— two hundred thousand inhabitants of whom at least twenty thousand own literally nothin$ except the rags they stand up in —
二个破折号相当于二个都好,中间为一个名词词组作插入语,对a town like this作补充解释。划线部分为 two hundred thousand inhabitants的定语从句。
这个插入语结构是没有问题的。
例如:Beijing (20 million inhabitants) is the capital of China.
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