托福阅读修辞目的题的三种情形

修辞目的题（rhetorical purpose question）基于文章段落中的某一特定语句（如例子、数据、引语等），要求考生结合语境，判读作者对于这句话的写作目的。该题型虽数量不多（每篇0-1题），但需要考生准确把握文章结构和大意，并具备相当的精读和推理能力，因此颇有难度。本文试总结该题型的三种实用解题思路。

1. 前句型

一般而言，作者在使用举例等写作手法时，会首先使用一般化、概括性的论述语句，再加上具体化、细节性的例子给予进一步支持。换言之，例子往往是为前句服务的，例子的目的往往在于前句的意思。如下例：

These are problems that must be overcome by the artist because they tend to intrude upon his or her conception of the work. For example, in the early Italian Renaissance, bronze statues of horses with a raised foreleg usually had a cannonball under that hoof.

Why does the author discuss the bronze statues of horses created by artists in the early Italian Renaissance?
　　○ To provide an example of a problem related to the laws of physics that a fine artist must overcome
　　○ To argue that fine artists are unconcerned with the laws of physics
　　○ To contrast the relative sophistication of modern artists in solving problems related to the laws of physics
　　○ To note an exceptional piece of art constructed without the aid of technology

根据题干可轻松定位到原文第二句，且该句句首的For example显示该句是一个典型的例子。分析前句可以得到其主句部分these are problems，也就是说例子必然是用来说明某种problem。仔细核对选项，便不难选出1项。

2. 段落大意型
　　通过对TPO中该题型的统计分析，笔者发现，多数修辞目的题都可通过分析前句加以解决，但也不乏一些较难的情形，单纯分析前句不足以解题。如下例：

Watt's steam engine soon showed what it could do. It liberated industry from dependence on running water. The engine eliminated water in the mines by driving efficient pumps, which made possible deeper and deeper mining. The ready availability of coal inspired William Murdoch during the 1790s to develop the first new form of nighttime illumination to be discovered in a millennium and a half.

In paragraph 3, the author mentions William Murdoch’s invention of a new form of nighttime illumination in order to
　　○ indicate one of the important developments made possible by the introduction of Watt's steam engine
　　○ make the point that Watt's steam engine was not the only invention of importance to the Industrial Revolution
　　○ illustrate how important coal was as a raw material for the Industrial Revolution
　　○ provide an example of another eighteenth-century invention that used steam as a power source

通过题干可轻松定位到原文第四句，但没有一个选项符合其前句的意思。在这种情形下我们应当想到，某个例子被用在特定段落中，说明这个例子必然要为该段落的大意服务，例子的目的必然符合段首主题句的意思。分析本题的段首主题句可知，本段大意在于说明瓦特蒸汽机造成的影响，核对选项后便可选出1项。

3. 关系词型
　　在一些更难的情形中，前句和段落大意都不足以帮助我们解题，但在所考的语句中可以找到某些特殊词汇，体现例子和原文语境的关系。如下例：

By doing so, they could possibly secure more food, which should result in more rapid growth or larger size, either of which is advantageous. The answer lies apparently not in the increased energy costs of exaggerated begging — such energy costs are small relative to the potential gain in calories — but rather in the damage that any successful cheater would do to its siblings, which share genes with one another. An individual's success in propagating his or her genes can be affected by more than just his or her own personal reproductive success.

In paragraph 6, the author compares the energy costs of vigorous begging with the potential gain in calories from such begging in order to
　　○ explain why begging for food vigorously can lead to faster growth and increased size
　　○ explain how begging vigorously can increase an individual’s chance of propagating its own genes
　　○ point out a weakness in a possible explanation for why nestlings do not always beg vigorously
　　○ argue that the benefits of vigorous begging outweigh any possible disadvantages

根据题干可定位到原文第三句，分析该句结构，发现其中含有not...but rather...搭配，表示“不是……而是……”，也就是说这句话的写作目的应当符合这个意思。核对选项可发现，选项3中含有point out a weakness（指出缺点），即指出某一理论的缺点而主张另一理论，符合“不是……而是……”的意思，所以选择3项。

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