一、前言

阅读分为四个层次：词、句、段、章。同学们一般习惯于以词为单位阅读，所以遇到存在“生词”的句子就无从下手了。其实阅读的真正障碍并不在于“生词”，而在于“难句”，因为难句即使每个单词都认识，只要“结构”复杂，可能也读不懂。反之，一旦能够把握“结构”，就可以忽略生词，掌握大意，从而实现“无词阅读”的境界。为此，本人特意为广大同学制作了这一套“难句随身卡”（包括基础篇和提高篇）。

二、难句的构成

英语的难句=主句+从句+短语，不同于汉语的句子全是简单句，没有复杂句。如果把英语的难句比喻成大树，那么主句相当于树干，从句相当于树枝，而短语相当于叶子。只要把握主句，就可理解大意。相比之下，汉语的句子就好比是竹子，一节一节的。
因此，我们在理解英语难句的时候要学会“拆”——把复杂句拆成简单句来理解。也就是说，要学会抓住“树干”，拆掉“枝叶”。

三、如何“拆”

任何句子都必须有谓语动词，所以找到一个谓语动词就可以拆下来一个句子。因此，理解难句的基本步骤是：1）识别出有哪几个谓语动词；2）找出主句的谓语动词，先理解主句；3）再去理解从句和短语。

四、符号说明

1．谓语动词用黑体的斜体字表示，例如：Everyone should know …。
2．从句的引导词用方框表示，例如：where the nearest fire alarm box is located。
3．从句用横线表示，例如：where the nearest fire alarm box is located，表示where引导的从句。
4．插入语成分用括号表示，例如：Keeping your head, (instead of crowding and pushing to get to an exit), may make the difference between…
第三章  分隔结构
本章难句列表（分析从第6页开始）：
1. Evening had now come, the last of Adolf Hitler’s life.
2. We live in a time when, more than ever before in history, people are moving about.
3. Several neighbors hope to find safety in the only bomb shelter on their street when an announcement comes over the radio that enemy missiles are approaching.
4. The willingness to recognize the value of these newer “unscientific” ways of doing science may be another instance of the human ability to adapt and survive, of which we spoke earlier.
5. It is an activity you turn to for pleasure, not something that you have to do, like helping with the dishes.
6. The tour races of France and Italy, held each year, cover more than 2,000 miles.
7. While I was waiting to enter university, I saw advertised in a local newspaper a teaching post at a school in a suburb of London about ten miles from where I lived.
8. The second aspect is the application by all members of society from the government official to the ordinary citizen, of the special methods of thought and action that scientists use in their work.
9. I launched into a variation of the speech I had made for years, about how excessive tax rates can take away the incentive to produce, and how cutting taxes can generate growth.
10. Even his critics say the Ames test – his simple, inexpensive laboratory procedure that helps determine whether a substance might cause cancer – is a remarkable achievement.
11. The cessation（停止） of the employment of extraordinary means to prolong the life of the body when there is irrefutable evidence that biological death is imminent（即将来临的） is the decision of the patient and/or her immediate family.
12. Although her characters were portrayed（描绘） in many settings and situations, they all reflected, by the often tragic outcome of their lives, her profound conviction that no human could be happy if that happiness was rooted in the wretchedness（悲伤，痛苦） of another.
13. I plan to see her soon in England, though not, she reminded me, again at 10 Downing Street.

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