意思是“丝毫,一点儿。”如:
1)I don't mind in the least.(我一点也不在意。)
2)She was not in the least Jealous.(她丝毫不嫉妒。)
3. In a land so devoted to the pursuit of happiness as ours, crying really is rather un-American.
本句中的devoted是个形容词,
to是介词,通常用be devoted to .devote用作动词,则可用devote………to
1) The students are devoted to their studies.(学生们专心学习。)
2) He is devoted to the cause of peace.(他致力于和平事业。)
3) They have devoted all their time to helping the poor.(他们把所有的时间都用在帮助穷人上。)
4) She devoted herself to her pupil.(她把全部身心倾注在学生身上。)
the pursuit of 意思是“对…追求(追捕)”。 in the pursuit of 是常用介词短语。
1) They are in pursuit of the escaped criminal.(他们在追捕逃犯。)
2) The album is produced in the pursuit of ellcellence.(这个专辑在制作过程中力求完美。)
land 在句中的意思是“country国家”。如:
1) He used to work in a distant land.(他曾在一个遥远的国度工作。)
2) He returned to his native land many years later.(许多年后,他回到了祖国。)
ours 在句中指our land
4. Women being the “weaker” and “dependent” sex, it is only natural that they should cry in certain emotional situations.
women being the “weaker” and “dependent” sex是名词+V-ing的独立结构,表示原因。这句话的意思是because women are the “weaker” and “dependent” sex.
请看下面的例句,注意掌握名词+V-ing表示原因的独立结构。
1) So many members being absent, the meeting had to be put off.(因为很多人不在场,会议只好延期。)
2) The question being so difficult, we must take time to consider it carefully.
(因为这个问题很困难,我们得花时间仔细考虑。)
3) The weather being terrible, they had to change their plan.(天气很糟糕,他们不得不改变计划。)
5. …crying is a mark of weakness
mark 在句中作名词用,意思是“标示,特征”,如:
1) He gave her a gift as a mark of gratitude.(他送给她一份礼物以表谢意。)
2) They removed their hats as a mark of respect.(他们脱帽以表敬意。)
3) These buildings display the mark of early Greek influence.(这些建筑表现出受早期希腊影响的特征。)
mark还有许多其它意思,如:
1) He got 70 marks out of 100.(他得了100分中的70分。)
2) There are a lot of ink marks on the wall.(墙上有许多墨水渍。)
3) He made a few marks with his pen.(他用笔做了几个记号。)
4) Be careful not to mark the table.(小心别在桌上留下痕迹。)
5) Mark all the big cities on the map.(在地图上把所有大的城市标出来。)
6. So goes the American belief with regard to crying.
so在句中用作副词,表示前面所说的(哭是软弱的标志)也适用于此。so在句首,句子倒装。
1) -He looks very hot and dry.(他看上去又热又干。)
-so would you if you had a high fever.(如果你发高烧,你也如此。)
2) His shoes are brightly polished, so is his briefcase.(他的鞋擦得很亮,他的公文包也是这样。)
with regard to也可用in regard to,意思是“regarding, be concerned with”(至于,就…而文论)。