解剖篇章 擒賊擒王：英語四級閱讀主題

        通常，在做主題題時，大家一般會在文章首段和尾端找答案�；蛘哒f認為一般文章中心出現在第一段首。其實，這種情況在四級文章的幾率頂多是三分之一。而文章主題出現的方式（即地點）起碼有四種（此處所說的主題雖不一定就是主題題的答案，但其中必然含有整個文章所說的中心話題或主體詞，或者可以看出作者的褒貶態(tài)度。把此句話讀懂，在做主題題時可迅速排除至少2個答案）。在此分作細說：

        一、開門見山

        這種文章的主題最好找。一般來說，開頭是個陳述句或者判斷句。其后沒有對其進行否定。最典型的要算下定義型的文章了。比如90年1月的關于海洋學以及97年1月關于身份的文章。開頭都是對海洋學和身份進行了定義，其后展開論述。對于這類文章，大部分同學在做主題題時還是比較好把握的。不過，有兩點要注意的地方：

        （一）首句作出陳述后，后面的論述有轉折，但該轉折不是對首句的否定。比如98年1月關于Violin Prodigies(神童)那篇文章，第一段快到末尾處出現轉折，但細心的讀者會發(fā)現，這只是對一個例子內部的轉折。不影響整個文章的態(tài)度。再如02年1月的老年學那篇文章以及02年6月的absent-mindedness那篇文章，也是這種情況。但一旦讀出中心話題，主題題就很好做了，以這篇文章為例稍作說明。

Most episodes of absent-mindedness - forgetting where you left something or wondering why you just entered a room - are caused by a simple lack of attention, says Schacter. "You're supposed to remember something, but you haven't encoded it deeply."
Encoding, Schacter explains, is a special way of paying attention to an event that has a major impact on recalling it later. Failure to encode properly can create annoying situations. If you put your mobile phone in a pocket, for example, and don't pay attention to what you did because you're involved in a conversation, you'll probably forget that the phone is in the jacket now hanging in you wardrobe (衣柜). "Your memory itself isn't failing you," says Schacter. "Rather, you didn't give your memory system the information it needed."
Lack of interest can also lead to absent-mindedness. "A man who can recite sports statistics from 30 years ago," says Zelinski, "may not remember to drop a letter in the mailbox." Women have slightly better memories than men, possibly because they pay more attention to their environment, and memory relies on just that.
Visual cues can help prevent absent-mindedness, says Schacter. "But be sure the cue is clear and available," he cautions. If you want to remember to take a medication (藥物) with lunch, put the pill bottle on the kitchen table - don't leave it in the medicine chest and write yourself a note that you keep in a pocket.
Another common episode of absent-mindedness: walking into a room and wondering why you're there. Most likely, you were thinking about something else. "Everyone does this from time to time," says Zelinski. The best thing to do is to return to where you were before entering the room, and you'll likely remember.

        第一句話就是文章主題所在，雖然第二句有轉折，但并不是對第一句的否定。再看本文的最后一道題：
       30. What is the passage mainly about?
       A) The process of gradual memory loss. 
       B) The causes of absent-mindedness. 
       C) The impact of the environment on memory. 
       D) A way if encoding and recalling.

       只要把開頭的主題把握住了，這道題就很容易做出來了。

        （二）開頭提出話題，其后展開論述，雖然答案不一定就是開頭那句話的同義轉述，但正確答案中一定要包含開頭那句話中的關鍵詞（或者叫主體詞，一般在后文中反復出現）典型的例子就是99年一月關于廣告及2000年6月關于美國人喜歡制服這兩篇文章。

        二、拋磚引玉

         顧名思義，這種文章開頭絕不會是文章中心。這類文章一般會在開頭引入一個例子（這種例子的典型的特點是有具體時間人物事件）。然后，在通常情況下，對該例子進行轉折，或者負評價（本質上也是轉折，與轉折分開論述是因兩者表現形式不一樣），或者是總結。

        （一）轉折的基本標志諸如：however, yet, but的出現一般標志著文章主題的出現。不過，還有一些轉折大家庭里的詞匯也是大家需要留意的，如：despite, still, in fact.或者一些意義上表示轉折的詞如：surprisingly（如99年6月PR那篇文章），today（如2000年12月垃圾回收那篇文章）等等。這些轉折一般出現在第一段末尾或者第二段開頭。轉折在拋磚引玉型文章中最常出現。

        （二）其次是負評價，雖然沒有轉折詞，但是對前文進行的否定型的評價一樣意味著文章中心的出現。最典型的一篇文章要算93年6月關于時尚這篇文章的論述了，第一段說了一大堆，第二段開頭：Changing fashions are nothing more than the intentional creation of waste 馬上對時尚做了一個負評價。對整個文章的褒貶定了一個調。把這句話讀懂，大意就可以有個了解了。在做題時甚至是細節(jié)題都可以直接排除一些正評價的選項了。

        （三）開頭引一段例子，其后進行總結的文章諸如99年一月英國草蓋屋一文第一段尾出現總結性評價。這類文章中心出現是以therefore, as a result, so, thus, hence等詞匯的出現為標志的。在此不一一贅述 。在做拋磚引玉型文章時也需注意以下一個特點或者叫做難點，即有些文章轉折出現得靠后，這就要求同學們把文章重心的理解放在靠后出現的轉折后面的內容。這種文章有以下幾篇：97年6月份關于洛杉磯大地震（despite出現在第四段首），95年一月英國工作一文（but出現在第三段首），99年6月玩具一文（第三段首出現轉折），02年1月道德下降一文（第三段首出現轉折）02年6月心理壓力一文（第三段首出現轉折）。以97年6月份關于洛杉磯大地震這篇文章為例我們稍作分析。

After the violent earthquake that shook Los Angeles in 1994, earthquake scientists had good news to report: The damage and death toll（死亡人數）could have been much worse.
More than 60 people died in this earthquake. By comparison, as earthquake of similar intensity that shook America in 1988 claimed 25,000 victims.
Injuries and deaths were relatively less in Los Angeles because the quake occurred at 4:31 a.m. on a holiday, when traffic was light on the city's highways. In addition, changes made to the construction codes in Los Angeles during the last 20 years have strengthened the city's buildings and highways, making them more resistant to quakes.
Despite the good new, civil engineers aren't resting on their successes. Pinned to their drawing boards are blueprints（藍圖）for improved quake-resistant buildings. The new designs should offer even greater security to cities where earthquakes often take place.
In the past, making structures quake-resistant meant firm yet flexible materials, such as steel and wood, that bend without breaking. Later, people tried to lift a building off its foundation, and insert rubber and steel between the building and its foundation to reduce the impact of ground vibrations. The most recent designs give buildings brains as well as concrete and steel supports. Called smart buildings, the structures respond like living organisms to an earthquake's vibrations. When the ground shakes and the building tips forward, the computer would force the building to shift in the opposite direction.
The new smart structures could be very expensive to build. However, they would save many lives and would be less likely to be damaged during earthquakes.

        前三段全部在談地震的影響及死亡人數少的原因，不知道文章中心在哪兒，第四段開頭出現：Despite the good new, civil engineers aren't resting on their successes.緊跟著出現文章主題：Pinned to their drawing boards are blueprints（藍圖）for improved quake-resistant buildings.所以在做主題題時關鍵在與把這一句讀出來。這樣在做最后一題的時候就不會出錯了。

        25. The author's main purpose in writing the passage is to ________.
        A) compare the consequences of the earthquakes that occurred in the U.S.
        B) encourage civil engineers to make more extensive use of computers
        C) outline the history of the development of quake-resistant building materials 
        D) report new developments in constructing quake-resistant buildings