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They found that the principal requirement for what is called “global cascades”—the widespread propagation of influence through network—is the presence not of a few influentials but, rather, of a critical mass of easily influenced people.
劈树:本句共包含三个谓语成份:“found”,“is called”,“is”,可以将本句切分为三个独立的小分句。
第一分句为:They found;
第二分句为:that the principal requirement for …is the presence not of a few influentials but, rather, of a critical mass of easily influenced people;
第三分句为:what is called “global cascades”—the widespread propagation of influence through network—;
造竹:第一分句为主句;第二分句为“found”的宾语从句;第三分句为“for”的宾语从句。
各分句中难词(词组)及在句中的含义:
principal (最重要的)
cascades (倾泻,潮流)
propagation (传播)
presence (存在)
influentials (影响者,具有影响力的人)
critical (关键的)
mass (大众)
第一分句:They found;
“They found”为主谓结构,翻译为“他们发现”;
第二分句:that the principal requirement for …is the presence not of a few influentials but, rather, of a critical mass of easily influenced people;
“the principal requirement”含义为“最重要的条件”;
“the principal requirement for …”翻译为“对于…而言最重要的条件”;
“the presence not of a few influentials but, rather, of a critical mass of easily influenced people”是本句难度的核心;
“rather”是副词状语,作插入语,含义为“而是”,在句中同“but”的含义重叠,在汉语译文中体现不出来;
“the presence not of a few influentials but of a critical mass of easily influenced people”是由两个语言结构组合而成,一个是“A of B”结构,另一个是“not…but…”结构,本句为“A not of B but of C”,“A”为“the presence”,“B”为“a few influentials”,“C”为“a critical mass of easily influenced people”;
“A not of B but of C”含义为“不是B的A,而是C的A”;
“the presence not of a few influentials but of a critical mass of easily influenced people”可以翻译为“不是少数具有影响力的人的存在,而是关键的容易被影响的大众的存在”;
注意:英语习惯使用名词,汉语习惯使用动词,所以“….的存在”可以按照汉语习惯翻译为“存在…”
“the presence not of a few influentials but of a critical mass of easily influenced people”就可以翻译为“不是存在少数具有影响力的人,而是存在关键的容易被影响的大众”;
第三分句:what is called “global cascades”—the widespread propagation of influence through network—;
“what is called”含义为“人们所说的”;
“global cascades”可以翻译为“全球化潮流”;
“—the widespread propagation of influence through network—”是双破折号中的插入语,解释说明“global cascades”;
“the widespread propagation of influence through network”中“widespread”为“广泛传播的”的含义,“propagation”也为“传播”的含义,翻译成汉语句子时可以省略一个“传播”,译为“通过网络广泛传播的影响力”;
第一分句翻译为:他们发现;
第二分句翻译为:对于…而言最重要的条件不是少数具有影响力的人的存在,而是关键的容易被影响的大众的存在;
或翻译为:对于…而言最重要的条件不是存在少数具有影响力的人,而是存在关键的容易被影响的大众;
第三分句翻译为:人们所说的“全球化潮流”——通过网络广泛传播的影响力——;
原文回顾:They found that the principal requirement for what is called “global cascades”—the widespread propagation of influence through network—is the presence not of a few influentials but, rather, of a critical mass of easily influenced people.
全句翻译为:他们发现对于人们所说的“全球化潮流”——通过网络广泛传播的影响力——而言最重要的条件不是少数具有影响力的人的存在,而是关键的容易被影响的大众的存在;
或翻译为:他们发现对于人们所说的“全球化潮流”——通过网络广泛传播的影响力——而言最重要的条件不是存在少数具有影响力的人,而是存在关键的容易被影响的大众;
句式结构考点:宾语从句,插入语,“A not of B but of C”结构;
难度级别: