长难句插入结构５
长难句插入结构练习。
Exercise
Dying patients especially—who are easiest to mislead and most often kept in the dark—can then not make decisions about the end of life: about whether or not they should enter a hospital, or to have surgery; about where and with whom they should spend their remaining time; about how they should bring their affairs to a close and take leave.
Computer crime, a phrase denoting illegal and surreptitious attempts to invade data banks in order to steal or modify records, or to release over computer networks software called a virus that corrupts data and programs, has grown at an alarming rate since the development of computer communications.
Hence, though the normal child masters some 80,000 words in sixteen years — about fourteen per day— little of this learning takes place in school.
要点分析和参考译文
要点：要点该句中破折号内得成分是插入语。介词about 之后三个分别由“whether or not”“where and with whom”“how”引起得从句做其宾语。动词短语to bring to a close意为“to cause to come to an end”; “to take leave”意为“say goodbye to sb.”
参考译文：特别是濒临死亡的病人——他们最容易受骗，也最会被蒙在鼓里——从而不能做出临终前的有关抉择：是否要住院，是否要进行手术，在何处与何人度过剩下的一点时光，以及如何处理完自己的事后再告别人世。
要点：本句的主句是“Computer crime grams, has grown at an alarming rate……”逗号之间的插入结构“a phrase……programs”是主句主语“Computer crime”的同位语。
参考译文：随着计算机通信的迅速发展，计算机犯罪以令人震惊的速度增长。计算机犯罪这个术语指的是用非法的，秘密的手段入侵数据库，以便偷取或修改数据库资料，或是在计算机网络中散布病毒软件，这些病毒能毁坏数据和程序。
要点：hence，就这样，副词表示结果。Though引导让步状语从句，从句的主语为the normal child, 谓语为master, about fourteen per day为插入语，起补充说明的作用，主句的主语为little of this learning; 主句的谓语是takes place
参考译文：这样，尽管正常的孩子在16年里能掌握大约8万个单词，大约一天学14个，但只有很少一部分是在学校里学来得。
