今天我们带来的是托福阅读长难句精析的内容，主要分析TPO1-2戏剧起源这篇文章。这篇托福阅读文章的框架比较清晰，文章前两段讲关于戏剧起源的一种假说，即源于myth和ritual。第三段提出另一种假说，即戏剧源于storytelling。第四段围绕第三种假说展开，即戏剧源于dance或 imitations of animal sounds and noise. 前四段主要在讲戏剧起源的三种假说，第五段介绍了戏剧发展的动机，即人们为了理解和逃避现实。第六段讲了戏剧发展须依赖两个条件，即脱离通常人看待问题的视角和审美感的出现。
对文章结构清楚后，我们来分析文章中典型的长难句：
1. When this occurs, the first step has been taken toward theater as an autonomous activity, and thereafter entertainment and aesthetic values may gradually replace the former mystical and socially efficacious concerns.
难句类型：从句
难词解析：
autonomous 自治的，自主的;
thereafter 其后，从那以后
aesthetic 美学的
efficacious 有效的
结构拆分：
主干部分： and 连接的两个并列句
时间状语从句 When this occurs，this是主语，occurs是谓语。
And连接的并列句主干为： the first step has been taken and entertainment and aesthetic values may replace concerns。
参考译文：
这时候，戏剧作为一种自发的活动迈出了自己的第一步，接着，戏剧的娱乐和审美价值开始渐渐取代先前的带有神话色彩的、在社会上灵验的关注。
2. Another, advanced in the twentieth century, suggests that humans have a gift for fantasy, through which they seek to reshape reality into more satisfying forms than those encountered in daily life.
难句类型：插入语+从句
难词解析：
Fantasy 幻想
reshape v.重塑;改组
encounter v.遭遇，遇到(尤指令人不快或困难的事)
结构拆分：
主干主语为another,此处涉及省略theory.
宾语从句：that humans have a gift(for fantasy), that引导宾语从句
定语从句：through which they seek to reshape reality into more satisfying forms than those encountered in daily life
Which的先行词是fantasy，翻译为：通过幻想他们能将生活中的现实重塑成他们更为满意的形式more satisfying forms than those encountered in daily life：这里是比较状语，其中those指代的forms，encountered in daily life是过去分词短语修饰those，翻译为比生活中遇到的形式还要令人满意
参考译文：另外，20世纪提出的先进理论认为人类擅长幻想，通过幻想将日常生活中的现实重塑成更加令人满意的形式。
3. For example, some early societies ceased to consider certain rites essential to their well-being and abandoned them, nevertheless, they retained as parts of their oral tradition the myths that had grown up around the rites and admired them for their artistic qualities rather than for their religious usefulness.
难句类型：并列+倒装
难词解析：
Cease: v.停止
Rites: n.仪式
well-being adj.健康，安乐，安康
abandon v.抛弃，舍弃
结构拆分：
主干部分：Some early societies ceased to consider certain rites…
倒装部分：They retained as parts of their oral tradition the myths that had grown up around the rites and admired them for their artistic qualities rather than for their religious usefulness.
这个句子中的the myth本来应该在retained的后面，因为myth后面还跟了一个同位语从句，为了避免头重脚轻，所以置后。正常的语序应该是：They retained the myths…as parts of their oral tradition。翻译的时候就按照正常语序翻译
参考译文：例如，一些早期社会不再认为特定仪式与他们的安康息息相关从而抛弃了这些仪式，然而，他们将围绕仪式产生的神话变为口头传授传统的一部分，并且对其所具有的艺术价值而不是宗教价值进行赞美。
以上就是本期前程百利陈老师对The Origin of Theater这篇文章结构及典型长难句的解析，希望能帮助各位考生，最后祝大家都能做托福考试中取得好成绩。
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