(1) He was survived by his wife and three children.

(2)Four of their children had died as babies and the fifth survived.

请问（1）句中的 was survived by  靠...而活，放在这里是要表达什么意思？

    【答】 be survived by ... 的意思是“不如...活得长久”、“比 ... 短寿”，不是“  靠...而活”的意思。 survive on ... 才是“ 靠...而活“、”靠...生存“的意思。如：

      He is survived by his wife Sue. 他妻子休比他活得长久。（摘自《朗文当代高级英语辞典》第6版）

      He is survived by his wife and four children. 他死时撇下了他的妻子和4个孩子。（摘自《剑桥高阶英汉双解词典》p.2275）

      They managed to survive on his small salary. 他们得以靠他微薄的薪水维持生活。（摘自《韦氏高阶英汉双解词典》p.2117）

（2） 句子中的as babies是什么成分？ 不知道该怎么翻译？

     【答】as babies = when they were babies , 作时间状语。这种用法的 as 是介词。又如：As a young man, Eliot had studied art in Paris. 年轻时，艾略特在巴黎学画画。（摘自《朗文当代高级英语辞典》第6版）