新概念难句解析
1.The only way that they can preserve their history is to recount it assagas--legends handed down from one generation of story-tellers toanother.解读:legends作sagas的同位语,后接被动分词短语做定语。基本结构：主＋定＋谓＋宾＋同位。翻译:他们保存历史的唯一方法是把历史作为英雄故事讲述--由说书者代代相传。
2.Onecan tell the difference almost at a glance for the spider always has eight legsand an insect never more than six.解读:主谓宾+原因状语（省略句）an insect never more than six应该理解为昆虫只有六条腿而不是昆虫绝不多于六条腿,全句翻译如下:翻译:谁都可以一眼就看出蜘蛛与昆虫不同,蜘蛛都是八条腿,而昆虫最多只有六条。
3.Such inns as there were dirty and flea-ridden; the food simply local cheeseaccompanied by bread often twelve months old, all washed down with coarsewine.解读:第二个分句中,simply是副词，意为“食物只有.......”，而accompanied含被动意思，说明人们把陈面包和乳酪搭配着吃，并不是乳酪自己同面包相配。第二句作者把谓语省略了。翻译：那里的小旅店通常又肮脏，跳蚤又多．吃的食物仅仅是当地产的乳酪加上存放了一年之久的面包，大家只能就着下等酒把它们吞下去．
4.Thegorilla is something of a paradox in the Africanscene.解读：这里的paradox并不是说猩猩是自相矛盾的动物，而是指人们对其捉摸不透。翻译：大猩猩是非洲景观中有点让人捉摸不透的家伙。
5.Allthis and many other things remain almost as much a mystery as they were whenthe French explorer Du Chaillu first described the animal to the civilizedworld a centuryago.解读:句子是一个比较复杂的主从复合长句，应该采用分句法，逆序法来译，先将when引导的状语从句译，再译出主句。翻译：100年前法国探险家Du Chaillu第一次向文明世界叙述过这种动物，如今这一切和其他许多事情几乎像100年前一样，仍然是个谜。
6.Iwould have been very pleased to be regarded as something so interesting as aproblem. For one thing, being a problem gives you a certain identity, and thatis one of the things the young are busily engaged inseeking.解读:identity指的是与众不同的个性，不是指身份翻译：假如有人认为我是一个麻烦的话，我一定会感到十分得意。至少，被人看成问题会使别人在某种程度上认识我是谁。这点正是年轻人所热衷追求的事情之一。
7.Onthe village green, where you pick up sides and no feeling of local patriotismis involved, it is possible to play simply for the fun andexercise.解读：localpatriotism是热爱本乡本土之心，注意不要理解成地方主义（localism）翻译：当你在乡村的草坪上比赛时，随意分为两边，并不存在热不热爱本地区的问题，只有这个时候才有可能为了娱乐和锻炼而进行比赛。
8.Intextile areas it has long been customary for mothers to go out to work, butthis practice has become so widespread that the working mother is now a notunusual factor in a child"s home life, the number of married women inemployment having more than doubled in the last twenty-fiveyears.解读：作为一个复合句，原文包含三个意思，主要应当注意几个动词的不同时态，从而分清楚三层意思之间的关系。翻译：虽然在那些纺织工业区，母亲出去上班早已司空见惯，但是现在这种现象更为普遍，如今儿童的家庭生活中，母亲去上班已经是习以为常的事情了。因为在最近二十五年中，已婚妇女就业的人数已经增加了一倍多。
9.It is unusual now for father to pursue his trade or other employment at home,and his children rarely, if ever, see him at his place ofwork.翻译：现在做父亲的一般都不在家里干本行活计或者其他行当，而他的孩子们即便有可能的话，也很少能在他的工作场所见到他。
10.Everyone knows that if he shouts in the vicinity of a wall or a mountainside,an echo will come back.翻译：大家都知道，假如一个人在墙壁附近或是山腰里大声呼喊，就会产生一个回音。
11.In our new society there is a growing dislike of original, creative men. Themanipulated do not understand them; the manipulators fear them. The tidycommittee men regard them with horror, knowing that no pigeonholes can be foundfor them.解读:主要考虑"tidy"的讽刺语气。翻译:在现代社会里，人们对开拓型的有创造力的人有一种与日俱增的厌恶情绪。受人摆布的人不理解他们，摆布别人的人害怕他们。衣冠楚楚的委员们知道不可能使他们就范，因此怀着恐惧的心理看待他们。
12.These days, it is differences in national regulations, far more than tariffs,that put sand in the wheels of trade between rich countries. 解读:强调句型，put sand in the wheels v.妨碍,捣乱翻译:当前，是各国管理条例上的差异，而不是关税阻碍了发达国家之间的贸易。
13.Asit happens, a razor that is safe in Europe is unlikely to electrocuteAmericans. So, ask businesses on both sides of the Atlantic, why have two lotsof tests where one woulddo?解读:So......?为直接引语的一种表述方法。翻译:实际上，在欧洲使用安全的剃须刀不大可能使美国人触电身亡，因此，大西洋两岸的企业都在问，当一套测试可以解决问题时，为什么需要两套呢？
14.TheAmericans would happily reach one accord on standards for medical devices andthen hammer out different pacts covering, say, electronic goods and drugmanufacturing.解读:hammer out指经过不断的或艰苦的努力达到，实现；say＝for example翻译:美国人很愿意就医疗器械的标准达成一个协议，然后推敲出不同的合同，用以涵盖 -- 比如说 -- 电子产品和药品的生产。
15.Theylived well, on the proceeds of raids on neighbouring regions. There theycollected women as well as food and drink, and a life of ease had made themsoft.解读:proceeds:某种活动的收入翻译:他们靠掠夺附近的地区的财物过着舒适的生活。他们不仅搜刮吃的喝的，而且抢掠妇女，安逸的生活已使他们（丹麦军队）变得软弱无力。a life of easehad made them soft. 生于忧患，“死于安乐”。
16.Asthe time and cost of making a chip drop to a few days and a few hundreddollars, engineers may soon be free to let their imaginations soar withoutbeing penalized by expensivefailures.解读:chip:芯片翻译:由于制造一块芯片的时间已缩短至几天，费用也只有几百美元，因此，工程技术人员可能很块就可充分发挥他们的想像力，而不会因失败而造成经济上的损失。
17.Meadpredicts that inventors will be able to perfect powerful customized chips overa weekend at the office -- spawning a new generation of garage start-ups andgiving the U.S. a jump on its foreign rivals in getting new products to marketfast.解读:perfect：使完美，生产出完美的...spawing到最后为结果状语。garage start-ups:车库起家者，戴尔？翻译:米德预言发明者可以在办公室用一个周末的时间生产了完美的、功能很强的、按客户需求设计的芯片 --造就新一代从汽车间起家的技术人员，在把产品推向市场方面使美国把它的外国对手们打个措手不及。
18.Asthe heads of next-generation start-ups, these Asian innovators can draw oncustoms and languages to forge tighter links with crucial Pacific Rim markets.解读:draw on 利用 rim边缘翻译:作为新掘起一代的带头人，亚裔发明家可以凭借他们在习惯和语言上的优势，与关键的太平洋沿岸市场建立起更加牢固的联系。