主次不分也是考研阅读选项设计所使用的陷阱之一。这一陷阱主要用于主旨题与其他考查文章主要观点的题，如段落大意题等。这类题的正确答案可以是本文主要观点，如主旨题，也可以是段落主要观点，如段落大意题。干扰选项主次不分，要么把文章中的事实与细节当主旨，要么把片面的与次要的观点当主要观点。例如，
Many folks see silver linings to this slowdown. Potential home buyers would cheer for lower interest rates. Employers wouldn’t mind a little fewer bubbles in the job market. Many consumers seem to have been influenced by stock-market swings, which investors now view as a necessary ingredient to a sustained boom. Diners might see an upside, too. Getting a table at Manhattan’s hot new Alain Ducasse restaurant used to be impossible. Not anymore. For that, Greenspan & Co. may still be worth toasting.
Why can many people see “silver linings” to the economic slowdown?
[A] They would benefit in certain ways.
[B] The stock market shows signs of recovery.
[C] Such a slowdown usually precedes a boom.
[D] The purchasing power would be enhanced.
这道题针对全文末段，问的是段落大意。词组silver linings的意思是“黑暗中的一线希望”，在末段指经济不景气所带来的某些好处——末段首句说的就是这一意思，而该段其他的句子都在说明这一点。A “许多人将在某些方面获益”符合此意，为正确答案。B选项谈的是末段的细节，不符合段落大意题的要求。C“经济腾飞之前总有一个趋缓时期”在原文也没有依据。D“购买力将会提高”也是末段第二句所说的细节，因此也是干扰选项。
上面的例子涉及段落大意。下面的例子涉及文章主题，但主次不分仍然是干扰选项所使用的陷阱。
Yet there are good reasons to expect the economic consequences now to be less severe than in the 1970s. In most countries the cost of crude oil now accounts for a smaller share of the price of petrol than it did in the 1970s. In Europe, taxes account for up to four-fifths of the retail price, so even quite big changes in the price of crude have a more muted effect on pump prices than in the past.
Rich economies are also less dependent on oil than they were, and so less sensitive to swings in the oil price. Energy conservation, a shift to other fuels and a decline in the importance of heavy, energy-intensive industries have reduced oil consumption. Software, consultancy and mobile telephones use far less oil than steel or car production. For each dollar of GDP (in constant prices) rich economies now use nearly 50% less oil than in 1973. The OECD estimates in its latest Economic Outlook that, if oil prices averaged $22 a barrel for a full year, compared with $13 in 1998, this would increase the oil import bill in rich economies by only 0.25-0.5% of GDP. That is less than one-quarter of the income loss in 1974 or 1980. On the other hand, oil-importing emerging economies—to which heavy industry has shifted—have become more energy-intensive, and so could be more seriously squeezed.
We can draw a conclusion from the text that.
[A] oil-price shocks are less shocking now
[B] inflation seems irrelevant to oil-price shocks
[C] energy conservation can keep down the oil prices
[D] the price rise of crude leads to the shrinking of heavy industry
本文是一道推理题，涉及文章主题。A选项为正确答案，对应上面的第一段首句。D是上文第二段中的细节，而且与原文有出入，因此为干扰选项。
综上所述，做主旨题或段落大意题时，需要注意：主次不分，也就是以细节为干扰选项是这类题的常见陷阱。
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