长难句过关：第六章 省略句

第六章 省略

    英语句子有时复杂难辨的另一个原因是由于句子中的某些成分被省略掉了。为了避免重复，增强所表达的意思的紧凑性、逻辑性和新颖性，常常把句子前部分已经交代过的人、事或动作在不影响语义内容表达连贯的情况下，从句子后部分的成分中省略掉。省略一般出现在平行结构的后半部分或各类从句中。被省略的部分大多是主语，谓语或者谓语的助动词等。

Exercise

When a man has a gun against your head you do what you're told.

Competitors may not be aware of one another, while the parties to a conflict one.

The problematic situation set the interests of environmentalists against those of corporations and of individuals who stood to lose jobs.

要点：what you're told后面省略了"to do"。 在ask，order等动词后一般都出现这种省略。
译文：当有人拿枪顶着你的脑袋时，你就该照他说的去做。

要点：while连词在句中表示转折。while句中省略了部分表语成分，补全成分应为"...,while the parties to a conflict are aware of one another."
译文：竞争者可能彼此并不了解对方，然而冲突双方却互相了解。

要点：set...against...意为“把。。。和。。。对立”。those指代前面interests，避免重复。and后面省略了those。
译文：这种未可预料的形势把环境保护者的利益与公司的利益以及要承受失业的个人的利益对立起来。

Exercise 

Clearly,protecting will come only through coordinated international efforts to control human population, stabilize the composition of the atmosphere, and preserve intact Earth's complex web of life.

When first given to individuals,animals, and places they were chosen carefully with a hope of endowing whatever was named with some sort of magic.

If you think as much of others as of yourself, you will not make any of these mistakes.

要点：to control....,stabilize...,and preserve...为三个并列的动词不定式,修饰efforts."stabilize"和'preserve"两词前省略"to"
译文：很清楚,保护只有通过国际间的合作努力才能实现,通过这些努力来控制人口,稳定大气结构,使地球上复杂的生物网完好无损.

要点：when引导的时间状语从句中,主语是"they",即句子中的"names",谓语动词是"were given",为了避免重复,与主句中相同的部分省略了.whatever引导的从句作动名词endowing的宾语.
译文:当首次给人,动物和地方取名时,总要非常谨慎地进行选择,希望不管取的名字叫什么,都能为其赋予某种魔力.

要点：句中as much ....as连接的平行结构有两个: think of others和(think) of yourself.在连词as后面省略了与前半句相同的部分think.全句应为: If you think of others as much as you think of yourself....
译文：如果你像关心自己那样去关心别人,你就不会犯这些错误中的任何一种

Exercise 

Then he called in his two remaining women secretaries and handed them capsules of poison to use if they wished to when the advancing Russians broke in.

Whatever his rank, however rich or poor, an Egyptian believed in another life after death, provided he had pleased the gods.

My mother Jane, died in her 88th year, a mighty age for one who at 40 was so delicate of body as to be accounted a confirmed invalid, destined to pass away.

要点：if they wished to 后面省略了use.这种省略的动词要根据上文来判断。
译文：然后，他把自己仅剩的两名女秘书传来，递给她们毒药胶囊，以备节节逼近的俄国人闯入后她们想服用时服用。

要点：句中的两个让步状语"whatever his rank, however rich or poor"是两个省略句。完整的句子应为：“whatever his rank is, however rich or poor he is".句子中provided he had pleased the gods 是由连词provided引出的条件状语从句，类似意义的词还有：providing，（常用于口语和商业英语中，不用于书面语），given,supposing等。例如：Supposing the plane doesn't arrive on time, we'll have to postpone the meeting.
译文：埃及人不论职位高低，不管贫富贵贱，都相信如果得到了上帝的欢心，死后会有另一次生命。

要点：此句中Jane是my mother的同位语，a mighty age for one 是her 88th year的同位语。”who at 40...destined to pass away"是one的定语从句。“to be accounted a confirmed invalid ,destined to pass away "是一个省略了成分的并列动词不定式结构。此短语补齐后应该是：to be accounted a confirmedivalid , and to be destined to pass away,省略and to be 是为了避免重复多余的词。
译文：我的母亲简是88岁去世。这个岁数对于一个40岁时就身体纤弱，被公认有痼疾在身和注定不久于人世的人来说，是个难得的高龄。

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