New arrivals claimed my host's attention, and I was left to myself. When at last we were all assembled, waiting for dinner to be announced, I reflected,
while I chatted with the woman I had been asked to "take in," that civilised man practised a strange ingenuity in wasting on tedious exercises the brief span of his life
1) I was left to myself, 和 we were all assembled: 为什么was left 和 were assembled 都使用被动呢?
2) that civilised man...中此处的that是什么用法含义呢?
3) in wasting on tedious exercises the brief span of his life. 没看懂这里的成分和含义。为什么wasting前有介词in? 而 the brief span of his life前为什么没有介词in?
4) wasting on tedious exercises 这是动名词短语吗?
1 作者以第一人称的口吻讲故事,以“我”视角讲述,我是观察者和体验者。我、我们作主语是句子的主题,所以不换主语,用被动语态。
2 that civilised man practised a strange ingenuity in wasting on tedious exercises the brief span of his life 这个句子中that显然是限定词,即指示限定词表示特指,否则单数名词man就没有限定词限定了。你不该对此有疑惑。in+wasting...为动名词短语为时间状语,在...的过程中,修饰practised.
waste A on B 把A浪费在B上面。A 为waste的宾语,on介词短语为方面状语。如果宾语过长或为了强调宾语,则宾语可以后移,即waste+状语+宾语。这个句子中黑体的on介词短语为wasting的状语,其后的名词词组为后移的宾语。本句宾语后移是为了强调宾语。
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