考研英语长难句│20170726

In lowland country almost any spot on the ground may overlie what was once the bed of a river that has since become buried by soil; if they are now below the water’s upper surface (the water table), the gravels and sands of the former riverbed, and its sandbars, will be saturated with groundwater.

难句类型：复杂修饰+省略

1. 本句也是一个由分号隔开的并列句，主句结构是 almost any spot on the ground may overlie what was once the bed of a river; if they are now below the water’s upper surface, they will be saturated with groundwater.

2. 作者在river后面用that引导了一个定语从句修饰一下river，在surface后面用括号和两个插入成分the gravels and sands of the former riverbed，and its sandbars,打乱了分号前后两个并列句自己内部的主谓宾结构的连贯性。所以阅读时就十分困难。

3. 我们的对策仍然是先读主干，不重要的定语、状语、同位语、插入成分纷纷略过，读出核心意思来即可。
   
   

译文

低地区域上的任何位置可能就是曾经的河床，后续被土壤覆盖而变成现在的样子。如果那些河床和沙洲现在位于地下水位之下，一定会有大量的地下水浸在它们的沙砾和沙石之间。

 

明日长难句预告│0727

For example, some early societies ceased to consider certain rites essential to their well-being and abandoned them, nevertheless, they retained as parts of their oral tradition the myths that had grown up around the rites and admired them for their artistic qualities rather than for their religious usefulness.