长难句精读丨Vol.02-考研真题实例句子解读

What motivated him, we were to understand, was his zeal for "fundamental fairness"---protecting the taxpayer, controlling spending and ensuring that only the most deserving claimants received their benefits.

主句：What motivated him was his zeal for "fundamental fairness"

插入语：we were to understand

同位句：protecting the taxpayer, controlling spending and ensuring that only the most deserving claimants received their benefits

①本句是主从复合句，What motivated him was his zeal for "fundamental fairness"为这是一个“主语从句＋系动词＋表语”的主系表结构。主语：What motivated him（什么驱动了他），这是一个由 what 引导的主语从句，在句中充当名词性成分，系动词:was，表语:his zeal for "fundamental fairness"（他对“根本公平”的热情），这是全句的核心论断，提出中心论点。

翻译：他这样做是出于对“基本公平”的热忱。

②插入语we were to understand，嵌套于主语与谓语之间，前后用逗号分隔，主语：we，复合谓语：were to understand，were to表示“应当”“需要”的义务含义，understand为不定式的主动态。

翻译：但我们要明白。

③同位语protecting the taxpayer, controlling spending and ensuring that only the most deserving claimants received their benefits.三个动名词短语的平行排列protecting the taxpayer（及物动词+定冠词宾语)，controlling spending（及物动词+无冠词宾语），ensuring...（及物动词+宾语从句），that引导的宾语从句：主语：only the most deserving claimants，谓语：received，宾语：their benefits。

翻译：保护纳税人，控制财政支出，并确保只有那些最需要资助的申请者才能领到救济金。

语法成分：What motivated him, we were to understand, was his zeal for "fundamental fairness"---protecting the taxpayer, controlling spending and ensuring that only the most deserving claimants received their benefits.

主语：What motivated him

插入语：we were to understand

谓语: was

表语：his zeal for "fundamental fairness"

同位语：protecting the taxpayer, controlling spending and ensuring that only the most deserving claimants received their benefits

【翻译】：但我们要明白，他这样做是出于对“基本公平”的热忱—保护纳税人，控制财政支出，并确保只有那些最需要资助的申请者才能领到救济金。

Even the very phrase "jobseeker's allowance" is about redefining the unemployed as a "jobseeker" who had no fundamental right to benefit he or she has earned through making national insurance contributions.

本文节选自2013年6月23日的《卫报》（The Guardian），原文题目《英国议会在语言和行为上出现新的野蛮主义》（In Language and Action, There's a New Brutalism in Westminster）。本文开篇指出，英国财政大臣提出的一项名为“预求职”的计划，第二段介绍了该计划的具体措施和目的，即减少人们对救济金的依赖，积极地寻找工作，但作者对该计划的理念表示质疑。第三段和第四段作者阐述了质疑的原因并提出了自己的观点：这项看似合理且公正的计划并非意在帮助失业者，而是在保护纳税人，它背离了福利制度的原则。