上一篇我们说到了对话结构，讲座部分的文章结构稍微多一些。大体分成如下几类：平级并列类、举例类、顺序类、对比类以及过程类这五种。
讲座结构：平级并列类
顾名思义，这种结构通常是很明显的，也是相对来说简单的一种，不管考生听力能力好坏，或多或少都是能把握的。比如说TPO41Lecture1，这是一篇botany的讲座文章，主题是在讲Different ways that plants have adapted to desert environments. 主旨以外全篇文章就是分成了三段话，分别讲了三种植物——succulent plant、drought-tolerant plant、annual plant这三段话。原文是这样说的many different species have developed each of the adaptations. So, first off, there are succulent plants…now, besides succulent plants, there’re also drought-tolerant plants…the third adaptive strategy is to avoid the drought conditions altogether. Yes! There are plants that do this: annual plants!
2. What are two features of succulent plants that help them survive in deserts?
3. Why does the professor mention bears?
4. What is one ability that drought-tolerant plants have that succulent plants do not have?
5. Why can annual plants grow in a desert even after a year of no rainfall?
以上这是这篇文章所对应的题目，从出题的角度来讲，这篇平级并列就是考到了文章中讲到的三种植物succulent plant、drought-tolerant plant、annual plant，每个段落考一个，值得注意的是，平级并列结构可能会出现一些比较的考点，在备考过程中值得考生去注意的。比方说其中的第四题就是如此。
讲座结构：举例类
举例是常见且常被用的一种文章构思方法。就这个举例类文章而言，托福听力中类似文章结构的听力文本实在是非常的多，甚至在结构题中还出现过考题。比如在TPO26Lecture1 advertising class中，文章交代好背景以后，就开始例子的讲解了。The seeds for green marketing were probably planted in 1970, when the first Earth Day took place. Rallies all over the United States were organized to protest environmental degradation. Some 20 million demonstrators participated in that first Earth Day. And it helped spark dozens of environmental laws… A few years later, we began seeing ads tapping into people’s environmental concerns. But some green marketers learned the hard way, green marketing must still involve all the same principles of a traditional marketing campaign. You ad must attract attention, stimulate consumers’ interest, create a desire for your product, and motivate people to take action to buy your product. So let me tell you about one green marketing campaign that failed at first and explain why. It was a compact fluorescent light bulb.
而后整篇文章都在讲关于这个bulb的营销如何失败的。而且也考到了结构题。
7. How does the professor organize the lecture?
A. She gives some historical background, then she presents a case study.
B. She describes several environmental friendly products, and then she explains how the public responded to them.
C. She describes a problem, and then she proposes several possible solutions.
D. She describes an approach to advertising, and then she explains why it is often ineffective.
这个题目就是举例结构文章的典型。答案应该是A选项，在交代了historical background以后就开始说case study了。
这种举例类的文章还有一个需要注意的点。通常举例类的文章结构下，例子本身的内容叙述篇幅是很长的，部分情况下可能对于主旨题的概括有一定的影响，因为很多考生在备考过程中好像听到的内容时长覆盖比较长。比如TPO42Lecture1 art history的文章中就是如此，文章前半部分讲的是sculpture的各种内容，后半部分在讲一个例子，Augustus这个雕像塑像的实例。而在主旨题的考察中A选项To explain why a particular statue of a Roman emperor is so famous. 这个选项中的Roman emperor就是Augustus这个例子本身。所以不可能作为主旨题的答案。
