考試的重點也從具體的細節理解轉向主旨和內涵意義的理解，主要以篇和段的主旨理解和推斷為主。這在壹定程度上給應試者帶來了閱讀和理解上的困難。本文擬從語篇和認知心理規律等方面探討閱讀的技巧，從而揭示閱讀理解的破題原則和對策。
壹、 閱讀的語篇類型及其結構
從文體學的角度看，語篇在結構上均為正式程度較高的主題說明和論說性短文。篇和段在宏觀結構上遵循主題 → 例證、解釋、說明、推論 → 總結的篇章組織形式。從篇的結構看，首段多為全篇的主題段，說明全篇討論的主題及其範圍，後續段多為與主題相關的分主題段。而從段的角度看，開頭句或結尾句為主題句，闡明壹段的主題及其相關說明或論說的範圍，中間部分為例證、解釋或說明，最後壹句為總結句。相對於中文而言, 英語語篇更傾向於采用直接的、直線型結構, 註重時間、空間順序和嚴謹的邏輯關系, 圍繞段首、段中或段尾的主題句, 進行敘述、例證或邏輯推理分析。下面以2004年6月CET-6試題第二篇閱讀理解為例加以說明。
Given the lack of fit between gifted students and their schools, it is not surprising that such students often have little good to say about their school experience. In one study of 400 adults who had achieved distinction in all areas of life, researchers found that three-fifths of these individuals either did badly in school or were unhappy in school. Few MacArthur Prize fellows, winners of the MacArthur Award for creative accomplishment, had good things to say about their precollegiate schooling if they had not been placed in advanced programs. Anecdotal (名人軼事) reports support this. Pablo Picasso, Charles Darwin, Mark Twain, Oliver Goldsmith, and William Butler Yeats all disliked school. So did Winston Churchill, who almost failed out of Harrow, an elite British school. About Oliver Goldsmith, one of his teachers remarked, Never was so dull a boy. Often these children realize that they know more than their teachers, and their teachers often feel that these children are arrogant, inattentive, or unmotivated.
Some of these gifted people may have done poorly in school because their gifts were not scholastic. Maybe we can account for Picasso in this way. But most fared poorly in school not because they lacked ability but because they found school unchallenging and consequently lost interest. Yeats described the lack of fit between his mind and school: Because I had found it difficult to attend to anything less interesting than my own thoughts, I was difficult to teach. As noted earlier, gifted children of all kinds tend to be strong-willed nonconformists. Nonconformity and stubbornness (and Yeatss level of arrogance and self-absorption) are likely to lead to conflicts with teachers.
When highly gifted students in any domain talk about what was important to the development of their abilities, they are far more likely to mention their families than their schools or teachers. A writing prodigy (神童) studied by David Feldman and Lynn Goldsmith was taught far more about writing by his journalist father than his English teacher. High-IQ children, in Australia studied by Miraca Gross, had much more positive feelings about their families than their schools. About half of the mathematicians studied by Benjamin Bloom had little good to say about school. They all did well in school and took honors classes when available, and some skipped grades.
本篇短文的第壹段為點題段，而第壹句又為點題句，說明該短文的論題為Given the lack of fit between gifted students and their schools, it is not surprising that such students often have little good to say about their school experience.，其中主題為gifted students，述題為the lack of fit between gifted students and their schools; often have little good to say about their school experience。第二段和第三段為論述說明段，說明天才學生和學校教育格格不入背後的原因和由此而產生的主題結果。
每段的第壹句均為主題句，說明該段的主題和相關內容。中間部分為研究（study）及名人例證（Pablo Picasso, Charles Darwin, Mark Twain, Oliver Goldsmith, and William Butler Yeats），以證明其分段主題。
因此，考生必須在語篇的學習過程中，不斷地總結其宏觀的篇章結構，掌握篇和段的主題層次。在閱讀過程中，大致地標出篇和段的層次結構，從而構建整體上的語義連貫形式和框架。
二、 概念和命題的銜接與連貫
概念和命題是形成段與篇形式銜接和語義連貫的關鍵。現代語言學理論認為，同壹主題的詞匯項或概念往往可以形成同現，構成語篇的銜接和連貫。這種語篇銜接的同現關系由概括詞和具體詞形成的上下義詞、同義詞、同壹詞的不同形式等構成。而儲存在大腦中的知識也是以概念的相互激活擴散網絡表征形式儲存的，與篇的概念形式相吻合。
心理學家認為保存在記憶裏的是意義，而意義又是按命題儲存在記憶裏。命題是能夠單獨對之判斷（真或假）的最小知識單位。壹個命題相當於壹個意念。壹個命題有兩個因素：關系項和主項的集合。主項是命題的題目，壹般為名詞或代詞，有時也可以是動詞或形容詞。關系項即邏輯中所說的謂項，對主項起限制的作用。表示關系的壹般是動詞、形容詞或副詞。每個命題的關系項只有壹個，而主項則可以多於壹個。當關系項為動詞時尤為如此。因此，壹個概念命題可以形成相關的命題網絡，從而構成語篇的語義連貫。閱讀的過程就是概念和命題網絡的建構過程。
例如上述短文中，與主題gifted students 相關的概念gifted children, gifted people, individuals, prize fellows, winners, high-IQ
children, mathematicians, prodigy等構成了同壹主題網，把段和篇中的句子銜接起來。而述題have little good to say about their school experience則用either did badly in school or were unhappy in school; had good things to say about their precollegiate schooling; all disliked school； have done poorly in school； had little good to say about school構成了全篇的述題語義連貫網絡。形成全文以概念主題gifted students為命題主項，述題串為謂項的語義連貫網。因此，閱讀過程中，勾勒出這些相關的概念和命題網絡，有利於對全篇信息的理解和把握。
三、 圖式對語篇閱讀理解的意義
圖式是對過去經驗的反映或對過去經驗的積極組織，即知識在大腦中的儲存單位, 包括各種各樣的知識塊, 如有關鳥的知識、有關學校、城市、交通、銀行、文學、體育、籃球等概括的或具體的系統知識。現代心理學依此發展了合適圖式的激活和特定圖式細節的重建理論，前者主要揭示對圖式的熟悉程度在閱讀過程中所產生的影響。研究發現當人們缺乏壹個與正在展開的故事相適應的圖式時, 理解和記憶都會很困難, 因為他們無法了解所描述的事件的含義。而後者則指激活的圖式可以作為提取計劃, 而且由於圖式的中心作用, 幫助人們歸納某些重要細節。在語篇信息的處理過程中, 熟悉的圖式往往可以引導讀者對中心信息的理解和記憶。
以此為基礎，認知心理學提出了自上而下和自下而上的閱讀理論。前者指讀者充分利用大腦中儲存的各類相關知識推測上下文中可能出現的相關信息，後者指逐詞逐句理解，逐步掌握全篇信息，適用於語言水平較低的讀者。對語篇背景知識的了解，不同程度地影響閱讀理解的效果。例如，讀者在理解上述短文第壹句的同時，可以依據自己了解的相關知識，在閱讀理解的過程中，推斷與主題天才和學校教育相關的信息。
四、 語篇問題的形式及解讀
CET-6 閱讀理解題部分的考題以主旨題和細節題為主，考生可先讀題以確定題型，而後依據問題中相關的詞匯項找出其在短文中的位置，結合上下文理解與問題相關的信息。主旨題可在段首或首段中尋找，結合後續的論述和例證找出答案。而答案項中，往往有與段中原句相近的詞匯表達，讀者可以解讀與原句相近的解釋項來確定正確答案。再以2004年6月CET-6試題第二篇閱讀理解中的問題為例：
26. The main point the author is making about schools is that________.
A) they should satisfy the needs of students from different family backgrounds
B) they are often incapable of catering to the needs of talented students
C) they should organize their classes according to the students ability
D) they should enroll as many gifted students as possible
此題為主旨判斷題。從題中的point...about schools