考研英语长难句讲解 第71期

 18. For a social epidemic¹ to occur, however, each person so affected² must then influence his or her own acquaintances, who must in turn influence theirs, and so on; and just how many others pay attention to each of those people has little to do with the initial influential³.

【分析】并列复合句。分号连接两个分句。第一个分句的主干为 each person so affected must then influence his or her own acquaintances，后面 who 引导的定语从句修饰 acquaintances。 句中 For a social epidemic to occur 为状语，so affected 是 each person 的后置定语。第二个分句中，疑问词 how many 引导的句子作主语，谓语为 has little to do with，宾语为 initial influential。

【译文】不过，要出现某个社会潮流，每个被这样影响的人再去影响他们认识的人，如此循环下去。其他人中有多少注意到这些人，几乎与最初的影响者没有什么关系。

19. If people in the network just two degrees removed from the initial influential prove resistant⁴, for example, the cascade⁵ of change won't propagate very far or affect many people.

【分析】句子主干为 the cascade of change won't propagate very far or affect many people。if 引导条件状语从句，主语是 people，谓语是 prove， resistant 为表语，in the...influential 是 people 的后置定语。for example 为插入语。

【译文】例如，如果在这个（相互影响的）网络中，距离最初影响者仅有两个级别远的人就具有抵抗性，那么这一连串的变化就不会传播太远或影响太多人。

【点拨】1) removed 本句中用作形容词“远离的”，（be） removed from “远离...的”。2) cascade 名词意为“小瀑布；瀑布状物；倾泻”，动词意为“倾泻；大量垂悬”，本句中是要表达“一连串”的意思。3)propagate“繁衍；传播；宣传”，句中意为“传播”。

1 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

2 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

3 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

4 resistant   

adj.(to)抵抗的，有抵抗力的

参考例句：

• Many pests are resistant to the insecticide.许多害虫对这种杀虫剂有抵抗力。
• They imposed their government by force on the resistant population.他们以武力把自己的统治强加在持反抗态度的人民头上。

5 cascade   

n.小瀑布，喷流；层叠；vi.成瀑布落下

参考例句：

• She watched the magnificent waterfall cascade down the mountainside.她看着壮观的瀑布从山坡上倾泻而下。
• Her hair fell over her shoulders in a cascade of curls.她的卷发像瀑布一样垂在肩上。