文章一般可分为说明文、论说文、叙述文以及广告等。
根据历年考试的情况看，说明文、论说文的文长基本控制在300词左右。因此，文章的主旨大意多出现在第一段，甚至第一段的前几句，最后一段多与第一段呼应；至于中间的部分，多是论据或说明文的展开部。阅读理解的问题也以如下形式出现：
1. What is the best title for/of the passage?
2. What can be inferred from the passage?
3. What does the author mainly tell us about in the text？
4. What is mainly discussed in the article/passage/text?
做答这类问题时，将阅读重点放在首尾部分，中间部分则可采用略读或扫读的方式，一则省时间，二则目标明确，正答率自然也相应提高了。
示例 2004年全国卷Ⅱ，C篇，介绍1971年版大众车。根据内容，是一篇说明小文。
It’s not the flashiest car in the world．Not even close．But in the 1971 Volkswagen named Helios can do something most cars can’t：run on solar energy-energy from the sun’s light and heat!
66. What would be the best title for the text?
A．The Making of Helios
B．1999 American Tour on the Road
C．Sun-powered Cars On the Road
D．Use of Green Cars in Connection
（一）阅读理解之细节题的解题思路
主题思想只是文章的框架，作者在构思过程中，还必须对要表达的观点或信息进行具体的陈述，读者应能准确记住作者在陈述中谈到是何人、何处、何事、和何时何故，这是十分重要的。因此，读者必须重视人名、日期、事实、数据和地点等。对于这类细节性的问题，多数文章都比较明显地提供了事实和细节，其答案必定在文章论述范围之内。读者应该找出文章中为所作的选择提供依据的单词和句子，而不能脱离原文去获取信息，也不能仓促地作出没有原文根据的假设。
细读是获取事实和细节不可缺少的方法之一，它使读者能够接受信息、记忆信息、分析信息，从而较深入地领会一篇文章。
这类题型主要有三种形式：问句式，不完整的陈述句和排除法。
1．问句式
A．其发问形式主要有以下几种：
How did something happen?
Which of the following people should（not） do it?
Which of the following did somebody have to deal with... ?
Where should somebody do something?
B．解题技巧
在解这类题时，可采用“对号入座”的办法，即带着问题找句子，先看文章后面的问题（这常常被认为是非常有效的方法），注意记忆关键的词语，如。人物、时间、事件等，确定每道题目的发问中心，也，就是说，某个问题是针对什么提问的。这样我们就可以带着问题去阅读文章，做到有的放矢。
把每个问题的发问中心反馈到原文中去。当读到有关解答发问中心的信息时，可在有关信息下面画一直线以示突出。如果问题的顺序没有按顺序给出，可以在原文信息下画线的同时，把问题的题号也标出来，便于最后检查，并节约时间。
在原文中找出对发问中心的解答信息后，可把原文信息放到问题中去，与每一选项进行对照，与原文信息相符的那项，即是正确的答案。
Cattle have served humanity since prehistoric（史前） days as beasts of burden and as supplier of leather, meat, and milk. Some of the earliest written records concern the sale of cattle. These valuable animals are unusual in that they do not have front teeth in their upper jaw. Instead they chew with their back teeth and gums （齿龈）. Cows swallow their food quickly and store it in the fat stomach or rumen, the first of the four compartments stomachs in their.
Questions: According to the passage, what is the rumen?
A. The first stomach compartment.
B. The name of the upper jaw.
C. The stomach where digestion （消化） takes place.
D. The name of the bacteria（细菌） in the cow's stomach.
带着发问中心及选择项目阅读原文。当我们读到rumen这个词时，可在它下面画一横线，紧接此词下面一句“first of the four compartments in their stomachs”，正是解释rumen的，可在它的下面画一虚线并可标出题号和选择项。
2．不完整的陈述句式
A．常见形式有：
Something can be best classified as .
A certain kind of person is someone who .
People are looking for better ways to .
According to the author,“it”was caused by .
B．解题技巧：
这类题的答案与原文在字面上的差异很大，有时还要找出与前句的内容在逻辑上的联系，因此答这类题时准确理解是关键，一定要冷静，仔细分析。在做不完整的陈述式题目时候，仍可参考上面列举的解题步骤。第一步，阅读题目，找出问题的发问中心。第二步，带着这些问题来阅读文章。第三步，根据前两步的分析和判断，选择出最符合题意的答案。
3．排除式
A．常见形式有：
Which of the following are NOT mentioned in the passage?
Which of the following is TRUE?
Which of the following is NOT listed in ... ?
Which of the following is NOT included in the passage?
B．解题技巧：
做这类题时，首先要仔细阅读题后的选项，牢记各个选项所阐述的不同内容，然后阅读原文。凡是原文中的信息与选择项内容相同的，我们可以在这些信息下面划线，以作为排除的内容。如果基本选项的内容在原文找不到相应的信息，那么该选项即为该题的答案。这类题与前两种题型不同，后者答案应包括在原文内容中，即与所述的事实具有直接或间接的联系，而前者的答案是被排除在原文内容之外的，因此在答题时要将与原文内容有关的三个选项排除，剩下的一个才是答案。
Life on Land
Life on land probably began about 430 million years ago, though it has existed in the water for perhaps as long as 3000 million years. When we think of the first life on land, we probably think of strange animals coming out of the oceans, but, in fact ,no animals could have been living if plants had not been on land first. Plants had to be on land before animals arrived. They supplied the first land animals with the surrounding and food necessary, since they--the plants are the only form of life that is able to get and store energy.
The first plants to exist out of the water were probably certain kinds of algae （海藻） which were followed by other plants that grew close to the ground and needed water in which to reproduce.
Which of the following is TRUE?
A. Algae have existed for more than 430 million years.
B. It is impossible that algae might be the earliest plant on land.
C. Plants get food from animals in the oceans.
D. Evolution began after animals appeared on land.
这是一道事实询问题。需要把短文第一段首句
“Life on land probably began about 430 million years ago”和短文第二段首句“The first plants to exist out of the water were probably certain kinds of algae”联系起来考虑，正确答案为A。B、C、D三项与短文内容均不符，应排除。
（二）阅读理解之准确找出主题句
阅读理解的技巧中非常重要的一点是在阅读中迅速地抓住文章或段落的中心思想。
段落的构成有其内在的规律，其中心思想往往是通过段落中的主题句来体现的。因此了解并掌握这些规律，迅速找出主题句，从而抓住中心思想对于提高阅读理解能力大有益处。
这些规律主要是通过主题句在段落中所处的不同的位置体现的。因此同学们首先应对以下四种段型有所了解，然后通过一系列有意识的训练掌握它们。
1．首句是主题句的规律
①给予例证、解释或说明的段落；
②下定义的段落；
③对两个或两个以上的事物作比较或对比的段落；
④表明原因和结果（往往结果交代在前）的段落。
主题句是首句的段落总是用演绎法撰写，遵循从一般到个别或特殊的写作程序，即以概述开段，随之辅以细说。这样的段落在文章中出现得最多，据专门研究阅读理论与技巧的专家们统计，概率达到70%。请看下例：
People who talk and sing to plants have no mental problems at all, according to an agricultural expert. "In fact, singing and talking to plants makes them grow better," says Dr Braymar. The reason is quite simple. When we sing or talk to plants, we exhale（呼出） CO2 which plants need to survive （continue to live）and grow better. Plants absorb （take in） CO2 through their pores（小孔） during the sunlight hours and produce oxygen which people to survive. Singing and talking have good effect on plants, however, only during the daytime. Singing or talking at bedtime will not help plants to grow better or grow faster.
本段的首句是主题句，其后的句子或是解释说明“对植物说话或唱歌有益于植物”，或是为这一主题思想提供论据。本段的结尾句呼应主题句，在给予主题思想又一论据的同时，幽默地收尾。
2．段落尾句是主题句的规律
（1）阐述一个不常见的或难以令人接受的观点的段落。
（2）旨在说服读者相信甚至信服其论点的段落。
尾句是主题句的段落总是用归纳法撰写的，其程序是先表述细节或交代论据，最后作出概括性的结论，以总结性的句子收尾。这种写作方法的特点是从个别到一般，由特殊性到共性。请看下例：
If you hadn't known them, you would have thought Joe and Jim were quite alike. They were both tall and wore long and fair hair. They both walked with a steady stride （坚定的步伐）. They both spoke in a deep voice that made them selves seem much older than they really were. Both of them wore dark clothes as a rule, and they liked light coloured ties. But that was all the likeness they had. In other things they were sharply different. Joe was considerate and helpful, and everyone liked him. Jim, however, was very selfish and often flared into terrible anger （勃然大怒） at little things that displeased him. Alike as Joe and Jim were on the surface, they were really very different in nature.
这段文字从乔与吉姆两个人相像和不同的细节叙述，最后一句作了归纳总结：这两人表面相似，但实质极不相同。