“四个三”破解标题型主旨题

李华军

标题判断题是高考英语阅读理解中的重要题型之一，它主要考查考生略读文章、领会大意的能力，对考生的归纳、概括能力有一定的要求。

下面笔者就结合近几年的全国卷来谈谈标题判断题的命题特点和解题技巧。

三种命题形式

1. What can be a suitable title for the text？

2. What can/would be the best title for the text？

3. Which of the following can/might be the best title for the text？

三个结构特点

1. 名词或动名词短语。如：

Turning Trash to Treasure（2014全国新课标II卷）

Introducing a new film. （2014全国大纲卷）

Banking on Gardening（2011全国新课标全国卷）

The Story of Advertising（2011全国大纲I卷）

Vacationing for a Living（2010全国大纲II卷）

2. 名词+同位语。如：

Hope， One Wall at a Time（2011全国大纲II卷）

Composer： a man of mystery（2007全国大纲II卷）

3. 句子

（1）疑问句形式的标题常以设问或反问的形式引起读者的好奇心，激发读者的阅读兴趣。如：

Is Your House Making You Fat？ （2015全国新课标II卷）

What T-shirts Can Teach Us（2006年全国大纲II卷）

（2）陈述句形式。如：

Flying Makes Me a Better Doctor（2013全国新课标II卷）

三个主要特性

1. 概括性：准确而又简短地概括文章的主题思想，能在最大程度覆盖全文内容。

2. 针对性：虽然标题是对文章内容的高度概括，但也不能太过于笼统、抽象。标题要对文章内容有直接的指向性，范围做到不大不小。

3. 醒目性：任何标题都是为了吸引读者的眼球，因此标题必须新颖奇特，唤起读者对文章阅读的兴趣。

三个解题技巧

1. 善用略读法

略读法（skimming），即快速阅读文章的首句、尾句或每段的首句、尾句，迅速找出主题句，或根据文章内容自己归纳主旨要义，然后与各标题对照，看哪个选项与文章主旨大意相符。

2. 找准主题句

文章的主旨是通过主题句来体现的，因此解答此类题的关键在于找出全文的主题句。主题句通常位于：

（1）段首。在议论文或说明文中，段落的第一句往往就是主题句所在，它往往概括了文章的主要内容和信息。

（2）段末。先摆事实，后作结论。

（3）段落中间。从文章细节开始，发展到结论，又进一步用细节支持说明。

（4）无明显主题句。有些文章没有明显的主题句，在做这类题时要抓住对细节的描述，综合分析，然后归纳出文章的主题。

（5）在表示转折的but， however等词后。

3. 逆向思维法

先不看文章，浏览着各备选项，不妨设想一下，“如果我用这个标题来写文章会写些什么内容呢？”并构思结构框架，然后快速浏览全文，对照自己原有设想，如果你的写作思路与原文写作思路相符或者大致相同，则该标题可以作为最佳标题，以此方式进行一一排除。

典型例题

1. 主题句在文尾

[例1]（2014新课标II卷A·24）Arriving in Sydney on his own from India， my husband， Rashid， stayed in a hotel for a short time while looking for a short time while looking for a house for me and our children.

During the first week of his stay， he went out one day to do some shopping. He came back in the late afternoon to discover that his suitcase was gone...

He reported the case to the police and then sat there， lost and lonely in strange city...

Late in the evening， the phone rang. It was a stranger. He was trying to pronounce my husbands name and was asking him a lot of questions. Then he said they had found a pile of papers in their trash can（垃圾桶）that had been left out on the footpath.

…

That family not only restored the important documents to us that day but also restored our faith and trust in people. We still remember their kindness and often send a warm wish their way.

△Which of the following can be the best title for the text？

A. From India to Australia.

B. Living in a New Country.

C. Turning Trash to Treasure.

D. In Search of New Friends.

解析：第一步，用略读法（skimming）抓大意，最后一段第一句为主题句，“那个家庭不但交还了那份重要文件……”，再由汉语注释“垃圾桶”，浏览全文，可知：作者丈夫丢失了重要的文件，有一家好心人从垃圾桶拾到后送还给作者的丈夫。第二步，对照各选项选出答案：C“变废为宝”。该标题短小精悍，言简意赅。

2. 主题句在首段段首

[例2]（2012新课标II卷C·52）Facial expressions carry meaning that is determined by situations and relationships. For example， in American culture（文化）the smile is in general an expression of pleasure. Yet it also has other uses. A womans smile at a police officer does not carry the same meaning as the smile she gives to a young child. A smile may show love or politeness. It can also hide true feelings. It often causes confusion（困惑）across cultures. For example， many people in Russia smiling at strangers in public to be unusual and even improper. Yet many Americans smile freely at strangers in public places...

△What would be the best title for the text？

A. Cultural Differences B. Smiles and Relationship

C. Facial Expressiveness D. Habits and Emotions

解析：本段结构是“主题句+例证（for example）”。第一步，用略读法（skimming）抓大意，本文首句及第六七句（It can also...it often...across culture）为主题句：面部表情的意思由所处的情境与相互间的关系来决定；面部表情在跨文化交际时会产生困惑（不同文化意思不同），综合两者可知“面部表情的含义很丰富”；第二步，对照各选项：A“文化差异”，B“微笑与关系”，C“丰富的面部表情”，D“习惯与情感”，显然C项正确。

3. 主题句在首段末

[例3]（2012新课标I卷A·59）Honey（蜂蜜） from the African forest is not only a kind of natural sugar， it is also delicious... In parts of Africa， though， people and animals looking for honey have a strange and unexpected helper一a little bird called a honey guide.

The honey guide does not actually like honey， but it does like the wax（蜂蜡）in the beehives（蜂房）. The little bird cannot reach this wax， which is deep inside the beesnest. So， when it finds a suitable nest， it looks for someone to help it... When they finally arrive at the nest， the follower reaches in to get at the delicious honey as the bird patiently waits and watches. Some of the honey， and the wax， always falls to the ground， and this is when the honey guide takes its share.

△What can be the best title for the text？

A. Wild Bees C. Beekeeping in Africa

B. Wax and Honey D. Honey-Lovers Helper

解析：该题我们可以用逆向思维法来做。如果标题是Wild Bees，那么文章应该向读者介绍关于野生蜜蜂的生活习性等内容；如果标题是Wax and Honey，那么文章应该讲的是蜂蜡与蜂蜜间的联系；如果标题是Beekeeping in Africa，则文章应该讲的是非洲的养蜂业；如果标题是Honey-Lovers Helper，则文章应该讲蜂蜜爱好者的帮手。经过如此思考，再结合文章内容a little bird called a honey guide，即可把A、B、C排除，只有选项D正确。

4. 多次重复的词为体现主旨的关键词

[例4]（2011新课标全国卷C·66）Cassandra Feeley finds it hard to manage on her husbands income. So this year she did something more than a hobby： She planted vegetables in her yard. For her first garden，...

They are among the growing number of Americans who， driven by higher living costs and a falling economy（经济）， have taken up vegetable gardening for the first time.

…

Food prices have increase of higher oil price. People are driving less， taking fewer vacations， so there is more time to garden.

△Which of the following might be the best title for the text？

A. Family Food Planning B. Banking on Gardening

C. A Belt-tightening Move D. Gardening as a Hobby

解析：从以上段落内容中我们可以发现这篇文章出现频率最高的词是garden，因此我们推断答案应在B或D中；再根据文章中出现的一些与经济有关的词汇higher living costs，a falling economy等，可知文章谈论的是由于生活费用的增加，人们开始通过Gardening来减少开支，排除D项，故答案选B。

5. 主题句在but， however之后

[例5]（2011广东卷A·30）In the animal kingdom， weakness can bring about aggression in other animal. This sometimes happens with humans also. But I have found that my weakness brings out the kindness in people...

From my wheelchair experience， I see the best in people， bur sometimes I feel sad because those who appear independent miss the kindness I see daily. They dont get to see this soft side of others often； we try every way possible to avoid showing our weakness， which includes a lot of pretending. But only when we stop pretending were brave or strong do we allow people to show the kindness thats in them.

△ Which of the following is the best title for the passage？

A. A Wheelchair Experience.

B. Weakness and Kindness.

C. Weakness and Strength

D. A Driving Experience

解析：文章第一段中“But I have found that my weakness brings out the kindness in people”是主题句。注意，but或however后的内容多半为文章主旨。纵览全文，可知全文是围绕这个句子展开的，故选B。

责任编辑 蒋小青