之所以有這樣的討論，重要原因在于，很多同學認為文章中的每個段落、每個句子甚至每個單詞對于閱讀理解而言都同等重要。是不是這樣呢?我們一起來看一個雅思考試中所出現的段落。

　　Privately held companies are voluntarily adding more scrutiny, as well. In a recent survey that drew responses from 1400 CFOs in such businesses, 58 percent said they are responding to new corporate-governance standards. Of those, 36 percent are creating or expanding internal auditing, according to Robert HALF management Resources. An American company with $3 billion to $4 billion in revenue typically has about 16 internal auditors. The job is often a training ground for future management positions, but those who stay in the field and become directors earn an average of just under $100,000. The IIA offers certification for internal auditors, but many firms do not require it.

　　參考譯文：

　　私營公司現在也開始更加注重企業的內部審計工作。調查結果顯示，一項對1400位公司首席財務執行官的調查結果顯示，有58%的企業正在采取措施以符合系的公司管理標準的要求。當然，根據羅伯特哈夫管理資源公司(Robert HALF management Resources )的說法，36%的公司正在建立或是加大內部審計工作的力度。一般來說，營業額在30億到40億美元的一個美國公司就會有16個內部審計員。這種職位通常都是晉升為管理階層的一個過渡，但是從事此項工作并最終成為主管的人員年薪都可達到100,000美元左右。IIA負責頒發內部審計員資格證書，但很多公司其實并不需要這種認證。

　　這段話的每一句的含義，我們現在都了解了。很明顯，這段話最大的特點是幾乎每句話都出現了具體的數字。那么作者寫這段話的目的是什么呢，是要強調這些數字的重要性嗎?顯然不是。這些數字本身并沒有什么實際意義。提出這些數字的目的，只是為了體現出“私營公司現在也開始更加注重企業的內部審計工作”。大家可以體會一下是不是這樣。

　　顯然，第一句話是全段的核心，其他句子都是從某一個側面支持或論證這句話的。

　　我們來梳理一下閱讀這段話給我們的啟示。

　　段落由兩個部分組成，即重要的內容，和次要的內容。

　　我們以后可以把重要的內容叫做主題，而次要的內容叫做支持性的細節。因為雅思考試閱讀部分的文章都是論說文，即以說理為主，說明為輔。

　　我們先來看一下主題句的特點：

　　內容：一般比較抽象概括

　　位置：一般出現在兩個位置的可能性最大：每段話的開頭和結尾。

　　通常而言，主題句就是一段話的第一句。后面的句子一般為支持性的細節，以解釋、發展或是支持主題句所表現的主要論點。

　　The recent string of corporate scandals provided a rude awakening to the importance of these internal checks. In the case of WorldCom, it was internal auditor Cynthia Cooper who blew the whistle on the company for inflating profits by $3.8 billion. She didn’t intend to be a hero, she said to Time magazine when it named her one of its Persons of the Year. She was just doing her job.

　　Chief constables had disapproved of the use of league tables. They complained that they provoked unfair criticism because they did not compare like with like. Mr. Denham said the graphs were easier to comprehend than tables. “As people get familiar” with this type of graphical presentation they will realize it contains a lot of data that can be understood after an initial glance. “ The spidergrams are based on five indicators: reducing crime, investigation crime, public safety, deployment of resources and the view of a focus group of local citizens.

　　有時候主題句也會出現在整段話的最后。這樣的結構安排，通常出現在一個討論困難的、不為大眾所接受的話題或者文章的主要目的是為了說服讀者接受某種結論的段落中。因為先把道理說清楚，那么讀者就會比較容易接受新的觀點和看法。

　　If the wind becomes gusty after a period of calm, you should seek shelter. The sky needs careful watching too. Gradual darkening and “boiling” clouds should quicken your pace. Lightening and thunder are common enough storm indicators, but few people realize that the brightness of the lightening is not nearly as important as the number of lightning flashes. The signs of an oncoming storm are many, and a person’s life may depend on his ability to interpret them,

　　主題句也可能在段落當中：

　　From one perspective, this huge customer base represents a hair-raising social liability. Surgical and hospital costs fro regular heart transplants run as high as $500,000. these procedures haven’t burdened the medical system so far – but only because the supply of transplantable hearts has been limited to about 2000 a year. Abiomed plans to price its heart between $75000 and $10000 initially, and with volume production, the price could fall as low as $10000. However, even at the lower price, artificial hearts are an issue that will lead into moral quicksands, says medical ethicist David Steinberg of the Lahey Clinic in Burlington, Mass. What happens, Steinberg muses, “if heart replacement – and intervention directly and visibly linked to who will live and who will die—becomes available only to those who can afford it?