E。 主旨大意题。出题方法一般为what is main idea or general idea of the passage? or what is the passage mainly about? What is the writers or authors purpose to write the passage?如上文所述，外语文章逻辑关系多为归纳思维或演绎思维，所以一篇文章的重点都藏在开头段或结尾段中，甚至就在开头句和结尾句中。如若感觉两侧没有重点内容，那么就藏在文章中间最短的段落中，尤其是带转折句、疑问句或否定句的短段落之中，因为这种段落有承上启下的作用。还以上面那篇文章为例：分析如上文，可以选出答案为C，既有总结性又有概括性，即为模糊性和科学性。A和D为此段文字中的只言片语，B将原文的意思放大和夸张。
The passage is mainly about _______。
A。 ways of being more intelligent
B。 differences between men and women
C。 studies on brains between two sexes
D。 studies on white matter and grey matter
再如： Brendans best friend is Tip。 They teach each other things and they look after each other。 Tip has helped Brendan become more responsible and more caring。 Brendan is a nine-year-old boy， and Tip is a ten-year old dog。 Brendan and Tip are an example of how owning a dog can have a good effect on a childs development。
请问这一段的主旨是什么?也可以出Whats the passage mainly about?的题。
A.Lessons children learn from a dog。
B.Advice on owning a dog for children。
C.The relationship between children and dogs。
D.The good effects on children of owning a dog。
分析：此段文字为归纳思维，开篇举了一个实例引入主题： Brendan and Tip are an example of how owning a dog can have a good effect on a childs development。 所以答案为D。此时会有同学疑惑我读完整篇文章感觉A也像正确答案，但实际情况却非如此因为A答案与原文相比省略了一个词owning 或having ，这种答案叫偷梁换柱，考的就是细心人很不是过于相信自己能力的人。
再如：When students and parents are asked to grade subjects according to their importance， the arts are usually at the bottom of the list。 Music is nice， people seem to say， but not important。 Too often it is only viewed as entertainment， but certainly not an education priority(优先)。 This view is shortsighted。 In fact， music education is very important for all students。
What is the main idea of the passage?
A。 Music education is worth more attention。
B。 Music should be of top education priority。
C。 Music is really a good communication tool。
D。 Music education makes students more imaginative。
用上文陈述的方法可选出答案为A。划线句为中心句，本段文字以时间状语从句开头引入中心，即音乐教育更值得关注。
F。 文章题目选择题。说明文和议论文要使用中心词对应法，记叙文使用中心任务对应法。同样列举上文C中题型的文字为例：
To err is human。 To blame(责备) the other guy is even more human。
Common sense is not all that common。
Why tell the truth when you can come up with a good excuse?
These three popular misquotes(戏谑的引语)are meant to be jokes， and yet they tell us a lot about human nature。 To err， or to make mistakes， is indeed a part of being human， but it seems that most people dont want to accept the responsibility for the problem。 Perhaps it is the natural thing to do。 The original quote about human nature went like this： To err is human， to forgive， divine(神圣的)。 This saying mirrors an ideal： People should be forgiving of others mistakes。 Instead， we tend to do the opposite find someone else to pass the blame on to。 However， taking responsibility for something that went wrong is a mark of great maturity(成熟)。
Common sense is what we call clear thought。 Having common sense means having a good general plan that will make things work well， and it also means staying with the plan。 Common sense tells you that you take an umbrella out into a rainstorm， but you leave the umbrella home when you hear a weather forecast for sunshine。 Common sense does not seem to be common for large companies， because there are so many things going on that one person cannot be in charge of everything。 People say that in a large company， the right hand does not know what the left hand is doing。
And what is wrong with a society that thinks that making up a good excuse is like creating a work of art? One of the common problems with making excuses is that people， especially young people， get the idea that its okay not to be totally honest all the time。 There is a corollary(直接推论)to that： if a good excuse is good even if it isnt honest， then where is the place of the truth?
What would be the best title for this passage?
A。 A Mirror of Human Nature
B。 To Blame or to Forgive
C。 A Mark of Maturity
D。 Truth or Excuse
解析：三段文字哪句具有总结特点?为划线句。为什么?因为文章开头列举三个戏谑引语，其作用在于引入主题，即为划线句。所以答案为A。人的本性的一面镜子。中心词为Human Nature。
再如：A great many people， when they speak of home， tend to connect it with a certain atmosphere， certain physical surroundings(环境)， and certain emotional attitudes within themselves。 This sentimentality(多愁善感) toward home is something that has come down to us from the past。 Many modern people do not have it， and I think it is a good thing that they do not。
What is the best title for the passage?
A。 The History of Home B。 People and Home
C。 Different Ideas of Home D。 Ideas of Home Have Changed
答案为D。
划线句和划线词和短语含义选择题。此种题型最好的方法是排除法，其次是从上下文结构中找出答案，而不是完全用翻译的方法，因为出题人设置的词汇和句型有时候过于复杂，简单的可以翻译过来，但是难题很难理解。这种题要体现出解释的特点，即要将文字中不懂得句式或词汇，词组用自己的语言重新的布局和说明，那么答案中如果还是在照抄原文出现的生僻词和你不懂的基础词那么就不要选为干扰项。
如：Studies have shown it takes a doctor about 18 seconds to stop a patient after he begins talking。
It was Sunday。 I had one last patient to see。 I came close to her room in a hurry and stood at the doorway。 She was an older woman， sitting at the edge of the bed， trying to put socks on her swollen(肿胀的) feet。 I spoke quickly to the nurse， saw her chart saying she was in stable(稳定的) condition。 I was almost in the clear。
What does I was almost in the clear mean?
A。 I thought everything was clear B。 I was about to finish my work
C。 I almost made myself understood。 D。 I was very quickly out of her sight
解析：此句中不懂的词汇为almost 及in the clear， 那么A和C即为干扰项没有解释作用，答案在B和D中，这样就好判断了，是说作者就要完成工作了还是我迅速的消失在她的视线之外，根据文章提供的情节马上可以判断出答案。
再如：Depression is not a choice。 Rather， it is a true medical condition like high blood pressure or heart disease。 In the United States alone， more than 17 million people suffer from depression with women being twice as likely as men to suffer from the disease。 Depression crosses racial and socioeconomic lines。 Anyone can suffer from it， and those that do are not crazy or weak。They have a serious yet highly treatable disease。
The underlined sentence in Paragraph 1 means ____。
A。 there is a depression line between different groups and societies
B。 people at a higher social position may tend to suffer from depression
C。 people who are living with depression could connect with each other
D。 anyone can get depression whatever their economic states and backgrounds are
解析：A答案照抄line这一名词，文章用的是比喻的含义，所以A是干扰项。这一句需要解释的是crosses racial and socioeconomic lines。跨越什么样的线，很难理解。那么不要直接翻译，看上下句的句式，因为西方人表达方式上他们要尽量避免句式和词汇的重复，所以要用不用的句式和词汇来表达，这只是一种文字游戏，这一句夹在两句之间。看Anyone can suffer from it只一句，它即在解释划线句的意思，因为按照外语的思维方式，出现一个比喻句马上会有具体的解释。所以答案为anyone结构，为D。句意为：抑郁跨越种族和社会经济地位。什么人都可能患病。