2015考研：英语长难句突破——名词性从句详解

　　在句子中起名词作用的句子叫名词性从句。名词性从句的功能相当于名词词组, 它在复合句中能担任主语、宾语、表语、同位语、介词宾语等，因此根据它在句中不同的语法功能，名词性从句又可分别称为主语从句、宾语从句、表语从句和同位语从句。

　　在翻译的时候，主语从句、宾语从句、表语从句一般可以按照英语原文顺序来翻译。同位语从句有以下五种翻译方法：

　　①可以直接翻译在所修饰词后面。

　　②放在所修饰的名词前面，充当定语。

　　③译成独立句子：先翻译主句，然后用“就是……”或者“即……”引导出同位语从句，或者把同位语从句译成独立的句子，由冒号或破折号引出。

　　④用代词指代：先把同位语从句中的内容翻译出来，在后面用“这”或“那”等代词复指它，参加句子主体的构成。

　　⑤译成宾语 ：把同位语从句修饰的名词转译成动词，而把同位语从句译成宾语。

　　【真题例句1】

　　What is harder to establish is whether the productivity revolution that businessmen assume they are presiding over is for real.

　　【解析】

　　句子可拆分为：What is harder to establish is //whether the productivity revolution //that businessmen assume //they are presiding over// is for real.

　　主句为What is harder to establish is whether the productivity revolution is for real。主句包含两个从句成分：从句what is harder to establish作主语；whether the productivity revolution is for real作表语；that they are presiding over为定语从句修饰the productivity revolution; 此定语从句中businessmen assume为主谓结构的插入语。以what, whatever, whoever, whether, when, where, how, why等词引导的主语从句及表语从句在翻译的时候，一般可以按照英语原文顺序来翻译。

　　【参考译文】

　　难以确定的是，商界人士认为他们所主导的生产力革命是否真的存在。

　　【真题例句2】

　　It has also been proposed that just because we know so much about people intuitively, there has been less incentive for studying them scientifically: why should one develop a theory, carry out systematic observations, or make predictions about the obvious?

　　【解析】

　　该句可拆分为：It has also been proposed that //just because we know so much about people intuitively, // there has been less incentive //for studying them scientifically: //why should one develop a theory, //carry out systematic observations, //or make predictions about the obvious?

　　主句为：It has also been proposed。That…for studying them scientifically是主语从句，形式主语it的真主语。because we know so much about people intuitively是这个主语从句中嵌套的原因状语从句。冒号后面是一个简单句，对前面内容起解释说明作用。has been proposed, has been这个动词不好排除，但是如果你发现后面连词that后又有一个连词because, 说明that引导一个从句，而这个because引导的应是这个从句的原因状语从句，很自然它后面需要有主句。所以这个动词只是从句中主句的谓语动词，并不是整个句子的谓语动词。develop, carry out, make在冒号后面句子中，不能成为主句谓语动词。由此确定主句谓语动词为has been proposed。

　　It is +过去分词+that从句开头的主语从句一般按顺序译出。

　　【参考译文】

　　还有解释说，正是由于我们对人的直觉了解太多，所以我们没有科学地研究这些直觉的动力：对于显而易见之事，人们为什么要建立一种理论、进行系统的观察或是作一些预言呢?