一、對話的開頭

　　對話的開頭部分一般都會引出談話的主題，比較容易設主旨題，主要考查對談話主題或所涉及場景的把握。

　　【例1】(新06-6-19)

　　[A] To make a business report to the woman.

　　[B]To be interviewed for a job in the woman's company.

　　[C] To resign from his position in the woman's company.

　　[D] To exchange stock market information with the woman.

　　W: Please have a seat, Mr. Thunders. I received your job resume last week, and was very impressed.

　　M: Thank you!

　　W: We are a small financial company trading mostly stocks and bonds. May I ask why you are interested in working for us?

　　19. What's the purpose of Mr. Thunder's visit?

　　【解析】主旨題。問候之后的首句往往引出談話的主題，也經常是長對話第一道問題的設題點。請到訪者就座后，女士直接進入正題，上周受到你的工作簡歷，表明對話是圍繞男士申請工作這一話題展開的，故答案為[B]。

　　二、對話的結尾

　　對話結尾往往會涉及對話雙方的態度、建議或決定等總結性的內容，而且經常能夠進一步體現對話的主題及場景，也是出題者設題時考慮的重點。

　　【例6】(新06-6-25)

　　[A] Changing her major.

　　[B]Spending less of her parents' money.

　　[C]Getting transferred to the English Department.

　　[D]Leaving the university.

　　……

　　W: ……They would be so disappointed though if I told them I was quitting.

　　25. What is Karen thinking of doing?

　　【解析】細節題。對話結尾處女士通過進行時表明了自己的打算(I was quitting)。注意這里的quit是指退出現在的專業，而不是指退出大學，選擇答案時需根據上下文，切忌根據常識進行判斷。

　　三、對話中的問答處

　　長對話由于仍然是以對話形式出現，雙方會就對話主題進行討論，故其中經常會包含一些對話雙方的一問一答，這些地方往往是長對話設題的重點。

　　【例2】(新06-6-20)

　　[A] He is head of a small trading company.

　　[B] He works in an international insurance company.

　　[C] He leads a team of brokers in a big company.

　　[D] He is a public relations officer in a small company. W: That's good to hear. Would you mind telling me a little bit about your present job?

　　M: I'm currently working in a large international company in charge of a team of 8 brokers , we buy and sell stocks for major clients worldwide.

　　20. What is Mr. Thunder's current job?

　　【解析】細節題。問答處往往是長對話的設題點。女士詢問男士目前的工作，男士回答說“我現在在一家跨國公司帶領一個8人組成的保險經濟人(broker)團隊，故答案為[C]。