Question

When you practice reading with passages shorter than book length, do not try to take in each word separately, one after the other. It is much more difficult to grasp the broad theme of the passage this way, and you will also get the stuck on individual words which may not be absolutely essential to a general understanding of the passage. It is a good idea to skim through the passage very quickly first to get the general idea of each paragraph. Titles, paragraph headings and emphasized words can be a great help in getting this skeleton outline of the passage. It is surprising how many people do not read titles, introductions or paragraph headings. Can you, without looking back, remember the title of this passage and the heading of this paragraph?
Most paragraphs of a passage or chapter have a 'topic sentence' which expresses the central idea. The remaining sentences expand or support that idea. It has been estimated that between 50% and 90% of all expositive（说明的）paragraphs in English have the topic sentence first. Always pay special attention to the first sentence of a paragraph, it is most likely to give you the main idea.
Sometimes, though, the first sentence in the paragraph does not have the feel of 'main idea' sentence. It does not seem to give us enough new information to justify a paragraph. The next most likely place to look for the topic sentence is the last sentence of the paragraph.
Remember that the opening and closing paragraphs of a passage or chapter are particularly important. The opening paragraph suggests the general direction and content of the piece, while the closing paragraph often summarizes the very essence（精髓）

1. 1.
   It is a good idea to skim through a passage quickly first ______.
   1. A.
      at about 315 w.p.m.（words per minute）
   2. B.
      to get the general idea of each paragraph
   3. C.
      so that you can take in each work separately
   4. D.
      to make sure you get to the end at least once
2. 2.
   The topic sentence of an expository paragraph in English ______.
   1. A.
      usually comes in the middle
   2. B.
      is most likely to be found at the end
   3. C.
      is most often at the beginning
   4. D.
      is usually left out in expository writing
3. 3.
   Most expository paragraphs in English have a clearly defined topic sentence. In such paragraphs the topic sentence comes first ______.
   1. A.
      in about 5% of cases
   2. B.
      in about 80% of cases
   3. C.
      in about 20% cases
   4. D.
      very rarely
4. 4.
   Sometimes we know the first sentence is not the topic sentence because ______.
   1. A.
      it does not seem to give us enough new information
   2. B.
      it is not long enough
   3. C.
      it does not come at the beginning
   4. D.
      it does not make a complete sentence
5. 5.
   The closing paragraph of a piece of writing ______.
   1. A.
      is not really very important
   2. B.
      is often unnecessary repetition
   3. C.
      often comes at the end
   4. D.
      often summarizes the essence of the passage

Answer 1

BCBAD
试题分析：在本文中作者介绍了一些重要的阅读技巧，比如要想了解文章大意，最好的方法是看文章标题和段落小标题以及每段的主题句，而且指出基本上50%--90%的主题句都出现在每段开头。此外作者还强调阅读时要着重看文章首段和尾段，因为这些都是提出中心思想的重要段落。
1.B细节理解题。根据文章第一段 It is a good idea to skim through the passage very quickly first to get the general idea of each paragraph.可知要想了解每一段的大意，快速阅读是个好方法。故B选项正确。
2.C细节理解题。 根据文章第二段It has been estimated that…… expositive paragraphs in English have the topic sentence first. 可知大多数主题句都是段落的第一句，所以答案选C。
3.B细节理解题。根据第二段 It has been estimated that between 50% and 90% of all expositive paragraphs in English have the topic sentence first. 可知50%--90%的情况下主题句出现在段落的开始，所以B选项正确。
4.A细节理解题。根据第三段It does not seem to give us enough new information to justify a paragraph.可知如果一个句子不能提供足够信息，则这句话就不是主题句，所以A选项正确。
5.D细节理解题。根据文章末句 while the closing paragraph often summarizes the very essence可知D选项正确。
考点：考查教育类短文阅读。