一、前言
阅读分为四个层次：词、句、段、章。同学们一般习惯于以词为单位阅读，所以遇到存在“生词”的句子就无从下手了。其实阅读的真正障碍并不在于“生词”，而在于“难句”，因为难句即使每个单词都认识，只要“结构”复杂，可能也读不懂。反之，一旦能够把握“结构”，就可以忽略生词，掌握大意，从而实现“无词阅读”的境界。为此，本人特意为广大同学制作了这一套“难句随身卡”（包括基础篇和提高篇）。

二、难句的构成
英语的难句=主句+从句+短语，不同于汉语的句子全是简单句，没有复杂句。如果把英语的难句比喻成大树，那么主句相当于树干，从句相当于树枝，而短语相当于叶子。只要把握主句，就可理解大意。相比之下，汉语的句子就好比是竹子，一节一节的。
因此，我们在理解英语难句的时候要学会“拆”——把复杂句拆成简单句来理解。也就是说，要学会抓住“树干”，拆掉“枝叶”。

三、如何“拆”
任何句子都必须有谓语动词，所以找到一个谓语动词就可以拆下来一个句子。因此，理解难句的基本步骤是：1）识别出有哪几个谓语动词；2）找出主句的谓语动词，先理解主句；3）再去理解从句和短语。

四、符号说明
1．谓语动词用黑体的斜体字表示，例如：Everyone should know …。
2．从句的引导词用方框表示，例如：where the nearest fire alarm box is located。
3．从句用横线表示，例如：where the nearest fire alarm box is located，表示where引导的从句。
4．插入语成分用括号表示，例如：Keeping your head, (instead of crowding and pushing to get to an exit), may make the difference between…

第一章  平行并列结构

本章难句列表（分析见下篇）：
1．Everyone should know where the nearest fire alarm box is located and where exits, fire escapes, and fire doors are.
2．The way space is used to enable the individual to achieve privacy, to build homes or to design cities is culturally influenced.
3． I wanted her to know that my heart was with her, and that I thought England owed her a great debt and was going to miss her.
4．Keeping your head, instead of crowding and pushing to get to an exit, may make the difference between life and death when fire breaks out.
5．Neither friends nor family can convince phobic people that most animals are harmless, that thousands of travelers fly safely everyday, and millions of people ride safely in elevators several times each day.
6．Millions of people travel about the country by rail, by bus, or by automobile¹, or drive to and from their places of work and their homes.
7．Here we have a little child, without knowledge or experience; there a grown-up person with fully² developed mental powers.
8． There are relay races in running and swimming in summer, and relay in skiing in winter.
9．But we remember with far greater pain that we did not see that beauty when it flowered, that we failed to respond with love when it was tendered.
10．This is not an easy lesson to learn, especially when we are young and think that the world is ours to command, that whatever we desire with the full force of our passionate³ being can be ours.
11．More than three million people live in inner London, and nearly five million people live in the surrounding suburban⁴ area, which is made up of formerly⁵ separate villages that have merged⁶ to form what is now called outer London.
12．The journey and the stay are by definition outside the normal places of residence and work, and are of short-term and temporary nature, and there is a clear intention to return home within a relatively⁷ short period of time.
13．The limited investments that are made in training workers are also much more narrowly focused on the specific skills necessary to do the next job rather than on the basic background skills that make it possible to absorb new technologies.
14．We have tried to isolate⁸ some of the key factors that govern service quality, and offer examples of organizations that manage service well and of some that manage it poorly.
15．Human beings have distinguished⁹ themselves from other animals, and in doing so ensured their survival, by the ability to observe and understand their environment and then either to adapt to that environment or to control and adapt it to their own needs.