长难句分析(1)：分析长难句的思路

考博英语让大家头痛的问题有两个，一是词汇量不够，很多单词不认识，另一个就是单词都认识但是句子依然不知道意思。只要这两个问题解决了，考博英语的难度就降低了很多。

就考博英语中的阅读理解来看，大家存在的问题是能找到答案所在的句子，单词也认识，但这句话的意思却怎么也不明白，也找不到正确的答案。除了阅读理解，翻译中也时常出现长难句，考博翻译评分标准就是分段给分，所以大家在翻译之前可以将长句进行拆分。此外，作文与长难句也是密切相关的，长短句交替使用的作文何愁得不到呢？

知道了长难句的重要性，今天 ，我们就来讲讲长难句该如何分析？

一，找主句

长难句不会是简单句，往往是复合句或者并列复合句，因此，一般会有主句与从句。快速找出主句的方式是找出谓语动词，那么问题落在了如何找谓语动词。方法如下：

1.找动词。找出句子中所有的动词(除去非谓语动词：ing分词，ed分词，动词不定式)。

2.顺着动词往前找，如果有引导词，说明这个动词所在的句子是个从句;如果没有引导词，说明这就是主句。

例1：

Freedom with abstinence seemed to him better than serfdom with material well-being, and he was content to move to Walden Pond and to set about the high business of living, to confront only the essential facts of life and to see what it had to teach.

先找出句子中所有动词(除去非谓语动词)。

Freedom with abstinence seemed to him better than serfdom with material well-being, and he was content to move to Walden Pond and to set about the high business of living, to confront only the essential facts of life and to see what it had to teach.

其中move,set,confront,see, teach属于非谓语动词(不定式)，可以排除其为主句的谓语动词，最后还剩下seemed, was,和had.

Freedom with abstinence seemed to him better than serfdom with material well-being, and he was content to move to Walden Pond and to set about the high business of living, to confront only the essential facts of life and to see what it had to teach.

找出引导词

引导词即引导从句的那个词。比如：Iknow that she is beautiful.句子中that就是引导词。英语中，从句一共是三大类：名词性从句、定语从句和状语从句，常见的引导词有wh-类

(what,when,which,where,when,who,whom,whose,why),that, how,whether/if，以及其他引导状语从句的引导词。因此，在例1中，除去非谓语动词后，顺着剩下的三个动词往前面找，had前面有引导词what，所以排除其为谓语动词。be动词was前面有并列连词and，由此可知此句是由两个并列分句构成的并列复合句。

所以这个句子的主干是Freedom seemed to…,and he was content to…。

二，研究从句

在第一步中提到的三类从句(其中名词性从句包括主语从句、宾语从句、表语从句、 同位语从句)在长难句中都可能出现，因此需要对这些从句的知识有所了解。一般可以根据引导词前面的单词来判断这是什么从句:

引导词在句首，一般是主语从句；

That the moon travels around the earth once every month is known to everyone.

引导词前是名词，根据情况区分是定语从句还是同位语从句；

The man whom you saw just now is our manager.(定语从句)

The news that our women volleyball team had won the championship encouraged us all greatly. (同位语从句)

引导词前是动词或介词，说明这个从句是宾语从句；

I worry aboutwhether I hurt her feelings.

引导词前是系动词，说明这个从句是表语从句；

The problem iswho we can get to go to the airport to pick her up

引导词前是状语从句的引导词，说明这是状语从句。

The boss asked the secretary to hurry up with the letters so that he could sign them.

例2：

Humans are the only species known to have consciousness, awareness that we have brains and bodies capable of adaptability that we can affect the course our lives take, that we can make choices along the way that vastly affect the quality of our lives--biologically, intellectually, environmentally, and spiritually.

使用上述方法，可以快速找到句子主句：

Humans are the only species known to have consciousness。

整个句子中有四个that引导的从句，其中

thatwe can affect the course our lives take

这个从句中还嵌有一个从句：

wecan affect thecourse(that)ourlives take,

由于that充当take的宾语，所以此处可以省略。第一个that和第三个that引导同位语从句解释awareness;第二个that引导同位语从句解释adaptability;省略了的that引导定语从句限定名词course;第四个that引导定语从句限定名词way。最后的biologically, intellectually,environmentally, and spiritually是副词做状语。

译文

人类是一种有意识的物种：我们的大脑和肢体能够适应选择的生活轨迹，这种意识能够让我们做出当下对自己生活产生重大影响的决策，不论是在生理层面、智力层面、环境层面还是在精神层面上。

因此，只要把句子的主干(主句)和枝叶(从句及其他修饰成分)弄清楚，分析长难句并不是难事。希望这篇文章能够给考生们带来启发。