主旨大意题是全局性的问题，也就是说只有读完全文，了解文章的大意才能做。因此我们建议这类问题最好在做完这篇阅读理解所有问题后再去做，因为你在做完局部性的、细节辨认性的问题后，自然会对文章大意有一定的了解。这时再去做主旨大意题，就可省去读全文。

(一)常见的表述方式
What is the main topic of the passage?
With what topic is the passage primarily concerned?
The central idea conveyed in the above passage is that
Which of the following best sums up the passage?
The main idea of this passage is
The passage tells us
Which of the following statements best expresses/summarizes the main idea of the passage?
What is the main idea of the passage?
This article is mainly about
This passage deals mainly with
What does the passage mainly discuss?
Which of the following best states the theme of the passage?
In this passage the author/writer mainly argues that
The purpose of the author in writing the article is to
What does the author intend to convey through the passage?

(二)解题方法
1.重要位置解题法

任何一篇阅读理解文章都有一个中心思想。尽管绝大多数阅读理解文章是从一篇较长的文章中摘选下来的，但不管摘选一段还是几段，不管摘选哪几段，不管摘选长短，摘选下来的句子必须本身是自成一体的，是有中心思想的。一般说来，绝大多数文章的中心思想是用一个句子表达出来。其特点是概括性的。中心思想句到哪儿找?它在文章中的位置比较有规律，一般出现在文章的开头。
例1
Describing learning as meaning centered reminds us that the most fundamental concern of any learner is "making sense". In the relationship between reader and text, then,the making of meaning is primary. To describe the activities of reading and writing, we prefer the word "transacting" which "designates an ongoing process in which the elements or parts are seen as aspects or phases of a total situation. "A transactional view of reading and writing argues that writers construct texts "through transactions with the developing text and the meaning being expressed". Transformed in the process are the text itself and the writer's ways of organizing knowledge. During reading, readers construct texts by transacting with the page and indirectly with the author. Although reading is generally considered a "receptive" language process, this does not mean that the process is essentially passive. Readers use directions from the page to
construct meaning from their own prior knowledge;the reader must read between and beyond the lines.
Like reading, the process of writing is generative of meaning:we do not simply write down ideas that are fully formed before we put them to paper. The act of composing itself bring us ideas and insights. As meaning-making processes, reading, writing and talking are dynamic;meanings are developed and changed,discovered and clarfied, during the activities themselves. Iser has described this aspect of reading as "setting the work in motion" and setting oneself in motion too.
Clearly in reading and writing the learner's prior knowledge plays an important role. There are many types of knowledge important to the acts of reading and writing. Since all meanings are made in the context of prior meanings,with each person bringing a unique fund of prior knowledge and experience,we should not expect everyone to respond to texts in the same way.
The passage is mainly about
A. reading and writing
B. learning as meaning-centered
C. reading through transactions
D. the importance of prior knowledge
读了第一句Describing learning as meaning centered reminds US that the most fun-damental concern of any learner is“making sense”(把学习语言描写成以意思为中心，因为学习者最关心的就是自己说的、写的能否让人懂。)根据我们粗读和做其他题时得到的信息，这一句应是全文的中心思想。再读选项，B)learning as meaning-centered正好和这句意思对上，因此是答案无疑了。当然中心思想句出现在文章的后几段也有：

例2
A wise man once said that the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. So, as a police officer, I have some urgent things to say to good people.
Day after day my men and I struggle to hold back a tidal wave of crime. Something has gone terribly wrong with our once-proud American way of life. It has happened in the area of values. A key ingredient is disappearing, and I think I know what it is:ac-countability.
Accountability isn't hard to define. It means that every person is responsible for his or her actions and liable for their consequences.
Of the many values that hold civilization together--honesty, kindness,and so on--accountability may be the most important of all. Without it, there can be no respect, no trust, no law--and, ultimately, no society.
My job as a police officer is to impose accountability on people who refuse,or have never learned, to impose it on themselves. But as every policeman knows, external con-trols on people's behavior are far less effective than internal restraints such as guilt, shame and embarrassment.
Fortunately there are still communities--smaller towns, usually--where schools maintain discipline and where parents hold up standards that proclaim:"In this family certain things are not tolerated--they simply are not done!"
Yet more and more, especially in our larger cities and suburbs, these inner re-straints are loosening. Your typical robber has none. He considers your property his property ; he takes what he wants,including your life if you engage him.
The main cause of this break-down is a radical shift in attitudes. Thirty years ago, if a crime was committed,society was considered the victim. Now,in a shocking rever-sal,it's the criminal who is considered victimized : by his under-priviledged upbringing, by the school that didn't teach him to read, by the church that failed to reach him with moral guidance, by the parents who didn't provide a stable home.
I don't believe it. Many others in equally disadvantaged circumstances choose not to engage in criminal activities. If we free the criminal, even partly, from accountabili-ty,we become a society of endless excuses where no one accepts responsibility for any-thing.
We in America desperately need more people who believe that the person who commits a crime is the one responsible for it.
The key point of the passage is that
A. stricter discipline should be maintained in schools and families
B. more good examples should be set for people to follow
C. more restrictions should be imposed on people's behavior
D. more people should accept the value of accountability
这篇文章的中心思想句就出现在文章的第四段：Of the many values that hold civi-lization together--honesty，kindness，and so on--accountability may be the most im-portant of all.Without it，there can be no respect，no trust，no law――and，ultimately，no society(在许多人类文明的价值观念中，负起责任是最重要的)。文章最后一句的总结也是这一意思：We in America desperately need more people who believe that the per-son who commits a crime is the one responsible for it.使更多的人认识到犯罪的人要对自己的罪行负起责任。对照选项，D.more people should accept the value of accounta-bility就是这个意思。
也有中心思想旬在文章结尾出现的。