But on the more important matter of the Constitution, the decision was an 8-0 defeat for the Administration’s effort to upset the balance of power between the federal government and the states.
其中but一词可看出该句话与前文语义相反。on the more important matter of the Constitution为介词短语，而且放在句首，通常作状语;主干是the decision was an 8-0 defeat，为主系表结构;for the Administration’s effort是介词短语作状语，修饰主干，同时注意这部分状语的含义为：对于政府付出的努力。to upset the balance of power between the federal government and the states为to do短语作后置定语修饰前面的核心名词effort，含义为推翻了联邦政府与州政府之间的权力平衡。
本句话有两个单词需要大家识记，一为Administration可以表示“管理”或“政府”，一为upset，此处为动词“使烦恼”或“推翻”的意思。理清了句子的主干和修饰成分，理解句子就不再那么艰难了。
