历年考研英语阅读理解难点及长句解析

    这类句子可分为两类：一类是由一些固定的词组搭配所构成的长句，如 so（such）……that（如此……以致……，not only……but also（不仅……-而且……-），not……but（不是……而是……），so as……to（如此……以致……），transform……from……into……（把……从……改变为……），not so much……as……（不是……而是……）as……as……（像……一样）等；另一类是由多个插入成分或并列结构过多构成的长句。对于前者我们只需抓住固定搭配所连接的主干，分步理解；后者则直接抓住句子的主干，分步理解。

    下面就近23年来阅读真题文章中所出现的“长难句”逐一进行分析（“/” 表示断句标示，适当的断句可以帮考生很好地理解句意）。

    The Olympian athletic festival/held every four years/in honor of Zeus, king of the Olympian Gods, /eventually lost its local character, became first a national event and then, after the rules against foreign competitors had been abolished， international.（1987年真题）

    分析：本句实际是由几个简单的并列句组成的一个长句，省略了共同的主语The Olympian athletic festival.补充省略部分，该句可理解为以下简单句的句意组合：

    The Olympian athletic festival held every four years in honor of Zeus, king of the Olympian Gods.

    The Olympian athletic festival eventually lost its local character.

    After the rules against foreign competitors had been abolished, the Olympian athletic festival became first a national event and then, international.

    翻译：奥林匹克运动会最初是为了纪念Zeus（奥林匹亚的一个神），每四年主办一次，最终它丧失了原-有的地方色彩，逐渐成为一种国家级体育盛事。而后，在一些反对国外竞技者参与的规则被废除之后，逐渐变成了一种国际性的体育盛事。

    Aristotle, for example, whose natural science /dominated the Western thought for two thousand years, believed that/man could arrive at an understanding of reality/ by reasoning from self-evident principle/that everything in the universe has its proper place, hence one can deduce that/objects fall to the ground because that''s where it belongs.（1987年真题）

    分析：首先抓住句子主干，对于插入部分我们可以暂时忽略掉。本句主干为：Aristotle believed that man could arrive at an understanding of reality by reasoning from self-evident principle，然后再逐步理解其他成分。whose natural science dominated Western thought for two thousand years是对Aristotle的补充说明。everything in the universe has its proper place, hence one can deduce that objects fall to the ground because that's where it belongs是对self-evident principle的同步解释。该句可理解为以下简单句的句意组合：

    Aristotle believed that man could arrive at an understanding of reality by reasoning from self-evident principle.

    Aristotle's natural science dominated the Western thought for two thousand years.

    Self-evident principle is that everything in the universe has its proper place, hence one can deduce that objects fall to the ground because that's where it belongs.

    翻译：举个例子吧，亚里士多德，他的自然科学理论统治了整个西方思想长达两千年之久。他认为，人们可以通过一些显而易见的法则推断来达到对现实的理解。这种不证自明的法则就是，任何事件在宇宙中总有其合适的位置。因而人们可以推断出，物体掉到地上是因为物体本身就属于大地的。

    Both you and she know that/if you are not sure what you want, you are not likely to find it.