揭秘你所一直迷茫的修辞目的题

　　在托福阅读的大海中，有一种题让人似懂非懂，它就是修辞目的Rhetorical purpose questions，对于它的样子大家应该非常熟悉，就是问作者为什么要提及某个词，某个短语，某句话，某个段落甚至是某两个段落。它主要考查考生透过特定的修辞方式发掘潜在的目的能力。在一篇文章中会有3-4个这类型题目。

　　修辞目的题的两种考察形式：，一种是给出修辞手段问目的，另一种是给出修辞目的问手段。其常见的题目形式如下：

　　The author uses X as an example of…

　　Why does the author mention X?

　　Why does the author compare … to …?

　　Why does the author use the word … in discussing…?

　　The author discusses X in paragraph X in order to…

　　The author uses X as an example of…

　　通常要求考生建立某句内容与整段内容的逻辑联系。通常一个段落的主旨位于段首。所以经常可以在段首观点句中发现作者的写作目的与意图

　　既然是修辞，就会有相应的修辞手段，所以大家要对不同的修辞词有非常正确的把握，清楚他们分别代表什么样的修辞方式。

　　如argue/caution/classify/compare/contrast/criticize/define/describe/emphasize/explain/ give examples/identify/illustrate/persuade/point out/praise/predict/prove/show/summarize/support/trace/warn

　　对于修辞目的题的处理，其实没有大家想象的那么困难。充分利用文章的逻辑，则可迎刃而解。看下面例题

　　Paragraph 2: Pollen samples from freshwater lakes in Syria and elsewhere tell us forest cover expanded rapidly at the end of the Ice Age, for the southwestern Asian climate was still cooler and considerably wetter than today. Many areas were richer in animal and plant species than they are now, making them highly favorable for human occupation. About 9000 B.C., most human settlements lay in the area along the Mediterranean coast and in the Zagros Mountains of Iran and their foothills. Some local areas, like the Jordan River valley, the middle Euphrates valley, and some Zagros valleys, were more densely populated than elsewhere. Here more sedentary and more complex societies flourished. These people exploited the landscape intensively, foraging on hill slopes for wild cereal grasses and nuts, while hunting   gazelle and other game on grassy lowlands and in river valleys. Their settlements contain exotic objects such as seashells, stone bowls, and artifacts made of obsidian (volcanic glass), all traded from afar. This considerable volume of intercommunity exchange brought a degree of social complexity in its wake.

　　2.Why does the author mention "seashells, stone bowls, and artifacts made of obsidian"?（1）

　　O To give examples of objects obtained through trade with other societies

　　O To illustrate the kinds of objects that are preserved in a cool climate

　　O To provide evidence that the organization of work was specialized

　　O To give examples of the artistic ability of local populations

　　在这个段落中，文章题干是原文句子的一部分，我们先考虑句内逻辑。后半句说all traded from afar. 所有这些都是从远方通过贸易的方式获得的。如果大家觉得这一句还不够，可以再向后看：This considerable volume of intercommunity exchange brought a degree of social complexity in its wake.大量的部落间的交换带来了社会的一定程度的复杂性。所以我们可以断定答案是A。

　　原则上，我们做修辞目的题都是向句子前看，但前面句子所说内容与题干毫不相干的情况下，那么大家需要做的是悬崖勒马，不要再向前看了，而是看句子后面是否有相应内容，如果没有，则需要看整个段落的主旨内容。