爱因斯坦曾说：“我们不能用制造问题时的同一水平思维来解决问题。”简单来说就是我们要解决问题，就必须要升级我们的思维层次，不能被问题本身所迷惑。

就拿我们的托福阅读考试来说，有了升维思考，站在比出题人更高的维度来看这些所谓的难题怪题，你会觉得张牙舞爪的它们也不过如此。今天我们就以作者目的题这一高频且易错的题型来看看升维思考如何能帮助我们事半功倍吧！

作者目的题又称修辞目的题，它的常规问法是：Why does the author mention X? /  The author discuss X in order to...

很多同学对该类题型的解决方法依旧停留在形式化的找上句。诚然，找上句在某些题目中确实是可以得出正确答案的，但很多时候你也会发现仅仅依靠上句是解决不了问题的。那么你是否思考过什么情况下找上句是行得通的，什么情况下又不可以了呢？背后的原因又分别是什么呢？有没有一种方式是放之所有类型而皆准的呢？肯定地告诉你，有的！那就必须要升维思考，真正地想明白出题人想考察的考点是什么，想让我们选择的选项又是什么。

在作者目的题中，真正考察的是逻辑关系（句内逻辑/句间逻辑/段落间逻辑），题干中给出的X只是一个例子或细节解释，也就是说X只是工具而已，作者真正的目的是要用X来突出该语境中的逻辑重点，也可以称之为X的上层结构。只要知道了这个考点实质，那你就会清楚到底该往哪里找答案句啦。接下来我们来看几道例题。

例题1：

Identifying tree species in tropical rain forests may be harder than you think. Plant  species identification can be difficult for all kinds of reasons even identification of trees, which are big and conspicuous. For example, for some willow trees, both leaves and flowers may be needed for identification, but the two may not be present at the same time. Yet whatever problems may confront us in temperate climates, we can be sure that the tropics will pose far worse difficulties.

why does the author discuss willow trees？

A. To provide an example of a tree that is unusually large

B. To explain the process of tree species identification

C. To support the idea that tropical trees can be more difficult to identify than temperate trees

D. To demonstrate one reason why it can be problematic to determine what species a tree belongs to

该题中，有For example，X（willow trees）很明显是一个例子，那么例子的上层结构就是它所支持的事实或观点，因此答案句可以快速锁定其前句。这是学生最喜爱的也是难度最小的类型，因为这里X的上层结构非常清楚，答案D。

值得注意的是，有时题干中的X并不是完整的例子而是截取了其中的几个词，那我们也默认X指的就是整个例子，思考时要跳出例子本身的细节信息，去找整个例子的上层结构。

例题2：

Another type of ceramic ware that was manufactured by the Romans in huge numbers was amphorae: these distinctive storage vessels were made on a potter's wheel rather than molded, which meant that unlike oil lamps, they were not standardized or so highly replicable.  Nonetheless, amphorae can be seen as utilitarian artifacts that were functionally close to  perfection. The amphorae's carefully considered generic form allowed for safe transportation on ships, enabling them to be stacked securely into specially designed racks. The classic amphora shape also facilitated easy carrying and pouring thanks to its looping handles and long, narrow neck.

What is the author's purpose in stating,"The classic amphora shape also facilitated... neck"?

A.  To explain why the basic shape of amphorae changed litle over the centuries

B.  To provide evidence that the amphora design had been functionally improved for centuries

C.  To support the claim that amphorae were almost perfectly suited to their function

D.  To explain why amphorae were not easily replicated or manufactured in a standardized way

在该题中，找上句就解决不了问题了，因为also表明上句与该句是并列关系而非X的上层结构，因此应该越过上句去找它们共同的上层结构即“Nonetheless,...perfection”，答案C。

例题3：

The introduction of paper spurred a conceptual revolution whose consequences have barely been explored. Although paper was never as cheap as it has become today, it was far less expensive than parchment, and therefore more people could afford to buy books, Paper is thinner than parchment, so more pages could be enclosed within a single volume. At first, paper was made in relatively small sheets that were pasted together, but by the beginning of the fourteenth century, very large sheets - as much as a meter across - were available. These large sheets meant that calligraphers and artists had more space on which to work. Paintings became more complicated, giving the artist greater opportunities to depict space or emotion.

Why does the author include the following information: "At first, paper was made in ... were available."?

A.To provide evidence that the development of papermaking techniques was very slow

B.To explain why paper was never as cheap as it has become today

C.To make the point that paper allowed artists to develop paintings that were more expressive and complex

D.To prove that paper was more popular with artists who used large sheets, than it was with book printers, who used smaller sheets

在该题中，X讲纸张由小变大这个进步，前两句讲的也是纸张比较薄比较便宜等优点，可以断定这几句是并列结构，那么第一句貌似是中心句可以作为X的上层结构，但其中的conceptual revolution并未在选项中未出现。我们可以看到X后句句首便用了These large sheets这样的指代词，也就意味着X要讲的内容并未结束，重点往往可能就在后面，X与后句的逻辑关系更加密切，所以我们的答案句就可以锁定为X之后的句子了，答案C。

例题4：

Masks (see figure above) are the most varied of the carvings from the Northwest, where they were an essential part of communal life. In style they range from an almost abstract symbolism to combinations of human and animal features and to a lifelike naturalism sometimes bordering on caricature (a style that strongly exaggerates features or characteristics), taken to its extreme in Tlingit war helmets. Some differences must have been due to those among the cultures in which they were created, but their place of origin cannot always be ascertained as they seem to have passed from one contiguous nation to another in the course of trade or warfare.

The author mentions “Tlingit war helmets” in the passage to...

A. explain why masks were an essential part of communal life

B. provide an example of masks representing a stylistic extreme

C. identify one of the uses of masks

D. provide an example of masks characterized by abstract symbolism

在该题中，X不是一个完整的句子，而仅仅是一个短语，那这种情况下应该怎么才处理呢？大家可以想一下，一个短语的上层结构应该是什么？是不是就是它所在句的主干信息，那么该句的主干就是在讲mask styles非常广泛，而Tlingit war helmets只是其中一个比较极端的例子而已，答案B。因此当X不是整句，而是words/phrases/clauses时，它的上层结构优先考虑的就是X所在句的主干信息。

由以上几个例题大家可以看出，作者目的题的答案可以往前找，也可以往后找，甚至可能就在本句，只要清楚我们要找的是X的上层结构即该语境中作者想要突出的逻辑重点即可。

所以，不必纠结于形式化机械化，你只要站高一个维度去看清楚出题者真正的意图和该题型考察的本质，那么答案应该是什么就一目了然了。这种升维的思考方式不仅仅适用于作者目的题这一个题型，它可以运用到整个托福阅读的学习中来，还不快用起来吗！