談大學(xué)英語四級考試仔細閱讀部分主旨題的解法

　　4、問題型

　　Amtrak(美國鐵路客運公司)was experiencing a downswing in ridership (客運量)along the lines comprising its rail system. Of major concern to Amtrak and its advertising agency DDB Needham，were the long-distance western routes where ridership had been declining significantly.

　　At one time，trains were the only practical way to cross the vast areas of the west. Trains were faster，luxurious，and quite convenient compared to other forms of transportation existing at the time. However，times change and the automobile became America's standard of convenience. Also，air travel had easily established itself as the fastest method of traveling great distances. Therefore，the task for DDB Needham was to encourage consumers to consider other aspects of train travel in order to change their attitudes and increase the likelihood that trains would be considered for travel in the west.

　　Two portions of the total market were targeted: 1) anxious fliers---those concerned with safety，relaxation，and cleanliness and 2) travel-lovers---those viewing themselves as relaxed，casual，and interested in the travel experience as part of their vacation. The agency then developed a campaign that focused on travel experiences such as freedom，escape，relaxation，and enjoyment of the great western outdoors. It stressed experiences gained by u sing the trains and portrayed western train trips as wonderful adventures.

　　Advertisements showed pictures of the beautiful scenery that could be enjoyed along some of the more famous western routes and emphasized the romantic names of some of these trains(Empire Builder，etc.).These ads were strategically placed among family-oriented TV shows and programs involving nature and America in order to most effectively reach target audiences. Results were impressive. The Empire Builder, which was focused on in one ad. enjoyed a 15 percent increase in profits on its Chicago to Seattle route.(2000年1月四級真題)

　　31. What's the author's purpose in writing this passage?
　　A) To show the inability of trains to compete with planes with respect to speed and convenience.
　　B) To stress the influence of the automobile on America's standard of convenience.
　　C) To emphasize the function of travel agencies in market promotion.
　　D) To illustrate the important role of persuasive communication in changing consumer attitudes.

　　本文首段提出了美國鐵路客運量下滑的問題。第二段分析原因，鐵路客運量下滑主要是由于火車在便捷性和快捷性方面分別無法與汽車和飛機相媲美。最后兩段說鐵路客運公司的廣告機構(gòu)DDB Needham 通過廣告宣傳攻勢，竭力將火車打造成為西部旅行的重要交通工具。劃線部分就是要讀的主要信息，黑體字是主要的標志性詞語。

　　這是一篇典型的問題型結(jié)構(gòu)模式的文章，其特點是文章的安排遵循“提出問題——分析問題——解決問題”的模式。這種文章的主旨一般落在文章的末尾處，即重心在分析問題和解決問題處。就本文而言，主旨主要是通過廣告宣傳改變客戶態(tài)度，故選D。

　　5、實驗型

　　Communications technologies are far from equal when it comes to conveying the truth. The first study to compare honesty across a range of communications media has found that people are twice as likely to tell lies in phone conversations as they are in emails. The fact that emails are automatically recorded-and can come back to haunt (困擾)you appears to be the key to the finding.

　　Jeff Hancock of Cornell University in Ithaca, Mew York, asked 30 students to keep a communications diary for a week. In it they noted the number of conversations or email exchanges they had lasting more than 10 minutes, and confessed to how many lies they told. Hancock then worked out the number of lies per conversation foe each medium .He found that lies made up 14 per cent of emails，21 per cent of instant messages,27 per cent of face-to-face interactions and an astonishing 37 per cent of phone calls.

　　His results to be presented at the conference on human-computer interaction in Vienna, Austria, in April, have surprised psychologists. Some expected emailers to be the biggest liars, reasoning that because deception makes people uncomfortable, the detachment(非直接接觸)of emailing would make it easier to lie. Others expected people to lie more in face-to-face exchanges because we are most practiced at that form of communication.

　　But Hancock says it is also crucial whether a conversation is being recorded and could be reread, and whether it occurs in real time. People appear to be afraid to lie when they know the communication could later be used to hold them to account, he says. This is why fewer lies appear in email than on the phone.

　　People are also more likely to lie in real time—in a instant message or phone call, say—than if they have time to think of a response, says Hancock. He fond many lies are spontaneous (脫口而出的)responses to an unexpected demand, such as: "Do you like my dress?"

　　Hankcock hopes his research will help companies work out the best ways for their employees to communicate. For instance, the phone might be the best medium for sales where employees are encouraged to stretch the truth. But, given his results, work assessment where honesty is a priority, might be best done using email.(2006年6月四級真題)

　　57.Hancock's study focuses on ____________.
　　A)the consequences of lying in various communications media.
　　B)the success of communications technologies in conveying ideas.
　　C)people are less likely to lie in instant messages.
　　D)people 's honesty levels across a range of communications media.

　　不難看出，本文講的是一個實驗，即人們通過不同的交流媒介進行交流時，其誠信度是不一樣的。這種文章稱為實驗型文章，其結(jié)構(gòu)模式比較特殊，主要體現(xiàn)在以下兩點：

　　一、文中含有實驗人的話、實驗人的觀點、實驗人的期望的句子是要重點閱讀的句子;含有表示實驗結(jié)果的句子也是要重點閱讀的句子，一般以to find, to show, to discover, to test等詞為標志。本文劃線的句子即要重點閱讀的主題信息，黑體字是主要標志性詞匯，與其它文章一樣，支持性信息處采用了跳讀。

　　二、文章一般開頭提出實驗的主旨，即實驗的最終目的或最終結(jié)果，末尾提出實驗的應(yīng)用或?qū)嶒灥囊饬x。如本文的主旨是不同交流媒介體現(xiàn)了不同的誠信度，實驗的意義是要為公司員工的交流探索最佳的模式。

　　這種文章的主旨題通常也以考查實驗?zāi)康幕驅(qū)嶒灲Y(jié)果為主。由此，57題應(yīng)該選擇D。

　　以上就是筆者對于四級仔細閱讀中主旨題解法的一些見解。廣大考生只要在平時的閱讀中加強略讀和跳讀能力的訓(xùn)練，相信是不會被這種題型難倒的。

相關(guān)推薦：2007年12月22日英語四六級試題答案發(fā)布預(yù)告

更多信息請訪問：考試吧四六級欄目

＞＞＞來四六級論壇看看吧

＞＞＞四六級博客圈，你開博了嗎？