目的题是新SAT考试的一个重要考点，占有所题目比例的约15%，仅次于文本循证及词汇题这两种题型。目的题的考法比较多样，有的考全文的写作目的，有的考作者写某一段落的目的，有的考作者包含某几句话或者某个信息的目的，还有的考作者用到某某词汇或修辞手法的目的。
总之，从篇到段到句再到词的目的都会考到。因此，我们把目的题分为了四类，分别是：篇章目的；段落目的； 信息目的和修辞目的。下面我们就这四类目的题的题干特点，考题原理和答题技巧分别加以讲解。
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篇章目的 （passage）
题干特点：The main／primary purpose of the passage is to
这种题目题干很统一，基本就这一种提问方式。
考题原理及解题技巧：
这类题型大概在每次考试中出现1-2题，主要是科学类和社科类的文章会考到，历史文献类和小说不常出现。如果出现在科学和社科文章中，答这种题也是有一定规律可循的。
有些同学觉得需要读完整篇文章才能做，有些觉得读完文章也抓不住重点。那么这类题目的答案到底隐藏在哪儿？想要知道这个，我们就要先了解科技文章的写作规律。
科技和社科文章一般都是讲一个研究，那么要介绍一个研究，就要先引入话题，尤其是社科类文章的话题可能跟某个生僻的概念有关，所以第一段一般是在引入概念或引入要研究的主题，而第二段则是开始介绍为了解决什么问题，某某大学的谁在什么时候做了一个什么研究。接下来则要写研究是怎么做的，结果是什么，怎么应用，局限有哪些等等。因此，我们可以画一个主线出来：
Introduction — abstract — experiment design — results —- application —limitation
了解科技文这条基本主线的目的是让我们能够很快定位我们要找的那句主旨句在哪里。科技及社科文章写的基本都是某个关于什么的研究，所以主旨句一般会出现在abstract摘要段的“某某大学的谁在什么时候做了一个关于什么的研究” 这一句话中。所以我们只要找出这句话，进行大致的同义转写，这道题基本就解了。我们来看一些例子：
1.The main purpose of the passage is to
A. analyze competing theories about the lava sequences that formed the Mariana Trench.
B. explain how a recent study contributes to scientists’ understanding of the origins of tectonic plates.
C. summarize a series of studies conducted on the subject of subduction.
D. recount the discoveries of the Mariana Trench and of the Nuwuagittuq greenstone belt.
A journey to the Mariana Trench, the deepest crevice on Earth’s surface, reveals the great Pacific tectonic plate descending deep into the planet where it recycles back into mantle rock. This recycling of old tectonic plate, called subduction, drives plate tectonics and is nothing new to scientists, but exactly when the process got started is a hot debate. A new study may put that to rest by unmasking a sequence of 4.4-billion-year-old lavas as the remnants of the first subduction zone on Earth. If correct, the discovery marks the dawn of plate tectonics and thus several geological processes critical to Earth’s environment and perhaps even its life. (2016-03-U.S.)
解析：这一段包含了两个内容，一是研究的引子，即引入话题部分；二是文章的主旨句，总的说明文章做的什么研究。所以划线部分的那句一个新的研究怎么样了就是这篇文章的主旨，所以全文目的就是来介绍这个新的研究的，答案是B。其中a recent study是a new study的同义转写，understanding of the origins of tectonic plates是dawn of plate tectonics的转写，其实这题并不难，因为其他选项根本没提到这句后面的关键词plate tectonics，所以只有B。
2. The main purpose of the passage is to
A. discuss how metaphors are used in depictions of crime.
B. demonstrate how metaphors shape people’s perceptions.
C. illustrate how metaphors can undermine social policies.
D. show how metaphors can be used to enhance storytelling.
That is the power of metaphor —a power so subtle we barely notice how much it impacts our thinking, Researchers Paul Thibodeau and Lera Boroditsky from Stanford University demonstrated how influential metaphors can be through a series of five experiments designed to tease apart the “why” and “when” of a metaphor’s power. (2017-03-U.S.)
解析：从这个选段我们不难看出，第一段在举例说明什么是power of metaphor，而此段在写做了什么实验，来研究什么。根据这段的impact our thinking我们不难选出B。
但很多同学接下来会说，那么这个主旨句一定出现在第二段吗？其实，不一定。但大多数情况下会在第二段会出现，因为第一段通常是引入话题。如果第一段的引入话题和总括的句子写在一段，那么我们就要在第一段去找。甚至少部分时候还会出现在第三段，因为作者可能引入的很“啰嗦”。所以，我们可以得出这样一个结论，主旨句通常在话题引入之后，那个句子基本是写“谁做了一个关于什么的研究”。
篇章目的题技巧：找出“谁做了一个关于什么的研究”这句话即是主旨，通常出现在引入话题段之后。
这里还有一个小技巧，由于科技和社科文章基本都是做一个研究，所以在选主旨题的时候大部分的正确答案都带有study，research这样的字眼。
段落目的（paragraph）
题干特点
The main purpose of the first/second/third… paragraph is to
题干形式很好辨别，看清考第几段，在文章中数清楚即可。
考题原理及解题技巧：
这种题目同样要分是在科技和社科文章里还是在历史和小说里。如果是前者，那么上文我们提到的了解科技文的主线很重要，因为它能帮你捋清思路，知道科技文各段落的目的和之间的关联。
而科技文的目的题的选项也更抽象，相当于对整个段落一两个词的总结，比如这段讨论的是实验结果，或者研究意义等等。但在小说和历史的文章中，这种段落目的更多考查的是你对这段文字的内容的总结，正确答案通常是这段内容的概括，更像是在问这段写的什么内容，下面我们来看看例子。
3. The main purpose of the fifth paragraph (lines 57-65) is to
A. relate Maguire’s study of mental athletes to her study of taxi drivers.
B. speculate on the reason for Maguire’s unexpected results.
C. identify an important finding of Maguire’s study of mental athletes.
D. transition from a summary of Maguire’s findings to a description of her methods.
But there was one telling difference between the brains of the mental athletes and the control subjects: When the researchers looked at which parts of the brain were lighting up when the mental athletes were memorizing, they found that they were activating entirely different circuitry. According to the functional MRIs [fMRIs], regions of the brain that were less active in the control subjects seemed to be working in overdrive for the mental athletes. (2016-05-U.S.)
解析：通过划线的标志词我们不难看出，“他们发现….”显然是在讲这个研究的发现，即他的结果，所以是results或是findings，找到对应的选项C。这是一篇科技文，此段为结果段，所以一个词就可以概括本段的目的。
4. The main purpose of the first paragraph is to
A. characterize Nawab as a loving father.
B. outline the schedule of a typical day in Nawab’s life.
C. describe Nawab’s various moneymaking ventures.
D. contrast Nawab’s and Harouni’s lifestyles.
Another man might have thrown up his hands—-but not Nawabdin. His twelve daughters acted as a spur to his genius, and he looked with satisfaction in the mirror each morning at the face of a warrior going out to do battle. Nawab of course knew that he must proliferate his sources of revenue—the salary he received from K. K. Harouni for tending the tube wells would not even begin to suffice. He set up a little one-room flour mill, run off a condemned electric motor—condemned by him. He tried his hand at fish-farming in a little pond at the edge of his master’s fields. He bought broken radios, fixed them, and resold them. He did not demur even when asked to fix watches, though that enterprise did spectacularly badly, and in fact earned him more kicks than kudos, for no watch he took apart ever kept time again. (2016-05-Asia)
解析：通过阅读这段我们得知，这段主要写主人公做的各种工作。所以，第一段的目的就是在写他各种挣钱的工作。小说中的段落目的更像是总结这一段在写什么。
解段落目的题的技巧在于科技和社科文章在泛读中就要确定好整个篇章的结构，这样有助于我们做好全文结构，篇章目的和段落目的，甚至个别文本循证的题目，所以整体结构了解了，段落目的就自然而然得出答案了。而小说和历史的文章要对该段做出总结，看此段写了什么。下面我们来总结一下四种文体段落目的题答案的关键词都有哪些。
Science and social science：
Para. 1 introduction (to inspire…)
Para. 2 basis
Para. 3 method or design of the experiment
Para. 4 results or findings
Para. 5 application
Para. 6 implication (possible future effect)
Para. 7 limitation
Para. 8 further questions
……
History and documents：
Para. 1 introduction (present reasons to write the passage)
Para. 2 counterclaim (to present argument against it)
Para. 3 central claim
Para. 4 arguments (reasons)
……
Literature：
Para. 1 Setting (to foreshadow…)
Para. 2 introduction of characters
Para. 3 development of the story
Para. 4 sth. behind the story
上述的结构同时也算是技巧，科技和社科的文章大多数情况可以直接拿来用，在历史文章中，段落目的比较爱考counterclaim段，即反面观点段。作者的写作目的一般是提出一个作者之后要批判的观点。小说比较爱考setting背景段，一般目的是预示着后面要发生的事情。其余情况历史和小说还是要总结一下该段内容的。
信息目的题（information）
题干特点：
The author includes the information in the first paragraph most likely to…
The primary purpose of lines 26-28 (“the amount… labor”) is to…
此类题目题干叙述方式多样，但基本意图都是作者为什么要加第几行到第几行的两句话，或者为什么要包含某个信息。
考题原理及解题技巧：
这是一种最基本的目的题，托福阅读中的目的题也是此类考法。主要是考为什么包含某段信息或文字，从题目来看需要考虑两点，一是这段文字本身的意思，二是这段文字在上下文中的作用。
这种题目的解题思路比较复杂，没有一个共通性的技巧，但是我们通过一些题目来看下在解这种题目上面需要注意那些词句。
技巧1：关注逻辑词
5. The last sentence of the passage mainly serves to
A. restate the passage’s central idea about constructing metaphors.
B. acknowledge a potential weakness of the study’s treatment of metaphors.
C. express concern about an apparent limitation of metaphors.
D. reinforce a claim about how metaphors achieve their effect.
When Thibodeau and Borodisky asked participants to come up with synonyms for either “beast” or “virus” before reading crime reports that omitted the metaphors entirely, the participants provided similar solutions for solving the city’s problems. In other words, the metaphors only worked if they framed the story. (2017-03-U.S.)
解析：首先看到逻辑词“in other words，换句话说”，意思就是用另一种方式表明同样意思，所以看选项就排除了BC，再看内容相符的就只有D。
技巧2：看核心动词
6. Lines 56-57( “It . . . say “) serve mainly to
A. reintroduce a topic mentioned earlier in the passage and explore it in greater detail.
B. transition from a set of facts to a larger context in which those facts can be considered.
C. anticipate and refute a potential objection to the author’s argument.
D. acknowledge the limitations of a position but suggest that those limitations are irrelevant.
It makes sense that T. rex would grow this way, experts say. Several lines of evidence suggest that dinosaurs had a higher metabolism and faster growth rates than living reptiles do. (2017-03-U.S.)
解析：核心动词是make sense，说明之前说的在另一种情景下也说得通，所以能选的就只有B。
技巧3：注意标点符号
有些信息自带属性，如：1.破折号间就是解释说明，2.问号就是提出问题，3.引号引用专家的话就是为了证明之前说的观点，4.括号就是补充说明等等。所以这种信息本身就带有一定的目的。
7. The primary purpose of lines 26-28 (“the amount… labor”) is to
A. describe a process.
B. highlight a dilemma.
C. clarify a claim.
D. explain a term.
As evidence, Brynjolfsson and McAfee point to a chart that only an economist could love. In economics, productivity—the amount of economic value created for a given unit of input, such as an hour of labor—is a crucial indicator of growth and wealth creation. (2016-10-U.S.)
解析：破折号里就是在解释什么是productivity。所以选D。
技巧4：总结句子本身内容
这一点跟刚才的段落目的比较相似，问目的是什么其实就是总结该句内容是什么。
8. The primary purpose of line 35-38 (“Hence…rewarded”) is to provide support for the claim that
A. North America produces more artists than Europe.
B. North Americans consider handicrafts to be more important than fine arts.
C. North Americans spend little money on art.
D. North Americans prefer European art to North American art.
Very few rich enough to live idly upon their Rents or Incomes, or to pay the high Prices given in Europe for Paintings, Statues, Architecture, and the other Works of Art, that are more curious than useful. Hence the natural Geniuses, that have arisen in America with such Talents, have uniformly quitted that Country for Europe, where they can be more suitably rewarded. (2016-12-U.S.)
解析：通过总结整段说的意思，我们不难看出美国很少花钱在艺术上，所以应该选C。
其实，这几点技巧是通过难易程度由易到难排列的，在用法上也一样，如果有逻辑词先要判断，没有就判断是否有核心动词能跟某选项对应，再没有就判断是否自带目的属性，最后才是总结全部信息的意思。所以，在运用顺序上，大家也应注意。
修辞目的题（rhetoric）
题干特点：
The author uses the term “Queen” in lines 1 and 41 most likely to
In the first paragraph, the effect of the word “amazingly” and the phrase “believe it or not” is to
这种题目题干基本上是问某个词的目的或作用，或者用到某个修辞的目的和效果，所以这类题型也叫“修辞效果题”。
出题原则及解题技巧
首先，这类题目提及的词汇或者短语必须带有一种修辞方法，比喻、拟人、夸张、类比、排比等等。
我们知道每一种修辞都有一定的作用，比如：排比是为了重复并有递进的有力感；类比是为了用相似的例子进行解释；比喻是通过一个比喻词来更好的反应属性等等。所以这种题目首先应判断修辞方法是什么。但修辞目的目前的题目考出来大多数被两种修辞方法占据，那就是比喻和类比。考到比喻的时候解题的方法很简单。
修辞目的题技巧（比喻）：正确选项答案应该含有考词的引申义。若没有，可以在上下文寻找蛛丝马迹。
（注：有些是用词目的，即作者为什么用到这个/这些词，该词可能并不是修辞，但解法按比喻来解即可。）
9. In describing purple loosestrife as the “bane” (line 4) of conservationists, the author most likely means that purple loosestrife
A. destroy ecosystems wherever it is introduced.
B. creates a need for conservationists all across North America.
C. presents a significant challenge for conservationists.
D. serve as an important symbol to conservationists.
The purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria)—an invasive wetlands plant that was introduced to North America some 50 years ago—has become the bane of conservationists who have struggled to keep it under control. (2017-11-U.S.)
解析：题干考词为“bane”，先要知道bane的意思，然后正确选项中，要有bane的引申含义。所以对科学家是灾祸的话，说明对他们挑战很大，所以应该选C。
10. The reference to “singing” in line 79 mainly serves to
A. signal a puzzling change in Kitty’s mood.
B. reveal the motivation for performing her discovers.
C. echo the inspirational tone of Kitty’s song.
D. emphasize the unexpected happiness Kitty feels.
Kitty’s heart had suddenly grown light. She sang the second one better because something within her was singing. (2017-08-U.S.)
解析：singing这个词很简单，但根据上下文我们知道singing是内心的歌唱，所以根据suddenly grown light可知，这是表现内心的高兴，其中suddenly对应unexpected。
修辞目的题技巧（类比）：主要作用都是用熟悉的概念解释复杂抽象概念或进行比较。
11. In the second paragraph (lines 15-31), the discussion of short-term memory primarily functions to
A. clarify an explanation of what prompts the Venus flytrap to close.
B. advance a controversial hypothesis about the function of electric charges found in the
leaf of the Venus flytrap.
C. stress the distinction between the strategies of the Venus flytrap and the strategies of human beings.
D. emphasize the Venus flytrap’s capacity for retaining detailed information about its prey.
We can look at this system as analogous to short-term memory. First, the flytrap encodes the information (forms the memory) that something (it doesn’t know what) has touched one of its hairs. Then it stores this information for a number of seconds (retains the memory) and finally retrieves this information (recalls the memory) once a second hair is touched. If a small ant takes a while to get from one hair to the next, the trap will have forgotten the first touch by the time the ant brushes up against the next hair. In other words, it loses the storage of the information, doesn’t close, and the ant happily meanders on. How does the plant encode and store the information from the unassuming bug’s encounter with the first hair? How does it remember the first touch in order to react upon the second? (2017-01-U.S.)
解析：从划线的第一句可知这是个类比的修辞，主要目的就是用short-term memory解释一个复杂原理。
修辞目的题技巧（排比）：目的是体现重复及单调。
修辞目的题技巧（反语）：此类都有引号出现，判断引号中是反语，基本都是讽刺的作用。
目的题目最常考的就是最后两项，且最后两项更是难以寻找固定的普适规律，但其中涉及一些小的技巧其实是非常有用的。
同学们做题时也可以多多总结，同时，我们也把可汗和真题的所有目的题总结到了一起，相信完成这些题目后，大家对目的题就会了如指掌了。
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