问法一般是：why does the author mention X?  in order to ….细节题的提问方式多半是：what而这种题目多半是问why。

新TOEFL阅读这种题目不是每篇文章都考的分为如下几类

一、例子题，一般占出题机会的70%，why does the author mention X?  X 本身是段落中出现的一个例子，这类题目是送分题，因为要么是先举例后总结，要么是先概述后举例，所以答案多半是绕过例子看概述，而概述的改写是就本题的答案所在。

举个中文例子：丽丽老师是个好人。有一次，我见到丽丽帮助盲人过马路。作者提到了丽丽扶盲人过马路 in order to？为了说明丽丽老师是个好人。

如：Male swans will engage in ferocious contests, with their necks entwined as they attempt to cause mortal injure to each other.

The author mentions their necks entwined in paragraph 2 in order to ___

A.      to indicate that swans are really rather affectionate

B.      to emphasize how long swans’ necks are

C.      to make the point that the swans are only pretending to hurt one another

D.     to create a mental image for the reader of fighting swans.

从本题来看，总结在前例子在后，本题作者相表达的是：ferocious contest 进一步描画。

A表明天鹅很恩爱。无  B强调天鹅脖子长。 无 C．强调天鹅仅仅想假装伤害对方。无同时加了绝对意义的词成为错误选项的标志。所以正确答案为  D

注意：

1）、如果原文有多个例子都是为同一主题服务的，则总结在第一例子出现处。

At the same time, the death rate, too, was falling. Urban living led to better sanitation, refrigeration, and water purification; it also resulted in better medical care as doctors and hospitals were more readily available. Most likely as a result of these factors, there were only  eleven deaths per thousand annually by  the early 1920s, which was half the rate of 1880s.

why does  the author mention better medical care in paragraph 3?

A.      It helps to explain why the birthrate is increasing

B.      It is an example of  a factor that contributed to the improved birthrate

C.      It helps to explain why the death rate is increasing

D.     It is an example of a factor that contributed to the improved death rate.

从上边那段话，我们发现medical care只是分号后的一个内容，而分号是带有并列功能的句号，说明前部分也是同一方面的内容。根据例子之前的概述和例子之后的总结所以正确答案应该是D。

2）插入式举例

 如见到下列词：for example  for instance  such as like especially  particularly specially in particular 都属于插入式举例，这样服务对象多半在前面。

二、下定义式的考题

A, B    A---B---C    A or B  A  which B 等形式

丽丽老师，一个共产主义战士

此类题目定义的改写就是正确答案

例1 In many species, members of the species exhibit aggressive behavior toward one another, often with a focus on territoriality, the fight for exclusive control of a particular area.(在很多物种中，一个物种中成员对另一个产生攻击性行为焦点在地盘性，就是动物在防卫其领土时的打斗行为)

 Why does the author include the fight for exclusive control of particular area in paragraph 1?

A.      It presents an argument  against a  previously stated point

B.      It provides a definition of a previously stated term.

C.      It presents a second area of focus of aggressive behavior.

D.     It introduces a new idea to be further developed in the paragraph.

本题很明显就是 territoriality,  the fight for exclusive control of a particular area.是一个下定义的标准模式，正确答案： B

例2 Most bird species are known to be territorial to some degree, though the territorial behaviors exhibited by most species are limited to singing contests, which can  go on for days  or threatening postures with wing lifted or extended.

Why does the author mention singing contests in paragraph 2?

A.      to demonstrate that birds create beautiful sounds

B.      to provide  an example of unusual behavior  by birds

C.      to show how violently aggressive some bird behavior is

D.     to demonstrate that some types of territorial behavior are not very aggressive.

singing contests, which can  go on for days  or threatening postures with wing lifted or extended.  从后面的定语从句可以看出是下定义考点，所以根据定语从句内容可以看得出是正确答案是D

三、逻辑关系词的题

在段落中将某个逻辑关系词划线问why does the author mention “逻辑关系词”?

这种题目的解法关注逻辑关系词所表述的含义如:

转折连词：however but although instead rather than 等词的出现就是表明前后相反含义

因果连词：because result in result from等词的出现就是表明前后因果关系

递进连词：furthermore  too  also  等

举个中文例子:丽丽老师很靓，但事实上，她长得很抽象。Why does the author mention但事实上?是因为前后逻辑关系相反。

例1：

The level of violence in territorial aggression varies widely from species to species, though few species fight other members of the species to death and instead rely on non-lethal contests for control of territory that involves noise-making maneuvers such as roaring.(在领土争夺过程中的暴力水平是物种之间是有区别的，尽管很少有物种把对方打死而是代替的是依赖于非致命性的方式来控制领地包括发出噪音如吼叫)

Why does the author use the word instead in paragraph 2 to show that information that follows

A contradicts what precedes it

B expands upon what precedes it

C provides an example of what precedes it

D explains an effect of what precedes it

Instead显然是一个逻辑关系词表明前后相反含义所以正确答案应该是A

例2          Unfortunately, Hubble telescope was initially delayed in  relaying its first pictures back from space due to a simple mathematical miscalculation.

Why does the author begin paragraph 2 with Unfortunately?

A.      it indicates that NASA has been unhappy with all of Hubble’s photograph.

B.      It shows that NASA’s plan to use stars to orient the Hubble telescope was misguided

C.      It emphasizes the need to have telescopes on Earth.

D.     It indicates that high expectation were not initially met.

Unfortunately,表明了作者对Hubble 望远镜的态度。所在正确答案是D。