阅读理解训练findingthemainidea.docx

1、阅读理解训练findingthemainideaFinding the Main Idea: the authors messageabout the topic.Where are the main ideas foundIt is easy to identify a main idea that isdirectly expressed in the text.Main ideas are often found at thebeginning of paragraphs. The first sentence often explains the subject being discu

2、ssed in the passage.Main ideas are also found in theconcluding sentences of a paragraph. The main idea can be expressed as a summation of the information in the paragraph as well as a link to the information in the next paragraph.The main idea is not always clearly stated. It is more difficult to id

3、entify a main idea when it is inferred or implied. It can be implied through other words in the paragraph. An implied main idea can be found in several ways.Several sentences in a paragraph canimply the main idea by introducing facts about the topic before actually stating the topic.Implied ideas ca

4、n be drawn from facts, reasons, or examples that give hints or suggestions concerning the main idea. These hints will be clues leading you to discover the main idea in the selected text.Try the passage below to see if you can pick out the main idea.To many parents, the infants cryingmay be mainly an

5、 irritation, especially if it continues for long periods. But crying serves important functions for the child as well as for the parents. For the child, crying helps improve lung capacity and the respiratory system. Perhaps more important, the cry serves as a signal of distress. Whenbabies cry, they

6、 indicate that they are hungry or in pain, and this is important information for parents.Use the hints below to determine the correctmain idea of this paragraph.After reading a paragraph ask, What point isthe author making in this passageAsk the following questions:How can I determine if I have sele

7、cted the correct main idea of a paragraphIf you are able to summarize the information in the passage in your own words,you have absorbed the correct main idea. To accomplish this goal, try the steps listed below after reading a short section of your textbook.Write a short summary in your own words a

8、bout what you have read.Does your summary agree with thisgeneral topicDoes your summary contain the same ideas being expressed by the authorCould you write a headline (ortextbook subheading) that would express your summary in less than five wordsThe main idea sentence of a paragraph tells what the p

9、aragraph is about. The other sentences are details. Read the story and find the main idea.1.When you take amultiple-choice test, do you ever change your answers Somescientists think thatit is a smart thing to do. They found out that most students who change their answers make the right decision and

10、make better scores on their tests.The story main ly tells how to study for testswhatscie ntiststhi nkaboutan swershowto scorebetteron amultiple-choice testwhich an swers to cha nge on a test2.Because lambs are sometimes eate n by coyotes, ran chers may hunt ortrap the coyotes. However, killi ng coyo

11、tes may upset natures balanee.Scien tists have found a way to protect sheep without killi ng coyotes. Coyotes are fed lamb meat treated with a drug.When they eat the meat, they get sick.Later, coyotes wont even go near lambs. Theyll hunt rabbits in stead.This story mai nly tells why coyotes prefer r

12、abbits to lambs why killi ng coyotes upsetsn atures bala neehow scie ntists protect sheep and coyoteswhat kind of people dont like coyotes3.Dolly Madis on was the wife of Preside nt James Madis on. She was quitea brave First Lady. When the White House burned down, Dolly rescued important gover nment

13、 papers. She also saved the portrait of George Washington that hangs in the East Room today.This story mai nly tells who Dolly Madis ons husba nd was how the White House burned dow n about Dolley Madis ons courageous actswhere the portrait of George Wash ington hangs4.Every year hungry deer domillio

14、ns of dollars worth of damage toyoung pine trees. Scie ntists inWash ington have found a way to protect the trees. They use a substa nee called selenium. Selenium produces a bad smell when dissolved. A bit of this element is put in the gro und n ear trees. Rain dissolves the sele nium, and the trees

15、 absorb it. The bad smell keeps the deer away un til the trees are fully grow n.This story mai nly tells how much damage deer do to treeshow trees can be protected from deerwhat sele nium iswhy deer eat pine trees5.In real life, rattlesnakes tryto avoid people and seldom attack. Most people are bitt

16、e n only after they step on these sn akes. A rattles nake may not even inject its poison when it bites. In fact, more America ns die from in sect sti ngs tha n from sn akebites!the win dshield does nt break when therubber chicke n hits it, the desig nersknow that the glass can withsta nd theforce of

17、 a real crash.This story mai nly tells why birds can be dan gerous to airpla neshow a chick cannon tests glasshow big a bird has to be to damagean airpla neThis story mai nly tells how the chicke n cannon workshow rattles nakesarent asdan gerous as every one believes7.The diam ond is a hard eleme nt

18、why in sects kill people that can cut through almost any metal.whe n rattles nakes use their pois on how sn akes bite6.Imagi ne testi ng glass bythrow ing chicke ns at it Sometimes fast moving airpla nes fly through flocks of birds. If the birds hit the win dshield of a pla ne, the glass could shatt

19、er and cause a crash. Airpla ne manufacturers have made a chicke n cannon that fires rubber chickens at glass windshields. IfThat is why it is often used for in dustrial purposes. Whole diam ondstones are set into tools. Dust fromcrushed diam ond stones is used for coati ng the edges of tools. Care

20、must be taken when exposing diamonds to extreme heat because heat can turn them intographite. Graphite is the soft material used in the manufacture of lead for pen cils.This story mai nly tells how to turn a diam ond in to a graphitehow diam onds are used in in dustry how diam ond dust coats tool ed

21、ges whe n diam onds are used in pen cils8.Alfred Nobel inven ted dyn amiteto help builders, but it was used for war, which made him feel very guilty about the misuse of his invention. He was a rich man, so he set up a $9 million fund. Todaythe fund is used to reward people who have improved human li

22、fe. Nobel Prizes are awarded in six fields, includingpeace, medic ine, and chemistry.This story mai nly tells what the Nobel Prizes are awardedforwhy Nobel fou nded the Nobel Prizefundhow much money was set aside for rewardswhat inven ti on Alfred Nobelcreated9.The temperature of An tarticaonce fell

23、 to 128 degrees below zero Fahre nheit. In the summertime, temperatures average well below freez ing. Most of the land is coveredwith ice that is up to 2 miles thick. Only a few strong mosses and sturdy spiders can live on this big block of ice. Since very little snow or rain falls there,An tartica

24、is a desert.This story mai nly tells about a desert with extremely cold temperatureswhich pla nts and in sects live inAn tarticahow much snow and rain fall therehow low the temperature once fell10.The Marines had a problem inWorld War II. Orders were sent in code, but the en emy kept lear ning the c

25、ode.other people could speak Navajo, thisNoth ing could be kept secret. Then some one thought the Navajo soldiers could help the Marines. Since very fewIan guage was used as a code. No one on the enemy side knew Navajo, so the messages stayed secret.This story mai nly tells how Navajo people kept se

26、cretswhe n the secret code was usedhow the Marines used Navajo as acodewhy the original code had to bechanged11.Sharks have a keen sense ofhearing and can smell blood from almost 2,000 yards away. Sharks also have a special system of channels in their skin that helps them feel the vibratio ns of a s

27、plashing swimmer. We know that inclear water, sharks can see dinner from about 50 feet away. If you ever spot a shark, always swim away smoothly!This story mai nly tells how well sharks hearwhy sharks have poor visi onhow sharks sense foodwhe n to swim away smoothly12.Trousers are a recent style in

28、the history of fashion. Men wore tights under short, loose pants until the early 1800s whe n the first real pants for men appeared. Un til the 1940s few womenwore long pan ts. During World War II, wome n factory workers started weari ng long pan ts. The fashi on caught on.The story main ly tells tha

29、t long pants are a somewhat new fashi onwhe n men stopped weari ngpan talo onswho wore tightswhy wome n dont wear trousers13. Ascie ntistbelievesthatmilli ons of ani mals have died every 26milli on yearsHe thinksthat comets areresp on siblefor thosedeaths.Cometswould explodeon impactas theyslammedin

30、to Earth.Dust fromthe explosi onsblocked lightand heatfrom theSun.Pla nts and ani mals on Earth could not withstand such conditions, so they died.This story mai nly tells how ofte n ani mals diedwhy comets may come n ear Earthwhere the dust comes fromabout a possible cause of ani maldeaths in the pa

31、st14.The rare Chinese panda lives on ten der, young bambooshoots. Most bamboo pla nts die right after floweri ng.Without the bamboo the pan das starve. Because some people fear that the rare pan das may die out, in some places food is given to the hungry animals. Somepan das are airlifted to places where bamboo is still ple ntiful.This story mai nly tells what the Chin ese pan das usually eat how the bamboo pla nts flower how people are keep ing pan das alive why pan das sometimes starve to death15.Bob Geldof talked to the top musical tale nts of the world and askedthem to sing a