issue、subject、theme与topic这些名词均有“主题、话题”之意。
issue : 指有争论、议论，急需讨论研究的热点话题。
- environmental/ethical/personal issues
环境／道德／个人问题 - As employers we need to be seen to be addressing (= dealing with) these issues sympathetically.
作为雇主，我们需要让大家知道我们在处理这些问题时富有同情心。 - Don't worry about who will do it - that's just a side issue (= not the main problem).
不要担心这件事由谁来做——那只是次要问题。
subject : 一般用词，使用广泛。指书籍、文章、演讲、讨论等中所隐含的、暗示的，需要由读者或听众推断的主题或中心话题。
- Our subject for discussion is homelessness.
我们讨论的话题是无家可归问题。 - She has made a series of documentaries on the subject of family relationships.
她拍摄了一系列以家庭关系为题材的纪录片。 - The guest lecturer took as her subject (= decided to speak about) "punishment and imprisonment in modern society".
特邀演讲人演讲的题目是“现代社会的刑罚与监禁”。
theme : 系正式用词，多指文学、艺术作品的主题，或论文、演说的主题。
- The theme of loss runs through most of his novels.
失落这一主题贯穿了他的大多数小说作品。
topic : 普通用词，含义广泛，但其范畴小于subject。既可指文章、讲话的题目，谈话的内容，又可指提纲中的标题甚至段落的主题或中心思想。
- Our discussion included topics such as acid rain and the melting of polar ice.
我们的讨论涉及各种话题，例如酸雨和极地冰层融化。
