splitting ¹ (分隔)

语法关系密切的两个句子成分被其它句子成分分隔开的现象,叫做分隔(splitting)。例如:

1. That loaf was stale that you sold me. (CGEL) (定语从句与其中心词 that loaf 被谓语分隔)

你卖给我的那条面包不是新鲜的。

2. Yet the fact is we know very little about gorillas. No really satisfactory photograph has ever been taken of one in a wild state. (定语 of one in a wild state 与其中心词 photograph 被谓语分隔)

然而,事实是我们对大猩猩了解得很少。至今还没有人给处于野生状态的大猩猩拍摄过一张真正令人满意的照片。

3. Man has achieved remarkable success in the field of astronautics the ultimate goal and purpose of which is to gain for man himself access to space and to other worlds. (动词 gain 与其宾语 access 被介词短语 for man himself 所分隔)

人类在宇航方面已经取得了惊人的成就，宇航的最终目的就是使人类能够亲自进入太空并到达其它星球。

英语分隔的类型是多种多样的,这里不拟一一列举,仅列举常见的几种类型。

A. 主语与谓语被分隔

英语句子的主语与谓语一般都挨得很紧，它们之间很少插入介词短语等比较长的结构。但是，在较少的情况下，或是为保持句子的平衡，避免头重脚轻，或是为了语义严密，结构紧凑，在主语和谓语之间有时也会插入其它的成分。

1. The resistance experienced when one body moves over another, with which it is in contact, is called the frictional force. 当一个物体在和它相接触的另一个物体上移动时所受的阻力，叫做摩擦力。

2. Galileo asserted that “...any velocity once imparted to a body will be rigidly maintained as long as there are no causes of acceleration or retardation.” 伽利略断言，“……任意大小的速度一旦给予某一物体，只要没有加速或减速的原因出现，就将保持不变”。

B. 定语(或定语从句)与其中心词被分隔

1. The time had come to decorate the house for Christmas. (CGEL) 已经是为了圣诞节来装

饰房间的时候了。

2. Batteries produce electron flow by chemical means—that is, chemical reactions take place inside the battery that result in a flow of electricity. 电池靠化学方法产生电子流——也就是在电池内发生化学反应，形成电流。

3. A number of cars are already on the road powered by gas turbines. 一些以燃气轮机作动力的汽车已经出现在路上。

4. The Prime Minister's decision was welcomed over the country to raise the wages of the workers and reduce the price of food. 首相提高工人工资和降低食品价格的决定受到全国一致的欢迎。

5. When reports came into London Zoo that a wild puma had been spotted forty-five miles south of London, they were not taken seriously. (New Concept English, Book 3, L.1) 伦敦动物园曾接到报告，说在伦敦南部45英里的地方发现一只美洲野狮，但当时这些报告并没有受到重视。

C. 某些词语与其所要求的介词被分隔

This book should therefore be useful in an advanced undergraduate course in nuclear physics, to engineers interested in the large-scale application of nuclear physics. 因此，在核物理学方面的高年级大学生课程中，这本书想必对关心核物理大规模应用的工程师们是有用处的。

D. 动词与其宾语被分隔

1. We might bear in mind when we pass a big building or see an airplane or a car that we are looking at the fruits of man's labor in this tradition. 当我们经过一幢大楼或是看见一架飞机或一辆汽车时，我们必须记住，我们所看到的正是人类劳动在这一传统中创造出来的成果。

2. The primary aim of the present book is to supply for students beginning the study of Theoretical Mechanics a course of such a nature as shall emphasize the fundamental physical principles of the subject. 本书的主要目的就是为开始学习理论力学的学生们提供一本教材，其特色是着重介绍这一学科的基本物理原理。