主题思想（the Main Idea）是作者在文章中要表达的核心内容，也是作者自始至终要说明的问题。能否抓住一篇文章的主题思想，体现了读者总结、概括和归纳事物的能力。可以说，找出主题思想是一项十分重要的阅读技能。
一、抓主题思想，我们首先要学会识别文章中那些最根本、最具有概括力的信息。这种信息应能归纳和概括文中其他信息所具有的共性。例一：
Directions：Choose the most general sentence．
A．The hotel offers complimentary coffee from 7to 10a．m．daily．
B．There are many reasons why guests feel at home at the Glorietta Bay Inn．
C．The coin-operated laundry room has an ironing board．
D．There are a number of extra services at the Glorietta Bay Inn including baby-sitting．
A、C、D都是从不同的侧面说明旅馆的服务情况，相互间并无联系。而B却概括了A、C、D的共性的东西，即：为什么旅客住在这家旅馆里有宾至如归的感觉。因此，B符合题意，倘若在一段文章中包含了以上A、B、C、D几条信息，那么，B就是该段的中心思想。出于同样的道理，如果在一篇文章中，作者分段叙述几方面的内容，那么，这些段落所围绕和要说明的问题就是该文的中心思想。例二：
Directions：Choose the main idea of the article．（Following are the topic sentences of an article．）
1）A mounting body of evidence suggests that fighting violence with violence rarely deters a crime in proGREss and greatly increases the chances of changing a robbery into a violent attack on the victim．．．．
2）One report shows that at least 100 thousand handguns are stolen from private owners each year，the vast majority during burglaries．．．．
3）Moreover，a study of robberies in eight American cities states that in less than 4 percent of the crimes did the victim have the opportunity to use a weapon．．．．
Which of the following best reflects the main idea of the article？
A．What happens to the victims of crime？
B．Is your family safe？
C．Should you arm yourself against crime？
第一段和第三段提到了victims（受害者），第二段提到了入室行窃，但是第三段说明的共同问题是人们是否应拥有自卫武器来反对犯罪行为。因此只有选项C才能概括这三段所共同说明的问题，也就是此文的中心思想。
