英语四级真题英语阅读长难句分析(2)

　　阅读是中重要的得分点和难点，对长难句的分析则决定了对阅读的彻底理解，也是学习语法，积累高级词汇、句型不可或缺的来源。而阅读部分均选自Times、Telegraph等著名外文报纸及杂志，其行文和词汇原汁原味，值得考生细细品味和灵活借鉴。

　　1. For most people the sea was remote, and with the exception of early intercontinental travellers or others who earned a living from the sea, there was little reason to ask many questions about it, let alone to ask what lay beneath the surface.

　　【译文】除了早期漂洋过海的旅行者或靠海谋生的人之外，对大多数人来说，大海是遥远的，没有必要提出太多问题，更别说思考大海海底的东西了。

　　【析句】复合句，本句主干为the sea was remote and there was little reason to...，and连接两个并列句子，两个句子之间又有with the exception of...作伴随状语，伴随状语中又包含who earned a living from the sea定语从句修饰others。最后是习惯let alone...,注意let alone后的动词形式与前面主句动词形式相同。

　　2. The first time that question What is at the bottom of the oceans? had to be answered with any commercial consequence was when the laying of a telegraph cable from Europe to America was proposed.

　　【译文】当有人建议铺设一条从欧洲到美洲的海底电报光缆的时候，出于商业动机，人们才不得不首次回答这个问题海底有什么东西。

　　【析句】本句话的难点在于主从句成分的区分。主句为The first time was when the laying...was proposed, when引导表语从句，而that question had to be answered with...则是定语从句修饰the first time。

　　3. At the early attempts, the cable failed and when it was taken out for repairs it was found to be covered in living growths, a fact which defied contemporary scientific opinion that there was no life in the deeper parts of the sea.

　　【译文】在早期的尝试中，光缆铺设失败，不得不取出来维修。这时人们发现上面覆盖有生物，这推翻了当时科学界认为深海没有生命的理论。

　　【析句】句子主干为the cable failed and it was found to be covered in living growths, and连接两个并列句子，中间插入了when it was taken out for repairs为时间状语从句.it was found to be covered in...中，it指代the cable, found为find的过去分词相当于形容词，后面接不定式。之后a fact作同位语，which defied contemporary secientific opinion为定语从句修饰a fact, 最后that there was no life...是opinion的同位语从句。