（二）句型结构

1. It is recently, however, that science has begun to give us some idea of how the brain really works.
直到最近，科学才让我们了解了一点大脑的工作方式。

本句是it is /was…that/who…之强调句结构。要注意关系代词who只有当先行词为人时才适用，而that适用于一切。在强调地点或时间状语时，不能用where或when，而要用that。
It is Mary who failed the exam. 是玛丽考试不及格。
It is the drunken driver who/that should be responsible for the traffic accident. 是酒后驾驶者应当对这起交通事故负责。
It is after 1978 that China has undergone a great change. 是1978年以后中国才发生了巨大的变化。
It is under the bridge that the businessman was found dead. 是在大桥下面人们发现那位商人死了的。

2. It was not until the 18th century that man realized that the whole of the brain was involved in the workings of the mind.
直到18世纪人们才认识到是整个大脑在参与人的思维活动。

(1)until/till conj.: up to the time when 一直，直到……；到……为止
Let's wait until (till) he comes back. 让我们等他回来。
Go straight on until (till) you come to a grocery, then you'll see the post office. 一直走到一个食品杂货店为止，你就会看到邮局了。

(2)It is /was not until…that…实际上也是一种强调句结构，表示"直到……才"的意思。
It was not until midnight that it stopped raining. 直到半夜雨才停了。
It was not until the invention of web browser that Internet began to be popular. 直到发明了网页浏览器，因特网才开始流行起来。
这个结构又常常以它的倒装结构出现，即：Not until…did/was/were…。比如也可以将上两句变成：
Not until midnight did it stop raining. 直到半夜才停止下雨。
Not until the invention of web browser did Internet begin to be popular. 直到发明了网页浏览器，因特网才开始流起来。
又如：
Not until 1860 was the use of gloves introduced. 直到1860年，才开始使用手套。
Not until the arrival of the army were the besieged people saved from the floods. 直到部队到达，被围困的群众才从洪水中被解救出来。

3. In the past 50 years there has been a great increase in the amount of research being done on the brain.
在过去的五十年里，有关人脑的研究在数量上有了很大的增长。

句中being done on the brain 作定语，修饰前面的research.它相当于一个定语从句：that is done on the brain.从中我们得到do research on sth.这一用法（介词on 可以换成into）,表示"对某课题或领域进行研究"。
Scientists throughout the history have been doing research into the boundless space, but our understanding of the universe still remains very limited. 尽管有史以来，科学家就对茫茫的宇宙太空进行研究，但是我们对宇宙的了解除仍然非常有限。
Chinese scientists have begun to do research on the production of more giant pandas by means of clone technology. 中国科学家已经开始从事用克隆技术生产更多大熊猫的研究。

4. The more scientists find out, the more questions they are unable to answer.
科学家们发现越多，他们就有越多的问题不能回答。

The more…the more…是比较级的一种特殊结构，通常前者相当于一个状语从句。比如：The harder you study, the better scores you will get. 你学习越努力，得分就越高。
它相当于说：
If you study harder, you will get better scores.
再如大家都熟悉的The sooner, the better.（越快/早越好），
相当于讲：If it is sooner, it will be better.

5. Mathematicians who have tried to use computers to copy the way the brain works have found that even using the latest electronic equipment they would have to build a computer which weighed over 10,000 kilos.
那些试图用电脑来模仿人脑活动方式的数学家们发现，即使是用最先进的电子设备，他们也得造一台重量超过一万公斤的电脑。

（1）这句的主干结构（主句）是：Mathematicians…have found that …they would have built a computer.
(2)定语从句who have tried to use to copy the way the brain works 修饰mathematicians.
(3)定语从句（in which） the brain works 修饰the way.
(4)定语从句which weighed over 10,000 kilos修饰a computer.
(5)even using the latest electronic equipment是现在分词短语作状语。

6. Scientists hope that if we can discover how the brain works, the better use we will be able to put it to.
科学家们发现，假如我们能发现脑子是如何活动的，就能更好地利用它。

（1）此句为了强调the better use 将其提前，放在we的前面。原句可以改为：Scientists hope that if we can discover how the brain works, we will be able to put it to a better use.
(2)the better use 中的the用在比较级前，通常the …the成对使用时，表示"越……（就）越……"。本句实际上相当于：…the more we discover how the brain works, the better use will be able to put it to.

7.Some children learn to speak and read and write when they are very young compared to average children.
与普通孩子相比，有的孩子很早就学会了说、读、写。句中compared to average

children是过去分词短语作状语。Compare后跟介词to或with。
compare to意思是"把……比作"；"认为……相似"。
A teacher's life is often compared to a candle.老师的生命常被比作蜡烛。
My shabby house certainly cannot compare to the grandiose Buckingham palace. 我的寒舍当然不能和宏伟的白金汉宫相提并论。
Compare with的意思是"把……与……相比较"
Compared with what he had already, the new stamps were not very interesting. 和他已经拥有的（邮票）要比，这些新邮票就没什么意思了。
Compared with Mu Tiezhu, we look like dwarfs. 与穆铁柱相比，我们就像侏儒。
实际上，在表示"把……与……相比较"这层含义时，compare with也可以换成compare to 也就是说这两句中的compared with 都可改成compared to, 而要表示"把……比作（成）"这个意思时，只能用compare to。

8. They are trying to find out whether there is something about the way we teach language to children which in fact prevents children from learning sooner.
他们想设法弄清楚，在那些教授儿童学习语言的方法中是否有什么东西事实上妨碍了孩子们更快地学习语言。

（1）这句话的结构稍稍有些复杂。About the way we teach language to children作定语修饰something，而这个定语当中本身还有一个定语从句（in which）we teach language to children,其先行词是the way, which in fact prevents children from learning sooner是另一个定语从句，它修饰something。
(2)find out:发现；弄清楚，获取（某物的）的信息
I will soon find out your secret.我很快就会搞清楚你的秘密。
The teacher wants us to find out the answer ourselves. 老师想让我们自己去找出答案。
（3）prevent…from…妨碍（阻止）某人做某事。
No one can prevent him from going abroad. 谁也不能阻止他出国。
The heavy rain prevented us from coming on time. 大雨使我们未能按时赶到。

9.But it is now thought that is not so.
但是，现在人们认为事实并非这样。

本句话中的被动结构在英语中相当普遍。如果句子的主语表达一个普遍性的看法或观点，
如People think that…（人们认为），We believe that…(我们相信或认为)，They say that （他们说，据说）等，字们通常可以变成It is thought that…, It is believed that…, It is said that…的形式。用于这种结构的动词尚有acknowledge, assure, claim, consider, find, know, report, understand, estimate等。
The newspaper reports / It is reported that over 100 people died in the earthquake. 据报道有一百多人在这次地震中丧生。
Most people understand / It is widely understood that the earth goes around the sun.
人们都知道地球绕着太阳转。

10.…the only limit on the power of the brain is the limit of what we think is possible.
人脑机能的惟一限度是我们认为所能及的那个限度。

(1)可以将句中的we think看成是插入语，便于理解。再如：
Who (do you think) should be responsible for the accident?你认为谁应对这起事故负责。
(2)limit 一词一般后跟介词to，表示"限度，限制"。
We must set a limit to the expense of the trip. 我们必须给我们的旅途开支定一个限度。
There is a limit to the amount of money we can spend. 我们能花的钱的数量有限。