可見，注意作者的口氣是推測(cè)他寫作目的的關(guān)鍵。除此外，還要注意文章的主題大意。雖然寫作目的和文章大意是兩回事，但把握文章的中心思想對(duì)于推測(cè)寫作目的會(huì)大有幫助。

　　例2

　　Beauty has always been regarded as something praiseworthy. Almost everyone thinks attractive people are happier and healthier, have better marriages and have more respectable occupations. Personal consultants give them better advice for finding jobs. Even judges are softer on attractive defendants(被告). But in the executive circle, beauty can be- come a liability. While attractiveness is a positive factor for a man on his way up the ex- ecutive ladder,it is harmful to a woman. Handsome male executive were perceived as having more integrity than plainer men,effort and ability were thought to account for their success. Attractive female executives were considered to have less integrity than unattractive ones; their success was attributed not to ability but to factors such as luck. All unattractive women executive were thought to have more integrity and to be more capable than the attractive female executives. Interestingly, though, the rise of the unattractive overnight successes was attributed more to personal relationships and less to ability than was that of attractive overnight successes. Why are attractive women not thought to be able? An attractive woman is perceived to be more feminine(女性的)and an attractive man more masculine(男性的)than the less attractive ones. Thus, an attractive woman has an advantage in traditionally female jobs, but an attractive woman in a traditionally masculine position appears to lack the "masculine" qualities required. This is true even in politics. "When the only clue is how he or she looks,peo- ple treat men and women differently,"says Anne Bowman,who recently published a study on the effects of attractiveness on political candidates. She asked 125 undergradu- ate students to rank two groups of photographs,one of men and one of women,in order of attractiveness. The students were told the photographs were of candidates for politi- cal offices. They were asked to rank them again,in the order they would vote for them.

　　The results showed that attractive males utterly defeated unattractive men, but the women who had been ranked most attractive invariably received the fewest votes.

　　The author writes this passage-to

　　A. discuss the negative aspects of being attractive

　　B. give advice to job-seekers who are attractive

　　C. demand equal rights for women

　　D. emphasize the importance of appearance

　　第一段說(shuō)美貌漂亮對(duì)婚姻、對(duì)其他職業(yè)有利，但對(duì)管理部門不是如此：But in the executive circle，beauty can become a liability.這句是全文的中心，后面的文章都圍繞它展開。第二、三段男女比較：在管理部門男的漂亮是個(gè)寶，而女的則有害：It does harm to woman.第四、五段是相貌漂亮的女子與相貌平平的女子相比，前者與公關(guān)聯(lián)系在一起，后者與能力、才干聯(lián)系在一起。第六段是分析造成這種觀點(diǎn)的原因。最后兩段是一個(gè)實(shí)驗(yàn)，說(shuō)明漂亮的女子在政治領(lǐng)域也不占上風(fēng)。因此抓住全文的中心，不難推測(cè)A項(xiàng)discuss the negative aspects of being attractive(告訴讀者，漂亮對(duì)女性的負(fù)面影響)是答案。

　　除了注意語(yǔ)氣和文章的中心思想，還要注意文章的論述方法。

　　例3

　　It seems odd that while three-quarters of the world's surface is covered with wa-ter,getting an adequate supply of it that's fresh, clean,and safe to use for drinking, cooking and washing,is one of the most pressing problems that faces humanity. Most of the earth's water is salt water in the oceans ; only three percent is fresh and only a small part of that is accessible. It may be trapped deep underground,in polar ice caps and anyway is unequally distributed around the globe, hence the occurrence of droughts and floods. Of the remaining fresh water,much is polluted and dangerous to use.

　　A large part of UNICEF's work is involved in bringing safe water to people and educating them in basic health care,hygiene and nutrition(衛(wèi)生和營(yíng)養(yǎng)). Diarrhoea and enteric diseases spread by polluted water and lack of hygiene are the most common caused of death and illness in children under five in the developing world.