In democratic countries any efforts to restrict the freedom of the press are rightly condemned. However, this freedom can easily be abused. Stories about people often attract far more public attention than political events. Though we may enjoy reading about the lives of others, it is extremely doubtful whether we would equally enjoy reading about ourselves. Acting on the contention that facts are sacred, reporters can cause untold suffering to individuals by publishing details about their private lives. Newspapers exert such tremendous influence that they can not only bring about major changes to the lives of ordinary people but can even overthrow a government.

The story of a poor family that acquired fame and fortune overnight, dramatically illustrates the power of the press. The family lived in Aberdeen, a small town of 23,000 inhabitants in South Dakota. As the parents had five children, life was a perpetual struggle against poverty. They were expecting their sixth child and were faced with even more pressing economic problems. If they had only had one more child, the fact would have passed unnoticed. They would have continued to struggle against economic odds and would have lived in obscurity. But they suddenly became the parents of quintuplets, four girls and a boy, an event which radically changed their lives. The day after the birth of the five children, an aeroplane arrived in Aberdeen bringing sixty reporters and photographers.

The rise to fame was swift. Television cameras and newspapers carried the news to everyone in the country. Newspapers and magazines offered the family huge sums for the exclusive rights to publish stories and photographs. Gifts poured in not only from unknown people, but room baby food and soap manufacturers who wished to advertise their products. The old farmhouse the family lived in was to be replaced by new $500,000 home. Reporters kept pressing for interviews so lawyers had to be employed to act as spokesmen for the family at press conferences. While the five babies were babies were still quietly sleeping in oxygen tents in hospital nursery, their parents were paying the price for fame. It would never again be possible for them to lead normal lives. They had become the victims of commercialization, for their names had acquired a market value. Instead of being five new family members, these children had immediately become a commodity.

1) any efforts to restrict...也可以使用单数any affort to restrict...吗？ Acting on the contention that facts are sacred - 这一句中的 contention that facts are sacred 是同位语从句吗？（不是定语从句），如果是同位语从句，感觉含义很不好理解。

2) If they had only had one more child - only的位置不能理解？我认为这个only要么是If they only had had one more child, 要么是If they had had only one more child。对吗？

3) four girls and a boy, an event which radically changed their lives. - 如何语法分析an event起的作用？

4) The old farmhouse the family lived in was to be replaced by new $500,000 home. 中的lived之所以没有使用had lived,是因为此时还在住在原来的房子里，还没有搬迁到新房子去吧？was to be replaced 表示过去将要搬迁？另外，句尾为什么不是复数commodities呢？