运用自身的生活经验及生活常识，根据上下文能读懂的部分，可以正确猜出词义。下面文字中划线单词的词义你能猜出来吗？
例21.Birds fly with their wings, and they pick up their foods, and then eat them with their beaks and they use their claws for tearing, seizing, pulling or holding objects.
例22.Most of the roses are beginning to wither because of the cold.
句子的已知部分和我们的常识告诉我们：beaks是“喙”；claws是“爪子”；wither表示“枯萎”。结合以上指导解下列两道阅读理解题：
A
Ever since news of widespread food recalls caused by a carcinogenic dye broke, there has been confusion（混淆） over possible links to the country of the same name, but Sudan officials say there is no connection whatever.
Sudan1 is a red industrial dye that has been found in some chilli powder, but was banned in food products across the European Union （EU） in July 2003.
Since the ban was put in place, EU officials have been striving to remove some food products from the shelves. So far 580 products have been recalled.
Last week Sudan’s Embassy in the United Kingdom asked the Food Standards Agency （FSA） for clarification of the origin of the dye’s name.
Omaima Mahmoud Al Sharief, a press official at
"We want to keep an eye on every detail and avoid any misunderstanding there," she said. "Our embassy to
The FSA, an independent food security watchdog in
"They asked us why the dye is named
Sudan dyes, which include Sudan1 to 4, are red dyes（颜料） used for colouring solvents（溶剂）, oils, waxes, petrol, and shoe and floor polishes. They are classified as carcinogens by the International Agency for Research on Cancer.
1. What does the underlined word mean in paragraph one?
A. Causing cancer. B. Having side effect. C. Containing poison. D.Poisonous.
2. How did the Sudan1 get its name?
A. The dye is often produced in
B. The dye has something to do with the country named
C. Nobody is sure of the origin of the name.
D. Many foods produced in
3. We can infer from the passage that.
A. the
B. Sudan1 is often used to be added to the food
C. people didn’t realize the danger of Sudan1 until 2003
D. many food shops will be closed down
4. Which of the following is the best title?
A. Keep away from Sudan1
B. No Sudan1 dye links to the country
C. How Sudan1 dye got its name?
D. Pay attention to the food safety
B
The Man of Many Secrets — Harry Houdini — was one of the greatest American entertainers in the theater this century. He was a man famous for his escapes — from prison cells, from wooden boxes floating in rivers, from locked tanks full of water. He appeared in theaters all over Europe and
Of course, his secret was not magic or supernatural powers. It was simply strength. He had the ability to move his toes as well as he moved his fingers. He could move his body into almost any position he wanted.
Houdini started working in the entertainment world when he was 17, in 1891. He and his brother Theo performed card tricks in club in
It was the publicity（宣传） that came from this that started Harry Houdini’s success. Harry had fingers trained to escape from handcuffs and toes trained to escape ankle chins. But his biggest secret was how he unlocked the prison doors. Every time he went into the prison cell, Bess gave him a kiss for good luck — and a small skeleton key, which is a key that fits many locks, pass quickly from her mouth to his.
Harry used these prison escapes to build his fame. He arranged to escape from the local prison of every town he visited. In the afternoon, the people of the town would read about it in their local newspapers, and in the evening every seat in the local theater would be full. What was the result? World-wild fame, and a name remembered today.
5. According to the passage, Houdini’s success in prison escapes depends on _______.
A. his special tricks and supernatural powers B. his unusual ability and a skeleton key
C. his magic tricks and unhuman powers D. his wisdom and magic tricks
6. In the fourth paragraph, the underlined word “this” refers to _______.
A. his first prison escape B. the year
7. It can be inferred from the passage that Houdini became famous _______.
A. in 1894 B. before he married C. at the age of 17 D. when he was about 24
8. Which of the following is the best title for the passage?
A. A Skeleton Key B. A Man of Many Secrets
C. World-wild Fame D. Great Escape
A篇【答案与解析】
1. A词义猜测题。根据They are classified as carcinogens by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. 可知这个词与癌症有关，故可推出carcinogenic意为"致癌的"。
2. C细节题。根据People found the dye in 1883 and gave it the name. Nobody knows the reason, and we cannot give any explanation before we find out.可知还没有人知道"苏丹红"名称的由来。
3. B推断题。根据EU officials have been striving to remove some food products from the shelves. So far 580 products have been recalled.可知某些食品因含有"苏丹红"而被召回。故可推断"苏丹红"经常用作食品添加剂。
4. B主旨大意题。根据there has been confusion over possible links to the country of the same name, but Sudan officials say there is no connection whatever. 可知本文主要讲"苏丹红"与苏丹这个国家是否有联系的问题，故B最佳。
B篇【答案与解析】本文介绍了Harry Houdini特技成功的经历和方法。
5. B。细节题。根据第4段第2句：Harry把手、脚都训练得很灵活来摆脱手链脚铐及第4句后半部分：妻子通过接吻传给他万能钥匙，可推知此题答案为B。
6. A。单词理解题。根据语境，this指上文所表演的事情：第一次越狱成功。由此可推知此题答案为A。
7. D。推断题。第3段第1句：他步入娱乐圈时是1891年，17岁；倒数第2句：第一次成功是1898年，时隔七年，应是24岁，可推知此题答案为D
8. D。主旨题。由文章第1段第2句：He was a man famous for his escapes — from prison cells, from wooden boxes floating in rivers, from locked tanks full of water，可知Harry 因逃脱出名，后面列举的例子谈的是他从监狱成功地逃出，所以答案为D。
主旨大意题
主旨大意题主要是测试考生对一篇文章或一段文字的深层理解程度及在速读中准确把握文章主旨大意的能力。一般针对某一语段或某一语篇的主题标题或目的设题。常见的设题方式有：
1标题类常见的标题型题干：
1）The best title/ headline for this passage might be_____________.
2）The text （passage） could be entitled ______________.
3）What is the best title for the passage?
4）Which of the following would be suitable as a title for the passage?
2 大意类常见的主题型题干：
5） This passage chiefly deals with____________.6） What’s the topic of the article?
7） What is the subject discussed in the text?
8） With what topic is the passage chiefly concerned?
3 目的主旨大意题
The author’s main purpose in writing the passage is______.
The passage is meant to _____ The purpose of this article is _______
这类题通常围绕一个中心思想展开，不少文章一开头便展示出文章的中心思想，第一段常常是内容的梗概，同时又表达了中心思想，但是不少文章的中心思想贯穿全文，并没有用一句话明确表达出来，这就要求学生学会归纳概括。每个段落往往也由一个主题句或几个陈述句构成，它们在句中的位置不同，有时在开头, 首先点明本段大意; 有时在结尾, 总结本段大意。做这类题，首先要找出文章的主题句。找出文章的主题句，也就明确了文章要讲什么，再通过速读全文，就可以把握文章的中心思想了。另外在许多文段中，没有可以概括全段意义的主题句，必须根据文章中所提供的事实细节，进行全面分析，然后归纳成一般概念。但必须注意，既不能以偏概全，也不能在概括时过于宽泛，要恰如其分。
A.主题句呈现的形式
1）文首开门见山, 提出主题, 随之用细节来解释, 支撑或发展主题句所表达的主题思想. 最常见的演绎法写作方式.
例1.The panda is a popular animal. Stories about the panda in the Washington Zoo are always front page news and important features on television newscasts. Stuffed pandas are among the most popular toys for children, and panda postcards are always in demand in zoo gift shops.
例2.Today the problem of environment has become more and more serious. The world population is rising, so quickly that the world has become too crowded. We are using up our natural resources too quickly and at the same time we are polluting our environment with dangerous chemicals. If we continue to do this, human life on earth will not survive.
2）.文尾，在表述细节后, 归纳要点, 印象, 结论建议或结果, 以概括主题. 这是英语中最常见的归纳法写作方式
例3.A human body appears to be rather soft and delicate, compared with that of a wild animal, but it is actually surprisingly strong. In deed, its very softness and looseness is an advantage; it makes man good at moving about movement of all living things of his own size, because he can do so many different things with his limbs. Man’s games show how he can control his own body. No other land creature can swim as skillfully as man; more has such varied grace; very few lives as long as he; none is so strong in its natural resistance to disease. Therefore man has a great advantage in his battle against the risks of damage and death that threaten him.
3）.文中，通常前面只提出问题，文中的主题由随之陈述的细节或合乎逻辑的引申在文中导出, 而后又作进一步的解释, 支撑或发展.
例4.Nothing is as useful as a flashlight in a dark night if a tire goes flat. Few inventions are so helpful to a child who is afraid of the dark. In fact, the modern flashlight brings light to many dark situations. Finding something in the back of a closet is easy with a flashlight in hand a camper also needs one after the light of the campfire has been out.
4）.首尾呼应，为突出主题, 作者先提出主题, 结尾时再次点出主题, 这种首尾呼应的写作方式较为多见. 但前后表述主题的句子不是简单的重复, 后面的表述往往有进一步的引申或发展的意味。
例5.（首段）Shu Pulong has helped at least 1000 people bitten by snakes, “ It was seeing people with snakes bites that led me to the career.“she said…
&O1472;（尾段）“The sad story touched me so much that I decided to devote myself to helping people bitten by snakes.”Shu said.
5）.无主题句，即主题句隐含在全文中, 没有明确的主题句. 必须根据文篇中所提供的事实细节，进行全面考虑，综合分析，然后找出共同的东西，归纳成一般概念。必须注意的是，既不能以偏概全，也不能在概括时过于宽泛，要恰如其分。
例6.Joshua Bingham studied 4 years at the University of Paris and decided to leave his graduation. He transferred to the
Q: What is the main idea of the passage? ＿＿＿＿
A. How Joshua Bingham became a lawyer. B. Bingham is a diligent student.
C. Joshua Bingham received an excellent education. D. A good lawyer needs good education.
[分析]此文没有主题句。全篇共四句，只陈述了四个细节（detail）性的事实。因此就答案本身看，个个都对。读者只能将所有的details综合起来，进行逻辑推理，才能构成一个没有言明的主题思想（unstated main idea）。由于文中主要涉及了Joshua Bingham接受教育的情况，即作者想告诉我们的是：Joshua Bingham接受过良好的教育，所以答案是 Ｃ
除了以上主题句呈现的常见形式外还要注意标志词
文章或段落的主题句常常会出现在一些标志性的提示后。如：on the whole, as a result, in short, therefore, thus…..I agree with the opinion that….;Given all these points above, I would support the idea that….; For all the reasons mentioned above, I would prefer….
B.实例说明
例1（文章请看推理判断例2，2003年全国高考）
①What would be the best title for the text?
A．Computers and Printers B．E-mail and the Business World
C．Internet Revolution and Environment D．Modern Technology and New Markets
[分析]本题考查对于全文主旨大意的把握并要求考生据此选择最佳标题．
全文的关键词应该是Internet和Environment，因此答案为C．
其余选项中的computers，printers，e—mail，business world，technology，market都在文中提到了，但其作用只是为了阐明主题所需，答题时不可以点代面．