【句型16】But the significant thing is not the behaviour of the players but the attitude of the spectators: and, behind the spectators, of the nations who work themselves into furies over these absurd contests, and seriously believe—at any rate for short periods—that running, jumping and kicking a ball are tests of national virtue. （Lesson 6）
【译文】但是，令人感到意味深长的不是运动员的表现，而是观众的态度，以及观众身后各个国家的态度。面对着这些荒唐的比赛，参赛的各个国家会如痴如狂，甚至煞有介事地相信——至少在短期内如此——跑跑、跳跳、踢踢球都是对一个国家品德素质的检验。
【讲解】and, behind the spectators, of the nations…are tests of national virtue是对But the significant thing…the attitude of the spectators的引申。当句子后有表示说明，解释、引申的内容时用冒号。behind spectators作定语，修饰nations，前置是为了强调。of the nations前省略了the attitude。work和believe是定语从句中的并列谓语。at any rate for short periods作插入语，句中的两个破折号隔开被强调的插入语。

【句型17】To get a full appreciation of what this means we must turn first to some recent human inventions.（Lesson 7）
【译文】要透彻理解这句话的含义，我们应先回顾人类最近的几项发明。

【句型18】Chickens slaughtered in the United States, claim officials in Brussels, are not fit to grace European tables.（Lesson 8）
【译文】布鲁塞尔的官员说，在美国屠宰的鸡不适于装点欧洲的餐桌。
【讲解】slaughtered in the United States为过去分词短语，作定语，修饰chickens。此句也可以写成Officials in Brussels say that chickens slaughtered in the United States are not fit to grace European tables. 原文的写法是为了凸显chickens slaughtered in the United States。本句和该课第二句是新闻英语中的常见句型：
【原文】No, say the American: our fowl are fine, we simply clean them in a different way.
【译文】不，美国人说：我们的家禽很好，只是我们用了另一种方式清洗。
【讲解】to get a full appreciation of what this means作目的状语，修饰turn。不定式作状语放在句首，比放在后边更要正式，语气较重。