（二）句型结构

1. The answer, we decided, was to undertake our journey not just as tourists on a holiday, but as reporters on the trail of "the real west".

我们决定，答案是不把我们的旅行仅仅当作假日游玩，而是还把自己看作记者去追踪报道"真正的西部"。
（1）这句话是不定式做表语，即 be to do sth. 的句型；was to do 是过去将来时，表示曾在过去预计发生，并且发生了的事。
例：I was to see Mr Smith the next day, but the appointment had been cancelled. 第二天我本来要去看史密斯先生的，但约会突然被取消了。
（2）在不定式表语中，有not just as… but as… 不仅仅是作为……而且作为……
例：In fact, she served not just as a wife but as a servant in the family. 实际上，她在家不仅仅起一个妻子的作用，还起到一个仆人的作用。
He attended the meeting not just as a host but as a speaker. 他不仅仅作为会议的主持者，而且作为发言者参加了会议。
比较：not…but… 不是……而是……
例：The boy claimed that girl was not his girlfriend but a girl friend. 男孩宣称那个女孩不是他的女朋友，而是他的一个女性朋友而已。
He did not go to the cinema, but continued his work. 他没有去看电影，而是继续工作。

2. Some of the troubles we saw were every bit as bad as I had dreaded. But by and large, the country was as glorious, as vast and as overwhelmingly spectacular as those know-nothing kids had expected.

我们见到的一些问题的确像我们当初所担心的那样糟糕。但总体说来，我们的河山还是像那些一无所知的孩子所期望的那样辉煌，壮阔，气势磅礴！
（1）两句话中都用了as…as…句型，第二句中出现了四个as，中间两个可以省略，没有省，是为了突出一种气势。as…as… 可连接形容词，副词或比较关系列化从句，意义"像……一样"，是同级比较。例：
Jane is as intelligent as Peter. 简和彼得一样聪明。
He works as hard as his brother. 他和他哥哥一样用功。
You have made as many mistakes as I have. 你犯的错误和我犯的一样多。
（2）know-nothing 是带有连字符的词组作定语，这类词语在本课还有：coal-burning power plants 烧煤的电厂 5,200-mile journey 五千二百英里的旅行 white-haired folks 白发苍苍的老人们 worn-out windmill 破旧的风车 sweet-smelling shrubs 气味芬芳的灌木丛 wide-open grassland 广阔的草原 hard-used land 过度使用的土地

3. It is true that many new homes are rising in many old cornfields. But for the most part, life in vast areas of the American heartland remains pretty much the same as it was 30 and 40 years ago.

诚然，在许多从前的玉米地里正在盖起新的房屋。但大体上看来，美国中心地带广大地区的生活与三四十年前相比，几乎依然如旧。
（1）It's true that… 中it 是形式主语，that引导的从句是真正的主语。it常用作形式主语，而用后面的动词不定式或从句来做真正的主语。
例：It is obvious that money doesn't grow on trees. 显而易见，金钱是不会从树上长出来的。
It is likely that he will sign the contract. 他很有可能会签合同。
It is impossible not to offend Mrs Brown. 要不冒犯布朗夫人是不可能。
（2）the same as… 与……一样，后面可接名词或从句。
His car cost the same as mine. 他的车子跟我的车子价格一样。
She spent the same money on clothes as I spent on books. 她花在衣服上的钱与花在书上一样多。
比较：the same with… 也是这样，承上文所说的情况，表示也如此。
Butterflies come from caterpillars. It's the same with moths. 蝴蝶由毛虫演变而来。飞蛾也是一样。（即飞蛾也是这么变来的）。

4. The Big Horn canyons were incredible, with four and five distinct layers of pine tress somehow clinging to the steep, rocky walls.

大霍恩峡谷的陡峭石壁上长着松树，它们有四、五个清晰可辨的层次，像粘附在岩石上似的，这简直不可思议。
with…pine trees…clinging to… 是带with的独立主格结构，这里作原因状语，说明不可思议的原因。独立主格结构作状语还可以表示条件、方式、伴随状况等，其形式为with+名词+现在分词/过去分词/介词短语。
例：He felt quite nervous with all the eyes focusing on him. 由于所有的目光都集中在他身上，他感觉很紧张。
I remained alone in the classroom with all my classmates gone. 所有的同学都走了，我独自一人呆在教室里。
He stood there with his hands in his pockets. 他双手插兜站在那儿。

5. Our van had just leveled off and we were rounding a downhill bend when, all at once, there they were, stretched out before us in a spectacular procession of massive white peaks: the Tetons.

我们的车子刚刚进入水平行驶，绕过一个下山的弯道时，突然间，一座接一座的壮丽、高大的白色山峰展现在我们眼前：这就是提腾山脉。
and之后的分句中，主句是过去进行时were rounding…, when引导的时间状语从句用的是一般过去时stretched。在谈到过去的事情时，一般过去时可以和其他过去时态，如过去进行时和过去完成时连用。过去进行时往往用来表示背景。在叙述性文章中，常用各种过去时态。
例：I was waiting for a bus at the bus stop when a black Morcedes parked at the stop. 我正在公共汽车站等车，突然有一辆黑色的梅塞德斯车在这个站停下来。
I was wandering about the street when I caught sight of an old friend. 我正在街上闲逛时，突然看见一个老朋友。
比较：主句是一般过去时，表示比较短暂的动作或事件。由when, as, just as, while等引导的时间状语从句用过去进行时，表示正在进行的动作或情况。
例：When I was leaving the house, the phone rang. 我正要出门，电话铃响了。
While I was fumbling for some money, my friend paid the fares. 我正掏钱时，我的朋友已经把车费付了。