真题再现：语法攻克考研“英译汉”——2004年第62题

34 We are obliged to them because some of these languages have since vanished, as the peoples who spoke them died out or became assimilated and lost their native languages.

妙语点睛 本题难点在于弄清楚句中两个them指代的内容。根据上下文可知，该句前一句提到了两位人类学家兼语言学家Franz Boas和Edward Sapir，这里的第一个them就是指这两位先驱。第二个them是指前面的名词these languages。

精品译文 我们之所以要感激他们（两位先驱），是因为在此之后，这些（土著）语言有一些已经不复存在了，这是由于说这些语言的部族或是消亡了，或是被同化而丧失了自己的本族语言。

真题再现：语法攻克考研“英译汉”——2004年第65题

35 Whorf came to believe in a sort of linguistic determinism which, in its strongest form, states that language imprisons the mind, and that the grammatical patterns in a language can produce far-reaching consequences for the culture of a society.

妙语点睛 这个句子的难点是要明确its指代的内容。its与关系代词which指代内容应该是一样的，而which指linguistic determinism，所以its指的也是linguistic determinism。整个短语的意思是“语言决定论这个观点的极端形式或表述”。

精品译文 Whorf进而相信某种类似语言决定论的观点，其极端说法是：语言禁锢思维，语言的语法结构能对一个社会的文化产生深远的影响。

真题再现：语法攻克考研“英译汉”——2000年第75题

36 Additional social stresses may also occur because of the population explosion or problems arising from mass migration movements—themselves made relatively easy nowadays by modern means of transport.

妙语点睛 代词themselves指代名词短语mass migration movements。

精品译文 由于人口的猛增或大量人口流动（现代交通工具使这种流动相对容易）造成的种种问题也会对社会造成新的压力。

真题再现：语法攻克考研“英译汉”——1993年第73题

37 You have all heard it repeated that men of science work by means of induction（归纳法） and deduction, that by the help of these operations, they, in a sort of sense, manage to extract from nature certain natural laws, and that out of these, by some special skill of their own, they build up their theories.

妙语点睛 指示代词these指代natural laws。有关此句结构的更多其他解释，请参看第二章“名词从句”P52页2.3.4小节例句（26）。

精品译文 你们都多次听说过，科学家是用归纳法和演绎法工作的，他们用这些方法，在某种意义上说，力求从自然界找出某些自然规律，然后根据这些规律，用自己的某种非同一般的本领，建立起自己的理论。

真题再现：语法攻克考研“英译汉”——2001年第71题

38 There will be television chat shows hosted by robots, and cars with pollution monitors that will disable them when they offend.

妙语点睛 them和they指的是cars，而不是monitors或robots。有的考生误认为是指robots，将句子误译为“机器人将会控制电视聊天的显示，如果他们冒犯了具有污染控制器的汽车，汽车将会让他们失去功能”。

精品译文 届时，将出现由机器人主持的电视谈话节目以及装有污染监控器的汽车，一旦这些汽车排污超标，监控器就会使其停驶。

真题再现：语法攻克考研“英译汉”——1993年第74题

39 And it is imagined by many that the operations of the common mind can be by no means compared with these processes, and that they have to be acquired by a sort of special training.

妙语点睛 代词they指代前面的名词短语these processes。

精品译文 许多人以为，普通人的思维活动根本无法与科学家的思维过程相比，认为这些思维过程必须经过某种专门训练才能掌握。

真题再现：语法攻克考研“英译汉”——1993年第75题

40 Probably there is not one here who has not in the course of the day had occasion to set in motion a complex train of reasoning, of the very same kind, though differing in degree, as that which a scientific man goes through in tracing the causes of natural phenomena.

妙语点睛 代词that指代前面的名词短语a complex train of reasoning。

精品译文 在座的诸位中，大概不会有人一整天都没有机会进行一连串复杂的思考活动，尽管这些思考活动与科学家在探索自然现象原因时所经历的思考活动的复杂程度不同，但在类型上是完全一样的。

41 For example, when an American uses the word “friend”, the cultural implications of the word may be quite different from those it has in the visitor’s language and culture. （1997年阅读第二篇）

妙语点睛 代词those指代前面的名词短语the cultural implications；it指代the word “friend”。

精品译文 比如，当一个美国人使用“朋友”一词时，这个词的文化内涵很可能与那些游客的语言里关于“朋友”一词的文化内涵不同。

更多例句：

42 He told us how he dealt with the self-interest of countries to bring them into a kind of international accord where everyone seemed to benefit.

妙语点睛 这里关键是要理解them和everyone指代的内容，若不明确这两个代词的所指，则无法理解和翻译此句。很多考生凭自己的主观臆断认为them指代self-interest，其实这从语法上也讲不通，因为them不可能指代单数名词self-interest。所以，them只能指代其前面唯一的一个复数名词countries。另外everyone这个不定代词也表示国家，相当于说every country of the international accord，即“这个国际协定中的每个成员国”。

精品译文 他告诉我们他是如何处理各国之间的利益关系的，即让各国达成一种彼此均受益的国际协定。

43 Two things are outstanding in the creation of the English system of canals, and they characterize all the Industrial Revolution.

妙语点睛 they指代two things，而不是canals。这个从and连接的并列句可以判断出来。翻译时要把they还原成two things（这两点）来译。

精品译文 在建造英国运河系统的过程中，有两点是非常突出的，而这两点也正是整个工业革命的特点。

44 The fact that ordinary citizens are now starting to think seriously about the nation’s moral climate, says this ethics professor at the University of Chicago, is reason to hope that new ideas will come forward to improve it.（2002-1 CET-4）

妙语点睛 it指代前文的名词短语moral climate。

精品译文 芝加哥大学的这位伦理学教授说，普通美国公民现在已经开始严肃思考国民道德风气问题，这使我们有理由希望会产生新的思想以改善目前这种道德状况。

8. 熟练掌握英文中常见的复杂句式结构

见下文。





11.2 常见复杂句型结构

11.2.1 宾语后置型（考研英语“英译汉”常考题）

在英语里，宾语的正常位置是直接跟在一个及物动词后面。例如：

45 I saw a dog in the garden.

这里a dog是宾语，紧跟在动词saw后面。对于简单的句子，宾语位置是如此，但是，对于结构复杂的句子，在很多情况下，宾语的位置就会发生变化，最常见的是在动词和其宾语之间插入其他成分，从而造成了动词与宾语被分隔。请看下列例句：

46 By contrast, they saw in the preceding hundred years from 1650 to 1750, when England was still a completely agricultural country, a period of great abundance and prosperity. （1998年完形填空）

妙语点睛 这里saw的宾语是a period of great abundance and prosperity，显然动词与宾语被长长的时间状语in the preceding hundred years from 1650 to 1750, when England was still a completely agricultural country隔开了。作者在这里是为了强调时间，所以才将长长的时间状语提到了宾语前边，尽管这么做是违背英语的基本造句法则“尾重原则（Principle of End-weight）”的。

精品译文 与此相反，他们认为在此之前，从1650年到1750年的100年间，英国虽然还完完全全是一个农业国家，却十分富裕和繁荣。

下面就英语中动词与宾语被分隔的情形作如下归纳和总结。

1. 宾语后置型结构（一）：“动词+介词短语+宾语”

这种宾语后置型结构是由“动词+宾语+介词短语”演变而来的。这个宾语后置型结构有两点需要我们注意：一是，这里的介词短语通常作状语，修饰谓语动词。二是，这里的介词往往与动词构成搭配，比如下面各例句中出现的bring...to...，recommend...to...，elect...as...，define...as...，extract...from...等。当然，也有个别介词不与动词构成搭配，比如上文第46句中的saw和in就不是固定搭配。

47 Widely acknowledged as a great and important playwright, Eugene O’Neill brought to the United States stage what was probably its first really serious drama.

妙语点睛 这里brought的宾语是what was probably its first really serious drama，动词与其宾语被介词短语to the United States stage隔开。由基本结构“brought A to B”变成了宾语后置型结构“brought to B A”。

精品译文 在美国，尤金·奥尼尔被公认为是一位伟大的剧作家，是他首次将真正意义上的严肃歌剧搬上美国舞台。

48 Under it, a Common Drug Review recommends to provincial lists which new drugs should be included.（2005年阅读“七选五”）

妙语点睛 这里recommends的宾语是which引导的宾语从句which new drugs should be included，动词与其宾语被介词短语to provincial lists隔开。由基本结构“recommends A to B”变成了宾语后置型结构“recommends to B A”。

精品译文 在这个办公室管辖之下有一个普通药物评估机构，它向各省推荐应该在清单上增加的新药。

49 The casino issued to him, as a good customer, a “Fun Card”, which when used in the casino earns points for meals and drinks, and enables the casino to track the user’s gambling activities.（2006年阅读“七选五”）

妙语点睛 这里issued的宾语是a “Fun Card”，但因为该宾语又带有一个非限制性定语从句which when used in the casino earns points for meals and drinks, and enables the casino to track the user’s gambling activities，从而使得宾语结构复杂而被后置。动词与其宾语被介词短语to him, as a good customer隔开。由基本结构“issued A to B”变成了宾语后置型结构“issue to B A”。

精品译文 赌场认为他是一名好顾客，就发给他一张“乐趣卡”，当持卡者在赌场使用这张卡时，可以为自己赢得餐饮积分，同时也可以使赌场追踪持卡者的赌博活动。

50 Finally, because the ultimate stakeholders are patients, the health research community should actively recruit to its cause not only well-known personalities such as Stephen Cooper, who has made courageous statements about the value of animal research, but all who receive medical treatment.（2003年阅读第二篇）

妙语点睛 这里recruit的宾语是not only well-known personalities such as Stephen Cooper, who has made courageous statements about the value of animal research, but all who receive medical treatment，动词与其宾语被介词短语to its cause隔开。由基本结构“recruit A to B”变成了宾语后置型结构“recruit to B A”。

精品译文 最后，因为最终决定因素是病人，医疗研究机构不仅应该积极争取像斯蒂芬·库珀这样的名人的支持——他对动物实验的价值勇敢地进行了肯定——而且应该争取所有接受治疗的病人的支持。

真题再现：语法攻克考研“英译汉”——2006年第46题

51 I shall define him as an individual who has elected as his primary duty and pleasure in life the activity of thinking in Socratic（苏格拉底的）way about moral problems.

妙语点睛 这里elected的宾语是the activity of thinking in Socratic way about moral problems，动词与其宾语被介词短语as his primary duty and pleasure in life隔开。由基本结构“elected A as B”变成了宾语后置型结构“elected as B A”。另外有关此句结构更多的分析，请参见P108页5.1.1小节第3个例句。

精品译文 我把他（知识分子）定义为这样的人：他们把以苏格拉底的方式来思考道德问题作为自己人生的主要责任和乐趣。

52 It is worrisome that society is medicalizing more and more behavioral problems, often defining as addictions what earlier, sterner generations explained as weakness of will. Pushed by science, or what claims to be science, society is reclassifying what once were considered character flaws or moral failings as personality disorders akin to physical disabilities.（2006年阅读“七选五”）

妙语点睛 这里defining的宾语是what earlier, sterner generations explained as weakness of will，动词与其宾语被介词短语as addictions隔开。由基本结构“defining A as B”变成了宾语后置型结构“defining as B A”。其实，我们也可以将最后一句改写为：society is reclassifying as personality disorders skin to physical disabilities what once were considered character flaws or moral failings, 就也变成了一个宾语后置型句子。关于这个句子更详细的分析，请参见第一章“定语从句”P11页1.5.1小节，以及第五章“As专题”P109页5.1.1小节例句（5）。

精品译文 令人焦虑的是：社会正在将越来越多的行为问题医学化，常常把以前严厉的前辈们解释为意志薄弱的行为定义为上瘾。由于社会受到科学（或所谓的科学）推动，我们的社会正在重新把过去所谓的性格缺陷或道德缺失划为与生理缺陷相关的个人疾病。

真题再现：语法攻克考研“英译汉”——2006年第47题

53 His function is analogous to that of a judge, who must accept the obligation of revealing in as obvious a manner as possible the course of reasoning which led him to his decision.

妙语点睛 这里revealing的宾语是the course of reasoning which led him to his decision，动词与其宾语被介词短语in as obvious a manner as possible隔开。本句的基本结构是：reveal sth. in an obvious manner，现由基本结构“revealing A in B”变成了宾语后置型结构“revealing in B A”。关于这个句子更详细的分析，请参见第四章“状语从句”P95页4.9.1小节例句（157）。

精品译文 他的职责与法官相似，必须承担这样的责任：用尽可能明了的方式来展示自己做出决定的推理过程。

54 And should one country take upon itself the role of “defending competition” on issues that affect many other nations, as in the U.S. vs. Microsoft case?（2001年阅读第四篇）

妙语点睛 这里take的宾语是the role of “defending competition” on issues that affect many other nations, as in the U.S. vs. Microsoft case，动词与其宾语被介词短语upon itself隔开。由基本结构“take A upon B”变成了宾语后置型结构“take upon B A”。

精品译文 一个国家能不能像美国对待微软公司案例那样，在影响他国利益的问题上起到“保护竞争”的作用呢？

真题再现：语法攻克考研“英译汉”——1993年第73题

55 You have all heard it repeated that men of science work by means of induction （归纳法） and deduction, that by the help of these operations, they, in a sort of sense, manage to extract from nature certain natural laws, and that out of these, by some special skill of their own, they build up their theories.

妙语点睛 这里extract的宾语是certain natural laws，动词与其宾语被介词短语from nature隔开。由基本结构“extract A from B”变成了宾语后置型结构“extract from B A”。此外，本句还有一个that宾语从句后置结构：heard it repeated+that从句，我们将在下文作出解释。另外有关此句结构更详细的分析，请参看P52页2.3.4小节第26个例句。

精品译文 你们都多次听说过，科学家是用归纳法和演绎法工作的，他们用这些方法，在某种意义上说，力求从自然界找出某些自然规律，然后再根据这些规律，用自己的某种非同一般的本领，建立起自己的理论。

2. 宾语后置型结构（二）：“动词＋宾补＋宾语”

这种宾语后置型结构是由“动词+宾语+宾补”演变而来的。我们知道，正常复合宾语结构是“宾语+宾补”，但这里由于宾语结构复杂，比如往往是复杂的名词短语或wh-从句，而宾补较简单，常常是单个的形容词、名词或分词。所以为了遵循英文的“尾重原则”而将复杂的宾语后置，因此演变为“宾补+宾语”这样后置结构。

56 Many people consider impossible what really is possible.

妙语点睛 这里consider的宾语是what really is possible，形容词宾补impossible被提前，从而分隔了动词与其宾语。

精品译文 很多人把完全有可能的事情认为是不可能发生的。

57 The development of steel nibs makes possible the development of pens.

妙语点睛 这里makes的宾语是the development of pens，形容词宾补possible被提前，从而分隔了动词与其宾语。

精品译文 钢制笔尖的发展使钢笔的发展成为可能。

58 This calls into question all of our cultural assumptions that gay men are feminine.

妙语点睛 这里calls的宾语是all of our cultural assumptions that gay men are feminine，介词短语宾补into question被提前，从而分隔了动词与其宾语。

精品译文 在我们的文化中，人们一般认为男同性恋者都较为女性化，对此人们提出了质疑。

真题再现：语法攻克考研“英译汉”——2003年第65题

59 Thus, the anthropological concept of “culture”, like the concept of “set” in mathematics, is an abstract concept which makes possible immense amounts of concrete research and understanding.

妙语点睛 这里makes的宾语是immense amounts of concrete research and understanding，形容词宾补possible被提前，从而分隔了动词与其宾语。

精品译文 因此，人类学中的“文化”概念就像数学中“集”的概念一样，是一个抽象概念，它使大量的具体研究和认识成为可能。

3. 宾语后置型结构（三）：“动词＋it＋宾补或介宾结构＋宾语”

这种宾语后置型结构是在上述宾语后置型结构（二）的基础上演变过来的。稍微比较一下，就会发现二者的重大区别是这种结构多了it。这里it是形式宾语，指代被后置了的宾语，所以，这里有没有it必然与后置宾语密切相关。上述宾语后置型结构（二）中的宾语是名词短语或wh-从句，所以没有it。而这种结构中的宾语是不定式短语或that从句，则须在原宾语位置填上形式宾语it。

160 They want to make it clear to the public that they do an important and necessary job.

妙语点睛 这里make的宾语是that从句that they do an important and necessary job，在原宾语位置有代词it来指代这个宾语。形容词短语clear to the public作宾补被提前，从而分隔了动词与其宾语。

精品译文 他们想让大众知道，他们是在做一项既重要又必要的工作。

61 All these made it impossible for the individual scientist to deal with the huge mass of new data, techniques and equipment that were required for carrying out research accurately and efficiently.

妙语点睛 这里made的宾语是不定式短语for the individual scientist to deal with the huge mass of new data, techniques and equipment that were required for carrying out research accurately and efficiently，在原宾语位置有代词it来指代这个宾语。形容词impossible作宾补被提前，从而分隔了动词与其宾语。

精品译文 所有这一切使一位科学家无法处理大量的新资料、新技术和新设备，而这些资料、技术和设备是进行精确和高效的研究工作所必需的。

62 The panel has not yet reached agreement on a crucial question, however, whether to recommend legislation that would make it a crime for private funding to be used for human cloning.（1999年阅读第四篇）

妙语点睛 这里make的宾语是不定式短语for private funding to be used for human cloning，在原宾语位置有代词it来指代这个宾语。名词a crime作宾补被提前，从而分隔了动词与其宾语。

精品译文 然而，这个专家组在一个关键性的问题上仍未达成一致意见，即是否建议立法将私人资金用于克隆人判定为犯罪行为。

63 The explanation for insensitivity to smell seems to be that brain finds it inefficient to keep all smell receptors working all the time but can create new receptors if necessary. This may also explain why we are not usually sensitive to our own smells we simply do not need to be. We are not aware of the usual smell of our own house but we notice new smells when we visit someone else’s. The brain finds it best to keep smell receptors available for unfamiliar and emergency signals such as the smell of smoke, which might indicate the danger of fire.（2005年完形填空）

妙语点睛 第一个finds的宾语是不定式短语to keep all smell receptors working all the time，在原宾语位置有代词it来指代这个宾语。同理，第二个finds的宾语也是长长的不定式短语to keep smell receptors available for unfamiliar and emergency signals such as the smell of smoke, which might indicate the danger of fire，而原宾语位置有代词it来指代这个宾语。