长难句20190516

Few creations of big technology capture the imagination like giant dams. Perhaps it is humankind’s long suffering at the mercy of flood and drought that makes the idea of forcing the waters to do our bidding so fascinating. But to be fascinated is also, sometimes, to be blind. Several giant dam projects threaten to do more harm than good.The lesson from dams is that big is not always beautiful. It doesn’t help that building a big, powerful dam has become a symbol of achievement for nations and people striving to assert themselves.

核心词汇：

capture /ˈkæptʃə/  v.吸引；捕获

giant /ˈdʒaɪənt/  n.巨大的; 重大的

fascinating/ˈfæsɪˌneɪtɪŋ/ adj. 有极大吸引力的，迷人的

threaten/ˈθrɛtən/  v.(坏事) 可能发生；威胁

lesson/ˈlɛsən/  n.教训

assert /əˈsɜːt/  v. 坚持；主张

atthe mercy of sb/sth 任凭某人/某物的摆布

striveto do sth 努力做某事

dosb’s bidding服从某人的要求[命令]

sb can’t help sth 某人不能阻止做某事

长难句解析：

本句是一个强调句，句子主干是it is humankind’s long suffering that makes the idea sofascinating.（去掉it is...that...之后，仍为一个完整的句子，即判定为强调句）首先，句首的perhaps是副词，作状语。

其次，at the mercy of flood and drought 是介词短语作后置定语修饰suffering。最后，of forcing the waters to do our bidding是介词短语作后置定语修饰the idea.

参考译文：

重大科技的创造物很少有像大坝这样吸引人们注意力的。可能是人类长期任由洪水和干旱摆布才使得强迫水域服从我们的命令的这个想法如此迷人。但让人着迷也有时候也让人盲目。几个大坝的项目有可能引起弊大于利的后果。建造大坝的教训是大的未必总是美好的。但是，这个教训也无法阻止修建高大、功能强大的大坝成为那些努力显示自己的国家和人民的一种成就标志。