Thematic Progress and its Application in the Teaching of ReadingAbstract: Thematic progression is the outline of text content. It is restrictedby genres. An analysis of an expository essay is done to study the relationbetween thematic progression and test content, and its application in theteaching of reading.
　　
　　Key words: thematic progression, text content genre, teaching reading.
　　
　　Part 1 Form of thematic progressionMathesius was a founder of the Bulager School. He thought most sentences couldbe delimited two parts early time: One is theme, the other is rheme. Themeusually lies in the front of the sentence, and tells us something about thesubject in communication. But Theme narrates the subject context, which expoundsand explains the subject. So theme stands for known information and rheme is newones. From the value of sentence of view, rheme is important because it passeson the new information. But from the function of text of view, theme is moreimportant because it can express the organization form and logic function withits information. So Halliday also agreed with Mathesius’ theory. He haddifferent view about delimitation of theme and rheme. Halliday thought thattheme includes many contents, including the subject and another parts ofsentence. He brought up the concepts about “simple theme” “multiple theme” and“clause theme”.
　　
　　According to the theory of the delimitation of theme and rheme, every sentencehas its own theme and rheme. When a sentence is independent, theme and rheme arefor sure. But people often use the language unit in practical communication. Wecall national language as words and writing. In text content, each sentence notonly has relation with grammar and semantic with the development of theme andrheme. Theme’s effect correlates the beginning of the sentence and acts thestarting point of the ending one, too. The correlation, joining andover-relation form thematic progression. Danes sum up patterns of thematicprogression by careful research. They carried out three basic thematicprogressions: simple development type, continuity development type andderivative development type. Huang Yan synthesized the predecessors’ researchachievement and pointed 7 progression of continuity text. So English thematicprogression has several types: www.dxs56.com
　　
　　A: having the same theme, different theme, e.g., Jazz is in part music fordancing, but it is more than that; it is the popular music of the people. It hasa steady unbroken rhythm. It co-exists with popular songs of the moment.
　　
　　B: having the same rheme. e.g., in Kenya’s Tsabo Game Park, five thousandelephants were slaughtered. In Zambia the game department killed 1,500 elephantsin the Luangwa Valley. In Lusaka and Bdola, elephants were thinned out and theirmeat sold in the butcher’s shops.
　　
　　C: continuity type. e.g., we elect local, state and federal officials to makelaws. These laws keep order in society. The order of society provides us with asafe living environment.
　　
　　D: overlapping type. Eg, gaga walked behind his friends quietly. But his friendsdidn’t want him. Gaga followed them to the river and cried loudly.
　　
　　In fact, when we use the basic progression, we often use them together. So theyare complex.
　　
　　Part 2.  The relation between thematic progression and text content.
　　
　　The thematic progression reveals the semantic relation among sentences. If we usthematic progression in the text, we may delimit theme and theme according toearly or late turn of sentences. Then clear the author’s thinking. We shallnotice what the author wants to say how to spread out the subject of a talk,when they change the subject and which kind of answer we get in the end of textcontent. So when we finish these, the whole text content will appear in oursights.
　　
　　Eg, every person has its own special words and expressions that become part ofthe language. One such American expression is “ eager-beaver”. And“eager-beaver” is a person who is always willing and excited to do what isexpected of him. The expression comes from the name of a hard-working animal,the beaver. Beavers are strange-looking creatures. They are rodents, like miceand rats, but much larger. Some weigh more than 25 kg. Beavers have a largeblack, flat tail to help them swim. They also have thick brown hair fur to keepthem warm in cold water. Beavers spend a lot of time in the water building damscreate little lakes or ponds. They work hard to cut down trees, remove branchesand put them together with mud to make dams. Few other animals are so hardworking, and like the animal, the expression” eager-beaver” is in no danger ofdying out. www.dxs56.com
　　
　　This is an expository essay. After finishing reading the text, we should clearthe turn of them. Now we may arrange theme function of above-mentioned texttheme1, every people—theme2, one such American expression—theme3 an“eager-beaver”—theme4, the expression—theme5, beavers—theme6, they—theme7,some—theme8, beavers—theme9, they—theme10, beavers…The article narrates the origin of “eager-beaver” “every people” is the startingpoint. And spreads out the subject, so it is told only one time at the beginningof the text. “Expression” is the content that the writer wanted to say. Toexplain, so it is used three times in the article. From theme5 to theme10 thewriter narrated the eager-beaver’s character step by step. He changed thesubject from theme13 and expressed the effect of the eager-beaver in history.

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