考研英语长难句详解(17)

　　17. If one begins by examining why ancients refer to Amazons , it becomes clear that ancient Greek descriptions of such societies were meant not so much to represent observed historical fact real Amazonian societies but rather to offer moral lessons on the supposed outcome of women s rule in their own society .

　　如果我们先研究一下为什么古人会提到亚马逊人，下面的一点就变得清晰了，那就是古希腊对于这种社会的庙睡不是太多的被用来表达观察的历史事实 真正的亚麻逊社会的 而是为了对于妇女在其社会中的统治的预期后果提供一种 道德教导 。

　　难句类型：复杂修饰、插入语、抽象词

　　解释：有两个词汇需要先解释一下：something be meant to represent是use something to mean的被动语态。mean在这里不是常用的 的意思是 的意思，而是表示做某事所表达的目的、意图，其英文释义为：to serve or intend to convey, show, or indicate。句中的结构为：something be meant not so much to,,, but rather to, 实际上是把be meant to和not rather 的两个固定搭配套在一起，意思是：不是为了...而是为了...

　　另外，suppose的意思很抽象，不容易理解。此词既有据信、被认为的意思，也有预期的意思，还有表示贬义的假想的被想当然的意思。

　　本句的supposed用法极其特殊，在此处的意思，用以上任何一个释义来理解居然都可以成立，既是在说一个预期的社会状态，又是在说一个虚构出来的、本来不存在的社会状态，其用法类似于中文中的一语双关，是文章作者自以为文笔精妙之处。意群训练：If one begins by examining why ancients refer to Amazons, it becomes clear that ancient Greek descriptions of such societies were meant not so much to represent observed historical fact- real Amazonian societies- but rather to offer moral lessons on the supposed outcome of womens rule in their own society.