通往最佳標題的竅“門”

翻開近幾年的高考試卷，可以發(fā)現(xiàn)，閱讀理解題越來越注重對綜合閱讀能力邏輯思維能力的考查，為文章定最佳標題類題目是其重要的體現(xiàn)之一。

筆者總結出解答此類題目的兩個小竅門，供同學們參考。

1. 順著主題句找標題

主題句是在段落中最能概括說明段落中心思想的句子。比如，據不完全估計，有60%～90%的英文說明文和科技文獻都有主題句。閱讀時，可以在找到的主題句或重要的詞句下面劃線，看完全文后回頭重讀劃線部分，就可以明確作者的主要意圖，從而確定文章的標題了。

如2006年高考英語北京卷第71題：

While parents， particularly mothers， have always been attached to their infants(嬰兒)，societal conditions frequently made this attachment difficult to maintain(維持). First of all， the high infant death in the premodern times meant that such attachments often ended in hopelessness. Perhaps to prevent the sadness that infant death caused， a number of societal practices developed which wor-

ked against early attachment of mother and child.

One of these premodern attachment-discouraging practices was to leave infants unnamed until they had survived into the second year. Another practice that discouraged maternal(母親的) attachment was tightly wrapping(包裹) infants. Wrapping effectively prevented the close physical interactions like stroking（撫摸）and kissing that are so much a part of modern mothers’ and fathers’ affection for their infants.

A third practice which had the same distancing effect was wet-nursing. Breast-feeding（母乳哺育） was not popular among the well-to-do in the early modern times; infants were often fed by wet nurses hired for the purpose. In some places， such as nineteenth-century France， city in fants were sent to wet nurses in the country. Often a wet nurse would feed her own child first， leaving little milk for the city infant—who， in many cases， died. In Rouen， the death rate for children sent to a wet nurse was 35 percent.

Which is the best title for the passage？

A. Societal Conditions in Premodern Times

B. Practices of Reducing Maternal Attachment

C. Poor Health Service and High Infant Death Rate

D. Differences between Modern and Premodern Parents

點評： 第一段的主題句是： Perhaps to prevent the sadness that infant death caused， a number of societal practices developed which worked against early attachment of mother and child.第二段的主題句是： One of these premodern attachment-discouraging practices was to leave infants unnamed until they had survived into the second year.第三段的主題句是A third practice which had the same distancing effect was wet-nursing. 找出主題句后，就能夠明確文章的中心思想，從而得出標題了。故選B。

2. 假設構思“對”標題

確定最佳標題時，還可以試著假設：現(xiàn)在有四個不同的標題擺在面前，要寫四篇文章，分別應該怎樣構思？如果由某個標題生發(fā)的構思與原文沒有關系，就可斷定其非正確選項；如果能涉及到與原文有關的內容，就說明有可能是正確選項。同時應注意，標題要涵蓋文章的內容，體現(xiàn)主題，不能太“大”，也不可太“小”。

如2005高考英語全國卷I第62題：

MONTREAL(Reuters) Crossing the US-Canada border (邊界) to go to church on a Sunday cost a US citizen $10，000 for breaking Washington’s strict new security (安全) rules.

The expensive trip to church was a surprise for Richard Albert， who lives right on the Canadian border. Like the other half-dozen people of Township 15， crossing the border is a daily occurrence for Albert. The nearby Quebec village of St. Pamphile is where they shop， eat and go to church.

There are many such situations in these areas along the largely unguarded 5，530-mile border between Canada and the US-which in some cases actually runs down the middle of streets or through buildings.

As a result， Albert says he did not expect any problems three weeks ago when he returned home to the US after attending church in Canada， as usual. The US customs (海關) station in this area is closed on Sundays， so he just drove around the locked gate， as he had done every weekend since the gate appeared last May， following a tightening of border security. Two days later， Albert was told to go to the customs office， where an officer told him he had been caught on camera crossing the border illegally (非法).

Ottawa has given out special passes to some 300 US citizens in that area so they can enter the country when Canadian customs stations are closed， but the US stopped a similar program last May. That forces the people to a 200-mile detour along hilly roads to get home through another border checkpoint.

Albert has requested that the customs office change their decisions on the fine， but he has not attended a Sunday church since. “I feel like I’m living in a prison，” he said.

What would be the best title for the text？

A. A Cross-country Trip

B. A Special Border Pass

C. An Unguarded Border

D. An Expensive Church Visit

點評： 如果標題為A項，文章應該主要講述一次出境旅行；如果標題為B項，文章應該圍繞一個特殊的邊境通行證進行；如果標題為C項，文章應該側重講邊境如何不設防；如果標題為D項，文章應該講一次禮拜如何花費昂貴。……