託福閱讀經典長難句解析
看英語文章遇到不知道的單詞就去查，這是很多人都用過的學習方法。但是在閱讀託福文章的時候，即使這樣做了，正確率也沒有很高。當這些獨立的單詞組合成一句長難句的時候就看不懂了，這是長難句分析能力出了問題。該怎麼辦?來看看下面的文章吧。
1、Totally without light and subjected to intense pressures hundreds of times greater than at the Earth’s surface，the deep—ocean bottom is a hostile environment to humans，in some ways as forbidding and remote as the void of outer space.
(定語後置in some ways…)
【譯句】由於完全沒有光，而且承受着比在地球表面大數百倍的極大壓力，深海底部對人類而言是一個充滿敵意的環境，在某些方面就像外層空間一樣險惡和遙遠。
分句1：Totally without light and subjected to intense pressures
分句2：hundreds of times greater than at the Earth’s surface
分句3：the deep—ocean bottom is a hostile environment to humans
分句4：in some ways as forbidding and remote as the void of outer space
分句2修飾分句1結尾的短語intense pressures，
分句1是分句3的狀語
分句3是整個長句子的主句
分句4是分句3的後置定語，修飾分句3的a hostile environment to humans
主句前後分別有狀語和定語的修飾成分，但是本句其實不是複合句。句子的核心意思是深海對於人類而言是一個充滿敵意的環境。
2、Basic to any understanding of Canada in the 20 years after the Second World War is the country's impressive population growth.
(倒裝結構Basic to any understanding…is…)
要理解二戰之後20年中的加拿大，就必須瞭解該國驚人的人口增長。
分句1：Basic to any understanding of Canada in the 20 years after the Second World War
分句2：is
分句3：the country's impressive population growth
分句1，2，3共同構成倒裝句，正常的語序應該是3，2，1，即：該句的正常語序是The country's impressive population growth is basic to any understanding of Canada in the 20 years after the Second World War.
本句是一個簡單句，只不過使用了倒裝，謂語動詞是is.
3、As a result，claims that eating a diet consisting entirely of organically grown foods prevents or cures disease or provides other benefits to health have become widely publicized and form the basis for folklore.
(同位語從句claims that…)
結果，那些認爲只食用綠色食品就能防治疾病或增進健康的觀點廣爲人知，併成爲一些民間說法的基礎。
分句1： that eating a diet consisting entirely of organically grown foods prevents or cures disease or provides other benefits to health
分句2： claims have become widely publicized and form the basis for folklore
分句1作爲分句2主語 "claim" 的同位語從句嵌套在分句2中。因此本句的主句就是分句2. 同位語從句是that eating a diet consisting entirely of organically grown foods prevents or cures disease or provides other benefits to health：吃有機食品就能防治疾病或增進健康。
4、There are numerous unsubstantiated reports that natural vitamins are superior to synthetic ones，that fertilized eggs are nutritionally superior to unfertilized eggs，that untreated grains are better than fumigated grains and the like.
(並列同位語從句reports that…，that…，that…)
關於天然維生素優於人造維生素，受精蛋比未受精蛋的營養價值更高，未經燻蒸消毒處理的穀物比經過處理的好等等報道屢見不鮮，但都沒有得到證實。
分句1：There are numerous unsubstantiated reports
分句2：that natural vitamins are superior to synthetic ones
分句3：that fertilized eggs are nutritionally superior to unfertilized eggs
分句4：that untreated grains are better than fumigated grains and the like
分句1是整個長句的主句，分句2、分句3和分句4是並列關係，共同構成分句1的同位語從句。本句的意思是有很多沒有經過證實的報道，然後並列了三個未經過證實的報道的從句。
5、The desperate plight of the South has eclipsed the fact that reconstruction had to be undertaken also in the North，though less spectacularly.
(同位語從句fact that…)
南方極爲嚴重的困境使北方同樣需要開始重建(儘管不像南方那麼引人注目)這一事實顯得不太重要。
分句1. The desperate plight of the South has eclipsed the fact
分句2. that reconstruction had to be undertaken also in the North
分句3. though less spectacularly (省略)
分句2是嵌套在分句1中的，做分句1中的fact的同位語從句。
分句3是分句2中的讓步狀語從句，並有省略現象存在，完整的說法是： though the reconstruction is less spectacular.
6、The new accessibility of land around the periphery of almost every major city sparked an explosion of real estate development and fueled what we now know as urban sprawl.
(賓語從句what we now know as)
現在可以獲得這些環繞幾乎每個大城市邊緣地區的土地，這一可能性激發了一場房地產開發的熱潮並造成了我們現在稱爲城區無計劃擴展的現象。
分句1：The new accessibility of land around the periphery of almost every major city sparked an explosion of real estate development and fueled
分句2：what we now know as urban sprawl
分句2嵌套在分句1裏，即分句1是主句，分句2是賓語從句，主句結構經過精簡應該是The new accessibility of land sparked an explosion of real estate development and fueled urban sprawl.
整句話的謂語動詞是 sparked 和 fueled, 兩個並列的動詞。
本句的理解困難還來自於抽象詞fuel，它作爲名詞的含義廣爲人知，是能源、燃料，作爲動詞的時候的意思就可以引申爲(供給燃料)激發，促使、造成。
7、But these factors do not account for the interesting question of how there came to be such a concentration of pregnant ichthyosaurs in a particular place very close to their time of giving birth.
(Of結構作定語：of how there came to be such a concentration of pregnant ichthyosaurs…)
但這些因素並不能解釋這個有趣的問題：爲何在一個特定的地點會如此集中地出現即將臨產的懷孕魚龍羣。
分句1： But these factors do not account for the interesting question
分句2： of how there came to be such a concentration of pregnant ichthyosaurs in a particular place very close to their time of giving birth
分句1中嵌套着分句2.
分句2是of結構作後置定語修飾說明question的內容。
8、Amid rumors that there were prehistoric mammoths wandering around the unknown region and that somewhere in its wilds was a mountain of rock salt 80 by 45 miles in extent，the two captains set out.
(同位語從句rumors that…)
當時有一些傳言，說有史前的猛獁在這一陌生的區域活動，而且在這一區域的某個地方有一座巨大的鹽石山，其面積達80英里長50英里寬。就在這些傳言中，兩位上尉出發了。
分句1：Amid rumors
分句2：that there were prehistoric mammoths wandering around the unknown region
分句3：and that somewhere in its wilds was a mountain of rock salt 80 by 45 miles in extent
分句4：the two captains set out.
整個句子的主句是分句4.
"Amid" 表示“在 ......之中", 是介詞，它引導的分句1嵌套着分句2和分句3，並且在整句話中作狀語。 而分句2和分句3是並列關係的同位語從句來修飾分句1中的rumors，作rumors的同位語從句，用來說明謠言的具體內容。
9、In the seventeenth century the organ, the clavichord, and the harpsichord became the chief instruments of the keyboard group，a supremacy they maintained until the piano supplanted them at the end of the eighteenth century.
(同位語a supremacy)
17世紀時風琴、敲絃琴和撥絃琴成爲鍵盤樂器類的主要成員，這種至高無上的地位一直由它們保持，直到18世紀末被鋼琴所取代。
分句1：In the seventeenth century the organ, the clavichord, and the harpsichord became the chief instruments of the keyboard group，
分句2：a supremacy
分句3：they maintained until the piano supplanted them at the end of the eighteenth century
分句2是分句1的同位語，用來修飾說明分句1中的the chief instruments of the keyboard group，分句3是省略了 "that" 的定語從句，修飾分句2.
10、A series of mechanical improvements continuing well into the nineteenth century, including the introduction of pedals to sustain tone or to soften it, the perfection of a metal frame and steel wire of the finest quality, finally produced an instrument capable of myriad tonal effects from the most delicate harmonies to an almost orchestral fullness of sound，from a liquid，singing tone to a sharp, percussive brilliance.
(介詞結構from…to…作定語)
持續到19世紀的一系列機械上的改進，包括引入踏板以維持音調或使其柔和，改善金屬框架，以及使用最佳牲能的鋼絲，最終產生了一種具備無數音調效果的樂器——這些效果涵蓋了從最精緻的和聲到幾乎全部的管絃樂音響，從明快流暢的吟唱音調到尖銳的打擊樂器的恢弘氣氛。
分句1：A series of mechanical improvements continuing well into the nineteenth century;
分句2：including the introduction of pedals to sustain tone or to soften it;
分句3：the perfection of a metal frame and steel wire of the finest quality;
分句4：finally produced an instrument capable of myriad tonal effects;
分句5：from the most delicate harmonies to an almost orchestral fullness of sound;
分句6：from a liquid，singing tone to a sharp, percussive brilliance。
本句的真正的主句結構其實是由分句1和分句4構成，即A series of mechanical improvements continuing well into the nineteenth century finally produced an instrument capable of myriad tonal effects. 分句2和分句3並列修飾說明分句1中的A series of mechanical improvements，而分句5和分句6並列，修飾說明了分句4中的an instrument capable of myriad tonal effects.
11、The largest later named Pueblo Bonito(Pretty Town)by the Spanish, rose in five terraced stories，contained more than 800 rooms，and could have housed a population of 1，000 or more.
【譯句】最大的一座後來被西班牙人稱爲Pueblo Bonito(美麗的城鎮)，是一個五層梯式樓，有800多間房子，能夠容納1 000人以上。
分句1：The largest rose in five terraced stories，contained more than 800 rooms，and could have housed a population of 1，000 or more;
分句2：later named Pueblo Bonito(Pretty Town)by the Spanish。
分句1嵌套了分句2，分句1的主語是the largest, 這是“the + 形容詞”表示一個名詞的結構，相當於“the largest one" 的省略的說法。
分句2是省略了“which was" 的定語從句，用來修飾分句1的主語the largest, 分句1內部是由三個並列的謂語構成的句子。
12、Accustomed though we are to speaking of the films made before 1927 as “silent”，the film has never been，in the full sense of the word, silent.
(倒裝accustomed though we are…=though we are accustomed…)
【譯句】雖然我們習慣於將1927年以前的電影叫做“無聲電影”，但是就“無聲’’這個詞的完整意義上說，電影從未真正的無聲過。
分句1：Accustomed though we are to speaking of the films made before 1927 as “silent”;
分句2：the film has never been silent;
分句3：in the full sense of the word;
本句的難點是在分句1是倒裝句，正常語序是Though we are accustomed to speaking of the films made before 1927 as silent. 分句3是一個插入語，嵌套在分句2中，所以本句真正強調的核心是the film has never been silent.
13、For a number of years the selection of music for each film program rested entirely in the hands of the conductor or leader of the orchestra，and very often the principal qualification for holding such a position was not skill or taste so much as the ownership of a large personal library of musical pieces.
(特殊結構not…SO much as…——與其說…不如說…)
【譯句】在好些年內，爲各部影片選擇配樂的權力完全掌握在樂隊指揮或隊長手中，而通常擔任這種職位的資格與其說是技巧或鑑賞品位，不如說是個人擁有音樂作品的豐富收藏。
分句1：.For a number of years the selection of music for each film program rested entirely in the hands of the conductor or leader of the orchestra;
分句2：and very often the principal qualification far holding such a position was not skill or taste so much as the ownership of a large personal library of musical pieces;
分句1 和分句2是兩個並列關係的分句，分句2的難點在於not…… so much as的結構。
14、Coincident with concerns about the accelerating loss of species and habitats has been a growing appreciation of the importance of biological diversity，the number of species in a particular ecosystem，to the health of the Earth and human well-being.
(倒裝coincident with concerns…has been…=…has been coincident with concerns…)
【譯句】在對物種和動物棲息地加速消失表示關注的同時，人們也越來越認識到生物多樣化，即一個特定生態系統中物種的數量對地球的健康以及人類幸福的重要性。
此句是完全倒裝句，謂語動詞是 has been，真正的主語是has been 後面的內容。Coincident with concerns about the accelerating loss of species and habitats是表語。
原來的正常語序是： A growing appreciation of the importance of biological diversity，the number of species in a particular ecosystem，to the health of the Earth and human well-being has been coincident with concerns about the accelerating loss of species and habitats
其中 the number of species in a particular ecosystem 是插入語，作爲同位語出現，用來解釋說明biological diversity。
在這句話真正的主語中有一個 " the importance of A to B" 的結構，應該翻譯爲“A對B的重要性”。 原句中就是 "the importance of biological diversity to the health of the Earth and human well-being " 叫做“生物多樣性對於地球和人類幸福健康的重要性"。
15、The fact that half of the known species are thought to inhabit the world's rain forests does not seem surprising，considering the huge numbers of insects that comprise the bulk of the species.
(同位語從句fact that…;定語從句that comprise the bulk…)
【譯句】考慮到組成大部分物種的昆蟲的巨大數量，認爲半數的已知物種棲息在世界的雨林中這一事實看起來並不令人吃驚。
分句1：The fact does not seem surprising.
分句2：that half of the known species are thought to inhabit the world's rain forests
分句3：considering the huge numbers of insects
分句4：that comprise the bulk of the species
分句1中嵌套着分句2，分句2解釋說明分句1的主語the fact, 是同位語從句;分句3是主句的狀語，分句4是定語從句，修飾分句3的the huge numbers of insects
16、To appreciate fully the diversity and abundance of life in the sea，it helps to think small.
(特殊結構it helps to…做…有幫助)
【譯句】要充分認識海洋生命的多樣性和豐富性，從小的角度思考有幫助。
目的狀語：To appreciate fully the diversity and abundance of life in the sea,主句： it helps to think small. (這裏的it是形式主語，沒有實際意義)
17、Science is built with facts just as a house is built with bricks，but a collection of facts cannot be called science any more than a pile of bricks can be called a house.
(特殊結構not any more than像…一樣不…)
【譯句】科學建立在事實上，就像房子用磚砌成一樣。但收集的事實不能被叫做科學，就像一堆磚不能被稱爲房子一樣。
分句1： Science is built with facts
分句2： just as a house is built with bricks,
分句3： but a collection of facts cannot be called science any more than a pile of bricks can be called a house.
這句話的難點在於“not ... any more than 像…一樣不…”，相當於“a pile of bricks cannot be called a house"，
18、In a period characterized by the abandonment of so much of the realistic tradition by authors such as John Barth，Donald Barthelme，and Thomas Pynchon, Joyce Carol Oates has seemed at times determinedly old-fashioned in her insistence on the essentially mimetic quality of her fiction.
(特殊結構characterized by…——以…爲特徵)
【譯句】儘管處於一個以拋棄大量現實主義傳統(以作家約翰•巴思、唐納德•巴塞爾姆和托馬斯.品欽爲代表)爲特徵的時代，喬伊斯•卡羅爾•歐茨因爲堅持自己小說本質上模仿的特點，有時候看起來是一個堅定的守舊派。
分句1. characterized by the abandonment of so much of the realistic tradition by authors such as John Barth，Donald Barthelme，and Thomas Pynchon,
分句2. Joyce Carol Oates has seemed at times determinedly old-fashioned in her insistence OD the essentially mimetic quality of her fiction.
分句1 做時間狀語“In a period”的後置定語，補充修飾period，相當於省略了 “which was”的定語從句。 分句2 是主句。
整個句子的難點在於找主句。 其實分句1的末尾是 "such as" 引導的三個人名的並列，在最後一個人名Thomas Pynchon前有"and", 說明這個列舉對象中的最後一個。所以整個句子的主幹在T P 這個人後面出現。
19、If it were not for this faculty, they would devour all the food available in short time and would probably starve themselves out of existence.
(虛擬語氣)
【譯句】如果不是具有這種能力，它們就會在短時間內吞掉所有能得到的食物，而且很可能會因餓死而滅絕。
分句1. If it were not for this faculty
分句2. they would devour all the food available in short time
分句3. would probably starve themselves out of existence
分句1 是虛擬語氣的條件從句
分句2、3是並列關係，並且是主句。
20、People in the United States in the nineteenth century were haunted by the prospect that unprecedented change in the nation's economy would bring social chaos.
(同位語從句prospect that…)
【譯句】19世紀的美國人因爲害怕國家經濟中史無前例的變化會帶來社會混亂這一前景而提心吊膽。
分句1. People in the United States in the nineteenth century were haunted by the prospect;
分句2. that unprecedented change in the nation's economy would bring social chaos.
2嵌套在1中，做1中prospect 的同位語從句;1是主句，2 具體解釋說明 prospect。
21、Accompanying that growth was a structural change that featured increasing economic diversification and a gradual shift in the nation's labor force from agriculture to manufacturing and other nonagricultural pursuits.
(倒裝Accompanying that growth was a structural change that…=A structural change…was accompanying that growth)
【譯句】伴隨着這一增長的是一個結構變化，它以經濟的不斷多樣化和國家勞動力從農業到製造業和其他非農業職業的逐漸轉化爲特徵。
分句1. Accompanying that growth was a structural change
分句2. that featured increasing economic diversification and a gradual shift in the nation's labor force from agriculture to manufacturing and other nonagricultural pursuits
2嵌套在1中，做1中的structural change 的定語從句，這個定語從句結構較複雜，由兩個and連接三個並列的名詞性成分。
分句1是主句，且採用完全倒裝的形式。
22、As the roles men and women played in society became more rigidly defined, so did the roles they played in the home.
(倒裝so did…)
【譯句】隨着男人和女人在社會中扮演的角色被限定得更加嚴格，他們在家中的角色也是如此。
分句1. the roles became more rigidly defined
分句2. men and women played in society
分句3. so did the roles
分句4. they played in the home.
1和2嵌套，2是修飾1中的role 的定語從句。 3和4嵌套，4是3中的roles的。
1和3並列，3是由so引導的部分倒裝句。
23、Surrounding the column are three sepals and three petals，sometimes easily recognizable as such，often distorted into gorgeous，weird，but always functional shapes.
(倒裝Surrounding the column are…)
【譯句】圍繞着蕊柱的是三個萼片和三個花瓣，有時很容易辨認出來，但經常被扭成華麗、奇特但總是有用的形狀。
完全倒裝句，正常語序是：
Three sepals and three petals are surrounding the column, sometimes easily recognizable as such，often distorted into gorgeous，weird，but always functional shapes.
24、With the growing prosperity brought on by the Second World War and the economic boom that followed it，young people married and established households earlier and began to raise larger families than had their predecessors during the Depression.
(倒裝than had their predecessors—比較結構的第二部分)
【譯句】隨着二戰帶來的持續繁榮以及隨之而來的經濟增長，年輕人比大蕭條中的同齡人結婚成家更早，而且養育的家庭比他們的前輩更大。
分句1. the growing prosperity brought on by the Second World War
分句2. the economic boom that followed it
分句3. young people married and established households earlier
分句4. began to raise larger families than had their predecessors during the Depression.
1和2並列，3和4並列
1和2 是伴隨狀語
3和4是主句
25、The railroad could be and was a despoiler of nature;furthermore，in its manifestation of speed and noise，it might be a despoiler of human nature as well.
(關聯結構could be and was)
【譯句】鐵路可以，事實上也是自然的掠奪者;而且，在其速度和噪音的表現上也可能是人性的掠奪者。
分句1. The railroad could be and was a despoiler of nature
分句2. it might be a despoiler of human nature as well.
1和2 是並列 (由分號連接的兩個並列分句)。
26、In the railroads' prime years，between 1 890 and 1920，there were a few individuals in the United States，most of them with solid railroading experience behind them，who made a profession of writing about railroading--works offering the ambience of stations，yards，and locomotive cabs.
(同位語most of them;定語從句who made a profession of writing)
【譯句】在1890年到1920年間鐵路的黃金時期，美國有幾個人(他們大多有豐富的鐵路經驗)以寫鐵路題材爲職業——作品圍繞車站、停車場和機車。
分句1. there were a few individuals in the United States
分句2. most of them with solid railroading experience behind them
分句3. who made a profession of writing about railroading
分句4. works offering the ambience of stations，yards，and locomotive cabs.
1是主句
2和3是嵌套
2作爲1中a few individuals 的同位語，對它進一步解釋說明
27、On the other hand，when it comes to substantive--particularly behavioral-information，crows are less well known than many comparably common species and，for that matter，not a few quite uncommon ones：the endangered California condor，to cite one obvious example.
(特殊結構for that matter)
【譯句】另一方面，當涉及實質性的，特別是行爲方面的信息時，烏鴉就不如許多比較而言很普通的鳥類那樣爲人所知;而且，也不如許多很不尋常的鳥類，舉一個明顯的例子，如像瀕危的加利福尼亞大禿鷲那樣爲人所知。
分句1. when it comes to substantive--particularly behavioral-information;
分句2. crows are less well known than many comparably common species and, for that matter，not a few quite uncommon ones：the endangered California condor，to cite one obvious example.
1和2是並列， 分句1是時間狀語， 2是主句，其中包含插入語結構 以及 冒號連接的解釋說明的成分。
28、Keen observers and quick learners，they are astute about the intentions of other creatures，including researchers，and adept at avoiding them.
(並列同位語keen observers and quick learners)
【譯句】烏鴉是敏銳的觀察家和快捷的學習者，它們對其他生物(包括研究人員)的意圖感覺非常敏銳，並且善於躲開它們。
分句1. they are astute about the intentions of other creatures，including researchers;
分句2. and adept at avoiding them.
1和2是並列。 句子開頭的“keen observers and quick learners”是主語 they的同位語。
29、These researchers have sought to demonstrate that their work can be a valuable tool not only of science but also of history，providing flesh insights into the daily lives of ordinary people whose existences might not otherwise be so well documented.
(賓語從句demonstrate that…;特殊結構otherwise)
【譯句】這些研究人員已經力圖證實他們的工作不僅可以成爲科學而且還是歷史的寶貴工具，爲了解普通人的日常生活提供嶄新的觀點，否則這些普通人的生存狀態不可能被記載得這麼好。
分句1：These researchers have sought to demonstrate that;
分句2：their work can be a valuable tool not only of science but also of history;
分句3：providing flesh insights into the daily lives of ordinary people;
分句4：whose existences might not otherwise be so well documented.
分句1是整個長句子的主句
分句2是分句1的賓語從句
分句3是以現在分詞形式表示伴隨狀態
分句4是分句3的定語從句。
30、Legend has it that sometime toward the end of the Civil War(1861--1865)a government train carrying oxen traveling through the northern plains of eastern Wyoming was caught in a snowstorm and had to be abandoned.
(特殊結構Legend has it that…=There is a legend that…)
【譯句】傳說在內戰(1861--1865)快結束的某個時候，一列載着牛羣的政府的火車在穿過懷俄明州東部的北部平原時遇到了暴風雪，因此不得不被遺棄。
分句1：Legend has it that
分句2：sometime toward the end of the Civil War(1861--1865)a government train carrying oxen traveling through the northern plains of eastern Wyoming was caught in a snowstorm
分句3：and had to be abandoned
分句1是整個長句子的形式主句
分句2是分句1的具體解釋，也是真正的主句。這裏出現了幾個分詞形式，如“carrying oxen” “traveling through……”等，完全可以換成“that/which carries……”，這裏都是現在分詞做後置定語，起修飾限定作用。
分句3是2的並列。
31、It is a lifelong process，a process that starts long before the start of school and one that should be an integral part of one's entire life.
(並列同位語a process that…，and one that…)
【譯句】教育是一個終生的過程，早在人們上學之前就開始了。它應成爲人的一生中不可缺少的一部分。
分句1：It is a lifelong process，
分句2：a process that starts long before the start of school;
分句3：and one that should be an integral part of one's entire life。
分句1是整個長句子的形式主句
分句2是分句1的同位語，是對1的進一步解釋說明
分句3是2的並列句，同爲對1的解釋說明
32、Life's transition from the sea to the land was perhaps as much of an evolutionary challenge as was the genesis of life.
(特殊結構as much…as;倒裝as was the genesis of life)
【譯句】生命從海洋到陸地的過渡可能是一個像生命起源那樣的進化挑戰。
分句1：Life's transition from the sea to the land was perhaps as much of an evolutionary challenge
分句2：as was the genesis of life
分句1是整個長句子的主句，雖然這一部分很長，但主謂賓只有一套，而且順序是正常的分句2是倒裝句，按正當語序相當於“the genesis of life was as……(省略)”
長難句分析能力差不僅會影響閱讀速度和閱讀準確性，而且還會影響某些題型的正確率。因爲在託福閱讀十大題型當中，句子簡化題、事實信息題和推理題這幾種題型都直接或間接地在考察學生分析長難句的能力。在面對長難句時，考生一定不能只見單詞，不見結構，句子主幹部分永遠比修飾部分要重要。
