紧跟课堂不掉队，开学勇上赛场不后退！今天小编来为大家介绍阅读比赛中的送分题——主旨题！这种题型无处不在，几乎出现在所有比赛/考试中。例如下面的题目：

What is the best title for this text?

What is the LEAST possible title for this text?

What is the main topic of this text?

…

面对主旨题，很多同学表示耗时长、得分难，不如直接蒙……其实不然，透过现象看本质，一切主旨题都是纸老虎！答题要知己知彼，首先来了解下主旨题考查的是什么。

要确定一个语篇或段落的主旨，首先要确定它的话题（topic）。在做阅读题时，确定话题是理解整篇文章的关键，不仅有利于进一步确定文章的主旨、定位主题句，而且对文章细节的把握和推断也有帮助。

下面跟大家分享三个通过确定话题从而攻破主旨题的妙招。

1. 通过多次提及的词或词组

如果同一个词或词组在某篇章中反复出现，那么基本可判定它就是该篇章的话题，整个篇章都是围绕这个词或词组展开的。

真题举例

Passage B

Most of the news stories are centered on the negatives of debt; but in reality, there are plenty of positive aspects of personal debt. After all, very few of us could actually afford to purchase a home or attend college without some sort of assistance through credit. The key is to make debt work for you, not against you.

…

According to Passage B, which of the following can be inferred about personal debt?

A. Different types of debt share common loan terms.

B. People ought to utilize favorable aspects of personal debt.

C. Mortgage loans provide boosts to the real estate industry.

D. Paying credit card off in full every month is an unpractical goal.

上面这段文字三次提到了debt，所以基本可确定该段话题是关于债务（debt）的。最后一句话“The key is to make debt work for you, not against you”是主题句，意为“关键是要利用债务的好处，避免它的坏处”。确定话题和主题句后，再看题目，就可快速选出正确答案B：人们应利用个人债务的有利方面。

2. 通过篇章的标题

上述案例是一个没有标题的篇章，如某个篇章自带标题，那么很容易就可根据标题判断出该篇章的话题。

真题举例

Chinese Medicine

Modern genetic techniques are showing some effects of traditional Chinese medicine on the genome. Some of the variety of individual responses to these therapies can be explained by epigenetic influences on gene expression.

…

What is the main topic of this text?

A. The philosophy of traditional Chinese medicine

B. Evidence for the potency of acupuncture needles

C. The causes of the changes of gene expression

D. Traditional Chinese medicine's impact on genes

上述这段文字是文章的第一段，文章标题是中医（Chinese Medicine），这段话三次提到了与基因（gene）相关的表达，分别是genetic、genome、gene expression，因此判断出该文章话题一定与gene、Chinese medicine都相关。读完该段，便能确定正确答案为D选项。因为四个选项中，只有D选项既包括Chinese medicine又包括gene。

3. 通过正确的推断

如一段文字既无标题，也没有明显多次出现的词或词组，就需要把文字读完之后，根据意思进行正确推断。

真题举例

Catwalk models are, on average, 25 per cent below a normal, healthy woman's weight. We know how they achieve this, because many former models say so: they starve themselves. They live on water and lettuce for weeks. When they fall below a Body Mass Index of 12, they start to consume their own muscles and tissues. Several models have dropped dead from starvation after success at fashion shows in the past few years.

What is the best title for this text?

A. What Makes a Successful Model

B. Victims of Fashion

C. How to Keep Fit

D. Going on a Diet

上述文字多次提到，时装行业的模特们通过饥饿进行瘦身，损害身体甚至导致死亡，由此可推断出该段文字讨论的是“时装行业对模特身体的损害”。四个选项中只有B选项Victims of Fashion含有这个意思，因此正确答案为B。

对于读者而言，话题的重要性是不言而喻的，是理解篇章的第一步和关键点。只有确定了篇章的话题才能清楚地了解作者想要表达的意思，从而对篇章做出更加精准的解读。

掌握了以上三个确定话题的方法，面对话题衍生出的各种主旨题“变体”时，小伙伴们是不是更有信心把“主旨题”变成“送分题”啦？！