主旨大意题是中心思想题中的一种最为典型的题型。(解题方法如上文)
例1、The American economic system is organized around a basically private-enterprise， market-oriented economy in which consumers largely determine what shall be produced by spending their money in the marketplace for those goods and services that they want most. Private businessmen， striving to make profits， produce these goods and services in competition with other businessmen； and the profit motive， operating under competitive pressures， largely determines how these goods and services are produced. Thus， in the American economic system it is the demand of individual consumers， coupled with the desire of businessmen to maximize profits and the desire of individuals to maximize their incomes， that together determine what shall be produced and how resources are used to produce it.
An important factor in a market-oriented economy is the mechanism by which consumer demands can be expressed and responded to by producers. In the American economy， this mechanism is provided by a price system， a process in which prices rise and fall in response to relative demands of consumers and supplies offered by seller-producers. If the product is in short supply relative to the demand， the price will be bid up and some consumers will be eliminated from the market. If， on the other hand， producing more of a commodity results in reducing its cost， this will tend to increase the supply offered by seller-producers， which in turn will lower the price and permit more consumers to buy the product. Thus， price is the regulating mechanism in the American economic system.
The important factor in a private-enterprise economy is that individuals are allowed to own productive resources（private property）， and they are permitted to hire labor， gain control over natural resources， and produce goods and services for sale at a profit. In the American economy， the concept of private property embraces not only the ownership of productive resources but also certain rights， including the right to determine the price of a product or to make a free contract with another private individual.
The passage is mainly about .（1994）
（A） how American goods are produced
（B） how American consumers buy their goods.
（C） how American economic system works
（D） how American businessmen make their profits
解析：
第一步：判断本题目属于中心思想题；因此进入中心思想题的解题方法；
第二步：阅读文章首、末段首、末句4句话，使用剥洋葱式句子结构分析法得知这个4句话的意思（限于篇幅的原因我们就不一一翻译了）；翻译后我们发现，即使翻译为中文我们还是不知道文章的论点是什么。因此进入第2解题的思维：找最佳答案；
第三步：A选项是原文讲到的选项，原文第一段最后一句话说that together determine what shall be produced and how resources are used to produce it，因此A是正确的，但是我们不能立刻就选A，因为我们在找最佳答案，既然是最佳就要有4个选项的比较，完全有可能4个选项都是正确的，但是只能选择一个；B选项是原文第一段最后一句讲到的，the desire of individuals to maximize their incomes，因此B也是正确的，符合原文意思的；C选项原文四句话都讲到了，但是美国经济模式的运作的范围很显然大于这个4句话的范围。D选项在原文第一段的最后一句也讲到了desire of businessmen to maximize profits，因此D也是正确符合原文意思的。4个选项都是正确的，但是不同的是A、B和D只是在原文的第一段的最后一句讲到了，很显然C选项概括了4句话的全部内容，因此因该选择C.
例2、One hundred and thirteen million Americans have at least one bank-issued credit card. They give their owners automatic credit in stores， restaurants， and hotels， at home， across the country， and even abroad， and they make many banking services available as well.
More and more of these credit cards can be read automatically， making it possible to withdraw or deposit money in scattered locations， whether or not the local branch bank is open. For many of us the“cashless society”is not on the horizon-it‘s already here. While computers offer these conveniences to consumers， they have many advantages for sellers too. Electronic cash registers can do much more than simply ring up sales. They can keep a wide range of records， including who sold what， when， and to whom. This information allows businessmen to keep track of their list of goods by showing which items are being sold and how fast they are moving. Decisions to reorder or return goods to suppliers can then be made. At the same time these computers record which hours are busiest and which employees are the most efficient， allowing personnel and staffing assignments to be made accordingly. And they also identify preferred customers for promotional campaigns. Computers are relied on by manufacturers for similar reasons. .
Computer-analyzed marketing reports can help to decide which products to emphasize now， which to develop for the future， and which to drop. Computers keep track of goods in stock， of raw materials on hand， and even of the production process itself. Numerous other commercial enterprises， from theaters to magazine publishers， from gas and electric utilities to milk processors， bring better and more efficient services to consumers through the use of computers.
What is this passage mainly about？ （1994）
（A） Approaches to the commercial use of computers.
（B） conveniences brought about by computers in business.
（C） Significance of automation in commercial enterprises.
（D） Advantages of credit cards in business.
解析：
第一步：判断本题目属于中心思想题；因此进入中心思想题的解题方法；
第二步：阅读文章首、末段首、末句4句话，使用剥洋葱式句子结构分析法得知这个4句话的意思（限于篇幅的原因我们就不一一翻译了）；翻译后我们发现，即使翻译为中文我们还是不知道文章的论点是什么。因此进入第2解题的思维：找最佳答案；
第三步：A的意思是电脑的商业使用的方法，文章在最后一段讲到了电脑的商业使用的问题，因此A是符合原文意思的；B的意思是商业中电脑带来的便利，原文讲到了B选项，明显的证明是bring better and more efficient services to consumers through the use of computers，所以B也是正确并符合原文意思的；C的意思是自动化在商业企业中的重要性，文章4句话没有讲到自动化的问题，更没有讲到什么重要性，因此C是和原文无关的选项；D的意思是商业中信用卡的重要性，文章在第一段的第一句话就讲到了信用卡，但是没有讲到信用卡的重要性，因此D也是无关选项；因此这个题目的答案必然在A和B中产生。这个时候我们应该比较A和B有什么不同的地方。我们发现A强调的是“方法Approaches”而B强调的是“便利conveniences”，很显然文章着重讲解的是电脑带来的便利，因此这个题目应该选B；