SWT的第一道难关在于抓取重点信息。
但是，到底哪些才是重点信息？
很多人都知道的一个小窍门是看一段话的首句和尾句，通常这里都会有重要的概括性信息出现。不错，确实首尾句是找点要阅读的部分。但是因为SWT题目的特殊性，多一点信息，分数会更高。所以建议大家在每一个段落的中间部分也要在答案当中体现一些。
只是这样讲可能太抽象，今天我们给大家拿这篇高频的SWT题目《美国禁酒令》来带大家感受一下重点信息都藏在哪里。
In 1920, the eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution created yet another setback for the American wine industry. The National Prohibition Act, also known as the Volstead Act, prohibited the manufacture, sale, transportation, importation, delivery, or possession of intoxicating liquors for beverage purposes. Prohibition, which continued for thirteen years, nearly destroyed what had become a thriving and national industry.
One of the loopholes in the Volstead Act allowed for the manufacture and sale of sacramental wine, medicinal wines for sale by pharmacists with a doctor’s prescription, and medicinal wine tonics (fortified wines) sold without prescription. Perhaps more important, prohibition allowed anyone to produce up to two hundred gallons yearly of fruit juice or cider. The fruit juice, which was sometimes made into concentrate, was ideal for making wine. People would buy grape concentrate from California and have it shipped to the East Coast. The top of the container was stamped in big bold letters: caution: do not add sugar or yeast or else fermentation will take place! Some of this yield found its way to bootleggers throughout America who did just that. But not for long, because the government stepped in and banned the sale of grape juice, preventing illegal wine production. Vineyards stopped being planted, and the American wine industry came to a halt.
第一自然段
In 1920, the eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution created yet another setback for the American wine industry. The National Prohibition Act, also known as the Volstead Act, prohibited the manufacture, sale, transportation, importation, delivery, or possession of intoxicating liquors for beverage purposes. Prohibition, which continued for thirteen years, nearly destroyed what had become a thriving and national industry.
解析：
不难发现，这一段的第一句就已经提到美国第18次宪法改革阻碍了美国红酒行业。最后一句又一次强调限令几乎差点摧毁美国这一繁荣的国家产业。那么，到底这个限令是什么？第一段的第二句给出了答案，即the National Prohibition Act 或者the Volstead Act。并且解释了具体限制了什么内容。所以组在一起，第一段的重点就是：The National Prohibition Act / Volstead Act, prohibting the manufacture, sale, transportation, importation, delivery or possession of intoxicating liquors for beverage purposes, nearly destroyed wine industry in the US.
强调第一点：插入语更多的是表示解释说明，所以相对来说没有那么重要。
例如第二句中also known as … 的部分就是插入语。
强调第二点：非限定定语从句也是表示进一步解释说明，所以也可以适当忽略。
例如第三句中which continued for …的部分就是非限定性定语从句。
第二自然段
One of the loopholes in the Volstead Act allowed for the manufactureand sale of sacramental wine, medicinal wines for sale by pharmacists with adoctor’s prescription, and medicinal wine tonics (fortified wines) sold without prescription. Perhaps more important, prohibition allowed anyone to produce up to two hundred gallons yearly of fruit juice or cider. The fruit juice, which was sometimes made into concentrate, was ideal for making wine. People would buy grape concentrate from California and have it shipped to the East Coast. The top of the container was stamped in big bold letters: caution: do not add sugar or yeast or else fermentation will take place! Some of this yield found its way to bootleggers throughout America who did just that. But not for long, because the government stepped in and banned the sale of grape juice, preventing illegal wine production. Vineyards stopped being planted, and the American wine industry came to a halt.
解析：
这一段其实也遵循了首句是topic的规律，第一句开头就告诉读者禁令存在一个漏洞。之后整段都在具体说这个漏洞具体是什么，投机取巧的人怎么利用漏洞（葡萄汁）赚钱等等。但是这一段后半部分出现了一个转折“But not for long …”。之前我们的解析直接把它分成了第三段意思。没有错，但是大家要注意这个第三段意思是存在第二段里面的。转折是说虽然有漏洞，但是漏洞被补上了，所以美国红酒产业差点停滞。所以第二自然段的重点应当是：One of the loopholes in the Volstead Act allows people make wine by using fruit juice, so the government banned the sale of grape juice, and it almost stopped the American wine industry.
强调第三点：分词形式通常也是附加信息，相对具有时态的单词没有那么重要。
例如第二段倒数第二句“preventing illegal wine production”较“the government stepped in and banned the sale of grape juice”就没那么重要。
因为第一段重点和第二段稍有重复，所以重组信息之后能够得出的答案是：
Although the Volstead Act prohibited he manufacture, sale, transportation, importation, delivery or possession of intoxicating liquors for beverage purposes, one of the loopholes allows people make wine by using fruit juice, so the government banned the sale of grape juice, and the American wine industry almost came to a halt. (50 words)
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