再如2004年試題第一句：Many theories concerning the causes of juvenile delinquency (crimes committed by young people) focus either on the individual or on society as the major contributing influence. 開門見山地提出文章主題：許多關(guān)于青少年犯罪根源的理論從個體或社會方面尋找導致犯罪的主要原因。

　　有時第一句話雖不是主題句，但往往與主題密切相關(guān)，其作用是為主題句作鋪墊，引入主題。

　　試看2006年短文的前三句：The homeless make up a growing percentage of America's population. Indeed，homelessness has reached such proportions that local governments can't possibly cope. To help homeless people toward independence, the federal government must… 第一句“美國人口中無家可歸者的比例越來越大”，引出“無家可歸者的問題已嚴重到地方政府無力應(yīng)對，聯(lián)邦政府必須采取措施來幫助這些人”的主題。

　　再看2003年考題的段首句與主題句(第二句)的關(guān)系：

　　Teachers need to be aware of the emotional, intellectual, and physical changes that young adults experience. And they also need to give serious thoughts to how they can best accommodate such changes.

　　短文第二句的And…also結(jié)構(gòu)表明與前句的語意為遞進關(guān)系，其主語和從句中兩次出現(xiàn)的代詞they均指代前句的teachers；謂語重復(fù)使用動詞need；such changes指段首句明確表述的“年輕人所經(jīng)受的情感、智力和身體方面的變化”。把兩句話聯(lián)系起來看，本篇短文的主題便非常清楚：成年人/教師應(yīng)通過組織適應(yīng)年輕人特點的活動更好地幫助年輕人/學生們成長。

　　再如2002年試題的前兩句：Comparisons were drawn between the development of television in the 20th century and the diffusion of printing in the 15th and 16th centuries. Yet much had happened between.�钡谝痪洹叭藗儼�20世紀的電視的發(fā)展情況與15至16世紀的印刷普及相提并論”是為下文作鋪墊；轉(zhuǎn)折詞Yet表明通訊革命并非始于19世紀，從而引出主題：應(yīng)當正確地看待通訊革命的過程及其影響。

　　要想盡快地把握短文原意，還要注意主題的展開方式，即注意短文段落的劃分及各段的中心思想。

　　試以2006年的試題為例。討論美國無家可歸者問題的短文有兩個自然段，其段首句分別點出該段的中心思想：美國人口中無家可歸者的比例越來越大(The homeless make up a growing percentage of America's population.)和任何單一措施都不能有效地幫助這一群體(Finding ways to assist this growing homeless population has become increasingly difficult.)。作者在分析無家可歸者流落街頭的多種原因之后引用權(quán)威觀點提出解決辦法，即政府不能只著眼于滿足這些人的溫飽，需要“總體協(xié)調(diào)，綜合治理(There has to be coordination of programs. What's needed is a package deal.)”，首尾呼應(yīng)，再次點題。

　　2004年試題的短文共分四段。第一段段首句(Many theories…focus either on the individual or on society as…)之后的兩句(Theories centering on the individual suggest that…Theories focusing on the role of society suggest that …)分別介紹兩種理論的內(nèi)容。其余三段的段首句都明確地闡述了各段的主題：第二段評述關(guān)注貧窮家庭導致兒童犯罪的理論(Most theories…h(huán)ave focused on children from disadvantaged families…)；第三段 (以就業(yè)為例) 探討社會結(jié)構(gòu)變化可能是導致青少年犯罪的間接原因 (Changes in the social structure may indirectly affect juvenile crime rates.)；第四段主要講述社會結(jié)構(gòu)變化的另一個方面：家庭結(jié)構(gòu)的改變 (Families have also experienced changes these years.)。短文結(jié)尾提出了其他若干可能導致青少年犯罪的原因 (Other identifiable causes of offensive acts include…)，但指出這些理論提出的因果關(guān)系還未能確定 (…a direct causal relationship has not yet been established)。

　　2003年試題共兩段，分別說明教師為學生組織活動時要注意的兩個主要方面:(1) 提供培養(yǎng)在群體活動中成功地與他人交往的機會以幫助青少年建立自信;(2) 組織多樣性的活動以適應(yīng)青少年興趣轉(zhuǎn)移快的特點。

　　除了注意段首句較明確的提示及短文的段落劃分外，還可利用文中關(guān)鍵詞和詞匯的照應(yīng)關(guān)系來盡快把握短文主題。

　　例如2006年短文討論幫助無家可歸者的問題，除開篇三句連續(xù)使用“homeless, homelessness, homeless people”等字樣外，全文不斷使用“homeless population, homeless individuals, homeless adults”等同義詞。此外，表示人數(shù)不斷增加，問題日益嚴重的文字也多次出現(xiàn)，如“a growing percentage, this growing homeless population, homelessness has reached such proportions, the number of the homeless will reach nearly 19 million”。同樣，表示需要提供幫助的詞匯也貫穿全篇，如“To help homeless people, Finding ways to assist …address the many needs of…”等。

　　2004年探討青少年犯罪原因的短文中除“理論(theories)”等字樣外，還多次出現(xiàn)“青少年犯罪”、“原因”及其同義詞、近義詞及相關(guān)詞：juvenile delinquency, commit crimes, criminal behavior, misdeeds, crime rates, offensive acts, criminal act。此外，與“青少年”相關(guān)的詞匯有：youth, children, families, parents, parental supervision, child等。與“原因”相關(guān)的詞匯有：causes, contributing influence, to be an influence on…, identifiable causes, affect, lead to, for lack of, resulting, lead…into, tend to increase, a direct causal relationship等。

　　再如2003年的短文：

　　Teachers need to be aware of the emotional, intellectual, and physical changes that young adults experience. And they also need to give serious 21 to how they can best 22 such changes. Growing bodies need movement and 23 ， but not just in ways that emphasize competition. 24 they are adjusting to their new bodies and a whole host of new intellectual and emotional challenges, teenagers are especially self-conscious and need the 25 that comes from achieving success and knowing that their accomplishments are 26 by others. However, the typical teenage lifestyle is already filled with so much competition that it would be 27 to plan activities in which there are more winners than losers, 28 , publishing newsletters with many student-written book reviews, 29 student artwork, and sponsoring book discussion clubs. A variety of small clubs can provide 30 opportunities for leadership, as well as for practice in successful 31 dynamics. Making friends is extremely important to teenagers, and many shy students need the 32 of some kind of organization with a supportive adult 33 visible in the background.

　　In these activities, it is important to remember that young teens have 34 attention spans. A variety of activities should be organized 35 participants can remain active as long as they want and then go on to 36 else without feeling guilty and without letting the other participants 37 . This does not mean that adults must accept irresponsibility. 38 , they can help students acquire a sense of commitment by 39 for roles that are within their 40 and their attention spans and by having clearly stated rules.

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