1.5 Determining Purpose

FOCUS

阅读下面的文章并回答问题：

题目问作者提及具体细节oil prices的写作目的。正确答案是To show how a price increase for one item contributes to inflation。哪些关键词和词组可以帮助考生得出该答案？文中有以下几条线索，尤其是：

…the exact causes of inflation.

…a sharp increase in the cost of one essential item is likely to be a contributing factor.

…higher prices for oil and for many other things.

These higher prices were a form of inflation.

STUDY

1. Purpose

文章的写作目的（purpose）就是作者写这篇文章的原因。作者希望考生以某种方式理解文章的主题。每一篇好的文章都会有一个明确的写作目的。这个目的可能是通知、下定义、解释、说明、对比、批评或者其他目的。作者的写作目的与文章的主题紧密相关。

文章的每一部分都可能有一个不同的目的。例如，一段话可能定义了一个概念，另一段话可能举例说明了这个概念，而又一段话可能把这个概念和别的观点进行了对比。

托福考试的很多问题都会问及文章提到某个细节的目的。有些问题会问作者使用某个单词或短语的原因。有关写作目的的问题形式通常如下：

2. Answer Choices

以下是选项中常见的表示目的的表达：

在写作目的题中，选项错误的原因通常是：

太笼统：一个超出了问题关注范围的目的；

不准确：非真实信息或者只有部分真实；或

不相关：文中没有提到或者与问题无关。

3. Sample Questions

目的题要求考生浏览全文寻找具体的细节。下面是一些例子：

题目问及作者在提到一个具体细节orthodox medicine时的写作目的。正确答案是compare herbalism with standard medical practice。第一段中的线索有：

…use of plants for medicinal purposes is the concern of herbalism.

…no less the concern of orthodox medicine , which puts equal faith in…

The earliest physicians were all herbalists….

其他三个选项为什么不正确呢？Argue that herblism is superior to orthodox medicine不准确；praise the contributions of Hippocrates和describe the philosophy of early physicians过于笼统。

题目问及作者在讨论人工合成药（synthetic drugs）时提到单词duplicates的目的。Duplicates意思是“精确复制”。正确答案是To emphasize the value of herbalism to modern medicine。文中的相关线索有：

…the practice of medicine depended almost exclusively on…

…these are duplicates of chemicals identified in plants.

Modern science has confirmed the instinctive confidence that the ancients placed in herbs.

其他三个选项为什么不正确呢？To show that herbalists have copied the work of scientists和To explain why herbalists need knowledge of chemistry不准确。To point out that synthetic drugs can be dangerous在文章中没有提及。

PRACTICE

Exercise 1.5.A

Read the passages and choose the best answer to each question.

QUESTIONS 1–2

1 In economics and finance, nothing can be measured with the precision possible in the physical sciences. However, approximate measurement is often sufficient as long as the method of measurement remains the same over time. It is important for anyone who is considering buying stock in a company to know that the usual methods of accounting have been followed.

2 Unfortunately, even when auditors certify that a company has prepared its financial reports properly, they cannot always be certain that all figures are 100 percent accurate.Because a company’s books are not open to public scrutiny, it is possible for a company to distort its financial status. Accounting scandals occur because of dishonesty, questionable accounting practices, or outright criminal behavior. Although the accounting profession and government agencies have attempted to reform some of these abuses, the principle of caveat emptor —let the buyer beware—must still guide one’s financial transactions.

1. Why does the author mention the physical sciences in paragraph 1?

A To point out that financial measurements are not always precise

B To compare the physical sciences unfavorably with other sciences

C To explain why methods of measurement are important in different fields

D To argue that economics and finance should be considered physical sciences

2. Why does the author mention the principle of caveat emptor in paragraph 2?

A To recommend that the government review all stock purchases

B To criticize inadequate efforts to stop bad accounting practices

C To argue that buying stock is the best way to make money fast

D To warn potential buyers of the possibility of accounting abuses

QUESTIONS 3–4

1 Lake Wissanotti, just outside the town of Mariposa, is one of Canada’s most popular and enduring fictional places. The lake and town are the setting of Stephen Leacock’s masterpiece, Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town, a collection of comic sketches and witty observations originally published in 1912. Leacock, one of the founders of Canadian literature, worked for most of his life as a professor of economics. His reputation as a political economist was worldwide, but it is Lake Wissanotti and Mariposa for which he is most remembered today.

2 Sunshine Sketches is a portrait of small–town Canadian life in the early twentieth century. Mariposa represents a past to be cherished, a pastoral and idyllic town that allows for human folly. If there is any satire, it is immediately bathed in warm sunshine . Although Sunshine Sketches has the complexity of a novel, it is more properly defined as a short–story cycle. A vital force is the book’s narrator, who is at times intimately close to the comings and goings of Mariposa life, but distant enough to sustain the focus on human folly.

3. Why does the author discuss Stephen Leacock in paragraph 1?

A To give the name of the main character in a book

B To provide biographical information about the author

C To point out a relationship between literature and economics

D To identify the narrator of a book of stories about a town

4. Why does the author use the phrase bathed in warm sunshine in the passage?

A To describe the tone of the book

B To explain the meaning of satire

C To compare a novel and a short story

D To illustrate the theme of human folly

QUESTIONS 5–7

1 Everyone in a particular society recognizes social roles: father, mother, child, teacher, student, police officer, store clerk, doctor, judge, political leader, and so on. Every culture expects certain types of behavior from people who play certain social roles. Anyone occupying a given position is expected to adopt a specific attitude. A store clerk is expected to take care of customers patiently and politely, and a judge is expected to make wise and fair decisions about laws.

2 Informal social roles are not always easy to recognize, but can be identified with careful research. They are key indicators of a group’s health and happiness. Within the family, one informal role is the family hero, the person who defines integrity and upholds family morality. Others are the family arbitrator, the person who keeps the peace, and the family historian, often a grandparent, who relays valuable cultural information that maintains both the family and the larger society. And finally, there is the family friend, the person who provides comfort and companionship to the family members with emotional needs.

5. Why does the author mention a store clerk and a judge in paragraph 1?

A To give examples of people who hold positions of respect

B To explain why social roles are important to a society

C To illustrate the behavior required of certain social roles

D To compare the responsibilities of two different occupations

6. Why does the author use the term key indicators in discussing informal social roles?

A To identify the most important type of social role

B To explain how to identify informal social roles

C To point out that informal roles are unique to families

D To emphasize the value of informal roles to a group

7. Which informal social role supports the family by preserving the family’s culture?

A Friend

B Hero

C Historian

D Arbitrator

QUESTIONS 8–10

1 The many parts of the earth’s atmosphere are linked with the various parts of the earth’s surface to produce a whole—the climate system. Different parts of the earth’s surface react to the energy of the sun in different ways. For example, ice and snow reflect much of it. Land surfaces absorb solar energy and heat up rapidly. Oceans store the energy without experiencing a significant temperature rise. Thus, the different types of surfaces transfer heat into the atmosphere at different rates.

2 We can view climate as existing in three domains: space, time, and human perception.In the domain of space, we can study local, regional, and global climates. In time, we can look at the climate for a year, a decade, a millennium, and so forth. Finally, we depend on our perceptions of the data, so we must include our own human perception into our model.Human perception ranges from our personal observations to our public predictions about climate. Human perception must be included if our understanding of climatic processes is to be translated into societal actions. As a society, we make informed choices about how to use the beneficial effects of climate, such as deciding when and where to plant crops. We also make choices about how to minimize the harmful effects of climate— storms,blizzards, and droughts .

8. Why does the author discuss different parts of the earth’s surface in paragraph 1?

A To explain why humans live in some parts but not in others

B To show that the entire earth is made of the same materials

C To compare how various surfaces transfer heat into the atmosphere

D To describe changes in the earth’s appearance throughout the year

9. According to the author, why must we include human perception in our study of climate?

A We must interpret data and take actions related to climate.

B We must create an interesting model of the climate system.

C We must develop an understanding of our environment.

D We must change our traditional ways of studying climate.

10. Why does the professor mention storms,blizzards, and droughts in paragraph 2?

A To explain why humans are afraid of the unknown

B To show how the atmosphere and the earth are linked

C To give examples of dangerous effects of climate

D To illustrate the effects of human activity on climate

Exercise 1.5.B

Read the passages and choose the best answer to each question.

QUESTIONS 1–3

1 Several men have been responsible for promoting forestry as a profession. Foremost was Gifford Pinchot, the father of professional forestry in America . He was chief of the Forest Service from 1898 until 1910, working with President Theodore Roosevelt to instigate sound conservation practices in forests. Later he was professor of forestry and founder of the Pinchot School of Forestry at Yale University. Another great forester was Dr. Bernard E. Fernow, the first head of the U.S. Forest Service. He organized the first American school of professional forestry at Cornell University.

2 The foresters of today, like Pinchot and Fernow in the past, plan and supervise the growth, protection, and utilization of trees. They make maps of forest areas, estimate the amount of standing timber and future growth, and manage timber sales. They also protect the trees from fire, harmful insects, and disease. Some foresters may be responsible for other duties, ranging from wildlife protection and watershed management to the development and supervision of camps, parks, and grazing lands. Others do research, provide information to forest owners and to the general public, and teach in colleges and universi ties.

1. Why does the author call Gifford Pinchot the father of professional forestry in America ?

A To emphasize his contributions to the field

B To describe his family background

C To praise his management skills

D To illustrate his influence on the president

2. Why does the author compare Pinchot and Fernow to the foresters of today?

A To describe different philosophies of forestry management

B To show how the field of forestry has changed in 100 years

C To argue for the expansion of university forestry programs

D To introduce the types of work done by professional foresters

3. All of the following are mentioned in the passage EXCEPT

A what foresters do besides protecting trees

B how to select a good school of forestry

C people who promoted forestry as a career

D management of timber and timber sales

QUESTIONS 4–6

1 One’s style of dress reveals the human obsession with both novelty and tradition. People use clothing to declare their membership in a particular social group; however, the rules for what is acceptable dress for that group may change. In affluent societies, this changing of the rules is the driving force behind fashions. By keeping up with fashions, that is, by changing their clothing style frequently but simultaneously, members of a group both satisfy their desire for novelty and obey the rules, thus demonstrating their membership in the group.

2 There are some interesting variations regarding individual status. Some people, particularly in the West, consider themselves of such high status that they do not need to display it with their clothing. For example, many wealthy people in the entertainment industry appear in very casual clothes, such as the worn jeans and work boots of a manual laborer. However, it is likely that a subtle but important signal, such as an expensive wristwatch , will prevail over the message of the casual dress. Such an inverted status display is most likely to occur where the person’s high status is conveyed in ways other than with clothing, such as having a famous face.

4. According to the author, fashions serve all of the following purposes EXCEPT

A satisfying an interest in novelty

B signaling a change in personal beliefs

C displaying membership in a social group

D following traditional rules

5. Why does the author discuss individual status in paragraph 2?

A To state that individual status is not important in the West

B To argue that individuals need not obey every fashion rule

C To contrast the status of entertainers with that of manual laborers

D To explain how high status may involve an inverted status display

6. Why does the author mention a wristwatch in paragraph 2?

A To give an example of an item that conveys one’s actual status

B To recommend wearing an expensive wristwatch with casual clothes

C To explain why it is not necessary to dress entirely in one style

D To show that a wristwatch is an important fashion accessory

QUESTIONS 7–10

1 The war for independence from Britain was a long and economically costly conflict. The New England fishing industry was temporarily destroyed, and the tobacco colonies in the South were also hard hit. The trade in imports was severely affected, since the war was fought against the country that had previously monopolized the colonies’ supply of manufactured goods. The most serious consequences were felt in the cities, whose existence depended on commercial activity. Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Charleston were all occupied for a time by British troops. Even when the troops had left, British ships lurked in the harbors and continued to disrupt trade.

2 American income from shipbuilding and commerce declined abruptly, undermining the entire economy of the urban areas. The decline in trade brought a fall in the American standard of living. Unemployed shipwrights, dock laborers, and coopers drifted off to find work on farms and in small villages. Some of them joined the Continental army, or if they were loyal to Britain, they departed with the British forces. The population of New York City declined from 21,000 in 1774 to less than half that number only nine years later in 1783.

3 The disruptions produced by the fighting of the war, by the loss of established markets for manufactured goods, by the loss of sources of credit, and by the lack of new investment all created a period of economic stagnation that lasted for the next twenty years.

7. Why does the author mention the fishing industry and the tobacco colonies ?

A To show how the war for independence affected the economy

B To compare the economic power of two different regions

C To identify the two largest commercial enterprises in America

D To give examples of industries controlled by British forces

8. Why were the effects of the war felt most in the cities?

A Most of the fighting occurred in the cities.

B The British army destroyed most of the cities.

C The cities depended on manufacturing and trade.

D The urban population did not support the war.

9. Why does the author mention the population of New York City in paragraph 2?

A To show that half of New York remained loyal to Britain

B To compare New York with other cities occupied during the war

C To emphasize the great short–term cost of the war for New York

D To illustrate the percentage of homeless people in New York

10. What probably occurred during the years right after the war for independence?

A Development of new shipbuilding technology

B A return to traditional methods of manufacturing

C A shift to an agricultural economy in New York

D Shortages of money and manufactured goods

Answers to Exercises 1.5.A through 1.5.B are on pages 640–641.

EXTENSION

在课外阅读杂志或大学课本，选择一篇只有两三个段落的文章。打印或复印三份并带到课堂上。三人为一组，给每个组员一份复印稿。每个人阅读所有组员的文章并回答下面的问题：

a. 作者为什么写这篇文章？

b. 作者对所讨论的话题持何种态度？

c. 每一段的写作目的是什么？

d. 文中哪些细节支持了作者的写作目的？

e. 作者用了哪些单词来强调他的观点？

当每个组员都阅读完毕并且回答完所有问题时，把你的答案和同学的答案进行对比。你们的答案是相似还是不同？以小组为单位讨论出每个问题的最佳答案。 q2BCXBn2uVbHp48xc90EnOvs2qzik1fAFaLIRHRdQzFSYzvQAWFkWSZVOoYF3GXz