巧解主旨题
主旨题是阅读理解试题常考的题型之一，主要测试应试者对整篇文章的理解能力。主旨题涉及的方面通常包括文章的标题、主题思想、概括主要内容、说明作者的态度和目的等。
做主旨题时，最有效的办法是找到并仔细研读文章的主题句，主题句大多数情况下出现在比较重要的位置，如文章的开头或结尾。文章主题句之外的其他内容一般都是对主题句加以解释、补充说明或列举事实等。另外，有些阅读材料的主题不是十分明确，需要通读全文，抓住主要论点或论题来归纳出中心思想。应该注意的是，在归纳中心思想时，要从文章实际内容出发，在事实和依据的基础上进行判断、推论和归纳。
阅读理解
Passage A
Sandstorms Strike as 2001 dawns
Sandstorms hit northwestern Chinas Gansu Province and North Chinas Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region （内蒙古自治区） on the first day of the new century①.According to Sun Landong， a meteorologist （气象学者） with the Lanzhou Meteorology observatory， visibility （能见度） was less than 100 metres in Minqin， a Gansu country near Inner Mongolia， because of sand. When visibility drops to less than 1 kilometre， it is called a sandstorm. The sandstorm in Minqin blew up dust in nieghbouring town， such as Baiyin， Wuwei， Jinchang and Lanzhou， the capital city of Gansu Province. Dust laden winds also swept into Beijing.
Brought by northwester blowing at more than 20 metres per second， dust first reached the capitals suburbs at 7∶00 a.m.， downtown areas 9∶00 a.m. The winds， which died down to as low as 8℃ below zero and many flights put off their planned time from the citys airport.
It is quite rare for sandstorms， which are frequent between March and June， to happen in winter， when the earth is frozen②. The sandstorms in Gansu and Inner Mongolia do not necessarily mean there will be more of them in the spring than last year， when they were serious， but Beijing is taking it very seriously. It is reported that Beijing will spend 6 billion yuan （US ＄725 million） in preventing sandstorms in the capital and has already set up a special team to make sure what causes them.
译注
① Sandstorms hit northwestern Chinas Gansu Province and North Chinas Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on the first day of the new century.
新世纪的第一天，沙尘暴袭击了中国西北的甘肃省和北部的内蒙古自治区。
②It is quite rare for sandstorms， which are frequent between March and June， to happen in winter， when the earth is frozen.
对于频繁出现在三、六月份的沙尘暴来说发生在大地冻结的冬季是罕见的。
根据文章内容，选择正确答案：
1.What is the main idea of the passage？
A.Sandstorms took place in Gansu.
B.Sandstorms happened on the first day of the new century.
C. Sandstorms are very serious， compared with last year.
D. The experts are trying their best to determine the cause of the sandstorm formed last year.
2. Why did sandstorms begin in the winter of 2001？
A. Because there was little snow in the winter.
B. Because a lot of trees have been cut down.
C. Because people took few measures to control them.
D. It is not mentioned in this passage.
3. Which of the following doesnt belong to the bad effect the sandstorms have done in Beijing？
A. The temperature fell.
B. Many flights put off their planned time.
C. The air was dirty.
D. People had three days off.
4. The author wrote the passage to .
A. tell us the environments are becoming worse and worse.
B. explain what measures people have taken to control sandstorms.
C. make people realize the need to protect the environment.
D. call on us to do what we can to save the earth.
Passage B
In the past hundred years a million people have died in earthquakes， another million have been killed by hurricanes and tornadoes （龙卷风） and 9 million have lost their lives in floods. In additional to this many millions more have died as a result of hunger and disease①. We should also not forget in many of the worlds countries drought， serious water shortage， is a fact of life， especially in the African Sahel area bordering the Sahara Desert.
Scientists and engineers around the world have made great advances in earthquake engineering. It is， of course， impossible physically to move cities such as Tokyo and San Francisco that have been built on earthquake belts②. But most often it is not the earthquake that kills people. It is the falling buildings， bridges and so on that cause deaths， and such a happening can be greatly reduced by better building programs.
Finally， perhaps we need to consider the natural disaster that we are causing ourselves. Through our mismanagement of the planets resources we have sped up the dying out of hundreds of sorts of plants and animals， at the same time possibly destroying our own longterm surroundings for life. Maybe this is one disaster that could be prevented if we are willing to act with a sense of responsibility.
译注
① In additional to this many millions more have died as a result of hunger and disease.
除此之外，还有许许多多的人死于饥饿和疾病。
② It is， of course， impossible physically to move cities such as Tokyo and San Francisco that have been built on earthquake belts.
当然，要想把像东京和旧金山那样建在地震带上的城市移走是不可能的。
根据文章内容，选择正确答案：
1. people have been killed in natural disasters in the past 100 years.
A. More than 11 million
B. 11 million
C. 10 million
D. More than 1 million
2. Which of the following hasnt killed people？
A. Earthquakes and floods.
B. Hurricanes and tornadoes.
C. Droughts and water shortages.
D. None of the above.
3. According to the text， we can say that .
A. earthquakes can be prevented from happening
B. cities built on earthquakes can be moved in time
C. losses and deaths caused by earthquakes can be reduced with human efforts
D. nothing can be done with earthquakes
4. What does the underlined “one disaster” in the last paragraph refer to？
A. Earthquakes.
B. Mans mismanagement of natural resources.
C. The text doesnt tell us.
D. All of the disasters mentioned.
Passage C
After the violent earthquake that shook Los Angeles in 1994， earthquake scientists had good news to report. The damage and death toll （伤亡） could have been much worse.
More than 60 people died in this earthquake. By comparison， an earthquake of similar intensity that shook America in 1988 claimed 25，000 victims.
Injures and deaths were relatively less in Los Angles because the quake occurred at 4∶31 a.m. on a holiday， when traffic was light on the citys highways. In addition， changes made to the construction codes in Los Angeles during the last 20 years have strengthened the citys buildings and highways， making them more resistant （有抵抗力的） to quakes①.