在介绍具体的做题技巧前，我们先详细了解一下什么是所谓的修辞以及它所考察的考生的能力有哪些：托福阅读中的修辞含义很广，包括"举例子、下定义、阐述、解释、对比、反驳、强调、批评"等。根据官方指南(official guide)说法，这里的修辞是指"有效写作或演讲的艺术"，也就是说，某个具体信息可能是为了给某个观点举例子，下定义，或者是为了阐述、解释、对比、反驳、强调、批评某个观点。

　　首先，根据上文论述，我们做的*步就是要找出修辞的逻辑上一层信息。什么意思呢？我们可以发现修辞的目的就是为了一个信息点服务，而在逻辑上分析可以理解成下层信息为上层信息奠定基础。因此，我们需要找寻的答案就是修辞本身所支持的逻辑上一层信息。如何在文中正确的找寻上一层信息？本文将会讲解几个考生比较容易掌握的找寻方法。

　　1、句子细节信息支持句子主干内容

　　对于这一类题目，答案基本上就在同一句话中，所以不需要往句子前或者句子后进行搜索，只要从句子本身分析出发，找出句子中的主干信息和细节信息。请看例子：

　　Note the word"net":measuring the actual amounts of groundwater seepage into the lake and out ofthe lake is a much more complicated matter than merely inferring theirdifference.(TPO 24 lake water)

　　4.Why does the author use the phraseNote the word"net"in the passage?

　　A.To emphasize the impact of seepage onwater levels

　　B.To point out that seepage iscalculated differently from river flows and atmospheric exchanges

　　C.To compare the different methods ofcalculating seepage

　　D.To emphasize the difficulty ofobtaining specific values for seepage inputs and outputs

　　注意观察冒号这个符号，意为解释后面的句子主干信息，所以答案为D。

　　This facility was then in its thirddecade of production and was beginning to show signs of decline,perhapsbecause of over development.(TPO 21 Geothermal Energy)

　　6.In paragraph 3,why does the authormention that in the 1990s the Geysers was in its third decade of production?

　　A.To provide the historical context ofthe geothermal production of electricity in the United States

　　B.To imply that the Geysers was thefirst geothermal site to be put into production in California

　　C.To help explain the signs of declineshown by the Geysers

　　D.To explain why 70 new geothermal siteswere put into electricity production in the late 1990s

　　句子前半句出现then,可见前面内容是为了支持后半句and后面的内容。

　　2、整个句子内容是为了论证所支持的逻辑上一层的论点

　　对于此类题目，答案基本上往修辞所在句子的前面或者后面搜索答案。按其特征来看，可以分为以下两类进行分别论述。

　　(1).有明显的逻辑连接词或者态度词作为提醒，答案的位置基本上可以根据提醒词推出在修辞所在句子前面或者后面。逻辑连接词以及态度词有：

　　转折关系：however,but,although,instead,rather than等

　　因果关系：because,result in,result from,consequently,as a result等

　　递进关系：furthermore,also,moreover等

　　态度类词汇：happy,worried,panic,luckily,fortunately,unfortunately,impatient,curious,anxious,ridiculous,hopeless等

　　请看例子：One necessarycondition seems to be a somewhat detached view of human problems.For example,one sign of this condition is the appearance of the comic vision,since comedyrequires sufficient detachment to view some deviations from social norms asridiculous rather than as serious threats to the welfare of the entire group.(TPO1 the origins of theater)

　　11.Why does the author mention“comedy”?

　　A.To give an example of early types oftheater

　　B.To explain how theater helps a societyrespond to threats to its welfare

　　C.To help explain why detachment isneeded for the development of theater

　　D.To show how theatrical performersbecome detached from other members of society.

　　for example标志应该往前看，前面是观点后面是例子，所以答案为C

　　Forehead rubbing by male deer on buckrubs presumably sends a great deal of information to other members of the samespecies.First,the chemicals deposited on the rub provide information on theindividual identity of an animal;no two mammals produce the same scent.Forinstance,as we all know,dogs recognize each other via smell.(TPO 28Buck Rubs and Buck Scrapes)

　　5.Why does author mention that“dogsrecognize each other via smell”?

　　A.To point out the similarities betweendogs and deer

　　B.To argue that animals communicatethrough scent rather than through vision

　　C.To support the claim that the scent ofa buck rub serves to identify its maker to other deer

　　D.To suggest that rubs can be detectedby other species

　　这句话是由for instance引出的，那么如果要找这个例子的目的，要到前面去找论点。这一段的总论点，就是*句话，主要是“send information toother members”;first后面是*个分论点，所以答案应该跟这两句有关，因此选C气味可以帮助identify。

　　(2).当无明显连词作为提醒时，我们只能从整段的逻辑结构上把握。大部分常见答案位置为修辞所在句子前面的部分。

　　请看例子：The numbers of deerhave fluctuated markedly since the entry of Europeans into Puget Sound country.The early explorers and settlers told of abundant deer in the early 1800s andyet almost in the same breath bemoaned the lack of this succulent game animal.Famous explorers of the north American frontier,Lewis and Clark hadexperienced great difficulty finding game west of the Rockies and not until thesecond of December did they kill their first elk.(TPO 4 Deer Populations ofthe Puget Sound)

　　5.The author tells the story of theexplorers Lewis and Clark in paragraph 3 in order to illustrate which of thefollowing points?

　　A.The number of deer within the Pugetsound region has varied over time.

　　B.Most of the explorers who came to thePuget sound area were primarily interested than in the West.

　　C.There was more game for hunting in theEast of the United States than in the West.

　　D.Individual explorers were not assuccessful at locating games as were the trading companies.

　　往前看，这两个人明显是早期探险家的一个例子，读前句说他们知道原本有很多鹿，但又没找到，很显然这句话不足以作为一个观点，本段中心句说鹿的数量变化很大，这是一个中心，而A选项刚好是这个中心，为正确答案。

　　But that is not all that changes.Duringall phases of sleep,several changes in the air passages have been observed.Ittakes twice as much effort to breathe during sleep because of greaterresistance to airflow in the airways and changes in the efficiency of themuscles used for breathing.Some of the muscles that help keep the upper airwayopen when breathing tend to become more relaxed during sleep,especially duringREM(the phase of sleep in which there is rapid eye movement).Without thismuscular action,inhaling is like sucking air out of a balloon—thenarrow passages tend to collapse.(TPO 24 Breathing During Sleep)

　　5.What is the author's purpose instating that inhaling is like sucking air out of a balloon?

　　A.To refute the argument that additionaleffort is necessary for breathing during sleep

　　B.To argue that REM sleep is moreimportant than NREM sleep

　　C.To illustrate the difficulty ofbreathing during sleep

　　D.To illustrate how blockage of narrowpassages can be prevented during sleep

　　先看修辞点所在的句子，但原句整个都是一个例子，往前看，前一句仍然在说肌肉relax的事情，因此也是例子，所以看开头，开头说air passage在睡觉期间变了很多，紧接着就解释睡觉期间呼吸很难，也就是开头所指的变化是睡觉的时候呼吸变难，所以正确答案