今天要聊的是一道修辭目的題。新托福閱讀中修辭目的題常考的是例子的功能，但也會考察段落結(jié)構(gòu)。下面的這道題就是考段落結(jié)構(gòu)的：

4.What is the organizational structure of paragraph 3?

○It makes a general claim about Spartina and then provides specific evidence to defend that claim against objections to the claim.

○It presents a general characterization of Spartina and then describes particular features on which this characterization is based.

○It reports a widely held view about Spartina and then considers evidence both for and against that view.

○It presents a general hypothesis about Spartina and then lists specific evidence that disputes that hypothesis.

【Paragraph 3】Spartina is an exceedingly competitive plant. It spreads primarily by underground stems; colonies form when pieces of the root system or whole plants float into an area and take root or when seeds float into a suitable area and germinate. Spartina establishes itself on substrates ranging from sand and silt to gravel and cobble and is tolerant of salinities ranging from that of near freshwater (0.05 percent) to that of salt water (3.5 percent). Because they lack oxygen, marsh sediments are high in sulfides that are toxic to most plants. Spartina has the ability to take up sulfides and convert them to sulfate, a form of sulfur that the plant can use; this ability makes it easier for the grass to colonize marsh environments. Another adaptive advantage is Spartina’s ability to use carbon dioxide more efficiently than most other plants.

［題目解析］

很多同學(xué)拿到此題時，以為此題需要看完整段話，需要弄懂每句話才可以搞定此題的答案。但試想想考試的過程中，一題大概只有1.5分鐘左右的時間思考答題。在這么短的時間內(nèi)，看完整段話和選項不太容易。那么有沒有什么更實用的答題方式呢？

首先，讓我們先來分析下這個題目。根據(jù)題干提問方式“What is the organizational structure of paragraph 3？”，便可看出此題考察的是段落結(jié)構(gòu)。這主要是考察段落中句子間是怎么銜接起來的。所以此題的重點(diǎn)不在于段落句子究竟在講什么內(nèi)容，而在于句子間的銜接方式。

根據(jù)句子間的銜接，我們發(fā)現(xiàn)段落首句介紹Spartina是一種有競爭力的植物，第2-3句介紹它的生長方式，接著第4-6句介紹它的兩個適應(yīng)環(huán)境的優(yōu)勢。首句的“competitive plant”是整體介紹，第5-6句講的兩個優(yōu)勢是具體特征。所以此題選B。

另外，此題我們還可以根據(jù)選項描述的段落結(jié)構(gòu)特征去驗證段落中句子間的邏輯。選項A中的against objections，選項C中的against that view，選項D中的disputes that hypothesis，均有反對觀點(diǎn)。這說明在文章段落中會有轉(zhuǎn)折關(guān)系，但我們在第三段中并未找到轉(zhuǎn)折關(guān)系的邏輯詞。所以選項A，C，和D都排除，此題只能選B。

由此可見，修辭目的題主要考察兩類：例子的功能和段落的結(jié)構(gòu)。例子的功能主要在于確定例子所論證的觀點(diǎn)，而段落結(jié)構(gòu)主要在于確定句子間的邏輯關(guān)系。