通常在解答雅思阅读中段落标题配对这种题型时,很多考生习惯于机械地通过阅读各个段落的首句,第二句或者最后一句来寻找各个段落的主题句( topic sentence)，即该段中归纳概括段落大意或中心思想的句子。
然而，在全面分析完剑桥雅思全真试题集1-6中所有收录的段落标题配对题后，笔者发现，绝大部分此类题的正确答案确实可以通过确定主题句获得，但有些段落安排以及正确选项的归纳并没有考生期待得那么简单。粗略归纳一下，大致有以下几个特殊性。本文将从这些特殊段落的特点出发，举实例来具体分析其应对策略。
特点1：段落内容均为举例
策略：略读举例内容，大致了解举例目的(即论据部分所支持的观点)，并将其与选项进行对照，与举例目的表达相同观点的选项即为正解。
例： The Dutch are not the only would-be moles. Growing numbers of Europeans are burrowing below ground to create houses, offices, discos and shopping malls…; in winter months in Montreal, Canada, for instance, citizens can escape the cold in an underground complex compete with shops and even health clinics. In Tokyo builders are planning a massive underground city to be begun in the next decade, and underground shopping malls are already common in Japan…
分析：很明显，此段没有所谓的主题句，而是以Europe, Canada 以及Tokyo为例.在快速看完举例部分后，我们不难总结出，举例的目的是要说明世界各地正着手开发包括地下城市，地下诊所，地下舞厅和地下购物中心在内的多样化地下服务设施.而这一观点正好跟选项Developing underground services around the world 相吻合。
特点2：段落本身有主题句，但正确选项并未根据主题句归纳
策略：继续读主题句后面部分的内容，即扩展句(supporting sentences, 对主题句起支持或进一步解释说明的句子)部分，正确选项往往就是对扩展句具体涉及内容的概括。
例： There are big advantages, too, when it comes to private homes. A development of 194 houses which would take up 14 hectares of land above ground would occupy 2.7 hectares below it, while the number of roads would be halved… An underground dweller himself, Carpenter has never paid a heating bill …
分析：不难看出，划线的句子作为本段的首句，具有概括性，实为主题句。如果正确选项是依据此句来归纳的话，那理应包含advantages 或是同样表示优势、优点、长处的其它词。可事实是，所给选项中没有一项涉及此类词。单纯找主题句看来对于这个段落已不适用。继续往后读，我们发现，后面部分其实是对地下住宅所具备的优点的进一步举例解释。列举数字无非是要说明地下住宅节省土地和空间;而以Carpenter这个地下住宅居住者为例，就是要说明这种住宅既省钱又节能。由此，答案锁定为Demands on space and energy are reduced.
特点3：段落中涉及多个观点内容
策略：正确答案常常依据段落中所占篇幅较多或作者要强调的观点来归纳
例： Building big commercial buildings underground can be a way to avoid distinguishing or threatening a beautiful or ‘environmentally sensitive’ landscape. Indeed many of the buildings which consume most land - such as cinemas, supermarkets, theatres, warehouses or libraries - have no need to be on the surface since they do not need windows.
分析：此段总共包含两个句子，但各句表明不同的观点。前者认为修建大型地下建筑可以避免破坏城市风景，而后者则强调很多建筑因为不需要窗户可以被建在地下。 Indeed(确实，甚至)的出现，正好表明本段的重心是要突出强调后者观点，即有些建筑不需要窗户(自然采光)。所以毫无疑问地选择 Some buildings do not require natural light。
特点4：比较关系出现在句中
策略：忽略作为参照物的前者，后者才是作者真正要说明的观点
例： Working Germans are particularly vulnerable, with a 33 percent higher risk at the beginning of the working week. Non-workers, by comparison, appear to be no more at risk on a Monday than any other day.
分析：此段两句以by comparison 衔接，同时也体现了前后两者的比较关系。以working Germans 作为参照物，本段真正的目的在于表明后者，即那些失业人员在星期一患心脏病的机率并不比其它任何一天高。所以正确答案为Jobless but safer。
特点5：转折、让步关系出现在句中
策略：忽略让步状语从句内容，重点关注转折部分，即but 或however等表示转折关系的连接词后面的内容。
例： The risk of having a heart attack on any given day should be one in seven, but a six-year study coordinated by researchers at the Free University of Berlin of more tan 2,600 Germans revealed that the average person had a 20 percent higher chance of having a heart attack on a Monday than on any other day.
分析：but的出现引导我们关注其后面所要表明的内容。又因为段落标题配对是对段落大意的概括，所以在理解转折部分的内容时，我们只需要把握住句子的主干就可以了。由此，根据主干a study revealed that the average person had a 20 percent higher chance of having a heart attack on a Monday than on any other day 研究显示普通人在星期一患心脏病的比率比其它任何一天高出百分之二十, 我们选择选项 High-risk Monday。
特点6：表达相同含义的词或短语相继出现在段落各句中
策略： 寻找含有高频词汇的选项
例： … If we are to believe the forecasts, it is predicted that two-thirds of the world population will be without fresh water by 2025…While some areas are devastated by flooding, scarcity of water in many other places is causing conflicts. The state of Texas in the United States of America is suffering a shortage of water … there is now talk of water being the new oil.
分析：本段各句中都涉及水资源的短缺，相关词汇分别为：without fresh water, scarcity of water, a shortage of water 以及 water being the new oil。根据词义对应选项，得出正解为 shortage of water。
总之，在应对段落标题配对题时，我们不能一味单纯地从寻找主题句出发，只有熟悉其可能出现的各种特殊情况，在策略上做出相对应的调整，我们才有可能灵活自如地提高正确率。
