托福阅读10种题型浅析&解题速成（二）

   除了上次提到过的问句子和段落关系的修辞目的题之外，在TPO中还有着大量考察段落和段落之间关系的修辞目的题。它们的提问方式主要能归结为以下几种：

1.Which of the following best describes the relationship between paragraph  A and paragraph B?

2.What is the purpose of paragraph X?

3.Which of the following best describe the organization of paragraph A  ?

下面我们用第一种比较常见的提问方式来展示这一类型题目的解题思路：

例：Which of the following best describes the relationship between Paragraph2  and Paragraph3?

既然题目问第二段和第三段之间的关系，那么两段之间必然有着内在的逻辑关系。托福文章段落之间的关系常见的无非有：顺承，转折对比，类比，举例，解释说明等关系。要准确的找到这种关系，首先要大概掌握第二和第三段的大意，尤其是要关注前一段的末句和后一段的首句。因为这两句都极有可能承担着承上启下，连接段落逻辑思维的作用。

我们来看一道TPO的题目：

(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 multi-cellular 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.

Which of the following best describes the relationship between Paragraph2  and Paragraph3?

A. Paragraph2 puts forward several scientific claims, one of which is  rejected in Paragraph3.

B. Paragraph2 poses several questions, and Paragraph3 offers a possible  answer to one of them.

C. Paragraph2 presents outdated traditional views, while Paragraph3  presents the current scientific conclusions.

D. Paragraph2 introduces a generalization that is illustrated by specific  examples in Paragraph3.

我们不难看到，第二段首句作者用初三水平的英语说到：一个世纪以来，科学家们对于这次大爆炸题提出了许多重要的问题。然后在第二段这个中间的篇幅里，这哥们儿连续用了3个why引导的疑问句来对首句进行举例说明。而为了解决这些问题，二段末句说道：古生物学家们一直在寻找化石记录来解答上述这些问题。

接下来，三段首句毫无技术含量的说道：关于化石缺失的一种解释(one   interpretation)是…..。到此为止，但凡是小学作文不是体育老师叫出来的学生都应该能立刻发现，二段末句(古生物学家们一直在寻找化石记录来解答上述这些问题)起到了承上启下的作用;三段首句给这些问题提供了一个答案。

四个选项中，B说二段提出了一些问题，三段给出了其中一个的可能的答案，准确的概括了两段的大意和关系。从出题角度上来看，这一类型的题目考察考生对于文章局部结构的理解，而不仅限于段落中的某个细节。对于问某个段落的purpose或者organization的修辞目的题，牛学教育 董宁会在课堂当中再给大家详细讲解。