难句解析:
①What is harder to establish is whether the productivity revolution that businessmen assume they are presiding over is for real.
▲这个句子的主语和表语都是从句。主语是what引导的名词性从句,表语是whether引导的状语表语从句。在表语从句中,主语是the productivity revolution,核心句是Whether the productivity revolution is for real,其中productivity revolution后面跟了一个that引导的定语从句,这个从句中的主语是businessmen,谓语是assume,后面跟一个宾语从句,而that所替代的productivity resolution就是这个宾语从句中over这个介词的宾语。
△理解这个句子的关键在于要弄清其中环环相套的从句关系,就是revolution后面that引导的定语从句,以及从句中assume后面的宾语从句,这样就找出preside over的宾语其实就是productivity revolution。
②The trouble is that part of the recent acceleration is due to the usual rebound that occurs at this point in a business cycle, and so is not conclusive evidence of a revival in the underlying trend.
▲这个句子有一个很长的表语从句,由that引导。从句中有两个分句,中间用and so连接。第一个分句中又有一个that引导的定语从句,修饰的是rebound,第二个分句的主语与第一个分句的主语一样,都是part of the recent acceleration。这样我们可以得到这个句子的主干部分:The trouble is that part of acceleration is due to rebound, and is not conclusive evidence.
△理解这个句子的关键在于要清楚表语从句中第一个分句所套的修饰rebound的定语从句,再者就是第二个分句的主语与第一个分句的主语一致,并注意conclusive的意思。
③There is, as Robert Rubin, the treasury secretary, says, a "disjunction" between the mass of business anecdote that points to a leap in productivity and the picture reflected by the statistics.
▲理解这个句子先要找出它的核心句:There is a "disjunction" between the mass and the picture,中间的人名及其职位可以当作插入语。between后面的名词带有一个that引导的定语从句,修饰的是business anecdote,that在这个从句中充当的是主语;and后面的名词the picture后面跟的是过去分词reflected,表示的是一种被动关系。
△找出between和and的宾语(分别是the mass of business anecdote和the picture reflected by the statistics),这个句子就容易理解了。
④New ways of organizing the workplace — all that re-engineering and downsizing — are only one contribution to the overall productivity of an economy, which is driven by many other factors such as joint investment in equipment and machinery, new technology, and investment in education and training.
▲这个句子看似庞大,分析之下就简单了。先找出核心句:New ways are one contribution,再来看其它部分:new ways后面of organizing the workplace限定了new ways的内容;破折号之间的部分是进一步说明new ways of organizing the workplace的一些具体内容;contribution后面的to接的是名词宾语,这之后有一个which引导的定语从句,修饰的是前面的名词an economy。在这个定语从句中by后面的宾语是factors,后面的such as跟随的三个名词短语就是列举的内容。
△找出主干句之后就不会受到长句所造成的混乱影响,关键是要弄清楚contribution to后面的内容,尤其是which引导的定语从句,修饰的是economy。
⑤His colleague, Michael Beer, says that far too many companies have applied re-engineering in a mechanistic fashion, chopping out costs without giving sufficient thought to long-term profitability.
▲这个句子的主要部分在于谓语says后面的宾语从句,从句中的重要成分是在状语短语部分,即in a mechanistic fashion,因为后面跟的一个现在分词短语chopping out costs是进一步说明fashion的内容,without后面的动名词短语是补充成分,表示的是一种伴随状态。
△关键在于chopping out costs这个现在分词短语的理解,要明白这是in a mechanistic fashion的进一步说明。
n. 赢利能力;利益率;收益性