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难句解析：
①After six months of arguing and final 16hours of hot parliamentary debates, Australia's Northern Territory became the first legal authority in the world to allow doctors to take the lives of incurably ill patients who wish to die.
▲句子的主体结构是Australia's Northern Territory became the first legal authority...，其中，句首是表示时间的介词词组作状语：after six months of arguing and final 16 hours of hot parliamentary debates，后面的动词不定式to allow doctors to take the lives of incurably ill patients who wish to die相当于定语从句which allows doctors to...，修饰legal authority，who引导定语从句who wish to die修饰前面的patients。
△理解句子的关键在于剔除庞杂的修饰成分，抓住句子的主干。
②Some have breathed sighs of relief, others, including churches, right-to-life groups and the Australian Medical Association, bitterly attacked the bill and the haste of its passage. But the tide is unlikely to turn back.
▲第一句话中，有用逗号松散地连接的两个表示对比的句子：Some have breathed... others... bitterly attacked...，其中others之后是介词词组：including churches，right-to-life groups and the Australian Medical Association对others进行进一步的解释。its passage中的its指代前面提到的the bill。第二句使用了被动语态，与第一句是转折关系。
△tide本意是“潮水，潮汐”的意思，这里的引申含义是“趋势，趋向”；turn the tide使形式转变，改变局面。bill这里是“法案”的意思。另外要理解some和others的对比关系。
③In Australia — where an aging population, life-extending technology and changing community attitudes have all played their part — other states are going to consider making a similar law to deal with euthanasia.
▲这个句子的主体结构是... other states are going to consider...。句首的In Australia是介词词组表示地点状语，后面where引导定语从句where an aging population, life-extending technology and changing community attitudes have all played their part，进一步解释Australia的具体情况。
△注意破折号中说各种因素都发挥了作用，是指对其它州考虑制定关于安乐死的法律这件事而言的。另外注意consider的用法，consider后面一般接v.-ing的形式或that引导的宾语从句。
④After a "cooling off" period of seven days, the patient can sign a certificate of request. After 48 hours the wish for death can be met.
▲两个句子都是简单句。第一句中前面是介词词组作时间状语：After a "cooling off" period of seven days。第二句使用了被动语态。
△"cooling off"这里是指“给病人充足的考虑时间以做出冷静的决定”。meet这里是“满足”的意思，可以和demand，need，requirement等和wish类似的词连用。
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