托福閱讀修辭目的題的三種情形

修辭目的題（rhetorical purpose question）基于文章段落中的某一特定語(yǔ)句（如例子、數(shù)據(jù)、引語(yǔ)等），要求考生結(jié)合語(yǔ)境，判讀作者對(duì)于這句話(huà)的寫(xiě)作目的。該題型雖數(shù)量不多（每篇0-1題），但需要考生準(zhǔn)確把握文章結(jié)構(gòu)和大意，并具備相當(dāng)?shù)木�讀和推理能力，因此頗有難度。本文試總結(jié)該題型的三種實(shí)用解題思路。

1. 前句型

一般而言，作者在使用舉例等寫(xiě)作手法時(shí)，會(huì)首先使用一般化、概括性的論述語(yǔ)句，再加上具體化、細(xì)節(jié)性的例子給予進(jìn)一步支持。換言之，例子往往是為前句服務(wù)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

根據(jù)題干可輕松定位到原文第二句，且該句句首的For example顯示該句是一個(gè)典型的例子。分析前句可以得到其主句部分these are problems，也就是說(shuō)例子必然是用來(lái)說(shuō)明某種problem。仔細(xì)核對(duì)選項(xiàng)，便不難選出1項(xiàng)。

2. 段落大意型
　　通過(guò)對(duì)TPO中該題型的統(tǒng)計(jì)分析，筆者發(fā)現(xiàn)，多數(shù)修辭目的題都可通過(guò)分析前句加以解決，但也不乏一些較難的情形，單純分析前句不足以解題。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

通過(guò)題干可輕松定位到原文第四句，但沒(méi)有一個(gè)選項(xiàng)符合其前句的意思。在這種情形下我們應(yīng)當(dāng)想到，某個(gè)例子被用在特定段落中，說(shuō)明這個(gè)例子必然要為該段落的大意服務(wù)，例子的目的必然符合段首主題句的意思。分析本題的段首主題句可知，本段大意在于說(shuō)明瓦特蒸汽機(jī)造成的影響，核對(duì)選項(xiàng)后便可選出1項(xiàng)。

3. 關(guān)系詞型
　　在一些更難的情形中，前句和段落大意都不足以幫助我們解題，但在所考的語(yǔ)句中可以找到某些特殊詞匯，體現(xiàn)例子和原文語(yǔ)境的關(guān)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

根據(jù)題干可定位到原文第三句，分析該句結(jié)構(gòu)，發(fā)現(xiàn)其中含有not...but rather...搭配，表示“不是……而是……”，也就是說(shuō)這句話(huà)的寫(xiě)作目的應(yīng)當(dāng)符合這個(gè)意思。核對(duì)選項(xiàng)可發(fā)現(xiàn)，選項(xiàng)3中含有point out a weakness（指出缺點(diǎn)），即指出某一理論的缺點(diǎn)而主張另一理論，符合“不是……而是……”的意思，所以選擇3項(xiàng)。

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