2. …all those people descended from a common ancestor， …所有来自同一祖先的人们。
“descended from a common ancestor”是一个省略了that的定语从句，修饰people.descended from的意思是“传下，遗传”，如：
1） His family were descended from an Indian tribe. （他的家庭是印第安部落的后裔。）
2） Darwin concluded that men were descended from apes. （达尔文断定人由猿进化而来。）
descend to 的意思是“屈尊，降低；转而说到”
1） The firm had descended to using nude pictures for advertising. （那家公司堕落到用裸照做广告。）
2）Mr. Lee then descended to the details we had to be careful about.
（李先生转而谈到了我们必须注意的细节问题。）
common是一个形容词，意思是“共有的，共同的；普通的”，请看例句：
1）No doubt， this is a grammatical mistake common to beginners in English.
（毫无疑问，这是英语初学者常犯的语法错误。）
2）How could you have no idea about this common knowledge？ （对这个普通常识你怎么会一无所知。）
3）They have no common interests. （他们没有共同的爱好。）
3. Some people thank of a family as a mother， a father， and their children， …
think of …as …是一个很常用的词组，意思是“把…看作…”，如：
1） He often thinks of himself as a genius. （他常把自己看作为天才。）
2） The Yellow River is thought of as the cradle of the Chinese nation. （黄河被看作为中华民族的摇篮。）
与think of…as…意思相近的词组在英语中还有很多。如：
regard…as look upon…as…
see…as… view…as…
consider…as…
4. For others， having a family simply means having children.
本句中，having a family做主语，mean为谓语动词，having children 做宾语。mean在句中的意思是“意味着”。当mean作“意味着”解释时，在它的后面应该跟名词或者动名词，如：
1）Accepting the job would mean moving to another city. （接受这份工作将意味着我得搬到另一个城市去。）
2）A raise in the worker's salary will mean a cut in the profit. （增加工人的工资意味着利润的降低。）
当mean作“意欲，打算”解释时，在它的后面通常跟不定式，如：
1）I didn't mean to offend you. （我无意冒犯你。）
2）I meant to give you the book yesterday， but I forgot it. （我原打算昨天把书给你的，但我忘了。）
5. Some families have long histories， while others know very little about their ancestors.
请注意while的用法，在本句中while是一个表示转折意味的连词，意思是“然而”。如：Fred gambled all his money away while Jane saved every penny for her son's schooling. （弗雷德赌输了他所有的钱，而珍妮却为儿子的教育攒下每一分钱。）
while在不同的语境中有不同的意思，请翻译下面的句子，注意while的词义。
1）They decided to find a less expensive place to stay while in Paris.
（在巴黎期间，他们打算找个更便宜的地方住。）
2）He looked at his watch several times while talking to her. （在跟她交谈时，他看了几次表。）
3）One group of children are quiet， while the second group was very active.
（一组孩子很安静，而第二组孩子非常活跃。）
4）While I have sympathy for these people， I think they are guilty. （尽管我同情这些人，但我觉得他们有罪。）
5）We will succeed while we don't lose hope. （只要我们不失去希望，我们就会成功。）
6. No matter if it is young or old， large or small traditional or modern， every family has a sense of what a family is.
no matter if 连接让步状语从句，更常见的是用no matter whether.除了no matter whether以外，no matter wh-引导的让步状语从句还有：no matter what， no matter who， no matter whose， no matter which， no matter when， no matter where， no matter how等等。而用wh-ever引导让步从句也是十分常见的。请看下面的例句：
1） No matter what happens， please let me know. （无论发生什么事，请让我知道。）
2） No matter who telephones， tell him I'm out. （无论谁来电话，告诉他我出去了。）
3） No matter how hard I tried， I couldn't succeed. （无论我多努力，我总不能成功。）
4） No matter whether you believe it or not， it's truth. （无论你信不信，那总是事实。）
5） No matter where you go， I will follow you. （无论你去哪里，我都跟着你。）
6） No matter which book you like you can have it. （无论你喜欢哪本书，你都可以拿去。）
7） No matter whose money it is， we can't spend it so carelessly. （无论是谁的钱，我们都不能这样随意地花）
上述某些句子可以用wh-ever表述如下：
1） Whatever happens， please let me know.
2） Whoever telephones， tell him I'm out.
3） However hard I tried， I couldn't succeed.
4） Wherever you go， I will follow you.
5） Whichever book you like， you can have it.
7. It is that feeling of belonging， of love and security that comes from living together， helping and sharing.
本句中的it代指课文前一句中的a sense of what a family is. feeling of belonging 意思为“归属感”。
security 是一个名词，意思是“安全”。
that comes from living together， helping and sharing 是定语从句，修饰that feeling of belonging， of love and security.
8. However， with the change from an agricultural to an industrial society， many nuclear families moved away from the family home in order to find work.
发表于 2007-4-25 12:44:05