2．短文
该部分共有短文三篇，设10个小题，重要考查两方面的内容：
1）对主题的判断
(1)提问的方式
主题题通常以下列方式提问：
What is the main idea/topic of this passage?
What does the passage mainly discuss?
What can we learn from the passage?
What is the passage mainly about?
(2)选项特点
主题题的四个选项一般都以短语的方式出现。如：
① A. Two types of only children. B. Parent's responsibilities.
C. The necessity of family planning. D. The relationship between parents and children.
② A. Environmental pollution and protection. B. Taxes and services for the public.
C. Police efforts to protect people. D. People's attitude toward taxes.
③ A. The difference between classical music and rock music.
B. Why classical music is popular with math students.
C. The effects of music on the results of math tests.
D. How to improve your reasoning activity.
(3)解题技巧
对于这类题，同学们在听的时候应特别注意文章的首句和尾句，首句一般开篇点名主题，而尾句则总结全文，根据这两句进行推断一般可以确定文章的主题。如上面②题可根据文章最后一段的尾句解答，请看原文：
We use all sort of services without thinking how we get them. But such services cost money. We pay for them through taxes. What would happen if everyone in a city stop paying taxes? The water supply would stop. The street might not be cleaned. There would be no police force to protect people and property.
The chief duty of every government is to protect persons and proper-
ty. More than three-fourths of the money spent by our government is used for this purpose. The next largest amount of public money goes to teach and train our citizens. Billions of dollars each year are spent on schools and libraries. Public money is used to pay the teachers and other public officials.
Years ago the government made money from the sale of public lands. But most of the best public lands has now been sold. The money raised was used to help pay the cost of government. There are still some public lands that contain oil, coal, gas, and other natural products. They could be sold, but we want to save them for future years. So we all must pay our share for the services that make our lives comfortable.
从尾句可以看出文章谈论的是人们为什么都应该交税以使我们的生活更加美好。
再如③题，同学们可以通过文章的开始几句，找到文章的主题。请看原文：
Do you have a tough math test coming up? Then listen to some classical piano music just before the test. You might end up with a higher score. Researchers at a university in California conducted an experiment. They asked a group of college students to listen to some piano music by a famous 18th century composer before taking a math test. They were surprised to find that the students' scores jumped 8 to 9 points. The music seems to excite nerve activities in the brain; similar to the activity that occurs when a person is figuring out a math problem. However, the scientists warn that before you get too excited about applying the method to your math test, you should remember that brain exciting effects last only 10 or 15 minutes. Would rock music work as well as the piano music did? No, the scientists say. In fact, the less complex music might even interfere with the brain's reasoning ability.
显然，黑体部分表明了文章的主题，紧接着的实验为支撑细节，用于说明文章的主题。
2） 对具体事实的判断
(1)提问的方式
对细节的提问通常以wh-question的方式出现，主要针对文章的有关人物、事件、地点、时间、原因、目的、数据等。
如上面两篇短文的其它几个问题的选项。
① What's the chief duty of every government?
A. To protect persons and property. B. To collect taxes.
C. To teach and train citizens. D. To save natural resources for future use.
② How did the government raise money in the past?
A. By selling services that make life comfortable. B. By selling land containing oil.
C. By selling public lands. D. By selling coal and other natural products.
① Why can classical music play a positive role in problem solving?
A. Because it stimulates your nerve activity. B. Because it keeps you calm.
C. Because it strengthens your memory. D. Because it improves your problem solving ability.
②What is one of the findings of the research?
A. Piano music could interfere with your reasoning ability.
B. The effects of music do not last long?
C. The more you listen to music, the higher your test scores will be.
D. Music, whether classical or rock, helps improve your memory.
(2)选项特点
这种细节判断题以辨认题居多。有可能几个选项在文章中都有所提及，但只要同学们仔细听，注意分别，就能从原文中找到出处。如上面99年6月的考题，第①题可以在文章找到The chief duty of every government is to protect persons and property，这同样也是第二段的主题句，是整段要说明的内容。第②题也能从文章找到Years ago the government made money from the sale of public lands.一句为佐证。
再如99年1月的考题，①②两题也都能从文章中找到信息句，如The music seems to excite nerve activities in the brain. 和… you should remember that brain exciting effects last only 10 or 15 minutes.。
从考查的范围来看，短文听力中原因的考查最多，其次是对具体所发生的事情的判断，也包括依据事实所做的推理判断。如99年6月第二篇短文、2000年1月第二篇短文全是原因的考查，一般原因考查题多出现在故事短文中，只要同学们能够理清故事的来龙去脉，这种原因题就比较简单。如：
When I was at school, my ambition was to be a pilot in the Air Force. But my eyesight wasn't good enough. So I had to give up that idea. I went to university and studied physics. I wanted to stay on there and do research, but my father died at about that time. So I thought I'd better get a job and earn my living. I started working in an engineering firm
I expected to stay in that job for a long time. But then, they appointed a new managing director. I didn't get on with him, so I resigned and applied for a job with another engineering company. I would certainly have accepted the job if they had offered it to me, but on my way to the interview I met a friend who was working for a travel agency. He offered me a job in Spain. And I've always liked Spain, so I took it.
I worked in the travel agency for two years and then they wanted to send me to South America. But I had just got married. So I decided to stay here. Then we had a baby and I wasn't earning enough to support the family. So I started giving English lessons at school in the evenings.
I liked the English teaching more than working for the travel agency, and then the owner of the school offered me a full-time job as a teacher. So I resigned from the agency. Two years later, the owner of the school wanted to retire, so he asked me to take over as the director. And here I am.
14. Why did the man give up studying physics?
15. Why did the man resign from the engineering firm?
16. Why did the man take the job at the travel agency?
17. Why did the man start to teach English part time?
很显然本短文要求同学们了解文中的"我"工作变化的原因。但考试时同学们看不到问题，只能看到选项。在这种情况下，同学们应该做的是：
注意问题的顺序与短文所讲故事发生的时间顺序是一致的。
一边听，一边判断选项是否符合事实，在短文中是否提到。
最后再听问题，这时只是验证一下自己的答案而已。
(3)解题技巧
一篇文章，一个主题，内容上完整统一，所有的细节都是围绕主题展开，为主题服务。听力理解所要求的是对文章的整体把握，细节也应该是用于说明主题的主要细节。也就是说，每篇短文的几个题是相互关联的，相互说明的。选择细节理解题时应注意：
① 注意抓主要细节；
② 注意信息的直接辨认，从听力文章中找到信息句；
③ 注意各题之间的关联，保证相互说明，不能相互矛盾。