2016考研英语：长难句解析系列—2010年阅读Text3

考研英语来源：中国考研网 2015-04-16　

本文选自2007年2月Harvard Business Review上一篇名为The Accidental Influentials的文章，主要讨论了影响社会流行潮的主要因素：人们普遍认为社会流行潮的出现主要是由少数有影响力的名人推动的，但新研究表明其关键因素却是大部分的直接受影响者能够积极有效地参与传播过程。全文中在长难句方面，难度居中。作为2010年考研英语试卷的第三篇阅读，句子难度必然会较前面题型有所提升，尤其是后半部分难度增加，再加上文中的一些难词，这必然会给考生造成理解上的障碍，以致最终影响做题得分。下面就其中的典型例句进行分析：

【典型例句1】：In their recent work, however, some researchers have come up with the finding that influentials have far less impact on social epidemics than is generally supposed.

【例句解析】：本句中主干成分为some researchers have come up with the finding。that influentials have far less impact on social epidemics than is generally supposed是同位语从句，解释说明finding;而从句中又含有一个than引导的比较状语从句，采用省略主语的结构。

【难点点拨】：influential：有影响力的人;social epidemic：社会流行潮

【例句释义】：然而，在近期研究中，一些研究者已经发现：有影响力的人对于社会流行潮的影响要比通常认为的小得多。

【典型例句2】：Yet it is precisely these noncelebrity influentials who, according to the two-step-flow theory, are supposed to drive social epidemics, by influencing their friends and colleagues directly.

【例句解析】：本句包含一个强调句型，即it is precisely…..who…..，用来强调主语，句子主干成分为these noncelebrity influentials are supposed to drive social epidemics。by influencing their friends and colleagues directly是介词短语作方式状语，修饰主干。

【难点点拨】：noncelebrity：非知名的;two-step-flow theory：两级传播理论

【例句释义】：然而，根据两级传播理论，恰恰是这些非知名但有影响力的人士通过直接影响他们的朋友和同事而推动了社会流行潮。

【典型例句3】：If people in the network just two degrees removed from the initial influential prove resistant, for example, the cascade of change won’t propagate very far or affect many people.

【例句解析】：本句主句为the cascade of change won’t propagate very far or affect many people。If people in the network just two degrees removed from the initial influential prove resistant是由if引导的条件状语从句，其中in the network是介词短语作后置定语修饰people;just two degrees removed from the initial influential是过去分词短语作后置定语修饰people。

【难点点拨】：cascade：瀑布

【例句释义】：例如，如果网络中距离最初的有影响力人士两个层级的人们有所抵制，那么这变化的瀑布流就不会传播得很远亦或影响许多人。

【典型例句4】：Building on the basic truth about interpersonal influence, the researchers studied the dynamics of social influence by conducting thousands of computer simulations of populations, manipulating a number of variables relating to people’s ability to influence others and their tendency to be influenced.

【例句解析】：本句主干为the researchers studied the dynamics of social influence。Building on the basic truth about interpersonal influence是现在分词短语作方式状语，修饰主干。by conducting thousands of computer simulations of populations, manipulating a number of variables relating to people’s ability to influence others and their tendency to be influenced是介词短语作方式状语修饰主干;此外，其中 manipulating a number of variables relating to people’s ability to influence others and their tendency to be influenced又是现在分词短语作伴随状语修饰前面的conducting thousands of computer simulations of populations;此部分中，relating to people’s ability to influence others and their tendency to be influenced又是作后置定语修饰variables，and连接并列的ability和tendency。

【难点点拨】：dynamic：动力;computer simulation：计算机模拟;manipulate：操作;variable：变量

【例句释义】：基于人际间影响的基本事实，研究者通过对人们进行诸多的计算机模拟、操控一系列与人们影响他人的能力以及被他人影响的倾向相关的变量，对人际间影响进行了动态分析。

【典型例句5】：They found that the principal requirement for what is called “global cascades”—the widespread propagation of influence through networks—is the presence not of a few influentials but, rather, of a critical mass of easily influenced people.

【例句解析】：本句主干为They found that the principal requirement is the presence，包含一个that引导的宾语从句。for what is called “global cascades”—the widespread propagation of influence through networks—是介词短语作后置定语修饰the principal requirement，其中what is called “global cascades”是宾语从句，位于介词for之后;the widespread propagation of influence through networks是同位语，解释说明“global cascades” 。not of a few influentials but, rather, of a critical mass of easily influenced people是由but连接的两个并列的介词短语，都作后置定语修饰presence。

【难点点拨】：global cascades：全局瀑布流propagation：传播

【例句释义】：他们发现：所谓的“全局瀑布流”——影响通过网络而进行的广泛传播——形成所需的主要条件并不是少数有影响力人士的存在，而是很大一批易受影响人们的参与。

总之，由于本文中对于宾语从句、后置定语、被动语态、状语从句等知识点考查较多，尤其是状语部分，因此对此大家课下需要多多复习。此外，如果时间充足的话，可以多读一些外国核心期刊文章，如《经济学人》、《哈佛商业评论》等，积累英语国家新闻中常用到的表达。