修辞目的题
刘泽宇
liuzeyu@xiaoma.com
Rhetorical Purpose Questions
Official Guide
–考生将被考查的能力是理解作者为
什么在文章中某个特别的位置或者
以某种特殊的方式陈述一个特别的
信息。
–换言之：作者为什么要这么说？
尼玛！
我肿么知道！
（以下省略1000
字……）
现代文阅读
真的，一直到现在，我实在再没有吃到那夜
似的好豆，——也不再看到那夜似的好戏
了。
选自《社戏》
对于文章一句结尾应该怎样理解？
为什么在前文作者提到社戏看得叫人“打哈
欠”“破口喃喃骂”，那夜的豆，第二天
吃起来也是在平常。
• 其实那夜的戏，看得叫人“打哈欠”“破
口喃喃骂”，那夜的豆，第二天吃起来也
是在平常。所谓“那夜似的好 戏”“那夜
似的好豆”，代表了作者对天真烂漫自由
有趣的童年美好的回忆，充满一种浪漫的
理想色彩，表现 对人生理想境界的渴望和
追求。
别鸡动！
先看看这种题型题干
有什么特点。
The author discusses X in P2 in order to...
Why does the author mention X?
The author uses X as an example of...
Which of the following best describes the
relationship between paragraph 2 and
paragraph 3
What function does paragraph 3 serve
in the organization of the passage as a
whole?
修辞目的题的几种情况
第一种情况：修辞目的题会问到相邻两段之
间的关系~
第二种情况：修辞目的题会问到某一段在这
篇文章当中的作用~
第三种情况：修辞目的题会问到某一句话在
这段当中起什么作用~
不同的情况有不同的解决方法~
我们先来解决就第一种情况。
要想知道相邻两段之间的关系，我们要
看这两段离得最近的两句话说的是什
么，也就是上一段的段尾，和下一段
的段首。
6. Which of the following best describes the
relationship between paragraph 2 and
paragraph 3?
○ Paragraph 2 puts forward several scientific
claims, one of which is rejected in paragraph 3.
○ Paragraph 2 poses several questions, and
paragraph 3 offers a possible answer to one of
them.
○ Paragraph 2 presents outdated traditional views,
while paragraph 3 presents the current scientific
conclusions.
○ Paragraph 2 introduces a generalization that is
illustrated by specific examples in paragraph 3.
既然问到的是2、3段的关系，那么我们来看下二段的最后一句话，和三
段的第一句话分别说了什么。
Paragraph 2: Scientists have asked important questions about this
explosion for more than a century. Why did it occur so late in the
history of Earth? The origin of multicellular forms of life seems a
relatively simple step compared to the origin of life itself. Why does
the fossil record not document the series of evolutionary changes
during the evolution of animals? Why did animal life evolve so
quickly? Paleontologists continue to search the fossil
record for answers to these questions.
Paragraph 3: One interpretation regarding the absence of
fossils during this important 100-million-year period is
that early animals were soft bodied and simply did not
fossilize. Fossilization of soft-bodied animals is less likely than
fossilization of hard-bodied animals, but it does occur. Conditions
that promote fossilization of soft-bodied animals include very rapid
covering by sediments that create an environment that discourages
decomposition. In fact, fossil beds containing soft-bodied animals
have been known for many years.
下面我们来看第二种情况
第二种情况：修辞目的题会问到某
一段在这篇文章当中的作用~
怎么办呢？
针对这种情况我们首先要看被提问的这一
段的段首句，然后去看上一段的段首句，
两段相结合找出答案。那么为什么要看段
首句呢？因为通常情况下段首句为这一段
的主旨句。
举个例子~
6. What function does paragraph 3 serve in the
organization of the passage as a whole?
○It contrasts the development of iron technology in
West Asia and West Africa.
○It discusses a non-agricultural contribution to Africa
from Asia.
○It introduces evidence that a knowledge of copper
working reached Africa and Europe at the same time.
○It compares the rates at which iron technology
developed in different parts of Africa.
Paragraph 2: Livestock also came from outside
Africa. Cattle were introduced from Asia, as
probably were domestic sheep and goats. Horses
were apparently introduced by the Hyksos
invaders of Egypt (1780-1560 B.C.) and then
spread across the Sudan to West Africa.……
Paragraph 3: Iron came from West Asia, although
its routes of diffusion were somewhat different than
those of agriculture. Most of Africa presents a
curious case in which societies moved directly
from a technology of stone to iron without passing
through the intermediate stage of copper or bronze
metallurgy, although some early copper-working
sites have been found in West Africa……
下面来看一下第三种情况
• 第三种情况：修辞目的题会问到某一句话
在这段当中起什么作用~
如何是好？
• 首先要看这句话说的是什么，然后看前一
句话，如果前一句话搞不定答案，那么就
看段首句。
• 9. In paragraph 5, why does the author provide the
information that “A fifteen-speed racing bicycle is
more likely to break down than a child’s tricycle”?
• ○To illustrate a general principle about the stability
of systems by using an everyday example
• ○To demonstrate that an understanding of stability
in ecosystems can be applied to help understand
stability in other situations
• ○To make a comparison that supports the claim that,
in general, stability increases with diversity
• ○To provide an example that contradicts
mathematical models of ecosystems
A more complicated system is, in general,
more likely than a simple system to break
down. A fifteen-speed racing bicycle is
more likely to break down than a child’s
tricycle.
以上就是修辞目的题的几种情况，掌握此法
便可闯荡江湖无所畏惧了！
So easy，那里不会点哪里，妈妈再也不用担
心我的学习！
练习练习~
• 5. The author tells the story of the explorers
Lewis and Clark in paragraph 3 in order to
illustrate which of the following points?
• ○The number of deer within the Puget Sound
region has varied over time.
• ○Most of the explorers who came to the Puget
Sound area were primarily interested in hunting
game.
• ○There was more game for hunting in the East
of the United States than in the West.
• ○Individual explorers were not as successful at
locating games as were the trading companies.
Paragraph 3: The numbers of deer have fluctuated
markedly since the entry of Europeans into Puget
Sound country. The early explorers and settlers told of
abundant deer in the early 1800s and yet almost in the
same breath bemoaned the lack of this succulent
game animal. Famous explorers of the north American
frontier, Lewis and Clark had experienced great
difficulty finding game west of the Rockies and not
until the second of December did they kill their first elk.
Rhetorical Purpose Questions
• TPO - The Arrival of Plant Life in Hawaii
• Why does the author mention “a nut”, “a
peach”, and “a cherry”?
– To indicate that some seeds are less likely to
survive than others
– To point out that many angiosperms can be
eaten
– To provide examples of blooming plants
– 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.
Rhetorical Purpose Questions
• Powering the Industrial Revolution
• Which of the following best describes the
relation of paragraph 2 to paragraph 1?
Paragraph 2 shows how the problem discussed in
paragraph 1 arose.
Paragraph 2 explains how the problem presented in
paragraph 1 came to be solved.
Paragraph 2 provides a more technical discussion of
the problem introduced in paragraph 1.
Paragraph 2 shows why the problem discussed in
paragraph 1 was especially important to solve.
第一段：and although waterpower abounded in
Lancashire and Scotland and ran grain mills as
well as textile mills, it had one great
disadvantage: streams flowed where nature
intended them to, and water-driven factories had
to be located on their banks whether or not the
location was desirable for other reasons.
Furthermore, even the most reliable waterpower
varied with the seasons and disappeared in a
drought. The new age of machinery, in short,
could not have been born without a new source of
both movable and constant power.
第二段：The source had long been known but not
exploited. Early in the eighteenth century, a pump had
come into use in which expanding steam raised a piston
in a cylinder, and atmospheric pressure brought it down
again when the steam condensed inside the cylinder to
form a vacuum. This “atmospheric engine,” invented by
Thomas Savery and vastly improved by his partner,
Thomas Newcomen, embodied revolutionary principles,
but it was so slow and wasteful of fuel that it could not be
employed outside the coal mines for which it had been
designed.