一些比较有用的分析结论及难句分析、疑句讨论(持续更新中)

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Free exchange: Land of the corporate giants (Nov 3rd 2012)

译文见275楼

1、But if the trend towards growing ever larger is clear, the economics of bigness are far murkier.
难点：the economics of bigness are far murkier的理解与翻译

2、In some cases, like boats, greater size still promises greater efficiency, as fixed costs are spread over higher output.
难点：fixed costs are spread over higher output的理解与翻译

3、Introduced in the late 1950s, the first ships could carry 480 twenty-foot equivalent (TEU) containers.
难点：introduce的理解与翻译

4、But it is possible to exhaust the savings that come with size.
难点：句意在语境下的理解

5、This can happen gradually, as firms outdo their rivals, or suddenly as firms merge.
难点：句子结构
句子结构：gradually, as firms outdo their rivals和suddenly as firms merge是or连接的并列结构（共用this can happen）

6、So are businesses like boats or buildings: are they seeking out economies of scale, or are they too big to be efficient?
难点：so are businesses like boats or buildings的理解

7、The “winner’s curse” describes the phenomenon of mergers destroying value for the shareholders of an acquiring firm.
难点：mergers destroying value for the shareholders of an acquiring firm的理解

8、The “empire-building” theory holds that managers are out to increase the scale of their business whatever the cost in terms of creeping inefficiencies.
难点：out to的理解，whatever the cost in terms of creeping inefficiencies的理解（whatever作定语）

9、State safety nets can distort incentives, too.
难点：incentives的理解与翻译

10、Some firms may be growing not to lower costs but to receive the comfort of implicit state support.
难点：implicit的理解与翻译

11、A 2011 paper by Federal Reserve staff supports this conclusion, suggesting banks pay a premium to merge if the tie-up gives them “too-big-to-fail” status.
难点：them的指代（指代firms，不是banks）

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Tsunamis in Lake Geneva: Lake monsters (Nov 3rd 2012)

译文见278楼

1、Two accounts of the disaster, one by Gregory of Tours and the other by Marius of Avenches, have survived.
难点：account的理解，survive的理解与翻译

2、But over the past decade several groups of scientists have pieced together the sequence of events and one of those groups, led by Katrina Kremer of the University of Geneva, has now created a computer model of what happened.
难点：piece together的理解

3、When the dam burst, the resulting wave swept the length of the lake.
难点：sweep the length of the lake的理解与翻译

4、What suggests it is true is that the sediment from such a collapse would have been propelled towards the lake’s centre, forming a large tongue of material on the lake bed.
难点：tongue的理解

5、This is sediment that, because it is laid down by rapid water movements, is not sorted by grain size.
难点：grain size的理解与翻译

6、By carbon-dating leaves and other organic material trapped within it, she has shown that it is about the same age as the Tauredunum event.
难点：句子结构
句子结构：carbon-dating leaves and other organic material trapped within it是动名词短语，其中leaves and other organic material trapped within it是carbon-date的宾语，过去分词短语trapped within it修饰leaves and other organic material，it指代turbidite

7、But Lausanne is built on steep slopes, so most of it would have been spared.
难点：spare的理解

8、Geneva is a lower-lying city than Lausanne and, to make matters worse, the lake narrows here, funnelling water to the point where the Rhône becomes a recognisable river again.
难点：the Rhône becomes a recognisable river again的理解

9、Using information revealed by archaeology about the layout of sixth-century Geneva and the lake’s level at the time, the team were able to work out how the city would have stood up to the onslaught.
难点：level的理解

10、Though the basin in which Lake Geneva sits is ancient, the modern lake is a product of the end of the last Ice Age.
难点：转折点的理解

11、By 13,000 years ago the glaciers had retreated at least as far east as Lausanne.
难点：at least as far east as Lausanne的理解

12、Both Switzerland and France are good at big civil engineering projects, so if it did need dredging, they could then get to work quickly.
难点：civil engineering的理解，need dredging的理解

13、From Loch Ness in Scotland to Tele in Congo, lakes breed legends of monsters lurking beneath the surface.
难点：breed的理解，lurk beneath the surface的理解与翻译

24K纯帅要考研

点点滴滴

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Treating disease with microbes: Bugs in the system (Nov 3rd 2012)

译文见281楼

1、But it was not until the late 19th century, when Felix Hoffman synthesised versions of their active ingredients, namely acetylsalicylic acid and diamorphine (or aspirin and heroin, as they are more commonly known), that proper pharmaceutical science got going.
难点：proper的理解与翻译，句子结构
句子结构：it was ... that...强调句式

2、When things do go wrong, though, doses of corrective bacteria can make a difference.
难点：doses of corrective bacteria can make a difference的理解与翻译

3、Some doctors, however, see these approaches as the equivalent of decoctions of willow bark and tinctures of opium.
难点：approaches的理解与翻译

4、Faecal transplants are effective, but Dr Lawley wanted both to understand why they work and to see if a more tailored version of the treatment might be possible.
难点：tailored的理解与翻译

5、He found that, in mice, at least, it is.
难点：it is的省略补全（a more tailored version of the treatment is possible）

6、He cultured the faecal bacteria of healthy mice and tried various combinations of them on animals infected with C. difficile.
难点：culture的理解

7、As he reports in the Public Library of Science, one combination of six species (three previously unknown to science) worked almost perfectly—and just as well as transplanting homogenised faeces.
难点：homogenised的理解与翻译

8、The cocktail also stimulated the growth of other species that C. difficile was suppressing.
难点：cocktail的理解与翻译

9、Her putative therapy for inflammatory bowel disease, which she and her team describe in Science Translational Medicine, employs bugs that have been genetically engineered.
难点：employ的理解与翻译，bug的理解，engineer的翻译

10、But Dr Vergnolle reckons they could be tweaked to work better.
难点：tweak的理解与翻译

11、Dr Vergnolle therefore equipped both Lactococcus lactis and Lactobacillus casei with the gene that encodes elafin and let the bugs loose on mice with inflamed bowels.
难点：loose的理解与翻译

12、Whether either technique would work on people remains to be seen (though Dr Vergnolle did mix her bacteria with cells from the guts of colitis patients, and that calmed these cells down in the way the mouse guts were calmed).
难点：calm down在句意中的理解与翻译，句子结构
句子结构：and that中的that是代词，指代Dr Vergnolle did mix her bacteria with cells from the guts of colitis patients这句句子。可以认为，and that在作用上等同于引导非限定性定语从句

13、If they do work, they may open avenues for the bacterial treatment of other conditions linked to gut bacteria.
难点：conditions的理解与翻译

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Epigenetics and health: Grandma’s curse (Nov 3rd 2012)

译文见285楼

1、The term itself covers a multitude of sins.
难点：句意在语境中的理解与翻译

2、Methylation switches genes off. Acetylation switches them on.
难点：句意在语境中的理解与翻译

3、Some see this as contrary to Darwinism, since it would permit characteristics acquired during an organism’s lifetime to be passed on to its offspring, as suggested by a rival theory of evolution put forward by Jean-Baptiste Lamarck.
难点：句子结构
句子结构：as引导的非限定性定语从句as suggested by a rival theory of evolution put forward by Jean-Baptiste Lamarck修饰it would permit characteristics acquired during an organism’s lifetime to be passed on to its offspring

4、In a nutshell, Dr Rehan showed that if pregnant rats are exposed to nicotine, not only will their offspring develop the asthma induced by this drug, so will the offspring of those offspring.
难点：in a nutshell的理解

5、There was, however, no further administration of nicotine.
难点：administration的理解与翻译

6、The organs’ airways were constricted, and molecular analysis showed abnormally high levels of fibronectin and collagen—which would stiffen the lung tissue—and also high levels of receptor molecules for nicotine.
难点：constrict的理解与翻译

7、That was expected, since the developing embryos were exposed to the nicotine when their mothers were treated.
难点：since的理解

8、Nicotine is not only affecting lung cells, but also affecting sex cells in ways that cause the lungs which ultimately develop from those cells to express their genes in the same abnormal ways.
难点：those cells的指代（指代sex cells）

9、The team have started looking, but could find no clear pattern except that one form of nicotine-induced acetylation, that of H3 histones (histones come in five varieties), could be blocked by a molecule called RGZ.
难点：no ... except ...的理解与翻译，histones come in five varieties的理解

10、Nor have the team yet found out whether the epigenetic effect they have discovered reaches further than grand-offspring.
难点：reache further than grand-offspring的理解与翻译

11、If it does, though, it suggests that epigenetics really might act like the biblical curse: that the sins of the fathers (or, in this case, the mothers) will be visited on the sons, even unto the third and fourth generations.
难点：biblical curse的理解与翻译，visit的理解与翻译

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The joy of diaries: From the heart (Nov 3rd 2012)

译文见288楼

1、Now she has produced a history of Britain from 1921 to 2010 solely using diaries, and there is much to enjoy in it.
难点：produce的理解与翻译

2、Sir Noel Coward is confused by John Osborne’s “Look Back in Anger”, the celebrated play of the 1950s.
难点：celebrated的理解

3、“It is so full of talent and fairly well constructed but I wish I knew why the hero is so dreadfully cross and what about?”
难点：cross的理解，what about的理解与翻译

4、There is a wonderful sketch of Sir Winston Churchill, whose photo is taken unawares.
难点：sketch的理解，unawares的理解

5、The following would be an interpretation of the barks, wheezes and grunts that turned my blood cold: ‘Hey damn you, young fellow, what the hell are you up to with your monkey tricks? Stop all this nonsense! I hate candid camera photographs! Wait till I’m prepared: the glass of port taken away, my spectacles so—this box shut, the papers put away thus—now then—I’m ready, but don’t try any cleverness on me!’ The PM settled himself and stared into my camera like a bulldog guarding its kennel. Click!
难点：interpretation的理解与翻译，barks, wheezes and grunts的翻译，turn one's blood cold的理解，what the hell are you up to with your monkey tricks?的理解与翻译，port的理解，don’t try any cleverness on me的理解与翻译，settle onself的理解与翻译

6、Part of the joy comes from parallels with the present.
难点：parallel的理解与翻译

7、The alternative [to electoral defeat] would be a deal over seats with the Tories with PR as a condition and an agreed programme.
难点：句子结构
句子结构：over seats with the Tories是deal的定语，with PR as a condition and an agreed programme是条件状语

8、But, she says in 1947, she fears complete parliamentary extinction.
难点：parliamentary extinction的理解

9、The change in values is always amusing.
难点：change in values的理解与翻译

10、This puts us in rather a fix.
难点：in a fix的理解

11、Some diaries merit reading simply out of their oddness.
难点：merit的理解与翻译

12、John Reith’s are a delight.
难点：句意在语境中的理解

13、I reflect sometimes on ‘politics’.
难点：reflect的理解与翻译

14、The whole horrid technique should be abolished.
难点：horrid technique的理解与翻译

15、He calls political talks on the radio, “a prostitution of broadcasting”.
难点：prostitution的理解与翻译，句子结构
句子结构：political talks on the radio是宾语，其中介宾短语on the radio作political talks的定语。“a prostitution of broadcasting”是宾补

16、He lets slip that he would like to be minister of defence, hoping it will be passed on.
难点：let something slip的理解与翻译，pass on的理解，句子结构
句子结构：that he would like to be minister of defence, hoping it will be passed on是宾语从句（后置），slip是宾补

17、Particularly stirring is the story of his job interview.
难点：stirring的理解，句子结构
句子结构：the story of his job interview是主语，is particularly stirring是系表结构（倒装）

18、I hadn’t the remotest idea as to what broadcasting was and I hadn’t troubled to find out.
难点：haven't the remotest idea的理解与翻译，not trouble to的理解与翻译

19、They took him anyway.
难点：take的理解

20、These gems provide instant, private thoughts to changing events.
难点：changing的理解与翻译

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Astrobiology: A harvest of new moons (Nov 10th 2012)

译文见300楼

1、WHERE science-fiction leads, science sometimes follows.
难点：句意在语境中的理解与翻译

2、In 2009, when James Cameron made “Avatar”, he set his colonial allegory not on an alien planet but on the moon of such a planet.
难点：colonial allegory的理解与翻译

3、Perhaps he felt that exoplanets themselves were passé as settings for fiction, since in fact so many had been discovered.
难点：settings的理解

4、If so, he got in just in time, for reality may soon imitate art in the matter of moons, as well as planets.
难点：get in的理解，reality may soon imitate art的理解与翻译

5、Besides the lure of being the first to find something new, there are Cameronian motives, too.
难点：motive的理解与翻译

6、For there is reason to suspect that if life does exist elsewhere than on Earth, then the moon of an alien planet might not be a bad place to search for it.
难点：句子结构
句子结构：整句句子没有主句，都是for引导的原因状语从句。在原因状语从句中，there is reason to suspect是主系表结构，that if life does exist elsewhere than on Earth, then the moon of an alien planet might not be a bad place to search for it作suspect的宾语从句。在该宾语从句中，if life does exist elsewhere than on Earth是条件状语从句（强调句）

7、Finding something that is orbiting something that is orbiting a star hundreds of light-years away is hardly a trivial task, and not everyone is convinced it is possible.
难点：句子结构
句子结构：动名词短语finding something that is orbiting something that is orbiting a star hundreds of light-years away作主语，其中that引导的定语从句that is orbiting something that is orbiting a star hundreds of light-years away修饰something，在该定语从句中，that引导的定语从句that is orbiting a star hundreds of light-years away修饰something

8、So far, 105 planets have been discovered this way, and the existence of a further 2,321 has been suggested, though their reality remains to be confirmed by the observation of subsequent transits.
难点：subsequent的理解与翻译

9、If a planet is large and its moon small the distinction is trivial.
难点：the distinction的指代（指代whether moon simply revolve around the host planets）

10、This sort of technique has already been used to identify the small perturbations induced by unseen, non-transiting planets which interfere with the orbits of their transiting brethren.
难点：interfere with的理解与翻译，brethren的理解与翻译

11、For moons, though, the effects are likely to be not just small, but minute—right on the “hairy edge” of what Kepler can do, says Greg Laughlin, a planet-hunter at the University of California, Santa Cruz.
难点：hairy edge的理解与翻译

12、For a start, most of the exoplanets detected so far are much bigger than Earth, so for moons going around them to be detectable, they would have to be considerably bigger than any moon in the solar system.
难点：句子结构
句子结构：介宾短语for moons going around them to be detectable表对象或范围，现在分词短语going around them修饰moon，不定式短语to be detectable（表情态上的将来）修饰moons

13、Even supposing such bodies exist, the statistical alchemy needed to distinguish the signal they produce during a transit from any fluctuations in the light of the star being transited, or from gravitational effects caused by other planets that might be lurking nearby, is formidable.
难点：alchemy的理解与翻译，句子结构
句子结构：supposing such bodies exist是supposing引导的条件状语从句，the statistical alchemy是主语，is formidable是系表结构，过去分词短语needed to distinguish the signal they produce during a transit from any fluctuations in the light of the star being transited, or from gravitational effects caused by other planets that might be lurking nearby修饰主语。在该过去分词短语中，主干结构是distinguish A from B, or from C。其中，A是the signal they produce during a transit，定语从句they produce during a transit修饰signal；B是any fluctuations in the light of the star being transited，过去分词（进行时态）being transited修饰star；C是from gravitational effects caused by other planets that might be lurking nearby，过去分词短语caused by other planets that might be lurking nearby修饰gravitational effects，that引导的定语从句that might be lurking nearby修饰planets

14、If Dr Kipping’s approach does not come up with the goods, though, moon-hunters need not despair.
难点：approach的理解与翻译，come up with the goods的理解与翻译

15、Unlike Kepler, which stares fixedly at a single patch of space, TESS would survey the whole sky.
难点：stares fixedly at a single patch of space的理解与翻译，survey的翻译

16、Crucially, the stars it is intended to examine are much closer—and which therefore appear brighter—than those Kepler is looking at.
难点：the stars are much closer的理解与翻译

17、A couple of years after that the European Space Agency plans to launch a telescope of its own, the awkwardly acronymed PLATO (PLAnetary Transits and Oscillations of stars).
难点：awkwardly的理解与翻译（此处建议不译），句子结构
句子结构：a couple of years after that作时间状语，that是代词

18、There is also a sliver of hope that the biggest space telescope of them all—the enormous, exquisitely sensitive, massively over-budget and very late James Webb Space Telescope, now due for launch (so it is claimed) in 2018—could give astronomers the opportunity to take pictures of exomoons directly.
难点：sliver of的理解

19、These tidal forces knead the inside of the moon, and the resulting friction generates heat.
难点：knead的理解与翻译

20、The volcanoes of Io, Jupiter’s third-largest moon, are powered this way.
难点：power的理解与翻译

21、Dr Peters and Dr Turner propose to look for a sort of “super-Io”.
难点：sort of的翻译

22、They have calculated that if a large-enough moon was orbiting close enough to a planet sufficiently distant from its star for the signal not to be drowned out by the starlight, it would give off enough infra-red heat to be visible from Earth—if it were close enough.
难点：drown out的理解，句子结构
句子结构：it would give off enough infra-red heat to be visible from Earth是主句。if a large-enough moon was orbiting close enough to a planet sufficiently distant from its star for the signal not to be drowned out by the starlight是条件状语从句。在该条件状语从句中，形容词短语sufficiently distant from its star作planet的后置定语，介宾短语for the signal not to be drowned out by the starlight作原因状语。在该介宾短语中，不定式短语not to be drowned out by the starlight（表情态上的将来）作the signal的定语。if it were close enough是条件状语从句，it指代moon

23、But you have to speculate to accumulate.
难点：句意在语境中的理解与翻译

24、And the prize in the accumulator may be a big one, for in the search for bodies other than Earth that might play host to life, exomoons are not a bad bet.
难点：句子结构
句子结构：for in the search for bodies other than Earth that might play host to life, exomoons are not a bad bet是for引导的原因状语从句。其中，介宾短语in the search for bodies other than Earth that might play host to life表时间或方式。在该介宾短语中，that引导的定语从句that might play host to life修饰bodies

25、With only one example to go from, it is hard to be sure what conditions really favour the development of life.
难点：favour的翻译

26、That one example does, however, suggest that something which is rocky, possesses an atmosphere and lies within the “habitable zone” of its star—ie, is warm enough to keep any water liquid—is a good place to start looking.
难点：句子结构
句子结构：主语something，系表结构is a good place to start looking，which引导的定语从句which is rocky, possesses an atmosphere and lies within the “habitable zone” of its star修饰something。在该定语从句中，is rocky、possesses an atmosphere、lies within the “habitable zone” of its star是and连接的并列动宾结构（共用逻辑主语something）。插入语ie, is warm enough to keep any water liquid的主语是habitable zone

27、There are likely to be more of them, for one thing (the solar system of which Earth is part certainly has many more moons than planets).
难点：them的指代（指代moons），句子结构
句子结构：介宾结构for one thing (the solar system of which Earth is part certainly has many more moons than planets)表对象或范围，其中one thing补全为one thing of them。(the solar system of which Earth is part certainly has many more moons than planets)作one thing的同位语。在该同位语中，主语the solar system，动宾结构certainly has many more moons than planets，of which引导的定语从句of which Earth is part修饰主语（Earth is part of the solar system）

28、And though comparative solar-systemology is a pretty young science, there are suggestions that such systems are chaotic places in their youth, with gas-giant planets forming and then migrating in towards their stars, scattering any small, rocky planets that are in the way into more distant orbits or even out of the system altogether.
难点：migrating in towards their stars的理解与翻译，in the way的理解（补全后为in the way of planets' forming and migrating in towards their stars），altogether的理解，句子结构
句子结构：主系表结构there are suggestions，that引导的同位语从句that such systems are chaotic places in their youth, with gas-giant planets forming and then migrating in towards their stars, scattering any small, rocky planets that are in the way into more distant orbits or even out of the system altogether修饰suggestions。在该同位语从句中，主系表结构such systems are chaotic places in their youth，with gas-giant planets forming and then migrating in towards their stars, scattering any small, rocky planets that are in the way into more distant orbits or even out of the system altogether是with引导的伴随状语。在该伴随状语中，名词短语gas-giant planets作逻辑主语，动名词短语forming and then migrating in towards their stars, scattering any small, rocky planets that are in the way into more distant orbits or even out of the system altogether作逻辑动宾结构。forming和migrating in towards their stars, scattering any small, rocky planets that are in the way into more distant orbits or even out of the system altogether是and then连接的两个并列动宾结构（共用主语gas-giant planets），表示时间上的先后。在第二并列结构中，migrating in towards their stars和scattering any small, rocky planets that are in the way into more distant orbits or even out of the system altogether是并列动宾结构（共用主语gas-giant planets）。在第二并列结构中，that引导的定语从句that are in the way into more distant orbits or even out of the system altogether修饰any small, rocky planets。在该定语从句中，in the way作地点状语或方式状语，are into more distant orbits or even out of the system altogether是系表结构。在该系表结构中，into more distant orbits和even out of the system altogether是or连接的并列介宾短语

29、The moons of gas giants, being tightly bound by their planets’ gravity, would be less susceptible to such early exits.
难点：less susceptible的理解与翻译，such early exits指代（指代into more distant orbits or even out of the system altogether），句子结构
句子结构：过去分词短语（进行时态）being tightly bound by their planets’ gravity修饰主语

30、For all these reasons, then, the search for exomoons seems a worthwhile enterprise.
难点：enterprise的理解与翻译

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Palaeontology: Four wings, good. Two wings, better (Nov 10th 2012)

译文见303楼

1、IT IS tempting to think of the process of evolution as one of continuous, stately progress towards better-designed organisms.
难点：stately的理解与翻译

2、In fact, it is full of blind alleys—as a fossil called Microraptor shows.
难点：blind alley的理解与翻译

3、But in one line of these dinosaurs evolution modified them for precisely that purpose.
难点：line的理解

4、Feathered dinosaurs did not go away just because they had spun off the birds, though.
难点：spin off的理解与翻译，句意在语境中的理解（原因状语从句修饰go away，而不是修饰主句）

5、Except that this time, the flying animal in question had four wings, rather than two.
难点：that的指代（指代modification ）

6、Until recently, there were two schools of thought about how Microraptor carried its wings when in flight.
难点：school的理解与翻译

7、They see a division of labour between the two sets of wings.
难点：division of labout的理解

8、That makes sense.
难点：句意在语境中的理解

9、The rocks Microraptor fossils are found in are also full of trees.
难点：句子结构
句子结构：Microraptor fossils are found in是定语从句，修饰主语the rocks

10、Modern birds do not pay the drag tax because their manoeuvrability results from a single pair of wings that are better able to cope with stress than Microraptor’s forewings were.
难点：pay the drag tax的理解与翻译

!感-杠-问?

Lexington: Taking the fight outside (Nov 17th 2012)

译文见317、318楼

1、Surprisingly often, an American president can act only by appealing to the self-interest of others.
难点：appeal的理解

2、Sharing power with a Congress whose members he does not recruit or dismiss, and perched atop a political party that he does not control, America’s president is as much bargainer-in-chief as chief executive.
难点：as much bargainer-in-chief as chief executive的理解与翻译

3、It is a perch from which to cajole, more than a place for issuing orders.
难点：a perch from which to cajole, more than a place for issuing orders的理解与翻译

4、A big bet underpinning his second term involves persuading (some) Republicans that their self-interest lies in helping him govern, after years of obstruction.
难点：bet的理解与翻译

5、The president has cited areas in which bargains may be possible, though “messy”.
难点：messy修饰对象的判断（"areas" or "bargains"? Personally, I prefer the former.）

6、One involves what he calls a balanced deficit-reduction deal, involving spending cuts but heavier taxation of the wealthy.
难点：balanced deficit-reduction的理解与翻译，but的理解

7、After Mitt Romney’s dire showing with Hispanic voters, Mr Obama also argues that Republicans have a “deep interest” in immigration reform.
难点：dire showing的理解与翻译，interest的理解与翻译

8、For months Obama advisers have argued that his big first-term blunder was trying to reason with congressional Republicans behind closed doors.
难点：reason的理解与翻译，behind closed doors的理解

9、Democrats in Congress suggest that a second-term goal should be to pick fights that split moderate Republicans from hardliners.
难点：pick fights的理解与翻译

10、To that end, he will head outside Washington, making his case to voters, pressure groups and business leaders until public opinion makes opponents see sense.
难点：to that end的理解，head的理解与翻译，see sense的理解与翻译

11、Three days later, Mr Obama stood in the White House—a campaign-worthy backdrop of multi-ethnic, multi-generational voters behind him—and declared that most Americans wanted Congress to agree a deal and avert a year-end budget crisis.
难点：stand的翻译，campaign-worthy backdrop的理解与翻译

12、Waving the pen with which he would sign that deal, Mr Obama insisted that voters had said “loud and clear” that they would not tolerate political dysfunction.
难点：political dysfunction的理解与翻译

13、Aides briefed that Mr Obama’s formidable campaign machine from 2012 is not being dismantled, but will be left to hum and whirr in case his grassroots need summoning.
难点：hum and whirr的理解与翻译，need doing的理解

14、Televised appeals to the nation helped Ronald Reagan prod a Democratic-controlled Congress into agreeing historic tax cuts.
难点：句子结构
句子结构：过去分词短语televised作形容词修饰appeals

15、More than a decade on, public opinion helped Bill Clinton balance the budget with Republican help: conservatives were on the back foot after Mr Clinton convinced voters that congressional Republicans had overreached by shutting down the federal government in an earlier stand-off.
难点：with Republican help的翻译，on the back foot的理解与翻译，shut down的理解与翻译，stand-off的理解与翻译

16、After Mr Clinton’s presidency was soured by scandals and sidetracked by a failed health-care reform, he was mocked for taking to the road to pitch footling policies about school uniforms and teen curfews.
难点：sour的理解与翻译，sidetrack的理解与翻译，footling的理解与翻译

17、In contrast George W. Bush began his second term with an over-ambitious campaign to sell partial Social Security privatisation to the country.
难点：in contrast的理解与翻译（转折点在于：克林顿的政策有集体主义色彩，而小布什的则是私有化倾向），sell的翻译

18、A shrewd scholar of presidential power, Richard Neustadt, spent years pondering the conditions that a president must fulfil to mount the bully pulpit and prosper.
难点：shrewd的翻译，conditions在语境中理解与翻译，句子结构
句子结构：conditions在定语从句中充当fulfil的宾语

19、The policy at stake must merit his personal intervention.
难点：句意在语境中的理解与翻译

20、Judged by those stern rules, Mr Obama’s path to success is narrow.
难点：stern rules的翻译，path to success is narrow的翻译

21、On many fronts, the country is split down the middle.
难点：on many fronts的理解，split down the middle的理解与翻译

22、It is not very relevant if Mr Obama’s half of the country cheers him on (indeed it may stiffen Republican spines).
难点：第一个it的指代（形式主语），relevant的省略（补全后为relevant to meet the second condition），第二个it的指代（指代Mr Obama’s half of the country cheers him on）

23、Public appeals serve Mr Obama if they make Republicans fear losing independent and moderate voters in sufficient numbers to put their seats at risk, starting with 2014’s mid-term elections.
难点：serve的理解，independent and moderate voters的理解，seats的理解

24、Crudely, the game is to find the rare issues that enjoy majority backing in a country split 50-50.
难点：crudely的理解，the game的翻译，back的理解

25、Only then will Republican self-interest kick in.
难点：kick in的理解与翻译

26、Immigration may be another issue ready to outgrow existing partisan boundaries.
难点：outgrow的理解与翻译

27、That leaves the Machiavelli test.
难点：leave的翻译

28、In his first term Mr Obama was cool with congressional allies and chilly with foes.
难点：cool的理解

29、By instinct, he might prefer to stay aloof.
难点：aloof的理解与翻译

!感-杠-问?

Charlemagne: Europe’s British problem (Nov 17th 2012)

由于时间原因，译文没空修改了。句子翻译会给出我自己的理解。

1、Hardly a conversation passes in Brussels without somebody asking.
难点：句意在语境中的理解
分析：hardly表否定，without表否定。本句是双重否定，但不宜译为肯定，因为hardly并非绝对否定，而是部分否定。

2、In many ways, the British have only ever been half-in; they are not part of the euro or the Schengen passport-free travel zone.
难点：half-in的理解与翻译
分析：half-是前缀，介词in表示“在欧洲内部”，有“一个脚在欧洲内，一个脚在欧洲外”的意思

3、The prime minister, David Cameron, says that he wants to stay in the EU and its single market (and one day to renegotiate Britain’s membership).
难点：its的指代（指代EU）

4、Another is Mr Cameron’s threat to veto the EU’s next budget unless it is frozen.
难点：freeze的理解与翻译
分析：译为“冻结”显然不符合语境。此处建议译为“预算规模得到控制”

5、Most worrying is the drumroll of Eurosceptic MPs seeking an in-or-out referendum.
难点：drumroll的理解与翻译
分析：of Eurosceptic MPs seeking an in-or-out referendum是充当同位语的定语成分，介词of宾语是一个动名词短语，有主谓逻辑关系。而drumroll指代是整个动名词短语，而不是其逻辑主语。此处drumroll建议以“预期”表达其意义

6、This creates a dangerous cocktail of resentment and unpredictability, and raises the prospect that Britain could find itself outside the EU by error if not by design.
难点：cocktail的理解
分析：此处cocktail有混合物的意思，建议以“既……又……”等并列结构翻译

7、But they may not have that luxury.
难点：句意在语境中的理解
分析：have在这里有enjoy的意思，luxury指代the future of the EU

8、But under pressure from MPs for a cut, Mr Cameron’s opening bid may now be his maximum concession.
难点：opening bid的理解与翻译
分析：opening表示开放的、面向大众的、透明的，bid原意是拍卖的叫价，这里指对预算规模的决策过程

9、A prolonged stalemate could see the EU budget being rolled over yearly.
难点：roll的理解的翻译
分析：此处roll有滚雪球的意思

10、Or perhaps the euro will survive, and use its combined weight to push the British around.
难点：push around的理解与翻译

11、Still it is hard to see the British, awkward as they are, completely outside the EU.
难点：句子结构
句子结构：awkward as they are是as引导的让步状语从句（倒装）

12、Even friends in northern liberal countries think Britain goes too far in trying to create an à la carte membership.
难点：à la carte的理解与翻译
分析：原意是指菜单上的菜，这里相当于... in a list的意思

13、Most important, most leaders think resolving the euro crisis must take priority over British demands—and they resent Britain’s attempts to exploit the euro crisis for its own ends.
难点：for one's own ends的理解
分析：end本意表示“端”，此处有interests / considerations / sake的意思