2．關于標題型
Example :
　A rapid means of long-distance transportation became a necessity for the United States as settlement (新拓居地 ) spread ever farther westward. The early trains were impractical curiosities, and for along time the railroad companies met with troublesome mechanical problems. The most serious ones were the construction of rails able to bear the load, and the development of a safe, effective stopping system. Once these were solved, the railroad was established as the best means of land transportation. By 1860 there were thousands of miles of railroads crossing the eastern mountain ranges and reaching westward to the Mississippi. There were also regional southern and western lines . 　　

　The high point in railroad building came with the construction of the first transcontinental system. In 1862 congress authorized two western railroad companies to build lines from Nebraska west-ward and from California eastward to a meeting point, so as to complete a transcontinental crossing linking the Atlantic seaboard with the Pacific .The Government helped the railroads generously with money and land Actual work on this project began four years later. money and land. Actual work on this project began four years later. The Central Pacific Company, starting from California, used Chinese labor, while the Union Pacific employed crews of Irish laborers. The two groups worked at remarkable speed, each trying to. cover a greater distance than the other. In l869 they met at a place called Promontory in what is now the state of Utah. Many visitors came there for the great occasion. There were joyous celebrations all the country, with parades and the ringing of church bells to honor the great achievement.

The railroad was very important in encouraging westward movement. It also helped build up industry and farming by moving raw materials and by distributing products rapidly to distant markets. In linking towns and people to one another it helped unify the United States.

the best title for this passage would be__________.
A) Settlements Spread Westward
B) The Coast-to-Coast Railroad: A Vital Link
C) American Railroad History
D) The Importance of Trains in the American Economy

本題是給文章選標題，實際上也是問及全篇的主旨。文章第一段的第一句雖然提到"settlement spread ever farther westward "，但這不是本文論述的中心，故選項A）是錯的；選項D）也不合適，因為作者在第三段第二句里談的是在美國起重要作用的 transcontinental railway，而不是泛指美國的鐵路；雖然本文從一個側面反映了美國鐵路的歷史，故選項C)也是錯的；本文的第三段點了文章的主旨，即這條橫貫美國的鐵路在開發西部、發展工農業生產和統一美國等方面起到了a vital link 的作用。因此，答案應該是選項B）。