一般来说，问题会要求考生理解为什么作者在文章中用某些词，词组和句子。在托福阅读中会有3-4个这类型题目。
1、修辞目的题的两种考察形式：
在阅读考试中，这类题目有两种不同的考察形式：一种是给出修辞手段问目的，另一种是给出修辞目的问手段。
其常见的题目形式如下：
The author uses X as an example of…
Why does the author mention X?
Why does the author compare … to …?
Why does the author use the word … in discussing…?
The author discusses X in paragraph X in order to…
The author uses X as an example of…
2、解题技巧
找出这些修辞方法所用的关键词，例如定义中所用的同位语;描述事物大小、形状的形容词和名词;举例用的词，如，for instance，for example， in other words;用来解释的词语，如because， this is why， due to等。
我们来看一个例子：
One of the most puzzling aspects of the paintings is their location. Other rock paintings，for example, those of Bushmen in South Africa are either located near cave entrances or completely in the open. Cave paintings in France and Spain, however, are in recesses and caverns far removed from original cave entrances.
Why does the author mention Bushmen in South Africa in paragraph 2?
To suggest that ancient artists from all over the world painted animals on rocks
To contrast the location of their rock paintings to those found at Lascaux
To support the claim that early artists worked in cramped spaces
To give an example of other artists who painted in hidden locations
首先分析问题题目，找出其中的关键词：Bushmen in South Africa。之后回到原文看其前后的句子，找到原文的关键词for example，通过分析知道，这一例子的目的是为了说明它前面的那句话，即这些绘画的位置令人费解。作者以对比的手法来说明这一点：Bushmen in South Africa的绘画常位于洞口或洞外，而法国和西班牙的洞穴绘画(本文所说的绘画)却位于远离最初洞口的深处。由此可见，Bushmen in South Africa的例子是为了说明Lascaux绘画位置的怪异。第二个选项符合此意，为正确答案。
