三、段落原則

段落原則應用于根據段落內容所設置的題目，它包括兩種形式：首句原則和末句原則。

1. 首句原則

It is said that in England death is pressing, in Canada inevitable and in California optional. Small wonder. Americans' life expectancy has nearly doubled over the past century. Failing hips（臀部）can be replaced, clinical depression controlled, cataracts removed in a 30-minute surgical procedure. Such advances offer the aging population a quality of life that was unimaginable when I entered medicine 50 years ago. But not even a great health-care system can cure death—and our failure to confront that reality now threatens this greatness of ours.

13. What is implied in the first sentence?

［A］Americans are better prepared for death than other people.

［B］Americans enjoy a higher life quality than ever before.

［C］Americans are over-confident of their medical technology.

［D］Americans take a vain pride in their long life expectancy.［2003年56題］

2. 末句原則 有時一個自然段的主題句也會出現在段末，因此考點也相應轉向末句。

Multivitamins are no substitute for exercise and a balanced diet, of course. As long as you understand that any potential benefit is modest and subject to further refinement, taking a daily multivitamin makes a lot of sense.

14. The author concludes the passage with the advice that_____.

A) the benefit of daily multivitamin intake outweighs that of exercise and a balanced diet
B) it's risky to take multivitamins without knowing their specific function
C) the potential benefit of multivitamins can never be overestimated
D) it's reasonable to take a rational dose of multivitamins daily

  No woman can be too rich or too thin. This saying often attributed to the late Duchess of Windsor embodies much of the odd spirit of our times. Being thin is deemed as such a virtue .

15．In the eyes of the author, an odd phenomenon nowadays is that       .

 A）the Duchess of Windsor is regarded as a woman of virtue

 B）looking slim is a symbol of having a large fortune

 C）being thin is viewed as a much desired quality

 D）religious people are not necessarily virtuous

四、轉折/對比原則

In the world of entertainment, TV talk shows have undoubtedly flooded every inch of space on daytime television. And anyone who watches them regularly knows that each one varies in style and format. But no two shows are more profoundly opposite in content, while at the same time standing out above the rest, than the Jerry Springer and the Oprah Winfrey shows.

16．Compared with other TV talk shows, both the Jerry Springer and the Oprah Winfrey are ____.

A) more family-oriented                  C) more profound

B) unusually popular                      D) relatively formal

Few creations of big technology capture the imagination like giant dams. Perhaps it is human kind's long suffering at the mercy of flood and drought that makes the ideal of forcing the waters to do our bidding so fascinating. But to be fascinated is also, sometimes, to be blind. Several giant dam projects threaten to do more harm than good.

17. The third sentence of this paragraph implies that        .（轉折）

［A］ people would be happy if they shut their eyes to reality

［B］ the blind could be happier than the sighted

［C］ over-excited people tend to neglect vital things

［D］ fascination makes people lose their eyesight［1998］