公共英语三级考试中，主旨推断题不仅频繁出现在阅读测试中，还专门设有一个大题(61-65)全部是有关主旨的。主旨推断题要求考生具有很强的话语篇章把握能力和分析能力，能够从全局的角度对文章括以总领，梳清脉络。可以说，对阅读理解主旨题的把握能力决定了阅读这个整体题项的成败，它也是衡量阅读水平高低的一个重要标尺。所以，如果我们在这个题上能够取得突破，就等于是攻克了阅读当中最顽固的堡垒，其它类型的题也就不在话下了。
所谓主旨大意题指针对段落或短文的subject(主题)、main idea(主题思想)、title(题目)或purpose(目的)拟题。尽管题型或用词不尽相同，但所针对的都是段落(或短文)的主旨大意。
以下是针对段落(或短文)的主旨大意所设立的常见题型：
1. What is the main idea of this paragraph(passage)？
2. What is the author′s main point?
3. The main idea (central thought)of the paragraph(passage)is ______
4. Which of the following sentences best expresses the main idea?
5. What does the paragraph (passage)mainly suggest?
6. The main point of the paragraph(passage)is ______
7. The paragraph (passage)centers on the point that ______
8. The author seems to be especially interested in ______
9. The topic sentence of the paragraph(passage)？
10. What topic is treated in this paragraph(passage)？
11. What the paragaph (passage) tells us would be summarized by the sentence ______
12. The best summary of the paragraph (passage)is that ______
13. The paragraph (passage)informs us that ______
14. We can infer from the paragraph (passage)that ______
15. What does this paragraph (passage) imply?
16. What is the subject of this paragraph (passage)？
17. Which of the following can be concluded from the information presented in this paragraph (passage)？
18. What conclusion can be drawn from this paragraph (passage) ?
19. The (main) subject of the paragraph (passage) is ______
20. Which of the following best states the theme of paragraph (passage)？
21. The paragraph (passage) states (illustrates, discusses, deals with, is concerned about, describes) ______
22. The main purpose of this paragraph (passage) is that ______
23. What is discussed (talk about)in this paragraph (passage)？
24.The main (primary)purpose of the paragraph (passage)？
25. What is the author’s main purpose?
26. The primary objective of the paragraph (passage) is ______
27. The paragraph (passage) indicates that ______
28. Which of the following is true?
29. Which of the following would be the best title for this paragraph (passage)？
30. The title of this paragraph (passage) would be ______
31. The title that best expresses the main idea is ______
在各类英语考试阅读理解题中，推断主题大意题所占比例较大，几乎每一文章都设一个主旨题。出题者意在通过此题考查考生语篇能力。
领会作者的观点
作者观点和态度有时是从作者的直接表达中看出来。有时是从批驳他人的观点中体现的。有时是以具体事例来表明的。而除了与A节有一部分相同的解题技巧之外，B节部分还有它特别要注意的技巧：
(1)把握指示语中包含的信息
指示语(directions)中包含了文章中涉及的主题内容。考生不要忽视了对指示语的阅读和其中信息的把握。
(2)把握每段的中心意思和说话人的态度倾向
由于不同的段落都是关于同一个话题的不同观点，首先要找出说话人的基本观点倾向。不要受段落中的一些次要观点所干扰。而作者的态度倾向大多时候是从作者的措辞中体现出来。用褒义词表明作者是持赞成或喜欢的态度，贬义词则表明作者是持否定或讨厌的态度，而使用中性词则表明作者持不置可否或无所谓的态度。意不同说话人的观点的细微区别，把握他们观点在程度上的不同。最后，要把握说话人的言外之意。有时说话人用的是讽刺的语气，那么他/她的言外之意可能与他/她的字面意思是相反的。
(3)利用比较法和排除法
由于B节是搭配题，因此可联系不同选项用排除法进行选择。先把观点相对鲜明的段落和选项搭配好，然后把剩下的选项好好进行比较，再到段落中去进一步寻找直接或间接的证据。
