托福阅读的修辞目的题是比较常见的一种题型，这种题型在每篇文章中0-2题，是难度较大的一类题目，很多考生对于这一类题目比较困惑，不知道该如何解答，今天我们就来详细看一下如何快速地做对修辞目的题。
首先要注意这里的“修辞”并不是语文中学的修辞手法比如夸张、拟人、排比等，而是考察某些句子或段落在文章中的作用，如：总结、回答问题、反驳、解释说明、对比、质疑等，那选项中经常会出现的一些词如下：
举例：exemplify ／provide example
下定义：define／definition
阐述、解释：explain／describe／demonstrate /show／illustrate
对比：compare/contrast
反驳、质疑：refute／argue against／challenge／question／cast doubt on
强调：stress/emphasize
批评：criticize/blame
支持／进一步强调：reinforce
它的提问方式可分为两类：
一是某个具体信息，如下
Why does the author mention …?
The author discusses … in paragraph … in order to…
The author uses … as an example of …in order to…
In mentioning …, the author is making which of the following points?
二是段落类，如下
What is the main purpose of paragraph 7?
What is the structure of paragraph 2?
How is paragraph 4 related to other parts of the passage?
其中第 一类提问方式占的比重较大一些，所以我们着重看一下它的解题方法
注意这里的why不是定位文中的because来找答案，而是应采取这样一种思维即：题干作为一个细节，其存在的价值是为了支撑观点。
解题思路一：找细节信息对应的观点
观点的位置一般在提到信息的前一句；如果前一句不是观点，再往前找，可能是段落的中心句；偶尔在提到信息的后一句（对这个信息的一个总结）
我们来看几个例题
1.Why does the author mention “a nut”, “a peach”, and “a cherry”?
A.To indicate that some seeds are less likely to survive than others
B.To point out that many angiosperms can be eaten
C.To provide examples of blooming plants
D.To illustrate the variety of coverings among angiosperm seeds
One type of seed-bearing plant, the angiosperm, includes all forms of blooming vegetation. In the angiosperm the seeds are wrapped in an additional layer of covering. Some of these coats are hard–like the shell of a nut–for extra protection. Some are soft and tempting, like a peach or a cherry. In some angiosperms the seeds are equipped with gossamer wings, like the dandelion and milkweed seeds. These new characteristics offered better ways for the seed to move to new habitats. They could travel through the air, float in water, and lie dormant for many months.
解析：提到的这句话中有个“Some of these coats”，在这里coats 和前句话中的covering 是同义词，前面一句话是论点，说的是在被子植物种，种子是被包裹的，然后提到的这句话说有的coats 硬有的软和诱人，很明显是针对包裹物而言的，看出来包裹物是多样的，所以选d
2.What is the purpose of the statement, “Whereas in 1810 only a seventh of the American people lived west of the Appalachian Mountains, by 1840 more than a third lived there”?
A.To illustrate that generally population shifts occur rapidly
B.To correct a mistaken impression of American agriculture from 1810 to 1840
C.To emphasize the range and speed with which the westward migration occurred
D.To demonstrated how attractive the Appalachian Mountains were to Americans
Paragraph 1: The story of the westward movement of population in the United States is, in the main, the story of the expansion of American agriculture—of the development of new areas for the raising of livestock and the cultivation of wheat, corn, tobacco, and cotton. After 1815 improved transportation enabled more and more western farmers to escape a self-sufficient way of life and enter a national market economy. During periods when commodity prices were high, the rate of westward migration increased spectacularly. "Old America seemed to be breaking up and moving westward," observed an English visitor in 1817, during the first great wave of migration. Emigration to the West reached a peak in the 1830's. Whereas in 1810 only a seventh of the American people lived west of the Appalachian Mountains, by 1840 more than a third lived there.
解析：阴影句子是说截止到1810年七分之一的美国人住在阿巴拉契亚山脉以西，但是截止到1840年，三分之一的美国人住在这个地方。往前推一句讲的是往西移民，再往前推一句，讲的还是往西迁移，再往前一句，讲的还是往西迁移的速度变快，这三句话都是对应的论点，都在讲一个意思，所以我们要选择一个和此论点相关的选项，答案就是c
3.Why does the author mention that “English and Dutch ships carrying rye from the Baltic states reached Spain and Portugal”?
A.To suggest that England and the Netherlands were the two most important trading nations in seventeenth-century Europe
B.To suggest how extensive trading relations were
C.To contrast the importance of agricultural products with manufactured products
D.To argue that shipping introduced a range of new products
Paragraph 5: More extended trading networks also helped develop Europe's economy in this period. English and Dutch ships carrying rye from the Baltic states reached Spain and Portugal. Population growth generated an expansion of small-scale manufacturing, particularly of handicrafts, textiles, and metal production in England, Flanders, parts of northern Italy, the southwestern German states, and parts of Spain. Only iron smelting and mining required marshaling a significant amount of capital (wealth invested to create more wealth).
解析：阴影句子前面只有一句话，它的意思是延伸的贸易网络帮助这时期欧洲经济的发展，紧接着说到英国和荷兰的船带着来自波罗的海国家的黑麦到达西班牙和葡萄牙，可以看出贸易关系很广泛，所以此题选择b
解题思路二：利用提到的这句话前后的逻辑关系解题，比如以下逻辑关系及思路
◆因果：hence， so, thus, therefore，consequently，because，for…
为什么提到结果-往前找原因；为什么提到原因-往后找结果
◆并列：also，other+名词，as well, too，again
为什么提到这些并列-给论点提供进一步的证据
◆类比：just as A, so B 正如A一样，B也是这样
为什么要提到A， 说明B 也是这样
4.The author mentions “343 men at one fort engaged on tasks like shoemaking, building a bathhouse, operating kilns, digging clay, and working lead” in order to
A.describe the kinds of tasks soldiers were required to perform as punishment for disloyalty or misdeeds
B.illustrate some of the duties assigned to soldiers to keep them busy and well-behaved when not involved in military campaigns
C.provide evidence that Roman soldiers had a negative effect on the local area by performing jobs that had been performed by native workers
D.argue that the soldiers would have been better employed in the construction of infrastructure such as roads
Paragraph 2: Economic exchange was clearly very important as the Roman army brought with it very substantial spending power. Locally a fort had two kinds of impact. Its large population needed food and other supplies. Some of these were certainly brought from long distances, but demands were inevitably placed on the local area. Although goods could be requisitioned, they were usually paid for, and this probably stimulated changes in the local economy. When not campaigning, soldiers needed to be occupied; otherwise they represented a potentially dangerous source of friction and disloyalty. Hence a writing tablet dated 25 April tells of 343 men at one fort engaged on tasks like shoemaking, building a bathhouse, operating kilns, digging clay, and working lead. Such activities had a major effect on the local area, in particular with the construction of infrastructure such as roads, which improved access to remote areas.
解析：提到的这句话有个Hence表示结果，那么我们需要找它对应的原因，就在前一句，讲的是当士兵不打仗的时候，也得让他们忙着，不然他们可能会有一些矛盾或者不忠诚，紧接着阴影句子说到让士兵忙于什么样的工作，就是分配给士兵让他们忙着的一些任务，所以此题选择b
5.Why does the author state that "Earth had experienced previous periods of climatic change, and yet agriculture had not been developed"?
A.To suggest that climate change had occurred long before the development of agriculture
B.To argue that climate change does not properly explain why agriculture developed
C.To challenge the assumption that agriculture developed only in some parts of the world.
D.To question the claim that climate change occurred at the time when agriculture developed
Paragraph 4: It would appear that the instability of the climatic conditions led populations that had originally been nomadic to settle down and develop a sedentary style of life, which led in turn to population growth and to the need to increase the amount of food available. Farming originated in these conditions. Later on, it became very difficult to change because of the significant expansion of these populations. It could be argued, however, that these conditions are not sufficient to explain the origins of agriculture. Earth had experienced previous periods of climatic change, and yet agriculture had not been developed.
解析：阴影句子的意思是地球之前也经历过气候变化，然而农业也没有发展，它对应的论点是前一句，但是前面一句提到“these conditions”，那需要继续往前找these conditions 到底是哪些情况，前面的意思是说气候不稳定导致人定居发展农业，后面的however 反驳了这个观点，即认为气候变化并没有合理解释为什么农业发展，所以此题答案是b
以上就是对修辞目的题解题方法的解析，我们可以看出来这种题目还是比较有技巧性的，关键是能不能找到对应的论点，然后好好理解这个论点，选出一个与之匹配的选项。一分耕耘一分收获，希望各位考生都能在考试中取得理想的成绩！
