四级阅读怎样准确找出文章的中心思想(二)

2．关于标题型  

Example :

　　A rapid means of long-distance transportation became a necessity for the United States as settlement(新拓居地 ) spread ever farther westward. The early trains were impractical curiosities, and for along time the railroad companies met with troublesome mechanical problems. The most serious ones were the construction of rails able to bear the load, and the development of a safe, effective stopping system. Once these were solved, the railroad was established as the best means of land transportation. By 1860 there were thousands of miles of railroads crossing the eastern mountain ranges and reaching westward to the Mississippi. There were also regional southern and western lines .

　　

　　The high point in railroad building came with the construction of the first transcontinental system. In 1862 congress authorized two western railroad companies to build lines from Nebraska west-ward and from California eastward to a meeting point, so as to complete a transcontinental crossing linking the Atlantic seaboard with the Pacific .The Government helped the railroads generously with money and land Actual work on this project began four years later. money and land. Actual work on this project began four years later. The Central Pacific Company, starting from California, used Chinese labor, while the Union Pacific employed crews of Irish laborers. The two groups worked at remarkable speed, each trying to. cover a greater distance than the other. In l869 they met at a place called Promontory in what is now the state of Utah. Many visitors came there for the great occasion. There were joyous celebrations all the country, with parades and the ringing of church bells to honor the great achievement. 

　　The railroad was very important in encouraging westward movement. It also helped build up industry and farming by moving raw materials and by distributing products rapidly to distant markets. In linking towns and people to one another it helped unify the United States. 

 

　　The best title for this passage would be__________.

　　A) Settlements Spread Westward

　　B) The Coast-to-Coast Railroad: A Vital Link

　　C) American Railroad History

　　D) The Importance of Trains in the American Economy

 

　　本题是给文章选标题，实际上也是问及全篇的主旨。文章第一段的第一句虽然提到"settlement spread ever farther westward ",但这不是本文论述的中心，太故选项A）是错的；选项D）也不合适，因为作者在第三段第二句里谈的是在美国起重要作用的transcontinental railway,　而不是泛指美国的铁路；虽然本文从一个侧面反映了美国铁路的历史，故选项C)也是错的；本文的第三段点了文章的主旨，即这条横贯美国的铁路在开发西部、发展工农业生产和统一美国等方面　起到了a vital link 的作用。因此，答案应该是选项B）

 

 

3.关于目的型 

　　We find that bright children are rarely held back by mixed -ability 　teaching. On the contrary, both their knowledge and experience are enriched. We feel that there are many disadvantages in　streaming( 把...按能力分班) pupils. It does not take into account　the fact that children develop at different rates. It can have a bad effect on both the bright and the not-so-bright child. After all, it can　quite discouraging to be at the bottom of the top grade!

　　Besides, it is rather unreal to grade people just according to　heir intellectual ability. This is only one aspect of their total personality. We are concerned to develop the abilities of all our pupils to the full , not just their academic ability. We also value personal qualities and social skills, and we find that mixed-ability teaching con-tributes to all these aspects of learning.

　　In our classrooms, we work in various ways. The pupils often 　work in groups: this gives them the opportunity to learn to cooper-ate, to share, and to develop leadership skills. They also learn how to cope with personal problems as well as learning how to think, to 　make decisions, to analyze and evaluate, and to communicate effectively. The pupils learn from each other as well as from the teacher. 　Sometimes the pupils work in pairs`, sometimes they work on individual tasks and assignments, and they can do this at their own speed. They also have some formal class teaching when this is appropriate. We encourage our pupils to use the library, and we teach 　them the skills they need in order to do this efficiently. An advanced pupil can do advanced work: it does not matter what age the child 　is. We expect our pupils to do their best, not their least, and we 　give them every encouragement to attain this goal.

　　 The author's purpose in writing this passage is to________.

　　A) argue for teaching bright and not-so-bright pupils in the 　same class

　　B) recommend pair work and group work for classroom activities

　　C) offer advice on the proper use of the library

　　D) emphasize the importance of appropriate formal classroom

　　本题要求学生首先了解这篇文章的主题。文章中讨论了两种上课的方式： stream1ng pupi1s即把学生按能力分班进行教学和mixed-ability teaching即把程度不齐的学生混班上课。并列举了前者的弊端和后者的优点。因此A）是答案。而选项出，B)，D）中提到的几种做法均为mixed-abi1ity teaching的具体做法，都不能看作是作者写这篇文章的目的。这一题要求阅读时不但要看懂个别的句子，而且要能够根据作者思路的展开，把握作者在整篇文章中赞成什么反对什么，因此，必须看懂全篇文章的意思