该题型要求考生把握文章或段落的主题，考查了考生的分析、概括、综合、归纳能力。2000年到2026年的考研题中文章主旨题和段落主旨题约占总题量的7%。
Which of the following is/may be/might be/would be the best title for the text?
(2020 Text 4 Q5; 2019 Text 1 Q5; 2019 Text 3 Q5)
What is the subject of the text?
(2013 Text 1 Q5)
An appropriate title for the text is most likely to be_____.
(2009 Text 2 Q5)
In this text, the author mainly discusses_____.
(2014 Text 2 Q5)
Which of the following is the text mainly about?
(2011 Text 3 Q5)
Which of the following summarizes the text?
(2008 Text 2 Q5)
The text expresses the idea that_____.
(2008 Text 3 Q5)
What is the passage mainly about?
(2001 Text 3 Q1)
This passage is mainly about_____.
(2000 Text 3 Q1)
The text intends to tell us that______.
(2008 Text 3 Q5)
The text intends to express the idea that______.
(2003 Text 4 Q5)
Which of the following proverbs is closest to the message the text tries to convey?
(2007 Text 1 Q5)
Which of the following is true according to the text?
(2004 Text 2 Q5)
To which of the following is the author likely to agree?
(2004 Text 3 Q5)
In paragraph..., the text shows______.
(2009 Text 2 Q1)
In paragraph..., the author discusses______.
(2008 Text 2 Q1)
We can conclude from the paragraph... that______.
(2007 Text 2 Q4)
(1)若文章(段落)含有明确的主题句，则正确项通常为该句的同义改写。
[例2013 Text 1]关键词fast fashion及其指代词this revolution等贯穿全文，hijacked fashion cycles ... the victims ... are not limited to designers ... leads to waste ... curb their impact on labor and the environment则说明了它产生的种种负面影响，故文章标题为Criticism of the fast-fashion industry。
[例2008 Text 1]关键词贯穿于全文：women, females(出现8次); stress(出现10次); catching-up to men, compared to men等表示“男女比较”的表达(出现7次)。文中出现大量带有贬义色彩的词语undesirable, tolerating, quite devastating, threatens等。文章标题：Gender Inequality: Women under Stress(男女在承受压力方面的不平等)。
干扰项的特点：
(1)以偏概全，只是文章的细枝末节，不能涵盖全文内容；
(2)过于笼统、宽泛；
(3)混杂无关信息；
(4)偏离文章整体基调。
[例2014 Text4 Q5]
正确项：
[B] Illiberal Education and “The Heart of the Matter”.
干扰项：
[A] Ways to Grasp “The Heart of the Matter”加入无关信息Ways to Grasp...;
[C] The AAAS's Contribution to Liberal Education属于以偏概全，The AAAS's Contribution仅是文章第一段第一句的内容，无力概括全文；
[D] Progressive Policy vs. Liberal Education中Progressive Policy仅是文中提到的例子之一，而且文中并未论及两者之间的比较，因此严重偏离文章主旨。
[例2009 Text 2 Q5]
正确项：
[B] DNA Testing and Its Problems
干扰项：
[A] Fors and Againsts of DNA Testing加入无关信息Fors(of DNA testing);
[C] DNA Testing Outside the Lab过于笼统，商业基因检测并不等同于实验室外的基因测试；
[D] Lies Behind DNA Testing以偏概全，只能概括文章的最后两段，且lies的贬义色彩过重，而文章整体的语气较为客观。
主题句一般是观点而非描写、说明或事实。段落中除了表观点的主题句外，其他的内容一般起说明或论证作用，并且，主题句大都具有归纳性、概括性、抽象性等特点。主旨句有时不会明确提出，需要考生自己总结，但是大部分的段落或文章主旨句是可以找到的，它们可能出现在文章(段落)开始、中间或结尾部分。
主题句的判断方法有：
(1)首段中通过举例、引用、类比、比喻等论证手法引出的现象、观点或结论是主题句。
[例2013 Text 1]...This top-down conception of the fashion business couldn't be more out of date or at odds with the feverish world described in Overdressed, Eliazabeth Cline's three-year indictment of "fast fashion”.
Q5. What is the subject of the text?
[C] Criticism of the fast-fashion industry.
分析：本文借电影《时尚女魔头》中的“高端时尚”引出当前的“快速时尚”(本文作者批判的对象)。
[例2013 Text 3]...But such gloominess is misplaced. The fossil record shows that many species have endured for millions of years—so why shouldn't we?...
Q5. Which of the following would be the best title for the text?
[C] The Ever-bright Prospects of Mankind
分析：本文借当前非常普遍的一种看法“人类未来黯淡”引出作者相反观点“人类面对光明的未来” 并进行论证。
(2)先看段落的第二句或第三句。如果它们是对第一句进行阐述，那么第一句就是主题句；如果是对第二句进行阐述，那第二句就是主题句。当最后一句是对全段进行总结时，该句就是主题句。文章主旨所在段落的判断与此相同。
[例2011 Text 3]①The same dramatic technological changes that have provided marketers with more(and more diverse)communications choices have also increased the risk that passionate consumers will voice their opinions in quicker, more visible, and much more damaging ways. ②Such hijacked media are the opposite of earned media: an asset or campaign becomes hostage to consumers, other stakeholders, or activists who make negative allegations about a brand or product. ③Members of social networks, for instance, are learning that they can hijack media to apply pressure on the businesses that originally created them.
Q3: The author indicates in Paragraph 3 that earned media______
[B] can be used to produce negative effects in marketing
分析：①句为过渡句兼段落主旨句，第一个that从句概括上文，第二个that从句开启下文：新媒介同样会对企业营销构成巨大威胁。②句具体解释①句中劫持媒体可能造成的负面影响，③句举例说明。
[例2008 Text 1]①Dr. Yehuda notes another difference between the sexes.②“I think that the kinds of things that women are exposed to tend to be in more of a chronic or repeated nature. Men go to war and are exposed to combat stress. Men are exposed to more acts of random physical violence. The kinds of interpersonal violence that women are exposed to tend to be in domestic situations, by, unfortunately, parents or other family members, and they tend not to be one-shot deals. The wear-and-tear that comes from these longer relationships can be quite devastating.”
Q3: According to Paragraph 4, the stress women confront tends to be______
[C] durable and frequent
分析：①句是过渡句，承接上文指出在承受压力方面两性之间还存在另一种差异。②句指出女性应对的压力具有长期性、反复性特点。该段其余句子通过比较论证对②句做了进一步的阐述。因此②句是段落主题句。
(3)关注文章(段落)中出现的意思转折，转折所在的句子往往就是主题句。但如果是末段(或末句)才出现转折，则不是主题句所在。
[例2014 Text 4]①“The Heart of the Matter,” the just-released report by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences(AAAS), deserves praise for affirming the importance of the humanities and social sciences to the prosperity and security of liberal democracy in America. ②Regrettably, however, the report's failure to address the true nature of the crisis facing liberal education may cause more harm than good.
Q1: According to Paragraph 1, what is the author's attitude toward the AAAS's report?
[A] Critical.
分析：该段采取欲抑先扬的手法，首先表达了作者对报告的欣赏态度；随后以Regrettably, however转折传达了作者的批评态度。因此，作者意在表达“批评”而非“欣赏”。
[例2014 Text 1]...⑤Help? ⑥Really? ⑦On first hearing, this was the socially concerned chancellor, trying to change lives for the better, complete with “reforms” to an obviously indulgent system that demands too little effort from the newly unemployed to find work, and subsidises laziness. ⑧What motivated him, we were to understand, was his zeal for “fundamental fairness”—protecting the taxpayer, controlling spending and ensuring that only the most deserving claimants received their benefits.
Q3: What prompted the chancellor to develop his scheme?
[D] A passion to ensure fairness for taxpayers.
分析：本段前四句说明奥斯本对其新方案的合理性所做出的解释。⑤⑥句以独词发问提出质疑。⑦句先退步指出奥斯本方案貌似非常合理、且旨在其宣称的使命。⑧句语义突转，指出奥斯本推行新政的真正动机。解题的关键点在于：一、领会⑤⑥句所体现的作者的质疑；二、体会⑦⑧句之间的转折关系。这两句没有用but/however一类常用的表转折关系的连词，而是将转折关系暗含在On first hearing(乍听之下)和we were to understand(我们要明白)两词之间。因此，⑧句才是作者真正想要表达的意思。
