文章结构题的考查对象无非是整个篇章或其中的某个段落，在解答此类题目之前，有必要对全篇或被考查的段落进行通读以了解其大意。然后：
①了解文章结构的组织形式。从段落组织方式上讲，常见的文章结构有三种：总分式结构(总→分；总→分→总；分→总)、并列式结构(段落之间是平行关系，并且相对独立)、对照式结构(结构形式上是一正一反)。
②了解文章的论证方法。从论证方法上讲， 常见的议论文结构有以下两类： Put forward a question →Analyze the question → Solve the question 即“提出问题、分析问题、解决问题”的过程；Argument/Idea → Evidence → Conclusion/ Restating the idea 即“由论点到论据到结论/强调论点”的过程。
③了解文章的写作手法。从写作手法上讲，在高考阅读理解中主要考查下定义、分类说明、列举例证和对比等写作手法。其中，“引用”和“例证”是议论文和说明文中最常用的写作手法之一，是历年高考阅读试题中必不可缺的命题方向。“引用”和“例证”的共同目的就是增强说服力，以更好地达到说理、说明的目的。“引用”和“例证”的共同功能就是服务于段落或篇章的主题。
④考生们要在正确理解篇章内容的基础上对文章的发展作出合理的推断。这些推断往往不是凭空臆断，而会在上文中给出一定的提示。

分析这一类的题我们看出：对文章组织结构的考查不外乎两个层次。一是按段落的组织方法理解文章的结构，一是按写作方法（论证方法）理解文章的结构。

　　首先，看看这样考查从段落层次理解文章的结构。这类题经常用到的提问方式是：Which of the following best shows the structure of the passage? 常见的段落结构有如下几种情况：

　　图1表明：①（Paragraph 1）是主题段（提出论题或论点），②、③段是就同一论据或者问题的同一方面作论述，④用另一论据材料或者从问题的另一方面论述，⑤段是结论段或者是用来重述论题、强调论点的段落。同样我们很容易理解图2、3、4所示的段落结构的意义。

　　下面具体看看05年江苏卷E篇：

　　The twentieth century saw greater changes than any century before changes for the better, changes for the worse, changes that brought a lot of benefits to human beings, changes that put man in danger .Many things caused the changes, but, in my opinion, the most important was the progress in science.

　　Scientific research in physics and biology has vastly broadened our views. It has given us a deeper knowledge of the structure of matter and of the universe, it has brought us a better understanding of the nature of life and of its continuous development. Technology in the application of science has made big advances that have benefited us in nearly every part of life.

　　The continuation of such activities in the twenty-first century will result in even greater advantages to human beings: in pure science—a wider and deeper knowledge in all fields of learning; in applied science—a more reasonable sharing of material benefits, and better protection of the environment.

　　Sadly, however, there is another side to the picture. The creativity of science has been employed in doing damage to mankind. The application of science and technology to the development and production of weapons of mass destruction has created a real danger to the continued existence of the human race on this planet. We have seen this happen in the case of nuclear weapons, Although their actual use has so far occurred only in the Second World War, the number of nuclear weapons that were produced and made ready for use was so large that if the weapons had actually been used, the result could have been the ruin of the human race, as well as of many kinds of animals.

　　William Shakespeare said. “The web of our life is of a mingled yarn（纱线）, good and ill together. “The above brief review of the application of only one part of human activities—science seems to prove what Shakespeare said. But does it have to be so? Must the ill always go together with the good? Are we biologically programmed for war?

　　72．Which of the following best shows the structure of the passage?

　　理解文章段落结构，我们很容易找到答案A。

　　接下来再来看看这样从论证方法上考查对议论文结构的理解。掌握了议论文常见的写作方法，我们不难理解议论文的论证过程。从论证方法上讲，常见的议论文结构有以下两类：

　　一、Put forward a question →Analyze the question → Solve the question 这就是“提出问题、分析问题、解决问题”的过程；二、Argument/idea → Evidence → conclusion/ restating the idea

　　这就是“由论点到论据到结论或者强调论点”的过程。

　　对说明文、夹叙夹议类文章结构的理解，只要我们弄清段落意义和段落之间的关系，很容易理解其结构。看看下面的例题我们也许会得到一些启发。

　　例1：

　　I receive a lot of emails every time a column is published in 21st Century. The majority of questions I get are like this: “My English is still very poor, could you please give me some advice?” Since this kind of question is so big and so vague, any answers will be too broad or too general. In fact, asking questions is an art that needs training and practice in itself. And I would like to offer the following tips:

　　Always contextualize your question. If you really want to ask for advice on something, you need to provide a brief description of how you came up with the question and how you can benefit from asking it. For instance, if you need to improve your English, you need to state the skill area you are in the greatest need of improving, and what difficulties you encounter that cause you so many problems

　　The second piece of advice is that your question should be focused and specific. By that I mean that you might have a lot of questions, but choose the one that is most important and at the same time the least complicated.

　　Third, you can practise asking one question in multiple ways. For instance, if you are interested in knowing how you can boost your confidence in speaking, you might consider asking: “I often feel nervous before I ask a question, how can I overcome my anxiety?” “Could you share with me your experience of speaking in front of others?”

　　Of course, the best way to ask good questions is through the practice of questioning. I highly encourage you to seek opportunities to ask questions. It takes time to be a really good questioner.

　　How is the text organized?

　　A．Topic---argument----description

　　B．Opinion—discussion---explanation

　　C．Main idea---comparison--- supporting examples

　　D．Topic ----argument----conclusion

　　解析：文章一开始就提出本文要讲的中心, 然后进行论述, 最后得出结论。由此,我们不难得出答案是D。

　　例2：

　　（05 浙江卷 C 篇）

　　In the course of working my way through school, I took many jobs I would rather forget. But none of these jobs was as dreadful as my job in an apple plant. The work was hard; the pay was poor; and, most of all, the working conditions were terrible.

　　First of all, the job made huge demands on my strength. For ten hours a night, I took boxes that rolled down a metal track and piled them onto a truck. Each box contained twelve heavy bottles of apple juice. I once figured out that I was lifting an average of twelve tons of apple juice every night.

　　I would not have minded the difficulty of the work so much if the pay had not been so poor. I was paid the lowest wage of that time—two dollars an hour. Because of the low pay, I felt eager to get as much as possible. I usually worked twelve hours a night but did not take home much more than $ 100 a week.

　　But even more than the low pay, what made me unhappy was the working conditions. During work I was limited to two ten-minute breaks and an unpaid half hour for lunch. Most of my time was spent outside loading trucks with those heavy boxes in near-zero-degree temperatures. The steel floors of the trucks were like ice, which made my feet feel like stone. And after the production line shut down at night and most people left, I had to spend two hours alone cleaning the floor.

　　I stayed on the job for five months, all the while hating the difficulty of the work, the poor money, and the conditions under which I worked. By the time I left, I was determined never to go back there again.

　　52．How is the text organized?

　　A．Topic—Argument—Explanation

　　B．Opinion—Discussion—Description

　　C．Main idea—Comparison—Supporting examples

　　D．Introduction—Supporting examples—Conclusion

　　解析：这道题考查考生对文章组织结构的理解，把握了文章的脉络，我们不难得出答案：D。

　　2007年广东高考英语试题题型（讨论稿）中提出把篇章结构作为专门的一节来考查：要求把标有A-F的句子或段落插入到文章中标记的适当位置，使文章意义完整，结构连贯。

　　做好这一类题，要先理解全文的意义和结构，然后理解段落的意义和结构，分析句与句之间的关系，句与段落的关系。一般说来，文章中空格的地方主要是三类的句子或者段落：一是段落的主题句；二是和段落主题密切相关的细节句；三是段落或句子之间的过渡句/段。所以学会了分析句与句、句与段、段与段之间的关系做这类题并不难。下面我们来具体看一个例题：

　　阅读下面短文，请将标有A-F的句子或段落插入到文章中标号为71-75的合适位置，使文章意义完整，结构连贯；其中一个段落或句子是多余的。

　　Some twenty years ago, the performance of girls and boys in class was compared.   71   Now, the situation is reversed (颠倒) with girls consistently doing better than boys.

　　72   John Dunsford, leader of the association of head teachers of secondary schools, says that the academic failure of boys is a problem which had its roots in society rather than the classroom. Girls, more than boys, see education as a passport to a good job. On the other hand, according to Penny Lewis, a head teacher, young men lack confidence, which they hide with a show of bravado (逞能). They’re uncertain about their place in society.  73

　　Moreover, boys may learn in a different way from girls, preferring small amounts of work with immediate headlines rather than large projects stretching (延续) into the distance. And education is not seen as “cool”.  74

　　This is not just a problem in Britain. In a study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and UNESCO, girls did better than boys at reading at the age of 15 in all 45 countries. The UK ranks ninth out of the 45 countries for reading despite the fact that pupils in the UK spend less time reading than in most other countries.   75

　　A. So, what has gone wrong with the boys, and what can be done about it?

　　B. Interestingly, the study suggested that British children read for pleasure more often than those in other countries.

　　C. Boys scored better in exams, so various measures were introduced to improve the performance of girls, including having single sex girl-only classes.

　　D. This study can offer a great help to teachers and school leaders in terms of proper education to different people.

　　E. Some boys grow up in families where there is no male role model to follow.

　　F. As one contributoe to a BBC website put it, “Girls achieve more at school because they are watching the future while the boys are watching the girls.”

　　解析：这是一篇说明文。首先通读文章了解文章的中心：全文分析当前在学校女生比男生表现好的原因。文章结构简单明了：首先提出问题，然后分析原因。接下来我们来逐段分析：

　　第一段提出问题，71空后面说“现在情况颠倒过来了：女生比男生好了”，看了这句话，我们肯定能判断前一句话的大意应该是：先前的情况是男生比女生表现好。那就从选项中去看哪个句子表达的是这个意思。快速浏览A-F选项，我们得到答案C。

　　第二段分析原因。段首的空格72，应该是一个承上启下的过渡句。浏览选项，我们迅速得到答案A。段尾的73空应该是一个细节句，对前一句具体说明，能够具体说明They’re uncertain about their place in society一句的只有选项E。

　　第三段进一步分析原因。74空应该是个细节句，详细阐明男生比女生表现差的原因。这里我们不难找到答案F。

　　第四段说明这种现象的普遍存在。段尾的75空是一个接续前句的细节句。浏览剩余的选项，我们很肯定地找到答案B。

A

(2009 年高考英语北京卷阅读理解C篇)

How Room De signs Affect Our Work and Feelings

Architects have long had the feeling that the places we live in can affect our thoughts, feelings and behaviors. But now scientists are giving this feeling an empirical(经验的，实证的)basis. They are discovering how to design spaces that promote creativity, keep people focused and lead to relaxation.  

Researches show that aspects of the physical environment can influence creativity. In 2007, Joan Meyers-Levy at the University of Minnesota, reported that the height of a room's ceiling affects how people think. Her research indicates that higher ceilings encourage people to think more freely, which may lead them to make more abstract connections. Low ceilings, on the other hand, may inspire a more detailed outlook.  

In additions to ceiling height, the view afforded by a building may influence an occupant's ability to concentrate. Nancy Wells and her colleagues at Cornell University found in their study that kids who experienced the greatest increase in greenness as a result of a family move made the most gains on a standard test of attention.  

Using nature to improve focus of attention ought to pay off  academically, and it seems to, according to a study led by C. Kenneth Tanner, head of the School Design & Planning Laboratory at the University of Georgia. Tanner and his team found that students in classrooms with unblocked views of at least 50 feet outside the window had higher scores on tests of vocabulary, language arts and maths than did students whose classrooms primarily overlooked roads and parking lots.  

Recent study on room lighting design suggests than dim(暗淡的)light helps people to loosen up. If that is true generally, keeping the light low during dinner or at parties could increase relaxation. Researchers of Harvard Medical School also discovered that furniture with rounded edges could help visitors relax.   

So far scientists have focused mainly on public buildings. "We have a very limited number of studies, so we're almost looking at the problem through a straw(吸管)," architect David Allison says. "How do you take answers to very specific questions and make broad, generalized use of them? That's what we're all struggling with."  

1.Which of the following shows the organization of the passage?    

          CP: Central Point    P: Point   SP: Sub-point(次要点)   C: Conclusion  

                                     B

(江苏省石庄高级中学2014届高考考前指导)①During the First World War, some Americans indirectly benefited because of the war. With two million white men fighting in Europe and no new immigrants entering the country, many jobs in the United States became available to blacks and women for the first time.

②Both groups proved their ability to do any kind of job. Women became railway conductors, brick layers, and factory workers. Their presence in traditionally male workplace produced many problems. Men were annoyed by women’s higher productivity and willingness to work for lower pay. Working mothers were often criticized for leaving their families. But many women welcomed the responsibilities. “It was not until our men were called overseas,” said one woman bank executive, “that we make any real onslaught on the realm of finance, and became tellers, managers of departments, and junior and senior officers.”

③Women who did not take jobs helped in the war effort in other ways. They made uniforms, rolled bandages, and campaigned for the sale of Liberty Bonds to help finance the war.

④American manufacturers offered jobs to large numbers of black Americans for the first time as a result of the war. Most factories were located in the North. To take advantage of these new job opportunities, many black families moved from their homes in the South to the Northern cities such as Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Buffalo, Chicago, and Detroit.

⑤White Americans were of two minds about the role of black Americans in the war effort. On the one hand, black workers’ ability to learn new jobs quickly and do them well strengthened the home front, and the black men’s fighting ability helped the Allies win the war. However, many whites did not want to acknowledge that blacks were capable, effective workers. White soldiers returning from the war had no desire to compete for jobs with blacks on equal terms. At the same time, many blacks were not willing to a lesser role once the war had ended.

2.Which of the following shows the right structures of the above passage?

A. ①→②③→④⑤                                       B. ①→②→③→④→⑤ 

C. ①→②③→④→⑤                              D. ①②③→④→⑤

C

(2010年高考英语重庆卷阅读理解C篇)It is hardly surprising that clothing manufacturers(生产商) follow certain uniform standards for various features(特征) of clothes. What seems strange, however, is that the standard adopted for women is the opposite of the one for men. Take a look at the way your clothes button. Men’s clothes tend to button from the right, and women’s form the left. Considering most of the word’s population—men and women—are right-handed, the men’s standard would appear to make more sense for women. So why do women’s clothes button from the left?

History really seems to matter here. Buttons first appeared only on the clothes of the rich in the 17th century, when rich women were dressed by servants. For the mostly right-handed servants, having women’s shirts button from the left would be easier. On the other hand, having men’s shirts button form the right made sense, too. Most men dressed themselves, and a sword drawn from the left with the right hand would be less likely to get caught in the shirt.

Today women are seldom dressed by servants, but buttoning form the left is still the standard for them. Is it interesting? Actually, a standard, once set, resists change. At a time when all women’s shirts buttoned form the left, it would have been risky for any single manufacturer to offer women’s shirts that buttoned from the right. After all, women had grown so used to shirts which buttoned from the left and would have to develop new habits and skills to switch. Besides, some women might have found it socially awkward to appear in public wearing shirts that buttoned from the right, since anyone who noticed that would believe they were wearing men’s shirts.

3.The passage is mainly developed by          .

A. analyzing causes                     B. making comparisons

C. examining differences                 D. following the time order

D

Across the world, 1.1 billion people have no access to clean drinking water. More than 2.5 billion people lack basic sanitation.(卫生设备)

The combination proves deadly. Each year, diseases related to inadequate water and sanitation kill between 2 and 5 million people and cause an estimated 80 percent of all sicknesses in the developing world. Safe drinking water is a precondition for health and the fight against child death rate, inequality between men and women, and poverty.

Consider these facts:

●The average distance that women in Africa and Asia walk to collect water is 6 kilometers.

●Only 58 percent of children in sub-Saharan Africa are drinking safe water., and only 37 percent of children in South Asia have access to even a basic toilet.

●Each year in India alone, 73 million working days are lost to water-borne diseases.

Here are three ways you can help:

1)Write Congress

Current U.S. foreign aid for drinking water and sanitation budgets only one dollar per year per American citizen. Few members of Congress have ever received a letter from voters about clean drinking water abroad.

2)Sponsor a project with a faith-based organization

Many U.S. religious groups already sponsor water and sanitation projects, working with partner organizations abroad. Simply put a single project by a U.S. organization can make safe water a reality for thousands of people.

3)Support nonprofit water organizations

Numerous U.S.-based nonprofits work skillfully abroad in community-led projects related to drinking water and sanitation. Like the sample of non-profits noted as follows: some organizations are large, other small-scale, some operate worldwide, others are devoted to certain areas in Africa, Asia, or Latin America. Support them generously.

4.What information will probably be provided following the last paragraph?
   A. A variety of companies and their worldwide operation.
   B. A list of nonprofit water organizations to make contact with.
   C. Some ways to get financial aids from U.S. Congress.
   D. A few water resources exploited by some world-famous organizations.

E

(2012 年高考英语北京卷阅读理解D篇) “In wilderness(荒野) is the preservation of the world.” This is a famous saying from a writer regarded as one of the fathers of environmentalism. The frequency with which it is borrowed mirrors a heated debate on environmental protection: whether to place wilderness at the heart of what is to be preserved.  

As John Sauven of Greenpeace UK points out, there is a strong appeal in images of the wild, the untouched; more than anything else, they speak of the nature that many people value most dearly. The urge to leave the subject of such images untouched is strong, and the danger exploitation(开发) brings to such landscapes(景观) is real. Some of these wildernesses also perform functions that humans need—the rainforests, for example, store carbon in vast quantities. To Mr. Sauven, these ”ecosystem services” far outweigh the gains from exploitation.

Lee Lane, a visiting fellow at the Hudson Institute, takes the opposing view. He acknowledges that wildernesses do provide useful services, such as water conservation. But that is not, he argues, a reason to avoid all human presence, or indeed commercial and industrial exploitation. There are ever more people on the Earth, and they reasonably and rightfully want to have better lives, rather than merely struggle for survival. While the ways of using resources have improved, there is still a growing need for raw materials, and some wildernesses contain them in abundance. If they can be tapped without reducing the services those wildernesses provide, the argument goes, there is no further reason not to do so. Being untouched is not, in itself, a characteristic worth valuing above all others.

I look forwards to seeing these views taken further, and to their being challenged by the other participants. One challenge that suggests itself to me is that both cases need to take on the question of spiritual value a little more directly. And there is a practical question as to whether wildernesses can be exploited without harm.[

This is a topic that calls for not only free expression of feelings, but also the guidance of reason. What position wilderness should enjoy in the preservation of the world obviously deserves much more serious thinking.

1. Which of the following shows the structure of the passage?

A.            B.            C.        D.

CP: Central Point                     P: Point          Sp: Sub-point(次要点)         C: Conclusion

F

(江苏省石庄高级中学2014届高考考前指导)Every kid more or less complains about school. But five to ten percent of kids dislike it so much they don’t want to attend. If a child seems upset or anxious about school, pretends to be sick to stay home, repeatedly winds up in the nurse's or principal's office, or refuses to talk about the school day, you should be concerned.

One fear that keeps children from enjoying school is separation anxiety. It most frequently occurs during times of family problems or when a child is about to enter a new school. With younger kids, watch how you say good-bye those first few days of school. A firm “Have a great day, and I’ll pick you up at 2:30!” is more confidence-inspiring than “Don’t worry, I can be there in ten minutes if you need me.”

You can help your child handle fearful situations--from speaking up in class to taking tests--by rehearsing at home. Help make large projects less discouraging by breaking them into manageable pieces. Teach your child to replace thoughts such as “I’m going to fail” with “I can handle this.”

Some kids dislike school because they have no friends. This may be the case if your child is always alone, fakes illness to avoid class outings or gives away treasured possessions in an attempt to be liked. Often loneliness problems can be solved by improving social skills. A child may need to learn how to look others in the eye when he speaks, or how to talk above a whisper--or below a yell. You might teach a young child a few “friendship openers,” such as “My name’s Tom. What’s yours? Do you want to play games?”

2.Which of the following best shows the composition of the passage?

(1)—Paragraph 1                                               (2)—Paragraph 2 

(3)—Paragraph3                                           (4)—Paragraph 4

  A. (1)→(2)→(3)→(4)                                     B. (1)(2)→(3)(4)

 ↗(2)                                (1)↘

  C. (1)→ (3)                                                   D. (2)→(4)

        ↘(4)                               (3)↗

C

(2012 年高考英语陕西卷阅读理解B篇)

Three Boys and a Dad

Brad closed the door slowly as Sue left home to visit her mother. Expecting a whole day to relax, he was thinking whether to read the newspaper or watch his favorite TV talk show on his first day off in months. “This will be like a walk in the park,” he’d told his wife. “I’ll look after the kids, and you can go visit your mom.”

Things started well, but just after eight o’clock, his three little “good kids”—Mike, Randy, and Alex—came down the stairs in their night clothes and shouted “breakfast, daddy.” When food had not appeared within thirty seconds, Randy began using his spoon on Alex’s head as if it were a drum. Alex started to shout loudly in time to the beat(节拍). Mike chanted “Where’s my toast, where’s my toast” in the background. Brad realized his newspaper would have to wait for a few seconds.[

Life became worse after breakfast. Mike wore Randy’s underwear on his head. Randy locked himself in the bathroom, while Alex shouted again because he was going to wet his pants. Nobody could find clean socks, although they were before their very eyes. Someone named “Not Me” had spilled a whole glass of orange juice into the basket of clean clothes. Brad knew the talk show had already started.

By ten o’clock, things were out of control. Alex was wondering why the fish in the jar refused his bread and butter. Mike was trying to show off his talent by decorating the kitchen wall with his color pencils. Randy, thankfully, appeared to be reading quietly in the family room，but closer examination showed that he was eating apple jam straight from the bottle with his hands. Brad realized that the talk show was over and reading would be impossible.

At exactly 11:17, Brad called the daycare centre (日托所).“I suddenly have to go into work and my wife’s away. Can I bring the boys over in a few minutes?” The answer was obviously “yes” because Brad was smiling.

3.This text is developed         .

A. by space                   B. by comparison               C. by process              D. by time

G

(2011年高考英语安徽卷阅读理解B篇)Think about the different ways that people use the wind. You can use it to fly a kite or to sail a boat. Wind is one of our cleanest and richest power sources(来源), as well as one of the oldest. Evidence shows that windmills(风车)began to be used in ancient Iran back in the seventh century BC. They were first introduced to Europe during the 1100s, when armies returned from the Middle East with knowledge of using wind power.

For many centuries, people used windmills to grind(磨碎)wheat into flour or pump water from deep underground. When electricity was discovered in the late 1800s, people living in remote areas began to use them to produce electricity. This allowed them to have electric lights and radio. However, by the 1940s, when electricity was available to people in almost all areas of the United States, windmills were rarely used.

During the 1970s, people started becoming concerned about the pollution that is created when coal and gas are burned to produce electricity. People also realized that the supply of coal and gas would not last forever. Then, wind was rediscovered, though it means higher costs. Today, there is a global movement to supply more and more of our electricity through the use of wind.

4.What would the author probably discuss in the paragraph that follows?

A. The advantage of wind power.                B. The design of wind power plants.

C. The worldwide movement to save energy.       D. The global trend towards producing power from wind.