在基础阶段，考研英语阅读起到重要的桥梁作用。在做阅读理解的过程中，许多考生在读文章时，只关注单个单词的含义，而没有利用单词之间的语义关联来确定文章的中心或主题的意识，从而导致阅读速度慢且效率不高，进而影响到做题的准确率。考研阅读文章的一个显著特点就是中心单一、突出，即整个文章的说明或论述紧紧围绕一个主题展开。可以说文章的主题就是灯塔，所以考生在一开始就应该抓住，围绕主题再去读文章，事半功倍。

那么，什么是文章的主题呢？考研文章的主题往往由两到三个关键词组成，这些关键词也可称为主题词。因此，在读文章的过程中，考生们一定要有寻找主题词的意识。一首乐曲，我们辨识它的高潮会通过它旋律的复现来捕捉，哪个旋律重复的次数最多，哪个就是最强音符。主题词也是如此，它在文章或段落中的复现率会很高。大部分考生可能会以为复现高就是显性复现，即原词复现。其实，为了避免重复，主题词常常会以隐性复现的方式出现，如近义复现、反义复现、同根复现、指代复现、上下义复现等。

以上谈及的是主题词的特点，概括来说有两点：一是出现频率高；二是词义复现。抓住了主题词，在选择答案时尽量选择含有主题词的选项，正确的几率就会高。但是，并不是所有出现频次高的词都能当作主题词，主题词通常是语篇中的名词、动词、形容词。

名词表主题

When it comes to the slowing economy, Ellen Spero isn't biting her nails just yet. But the 47 year old manicurist isn't cutting, filing or polishing as many nails as she'd like to, either. Most of her clients spend $12 to $50 weekly, but last month two longtime customers suddenly stopped showing up. Spero blames the softening economy. "I'm a good economic indicator", she says. "I provide a service that people can do without when they're concerned about saving some dollars." So Spero is downscaling, shopping at middle-brow Dillard's department store near her suburban Cleveland home, instead of Neiman Marcus. "I don't know if other clients are going to abandon me, too." she says.

文中划线名词短语为考生提供了复现信息，即使没完全读懂，考生也能确定本段的主题是“疲软的经济状况”，每句话都没离开这个主题。

动词表变化

All of this caused a crisis of confidence. Americans stopped taking prosperity for granted. They began to believe that their way of doing business was failing, and that their incomes would therefore shortly begin to fall as well. The mid 1980s brought one inquiry after another into the causes of America's industrial decline. Their sometimes sensational findings were filled with warnings about the growing competition from overseas.

动词是各种变化最明显的体现，它可以表明文中所述情况、作者态度以及情感的变化等。本段中出现的划线动词都体现了一个从好到坏的变化趋势，再结合文章话题，可以确定本段中心是：美国经济霸主地位的丧失给人们的信心带来的消极影响。

形容词表态度

Even before Alan Greenspan's admission that America's red hot economy is cooling, lots of working folks had already seen signs of the slowdown themselves. From car dealerships to Gap outlets, sales have been lagging for months as shoppers temper their spending. For retailers, who last year took in 24 percent of their revenue between Thanksgiving and Christmas, the cautious approach is coming at a crucial time. Already, experts say, holiday sales are off 7 percent from last year's pace. But don't sound any alarms just yet. Consumers seem only mildly concerned, not panicked, and many say they remain optimistic about the economy's long term prospects even as they do some modest belt tightening.

形容词是作者对所论述话题的态度的直接体现。以此段为例，前半部分都是关于美国经济不景气的描述，如果只看到这些，一定会认为下文也应该是一些消极方面的描述。但在But转折之后，出现了一系列的形容词，这是词都具有积极的感情色彩，与前面的情况形成鲜明的对比，表明了作者的态度，也是本段段落中心的体现。

虽然，在考研阅读思路中还有许多其他方式可以确定文章或段落的主题，但是当文章话题比较陌生，语言比较晦涩难懂的时候，通过找主题词来确定文章主题无疑会是一种简单有效的途径。所以，希望考生们读文章过程中树立找主题词的意识，帮助自己有效理解文章、快速解题。