1. Unhappy parents rarely are provoked to wonder if they shouldn’t have had kids, but unhappy childless folks are bothered with the message that children are the single most important thing in the world: obviously their misery must be a direct result of the gaping baby-size holes in their lives. (2011英语一 text4)
【单词解析】provoke v. 煽动,激励;gape:v. 张开;裂开.
【主干识别】Unhappy parents rarely are provoked to wonder…, but unhappy childless folks are bothered with the message…。
【其他成分】①if they shouldn’t have had kids 是if引导的宾语从句做动词不定式to wonder 的宾语;②that children are the single most important thing in the world 此句是that引导的同位语从句,解释说明名词message;③obviously their misery must be a direct result of the gaping baby-size holes in their lives.是跟在冒号后的一个主谓宾的结构,用于解释说明前边的情况。①在宾语从句中,they做主语,剩余部分是由虚拟语气should have done构成的;②that 同位语从句用于解释说明前边的抽象名词message,句型是主系表结构;③的主干结构 是主谓宾,后边跟了一个of 短语做名词result的定语。
【整体分析】本句话中的单词不难,句子很长,这也是我们考研英语中定位句的一个特点。遇到长难句,同学们一定要记住先找主干结构。本句话是由but并列的两个分句,在第一个分句中,有that 引导的宾语从句,在第二个分句中,有一个that引导的同位语从句,宾语从句和同位语从句这二者都属于名词性从句,在句中起名词的作用,二者有相同之处,也有不同之处。相同的是that在从句中都不做成分,不同的是宾语从句跟在动词或介词后,同位语从句跟在名词后。
【参考译文】不幸福的父母很少被激起对“自己是否本不该要孩子”的思考;但不幸福的无子女者会不断被“孩子是世界上唯一最重要的事情”这一信息所烦扰:显然他们的痛苦必定是他们生活中那些豁开的、孩子大小的窟窿所带来的直接后果。
【翻译点拨】理清楚句子结构,第二个分句较长,同位语从句顺译就好。
2. It’s hard to imagine that many people are dumb enough to want children just because Reese and Angelina make it look so glamorous: most adults understand that a baby is not a haircut. (2011英语一text4)
【单词解析】dumb:adj. 愚蠢的;glamorous: adj. 富有魅力的,诱人的
【主干识别】It’s hard to imagine…。
【其他成分】that many people are dumb enough to want children just because Reese and Angelina make it look so glamorous : most adults understand that a baby is not a haircut. 是由that引导的宾语从句,里边包含了一个由because引导的原因状语从句,里边还有一个冒号后边的同位语,对because句子里边的内容解释说明;主语从句中,many people are dumb enough to want children是主干结构,谓语动词是be+ adj.+ enough to do sth.原因状语从句中,主干结构是主谓宾宾补的结构。
【整体分析】整句话比较长,涵盖了两个从句。整句话的结构是it 形式主语的句型,后边的to imagine that+句子是真正的主语。
【参考译文】难以想象有很多人会愚钝到仅仅因为瑞茜和安吉莉娜让“要孩子”看起来如此令人向往就决定身体力行:大多数成年人都明白,要孩子不像理发(那么简单)。
【翻译点拨】识别出本句话中的主干结构,其他结构顺译即可。