段间关系题，让人头疼的阅读题。在托福阅读中，有一类题，它不是常考题型，但是又会时不时的蹦出来刷存在感，那就是—— 段间关系题了。 这类题有个特点：说难不难，说简单也不简单。喜欢这道题的同学通常是已经窥破其中玄机，而讨厌这道题的同学则是因为很多时候 明明知道两段关系却选不出答案，真是十分头痛。要解决一类题，首先得知道摆在自己面前的已经是这类题了。所以，我们要先认识认识这道题。这类题现身的方式通常有以下几种：
① What is the main purpose of paragraph A in the passage？
② How does paragraph B relate to paragraph A
③ Which of the following best describes the relationship between paragraphs A and B
④ Paragraph B expands on paragraph A by
识破真身，再来解题。那么，段间关系题，要如何解决呢？ 前面介绍了具备 因果关系和 举例关系的段落，本文要讲的是 并列关系的段落。 并列关系的段落一般会有 明显的并列逻辑词如： second/also/another 出现在段落的开头，所以在判断段间关系的时候也是比较容易的一种，只要我们对并列的逻辑词够熟悉即可。举个例子
例如以下这道题目：【paragraph3】Much population movement involved the opening up of new lands for ricecultivation. Two things made this possible and encouraged it to happen. First, the opening of thekingdom to the full force of international trade by the Bowring Treaty (1855) rapidly encouragedeconomic specialization in the growing of rice, mainly to feed the rice-deficient portions of Asia(India and China in particular). The average annual volume of rice exported from Siam grew fromunder 60 million kilograms per year in the late 1850s to more than 660 million kilograms per yearat the turn of the century; and over the same period the average price per kilogram doubled.During the same period, the area planted in rice increased from about 230,000 acres to morethan350,000 acres. This growth was achieved as the result of the collective decisions of thousandsof peasant’s families to expand the amount of land they cultivated, clear and plant new land, oradopt more intensive methods of agriculture.
【paragraph 4】They were able to do so because of our second consideration. They wererelatively freer than they had been half a century earlier. Over the course of the Fifth Reign (1868– 1910), the ties that bound rural people to the aristocracy and local ruling elites were greatlyreduced. Peasants now paid a tax on individuals instead of being required to render labor serviceto the government. Under these conditions, it made good sense to thousands of peasant families toin effect work full-time at what they had been able to do only part-time previously because of therequirement to work for the government: grow rice for the marketplace.
8.Which of the following best describes the relationship between paragraphs 3 and 4 in thepassage?
A. Paragraph 4 provides further evidence of the economic growth of Siam discussed inparagraph 3.
B. Paragraph 4 continues the discussion begun in paragraph 3 of farming improvements thatled to economic growth.
C. Paragraph4 examines a particular effect of the Bowring Treaty mentioned in paragraph 3.
D. Paragraph 4 discusses the second of two factors that contributed to the expansion of ricefarming mentioned in paragraph 3.

解题步骤
从题干中读到题目问的是第三段和第四段的关系，那么也就是一道 十分典型的段间关系题了。 先读第三段，在第三段的前三句中读到“ Much population movement involved the opening up of new lands for rice cultivation. Two things made this possible and encouraged it to happen. First, the opening of the kingdom to the full force of international trade by the Bowring Treaty (1855) rapidly encouraged economic specialization in the growing of rice, mainly to feed the rice-deficient portions of Asia (India and China in particular).” 多数人口移动涉及新土地开放于大米种植，有两个原因鼓励了这件事情的发生，一、就是国家通过鲍林条约面向国际贸易的全面开放快速鼓励了经济在大米种植方面的专业化，主要是去喂养亚洲缺大米的人口（尤其是在印度和）。 此时可判断 第三段是一个总分结构提到了两个原因之一。 当读第四段的首句时就读到“ They were able to do so because of our second consideration.”他们可以这么做是因为我们的第二个考虑。从这一句中我们可以读到一个词“ second”特别明显的于上一段的“ first”构成了并列，那么因此，两段之间的关系就是 并列关系了。 此时再看选项，读到 D 选项：第四段讨论了第三段中提及的两个因素中的第二个因素，便十分符合两段的关系了，因此答案选项为 D 选项。