中心思想题的概述：考研英语阅读中是否有中心思想题？传统的阅读理论中是有的，这一点是没有疑问的。但是在考研中准确的说是没有中心思想题的。因为大家应该还记得我们只有在小学的时候老师在讲语文课本时才会问我们一篇文章的中心思想的，但是到了初三以后老师就不再问我们文章的中心思想了，而是改问一篇文章的论点是什么？究其原因，因为从初三起我们学习的全部是议论文，对于议论文而言，我们只说它的论点是什么而不说它的中心思想是什么；小学学习的全是记叙文，只有记叙文才有中心思想。又因为上篇我们已经说过，所有考研的阅读理解的文章都是来源于美国国内发表的议论文，因此我们说在考研英语阅读中实际上是没有什么中心思想题的，只有论点题。但是我们的“大家”们一直认为有中心思想题，所以为了便于大家接受，我们在这里依旧把这样的论点题称为中心思想题。

中心思想题解题方法：我们的民族的历史文学里是没有议论文这样的文体的，或者说议论文是一个在近现代随着西方的炮火进入我们的文明的文学体裁。既然我们写议论文的模式是模仿西方的，那就是说我们在课堂上学到的写议论文的方法是完全和美国人写议论文的方法相吻合的。换句话说，就是，我们的论点写在什么地方那么美国人的论点也是写在那个位置。而我们在写议论文的时候论点有两种写法：一写在第一段第一句；二写在第一段最后一句。而且我们在文章结束的时候会在最后一段开头和结尾句写一些对第一段论点相呼应的句子。所以我们坚信，考研英语阅读的文章的论点必然在文章的第一段的首、末句中产生，而且最后一段首、末句对此论点予以呼应。也就是说，要找一篇文章的论点就看文章的首、末段的首、末句，它们共同指向的内容就是我们的论点。

因此，在考研英语中，要找一篇文章的中心思想就是找这个文章的论点，要找论点就看这个文章的首、末段的首、末句。答案必然在这个4句话中产生。在很多时候我们在读完这个4句话后发现，我们即使把这个4句话翻译为中文我们还是不知道文章的论点，这个时候不是说我们就没有办法找到答案了。事实上，在历年的真题里几乎所有的中心思想题我们都是不知道论点的，但是这个并不影响我们解题的。

这个时候我们应该进入第2个解题的思维：选择最佳答案，而不是正确答案。如果一个选项是文章讲到的内容，但是却不是这个4句话讲到的内容，我们依旧不能选这个选项，因为该选项不是论点，最多是个论据而已。如果一个选项这个4句话没有讲到，而且文章根本就没有在任何段落提到，那么也不选，属于和文章无关的选项，但是在考试中我们发现有很多人选择无关选项，究其原因，是因为其实考研英语阅读是没有正确答案的，只有最佳答案，有的时候4个选项都是正确或错误的，但你必须选择一个最为接近原文意思的选项，而在有3个错误1个无关的时候就有人会选择无关的，其实无关选项是永远不能做正确答案的。如果一个选项和原文的意思相反那么也不选。如果有2个选项和原文4句话的意思相符合，那么还要比较哪个选项的意思最为符合原文4句话的意思，选择最全面概括这个4句话的选项。

主旨大意题是中心思想题中的一种最为典型的题型。解题方法如上文。

例1、The American economic system is organized around a basically private-enterprise, market-oriented economy in which consumers largely determine what shall be produced by spending their money in the marketplace for those goods and services that they want most. Private businessmen, striving to make profits, produce these goods and services in competition with other businessmen; and the profit motive, operating under competitive pressures, largely determines how these goods and services are produced. Thus, in the American economic system it is the demand of individual consumers, coupled with the desire of
businessmen to maximize profits and the desire of individuals to maximize their incomes, that together determine what shall be produced and how resources are used to produce it.
An important factor in a market-oriented economy is the mechanism by which consumer demands can be expressed and responded to by producers. In the American economy, this mechanism is provided by a price system, a process in which prices rise and fall in response to relative demands of consumers and supplies offered by seller-producers. If the product is in short supply relative to the demand, the price will be bid up and some consumers will be eliminated from the market. If, on the other hand, producing more of a commodity results in reducing its cost, this will tend to increase the supply offered by seller-producers, which in turn will lower the price and permit more consumers to buy the product. Thus, price is the regulating mechanism in the American economic system.
The important factor in a private-enterprise economy is that individuals are allowed to own productive resources(private property), and they are permitted to hire labor, gain control over natural resources, and produce goods and services for sale at a profit. In the American economy, the concept of private property embraces not only the ownership of productive resources but also certain rights, including the right to determine the price of a product or to make a free contract with another private individual.

54.The passage is mainly about .(1994)

(A) how American goods are produced
(B) how American consumers buy their goods.
(C) how American economic system works
(D) how American businessmen make their profits

解析：

第一步：判断本题目属于中心思想题；因此进入中心思想题的解题方法；

第二步：阅读文章首、末段首、末句4句话，使用剥洋葱式句子结构分析法得知这个4句话的意思(限于篇幅的原因我们就不一一翻译了)；翻译后我们发现，即使翻译为中文我们还是不知道文章的论点是什么。因此进入第2解题的思维：找最佳答案；

第三步：A选项是原文讲到的选项，原文第一段最后一句话说that together determine what shall be produced and how
resources are used to produce it，因此A是正确的，但是我们不能立刻就选A，因为我们在找最佳答案，既然是最佳就要有4个选项的比较，完全有可能4个选项都是正确的，但是只能选择一个；B选项是原文第一段最后一句讲到的，the desire of individuals to maximize their incomes，因此B也是正确的，符合原文意思的；C选项原文四句话都讲到了，但是美国经济模式的运作的范围很显然大于这个4句话的范围。D选项在原文第一段的最后一句也讲到了desire of businessmen to maximize
profits，因此D也是正确符合原文意思的。4个选项都是正确的，但是不同的是A、B和D只是在原文的第一段的最后一句讲到了，很显然C选项概括了4句话的全部内容，因此因该选择C。

例2、One hundred and thirteen million Americans have at least one bank-issued credit card. They give their owners automatic credit in stores, restaurants, and hotels, at home, across the country, and even abroad, and they make many banking services available as well. More and more of these credit cards can be read automatically, making it possible to withdraw or deposit money in scattered locations, whether or not the local branch bank is open. For many of us the “cashless society” is not on the horizon-it’s already here.
While computers offer these conveniences to consumers, they have many advantages for sellers too. Electronic cash registers can do much more than simply ring up sales. They can keep a wide range of records, including who sold what, when, and to whom. This information allows businessmen to keep track of their list of goods by showing which items are being sold
and how fast they are moving. Decisions to reorder or return goods to suppliers can then be made. At the same time these computers record which hours are busiest and which employees are the most efficient, allowing personnel and staffing assignments to be made accordingly. And they also identify preferred customers for promotional campaigns. Computers are
relied on by manufacturers for similar reasons. Computer-analyzed marketing reports can help to decide which products to emphasize now, which to develop for the future, and which to drop. Computers keep track of goods in stock, of raw materials on hand, and even of the production process itself.
Numerous other commercial enterprises, from theaters to magazine publishers, from gas and electric utilities to milk processors, bring better and more efficient services to consumers through the use of computers.

58. What is this passage mainly about? (1994)

(A) Approaches to the commercial use of computers.
(B) conveniences brought about by computers in business.
(C) Significance of automation in commercial enterprises.
(D) Advantages of credit cards in business.

解析：
第一步：判断本题目属于中心思想题；因此进入中心思想题的解题方法；

第二步：阅读文章首、末段首、末句4句话，使用剥洋葱式句子结构分析法得知这个4句话的意思(限于篇幅的原因我们就不一一翻译了)；翻译后我们发现，即使翻译为中文我们还是不知道文章的论点是什么。因此进入第2解题的思维：找最佳答案；

第三步：A的意思是电脑的商业使用的方法，文章在最后一段讲到了电脑的商业使用的问题，因此A是符合原文意思的；B的意思是商业中电脑带来的便利，原文讲到了B选项，明显的证明是bring better and more efficient services to consumers through the use of computers，所以B也是正确并符合原文意思的；C的意思是自动化在商业企业中的重要性，文章4句话没有讲到自动化的问题，更没有讲到什么重要性，因此C是和原文无关的选项；D的意思是商业中信用卡的重要性，文章在第一段的第一句话就讲到了信用卡，但是没有讲到信用卡的重要性，因此D也是无关选项；因此这个题目的答案必然在A和B中产生。这个时候我们应该比较A和B有什么不同的地方。我们发现A强调的是“方法Approaches”而B强调的是“便利conveniences ”，很显然文章着重讲解的是电脑带来的便利，因此这个题目应该选B；

例3、Exceptional children are different in some significant way from others of the same age. For these children to develop to their full adult potential, their education must be adapted to those differences. Although we focus on the needs of exceptional
children, we find ourselves describing their environment as well. While the leading actor on the stage captures our attention, we are aware of the importance of the supporting players and the scenery of the play itself. Both the family and the society in which exceptional children live are often the key to their growth and development. And it is in the public schools that we find the full expression of society’s understanding-the knowledge, hopes, and fears that are passed on to the next generation.
Education in any society is a mirror of that society. In that mirror we can see the strengths, the weaknesses, the hopes, the prejudices, and the central values of the culture itself. The great interest in exceptional children shown in public education over
the past three decades indicates the strong feeling in our society that all citizens, whatever their special conditions, deserve the opportunity to fully develop their capabilities.
“All men are created equal.” We’ve heard it many times, but it still has important meaning for education in a democratic society. Although the phrase was used by this country’s founders to denote equality before the law, it has also been interpreted to mean equality of opportunity. That concept implies educational opportunity for all children-the right of each child to receive help in learning to the limits of his or her capacity, whether that capacity be small or great. Recent court decisions have confirmed the right of all children—disabled or not—to an appropriate education, and have ordered that public schools take the necessary steps to provide that education. In response, schools are modifying their programs, adapting instruction to children who are exceptional, to those who cannot profit substantially from regular programs.

61. This passage mainly deals with . (1994)

(A) the differences of children in their learning capabilities
(B) the definition of exceptional children in modern society
(C) the special educational programs for exceptional children
(D) the necessity of adapting education to exceptional children

解析：

第一步：判断本题目属于中心思想题；因此进入中心思想题的解题方法；

第二步：阅读文章首、末段首、末句4句话，使用剥洋葱式句子结构分析法得知这个4句话的意思(限于篇幅的原因我们就不一一翻译了)；翻译后我们发现，即使翻译为中文我们还是不知道文章的论点是什么。因此进入第2解题的思维：找最佳答案；

第三步：A的意思是孩子在学习能力上的不同，但是文章的4句话并没有讲到学习能力的问题，因此是无关选项；B的意思是例外的孩子(弱智儿童)在现代社会的定义，文章4句话虽然讲到了exceptional children，但是并没有给它下定义，因此也是无关选项；C的意思是针对exceptional children的特别的项目，文章在最后一段讲到了这个问题；D的意思是调整教育以适应那些exceptional children的必要性，文章也讲到了；因此答案必然在C和D中产生，那就比较它们的不同，发现一个强调项目，一个强调必要性，而文章的4句话是强调必要性的多一点，因此应该选D；

例4、Scattered around the globe are more than 100 small regions of isolated volcanic activity known to geologists as hot spots. Unlike most of the world’s volcanoes, they are not always found at the boundaries of the great drifting plates that make up the earth’s surface; on the contrary, many of them lie deep in the interior of a plate. Most of the hot spots move only slowly, and in some cases the movement of the plates past them has left trails of dead volcanoes. The hot spots and their trails are milestones that mark the passage of the plates.
That the plates are moving is now beyond dispute. Africa and South America, for example, are moving away from each other as new material is injected into the sea floor between them. The complementary coastlines and certain geological features that seem to span the ocean are reminders of where the two continents were once joined. The relative motion of the plates carrying these continents has been constructed in detail, but the motion of one plate with respect to another cannot readily be translated into motion with respect to the earth’s interior. It is not possible to determine whether both continents are moving in opposite directions or whether one continent is stationary and the other is drifting away from it. Hot spots, anchored in the deeper layers of the earth, provide the measuring instruments needed to resolve the question. From an analysis of the hot-spot population it appears that the African plate is stationary and that it has not moved during the past 30 million years.
The significance of hot spots is not confined to their role as a frame of reference. It now appears that they also have an important influence on the geophysical processes that propel the plates across the globe.
When a continental plate come to rest over a hot spot, the material rising from deeper layer creates a broad dome. As the dome grows, it develops seed fissures (cracks); in at least a few cases the continent may break entirely along some of these fissures, so that the hot spot initiates the formation of a new ocean. Thus just as earlier theories have explained the mobility of the continents, so hot spots may explain their mutability (inconstancy).

20. The passage is mainly about . (1998)

(A) the features of volcanic activities
(B) the importance of the theory about drifting plates
(C) the significance of hot spots in geophysical studies
(D) the process of the formation of volcanoes

解析：

第一步：判断本题目属于中心思想题；因此进入中心思想题的解题方法；

第二步：阅读文章首、末段首、末句4句话，使用剥洋葱式句子结构分析法得知这个4句话的意思(限于篇幅的原因我们就不一一翻译了)；翻译后我们发现，即使翻译为中文我们还是不知道文章的论点是什么。因此进入第2解题的思维：找最佳答案；

第三步：A的意思是火山运动的特征，该4句论点句并没有讲到这个问题，因此属于无关选项；B的意思是漂流板块理论的重要性，4句论点句也没有谈到漂流板块的问题，同A；C的意思是hot spots在地球物理学研究中的重要性，文章讲到了hot spots的重要性，那么讲到地球物理学了吗？其实火山运动不就是地球物理学的一部分吗？因此看一个选项讲到没有，不应该仅仅看有没有一样的单词文章中出现没有，而且还要看相近意思的单词或句子出现没有，因此C是符合原文意思的正确选项，但是不能立刻选择，因为我们找的是最佳答案；D的意思是火山构成的过程，虽然这个4句话讲到了火山，但是没有谈及火山构成过程的问题，属于无关选项；因此这个题目应该选C。