An invisible border divides those arguing for computers in the classroom / on the behalf of students' career prospects and those arguing for computers in the classroom for broader reasons of radical educational reform.(1999年真题)

　　【分析】句子主干是由divides...and...(使……对立)搭配连接而成。两个those后面的分词短语作定语修饰those。句子主干为：An invisible border divides those and those.

　　【翻译】一种看不到的鸿沟，把那些主张为了学生有更好的职业前景而把电脑引入课堂的人和那些主张为了获得彻底教育革新更广泛理由而把电脑引入课堂的人的观点对立起来。

　　Very few writers on the subject have explored this distinction——indeed, contradiction——Which goes to the heart of what is wrong with the campaign / to put computers in the classroom.(1999年真题)

　　【分析】句子主干为：Very few writers have explored this distinction. “on the subject”介词短语作状语修饰“very few writers”,“which goes to the heart of what is wrong with the campaign to put computers in the classroom”是定语从句修饰“this distinction”的。

　　【翻译】很少有作者在这个问题上去探究这种差异，实际上，他们是互相矛盾的。而这种差异正是探究把计算机引入课堂运动问题的关键。

　　But, for a small group of students, professional training might be the way to go since well-developed skills, all other factors being equal, can be the difference between having a job and not. (1999年真题)

　　【分析】本句不难，重在对since引导从句的理解，这里since是表示因果关系的连词，表示“因为……”，诸如此类比较隐蔽的因果关系的连词还有as, as表示原因,可译为“由于，鉴于”，如：As he was not well, I decided to go without him(因为他病了，我决定一个人去)。

　　【翻译】但是，对于一小部分学生而言，职业培训也许是一种很好的途径，因为，在其他条件相同的情况下，拥有良好的技能对他们找工作结果的影响是不一样的。

　　The fact / that the apple fell down toward the earth and not up into the tree / answered the question / he had been asking himself about those larger fruits of the heavens, the moon and the planets. (1999年真题)

　　【分析】句子主干：The fact answered the question.“that the apple fell down toward the earth and not up into the tree”，“he had been asking himself about those larger fruits of the heavens, the moon and the planets”分别是the fact和the question的同位语，对其进行说明。

　　【翻译】苹果向下落到地面而不是向上飞到树上，这一事实回答了他长期以来一直对天空中更大天体——月球和行星所存在的疑问。

　　It is entirely reasonable for auditors to believe that scientists / who know exactly where they are going and how they will get there /should not be distracted by the necessity of keeping one eye on the cash register while the other eye is on the microscope. (1999年真题)

　　【分析】句子主干为：It is entirely reasonable for auditors to believe that scientists should not be distracted by the necessity of keeping one eye on the cash register while the other eye is on the microscope.“who know exactly where they are going and how they will get there”是定语从句修饰“scientists”的。

　　【翻译】审记员们完全有理由相信，那些确切地知道他们的目标和实现方法的科学家不应该由于一边做着科学试验一边需要盯着经济利益而分心。

　　The grand mediocrity of today—everyone being the same in survival and number of off-spring—means / that natural selection has lost 80% of its power in upper-middle-class India / compared to the tribes. (2000年真题)

　　【分析】句子主干为：The grand mediocrity of today / means that / natural selection has lost 80% of its power in upper-middle-class India. “everyone being the same in survival and number of off-spring”是插入部分，是对the grand mediocrity of today的一个补充说明。“compared to the tribes”分词短语作状语，修饰“that”引导的宾语从句，表示that引导从句所说明的情况在the tribes同样地发生了。(这里注意compared to与compared with的区别。compared to侧重于表达“相当于、等同于”的含义；compared with侧重于表达“与……相比较”的含义。)

　　【翻译】今天的普通大众，每个人有着同样生存机会和同样数量的后代，这意味着，自然选择在印度上流社会已经失去了80%以上的影响，在一些部落里情况也是一样。

　　However amazed our descendants may be at / how far from Utopia we were, they will look just like us. (2000年真题)

　　【分析】该句理解难点在于分清however和how引导的是疑问句还是感叹句。这里两者引导的是两个感叹句充当状语从句(however和how表示感叹语气“无论……”，只不过前者表达的语气更加强烈些)。

　　【翻译】不论我们的后代对我们距理想状态之遥远感到多么惊讶，他们的长相将和我们一样。

　　In the twentieth century, local studies have increasingly become acceptable to professionals only if they incorporate, and reflect on, the wider geological picture.(2001年真题)

　　【分析】对于if引导的状语从句的理解方法，我们可以采用两遍法。首先从主句到从句顺读一遍，然后先从if从句开始，再由从句到主句逆读一遍，含义自然就明了(increasingly 越来越……)。

　　【翻译】在20世纪，区域地质学研究只有在包含并思考范围更广泛的地质学问题时，才会越来越被专业人员所接受。(注：picture，这里是引申用法，指情况或研究的问题。)

　　For the women of my generation / who were urged to keep juggling through the 80s, downshifting in the mid-90s / is not so much a search / for the mythical good life——growing your own organic vegetables, and risking turning into one /——as a personal recognition of your limitations. (2001年真题)

　　【分析】本句主干由not so much...as...(其准确的翻译应为“与其……不如……”，而这种翻译成中文之后通常让人产生理解上的障碍。这种搭配出现在客观试题的阅读文章中，通常可以直接把它理解成“不是……而是……”，让句意更加清晰)固定搭配连接构成的一个长句。定语从句“who were urged to keep juggling through the 80s, downshifting in the mid-90s”修饰“the women of my generation”。插入部分“growing your own organic vegetables, and risking turning into one”，是对“the mythical good life”的具体说明。句子主干为：For the women of my generation is not so much a search for the mythical good life as a personal recognition of your limitations.

　　【翻译】对于我们这一代曾在整个80年代为生活奔波的女性来说， 90年代中期过着放慢生活节奏的生活，与其说是追求神话般的美好生活——自已种有机蔬菜，冒着变得毫无生机的危险——倒不如说我们都认识到了自己的局限。(注：one指代vegetable，引申是精神上像植物一样没有生气的人。)

　　Downshifting——also known in America as “voluntary simplicity”—— has, ironically, even bred a new area of / what might be termed / anti-consumerism.(2001年真题)

　　【分析】由于插入成分，句子显得稍长。对于有插入成分构成的长句，首先要忽略插入成分，直接理解主句，然后再理解插入成分。插入成分通常是对紧邻的前一句内容的进一步说明，在理解插入成分时，应该结合所说明的内容一起理解。句子主干为：Downshifting has bred a new area of / what might be termed / anti-consumerism.

　　【翻译】颇具讽刺意义的是，“放慢生活节奏”，在美国被称为“甘愿简朴”的生活方式居然产生出一个可称为“反消费主义”的新领域。

　　I have discovered, as perhaps Kelsey will / after her much-publicized resignation from the editorship of She / after a build up of stress, /that abandoning the doctrine of “juggling your life”, /and making the alternative move into “downshifting” brings with it far greater rewards than financial success and / social status. (2001年真题)

　　【分析】本句状语较多，再加上多个并列动名词短语充当宾语从句的主语，导致句式较长，难以形成连贯的语义。理解方法是学会断句和抓主干。本句主干是由discovered后面带一个宾语从句构成。主干为：I have discovered that / abandoning the doctrine of “juggling your life”, /and making the alternative move into “downshifting” brings with it far greater rewards than financial success and / social status.“as perhaps Kelsey will”是伴随状语从句的主干，“after her much-publicized resignation from the editorship of She / after a build up of stress”是两个并列介词短语作状语修饰“as perhaps Kelsey will”，“abandoning the doctrine of ‘juggling your life’, /and making the alternative move into ‘downshifting’”是两个并列动名词短语充当宾语从句的主语。

　　【翻译】我发现，放弃那种“忙碌地应付生活”的信念而选择“放慢生活节奏”会带来比金钱和社会地位更大的回报。经受过长期巨大压力，凯尔西从《女性》杂志编辑部退下来之后，恐怕她也将与我有同样的发现。

　　I have been transformed from /a passionate advocate of the philosophy of “having it all”, preached by Linda Kelsey / for the past seven years / in the page of She magazine, into a woman / who is happy to settle for a bit of everything. (2001年真题)

　　【分析】本句是由transformed from...into...(从……转变为……)固定搭配连接构成的长句。句子主干为：I have been transformed from a passionate advocate of the philosophy of “having it all” into a woman who is happy to settle for a bit of everything.“preached by Linda Kelsey”，分词作定语修饰“the philosophy of ‘having it all’”。“who is happy to settle for a bit of everything”定语从句修饰“woman”。

　　【翻译】我已经从 “拥有一切”哲学的积极倡导者，转化成一个对一切浅尝辄止就心满意足的妇女。过去七年里琳达·凯尔西在《女性》杂志再三宣扬这种哲学。

　　It identifies the under-treatment of pain / and the aggressive use of “ineffectual and forced medical procedures / that may prolong and even dishonor the period of dying” / as the twin problems of end-of-life care. (2002年真题)

　　【分析】本句主干部分是由identify...as...(把……识别为……)固定搭配连接构成的。同时identifies后面所接的两个并列宾语成分(the under-treatment of pain，the aggressive use of ineffectual and forced medical procedures)增加了句子的理解难度。句子主干为：It identifies the undertreatment of pain / and the aggressive use of “ineffectual and forced medical procedures / as the twin problems of end-of-life care. 定语从句“that may prolong and even dishonor the period of dying”，修饰“the aggressive use of ‘ineffectual and forced medical procedures’”而不是“the under-treatment of pain and the aggressive use of ‘ineffectual and forced medical procedures’”，这里要学会对定语从句所修饰词语范围的限定，通常结合文中的句意来确定。

　　【翻译】该报告把对病痛处理不力和坚持使用无效及强制性医疗手段从而有可能延长病人死亡时间，致使病人临终时痛苦不堪，确定为临终护理方面存在的两大问题。

　　The American spymaster / who built the Office of Strategic Services in the World War II / and later / laid the roots for the CIA / was fascinated with information. (2003年真题)

　　【分析】句子主干为：The American spymaster was fascinated with information. “who built the Office of Strategic Services in the World War II / and later / laid the roots for the CIA”是定语从句，修饰“The American spymaster”。

　　【翻译】这位在第二次世界大战中建立了战略情报局且后来为中央情报局奠定基础的美国间谍头子对信息收集非常痴迷。

　　Physicians——frustrated by their inability to cure the disease / and fearing loss of hope in the patient——too often offer aggressive treatment / far beyond what is scientifically justified. (2003年真题)

　　【分析】句子主干为：Physicians too often offer aggressive treatment.插入部分“frustrated by their inability to cure the disease / and fearing loss of hope in the patient”是分词作定语，修饰physicians。介词短语“far beyond what is scientifically justified”作定语修饰“aggressive treatment”。

　　【翻译】内科医生由于不能治愈疾病，同时担心病人失去希望，常常采取极端大胆的治疗方法，这些方法远远超出了科学许可的界限。

　　A bill by Democratic Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia, which would offer financial incentives for private industry, is a promising start. (2005年真题)

　　【分析】句子主干：A bill is a promising start. “which would offer financial incentives for private industry”是修饰“a bill”的定语从句。

　　【翻译】来自西弗吉尼亚州的民主党参议员罗伯特·伯德提出的一项议案是一个很有希望的开端，该议案提出将对私人企业给予财政上的奖励。

　　The brain is as active during REM (rapid eye movement) sleep——when most vivid dreams occur——as it is when fully awake.(2005年真题)

　　【分析】句子主干由as...as...(和……一样……)固定搭配构成。句子主干：The brain is as active as it is when fully awake. 介词短语“during REM (rapid eye movement) sleep”作状语修饰“active”，时间状语从句“when most vivid dreams occur”修饰“REM (rapid eye movement) sleep”。

　　【翻译】大脑活动在眼球迅速运动的睡眠时期中同完全醒时一样，最生动的梦境就出现在那时。

　　With much practice / people can learn to, literally, do it in their sleep. (2005年真题)

　　【分析】句子主干：people can learn to do it in their sleep.本句难点在于literally的理解，表示“客观地，实际上”。“with much practice”，with引导的介词短语作伴随状语，修饰整个句子。

　　【翻译】多加练习的话，人们就真能在睡眠时控制梦境了。

　　American no longer expects public figures, whether in speech or in writing, to command the English language with skill and gift. (2005年真题)

　　【分析】句子主干：American no longer expects public figures to command the English language with skill and gift.“whether...or...”引导状语从句，表示“无论是……还是……”。

　　【翻译】美国人不再指望公众人物在演讲或写作中娴熟地运用技巧和文采来驾驭英语。

　　John McWhorter, a linguist and controversialist of mixed liberal and conservative views, sees the triumph of 1960s counter-culture as responsible for the decline of formal English. (2005年真题)

　　【分析】本句主干由see...as...(把……看作……)连接构成。句子主干：John McWhorter sees the triumph of 1960s counter-culture as responsible for the decline of formal English.“mixed liberal and conservative views”分词短语作定语，修饰controversialist。

　　【·译】约翰·麦克沃特是位喜欢争辩的语言学家，他的观点混杂着保守派与自由派的看法，他认为，20世纪60年代反文化传统的得势是造成正式英语水平下降的原因。

　　It’s not obvious / how the capacity to visualize objects and to figure out numerical patterns / suits one to answer questions / that have eluded some of the best poets and philosophers.(2007年真题)

　　【分析】本句是一个结构比较复杂的表语从句。句中“how the capacity to visualize objects and to figure out numerical patterns / suits one to answer questions”充当主句的主语，主语中的几个不定式均是修饰the capacity，定语从句“that have eluded some of the best poets and philosophers”修饰“questions”。本句的理解难点是one指定的判定。指代的判断通常可以从两个方面着手：一、指代前面的中心词，二、与指代所在句子的并列结构。本句中我们可以确定one之前的中心词是the capacity，两者都是不定式结构，属并列结构，因此，这里的one指代的是capacity。

　　【翻译】对目标事物进行形象思维和推断数字模型的能力，如何与解答那些难倒最有才气的诗人和哲学家的问题的能力相匹配，这点并不明显。

　　Even demographics are working against the middle class family, as the odds of having a weak elderly parent--and all the attendant need for physical and financial assistance--have jumped eightfold in just one generation. (2007年真题)

　　【分析】本句难点在于几个词汇的理解：work against表示“对……不利”、as作连词可以表示因果关系，这里表示“因为”，odds表示“可能性、概率”。通常这些貌似熟悉的词汇，一旦在句中出现其确切的含义会让许多考生难以理解，因此考生在记单词的时候一定要彻底弄懂这些熟悉但具体词义不好把握的词汇，这个可参看海文《2009考研英语易混超难词汇特训手册》。

　　【翻译】就连人口统计数据也对中产阶级不利，因为家庭成员中有一个年老体弱的父母——以及其他需要物质和经济救助的人——的可能性，在一代人的时间里就猛增了八倍。

　　【小结】从以上近20年来的阅读真题中出现的长难句，我们可以看出，所谓的长难句其实并不难，它们基本上是由少数几个常见的句型或固定搭配连接而成的。对于绝大部分考生来说，由于自身心态问题，以至于对长句产生恐惧，他们看到字数多一点的句子就不知所措。实际上，我们只需冷静头脑，从容应对，读懂这些句子是不会有问题的。