熱血背包客莊ㄟ

GRE,GMAT,SAT經典長難句(30/50)

Steeped as they were in the English political language, these colonials failed to observe that their experience in America had given the words a significance quite different from that accepted by the English with whom they debated; in fact, they claimed that they had more loyal to the English political tradition than were the English in England. 

資料來源：CAT考古題

解析：

第一：Steeped as they were in the English political language

這句話本生是個倒裝並且帶有讓步的含義，所以還原應該是Although they are steeped in English political language，as變成although，然後steeped放入句中，這樣就清楚好懂多了，當中的they就是these colonials 的代名詞。雖然這些殖民地居民居住在具有英國政治語言的氛圍下。

第二： observe＋that子句，表示觀點態度的動詞往往後面都是可以加上名詞子句結構的

第三：a significance quite different from that accepted by the English with whom they debated

這句話變化有三。

其一是：

quite different from前方省略which was，視為關係代名詞限定用法的省略，修飾先行詞significance，補充說明含義是不同的，其實也可以直接用different significance，去做等價交換，不過此句所強調是『不同』，所以便把形容詞掉到名詞之後，以關係代名詞省略形式的方式呈現，這方法類似something insteresting，N.+adj.強調語氣。

其二是：

different from that accepted by the English，這個that代名詞代替的事significance，後面又接一個關係代名詞限定用法的省略，當作形容詞用，形容significance，所以還原比較好看的話是different from significance ( which was ) accepted by the English，這個也別於英國人所接納的含義。

其三：

再次接上一個關帶的限定用法the English with whom they debated。whom是受格代替的就是the English，而they就是these colonials，所以其實內容沒什麼，就是關帶多了一點，代名詞多了一點來混淆視聽。翻譯：和殖民地居民意見有所衝突的英國人

總結：

對於這種一狗票的修飾語夾砸，最好的方法就是找主幹（找最純正的名詞及動詞），因為關係代名詞帶出的『子句』通常都是修飾名詞用，只不過是補充而已，實際上不會影響邏輯，所以總歸這句話主幹只有a significance（名詞），這樣就夠了，其他就在可以先放著不管。因為後面還有『分號』所帶出的補充句，那假設，這裡已經是句子的結尾了，我們看到有個含義，但不知道這個含義是好還是壞，這個significance實在太中性，無法判斷，此時我們才進去分析關係代名詞子句裡面的內容，那此句就是要找 quite different，所以知道整體是『含義很不同 』，這樣就夠了，邏輯找到即可，不要再被關係代名詞那些裝神弄鬼的子句給混淆了。

第四：『分號』，表示跟前面有所關聯並且做他的延伸及補充，因此可以視為另外一個新的完整句，中間不需要加上連接詞，而in fact是為了做強調用的，並沒有造成前後兩句的邏輯反轉，因為『分號』的關係，分號的存在必定邏輯同向

第五：than were the English in England. 這個又來個倒裝，原本應該是than the English in England were ( loyal to the English political tradition )，這個句型其實就是類似要把England放句尾當作掉尾句型去強調英國當地。

邏輯：

• Steeped as they were in the English political language,（這是讓步句，所以不看，因為真正重點是在讓步之後，前幾篇有提到everything before the word “but” is bullshat，所以不理會）
•  these colonials failed to observe that their experience in America had given the words a significance （主幹）
• quite different from that accepted by the English with whom they debated（取different即可，其他都是關係代名詞子句）
• ; in fact, they claimed that they had more loyal to the English political tradition than were the English in England. （在忠誠度上殖民地居民大於英國本地人）
• 所以總邏輯就是殖民地者對政治上有不同含義，含義不同在於他們更傳統

翻譯：

Steeped as they were in the English political language, these colonials failed to observe that their experience in America had given the words a significance quite different from that accepted by the English with whom they debated; in fact, they claimed that they had more loyal to the English political tradition than were the English in England. 

僅管這些殖民地居民居住在具有英國政治語言的氛圍下，但是他們沒有察覺到他們在美國的經驗已經賦予了英國政治語言一個不同於殖民地居民意見有所衝突的英國人所持有的含義，事實上，他們認為對於英國政治傳統忠誠度上他們是大於英國本地人的

單字：

Steep (adj.) 陡峭的＝bluff / craggy / precipitous / sharp / abrupt / sheer 

Steep (adj.) 過高的＝prohibitive 

Steep (v.) 浸泡 ＝ soak / drench / immerse / sodden / saturate / drown 

Steeped in (adj.) 埋首，專注＝ be buried in / be absorbed in / be engrossed in / be immersed in / be preoccupied with / be wrapped up in 

以上個人筆記希望有幫助到大家，有誤再請指教!!