working with food companies keen to see if their products can be made resistant to bacterial attack through alterations to the food s structure. Brocklehurst believes it will be possible to make the emulsions used in salad cream， for instance， more like that in butter. The key will be to do this while keeping the salad cream liquid and not turning it into a solid lump.

　　這篇文章一共五段，可以按總分結構來提取主題，其首段無轉折詞，但段首句是問句，一般來說如果段首出現問句，后面的內容就是在對其作答。所以這篇文章的主題就是在解釋cream比butter壞得快的原因就是他們的內部結構不同。這篇文章沒有專門考主旨題，但考了一個觀點題

　　According to Brocklehurst， we can keep cream fresh by ________.

　　A) removing its fat

　　B) killing the bacteria

　　C) reducing its water content

　　D) altering its structure(D)

　　結合文章的主題我們不難猜出答案應該跟食物的結構有關，所以應該選D項。

　　如何把握觀點分述結構文章的主題?觀點分述結構的文章包括以下幾個部分：現象1(觀點1) 理由(解釋現象1或觀點1) 反對理由 結論(現象2或觀點2)。對于觀點分述型文章，找主題有兩種方法：一種是首段觀點+末段觀點(如果后面段落的段首出現轉折詞，則否定首段觀點，肯定末段觀點);另一種方法是直接看后半部分段落開頭的轉折句。例如：

　　Believe it or not， optical illusion (錯覺) can cut highway crashes.

　　Japan is a case in point. It has reduced automobile crashes on some roads by nearly 75 percent using a simple optical illusion. Bent stripes， called chevrons (人字形)， painted on the roads make drivers think that they are driving faster than they really are， and thus drivers slow down.

　　Now the American Automobile Association Foundation for Traffic Safety in Washington D.C. is planning to repeat Japan s success. Starting next year， the foundation will paint chevrons and other patterns of stripes on selected roads around the country to test how well the patterns reduce highway crashes.

　　Excessive speed plays a major role in as much as one fifth of all fatal traffic accidents， according to the foundation. To help reduce those accidents， the foundation will conduct its tests in areas where speed-related hazards are the greatest curves， exit slopes， traffic circles， and bridges.

　　Some studies suggest that straight， horizontal bars painted across roads can initially cut the average speed of drivers in half. However， traffic often returns to full speed within months as drivers become used to seeing the painted bars.

　　Chevrons， scientists say， not only give drivers the impression that they are driving faster than they really are but also make a lane appear to be narrower. The result is a longer lasting reduction in highway speed and the number of traffic accidents.

　　這篇文章一共6段，應該按觀點分述型文章來找主題。即首段觀點+末段觀點。所以該片文章的主題是optical illusion (錯覺) can cut highway crashes，而這種optical illusion (錯覺)來自一種新的路面設計Chevrons，這種設計可以讓駕駛員自動減速從而減少高速公路上的交通事故。這篇文章考到了主旨題：

　　The passage mainly discusses ________.

　　A) a new way of highway speed control

　　B) a new pattern for painting highways

　　C) a new approach to training drivers

　　D) a new type of optical illusion

　　根據文章主題，答案應該是選A。