摘要：the least of 表示“……最微不足道；……最小的”，the least of his shortcomings，即“ 缺点中最微不足道的”，也就是缺点有很多，成绩不好只是其中最微不足道的。
成绩从来不能定义一个人。
只是在校园里，成绩是检验我们在学业方面努力成果最直观的证明。
有些网友经常用下面这句话驳斥“唯成绩论”：
然而，对这句话，网友竟然也有不同的理解。
A的理解：这个人只有成绩差，其他方面都很好。
B的理解：这个人最小的毛病就是成绩差，其他毛病更要命。
我们将其翻译成英语，从语法结构上看看到底怎么理解：
His poor grades are the least of his shortcomings.
主语：His poor grades
系动词：are
表语：the least of his shortcomings
the least of 表示“……最微不足道；……最小的”，the least of his shortcomings，即“ 缺点中最微不足道的”，也就是缺点有很多，成绩不好只是其中最微不足道的。
所以，第二种理解是正确的。
用这句话来驳斥“唯成绩论”，其作用相当于雪上加霜、越描越黑。
当我们觉得某句话不好理解时，分析句子结构能帮我们快速抓住重点，去年高考真题中的长难句，你都能get吗？
The benefits of print reading particularly shine through when experimenters move from posing simple tasks – like identifying the main idea in a reading passage – to ones that require mental abstraction – such as drawing inferences from a text.
句意为：当实验人员从提出简单的任务，如找到阅读文章的主旨，转向需要抽象思维的任务，如从文本中推断出结论时，纸质阅读的好处尤为明显。
本句中when引导时间状语从句，从句谓语为move，like identifying the main idea in a reading passage和such as drawing inferences from a text分别补充说明simple tasks和ones that require mental abstraction。
According to this theory, people approach digital texts with a mindset suited to social media, which are often not so serious, and devote less mental effort than when they are reading print.
句意为：根据这一理论，人们对待数字文本的态度与对待社交媒体的态度相当，社交媒体通常不那么严肃，相比纸质阅读，人们投入的脑力要少。
suited to social media作后置定语修饰mindset，which引导的非限制性定语从句，修饰先行词social media，and连接主句并列的谓语approach和devote。
These observations now outnumber the primary data that comes from physical specimens, and since we are increasingly using observational data to investigate how species are responding to global change, I wanted to know: Are they usable?
句意为：现在，这些观察结果的数量超过了来自实物标本的原始数据，而由于我们越来越多地使用观察数据来研究物种如何应对全球变化，我想知道：这些观察数据可靠吗?
本句是一个并列句，前半句中的that作关系代词引导定语从句，修饰先行词the primary data；后半句中的since引导原因状语从句，how引导宾语从句作investigate的宾语。
This makes sense because the people who get observational biodiversity data on mobile devices are often citizen scientists recording their encounters with species in areas nearby.
句意为：这是有道理的，因为民间科学家经常通过移动设备获取生物多样性观察数据，他们记录的是在附近地区接触到的物种。
because引导原因状语从句，who引导定语从句修饰先行词the people，recording ... nearby 为分词短语作后置定语，修饰citizen scientists。
Using a global dataset of 1.9 billion records of plants, insects, birds, and animals, Daru and his team tested how well these data represent actual global biodiversity patterns.
句意为：Daru和他的团队使用了一个包含19亿条植物、昆虫、鸟类和动物记录的全球数据集，测试这些数据在多大程度上代表了实际的全球生物多样性模式。
Using a global dataset ... 为分词短语作状语，how引导宾语从句作test的宾语。
Between the girl making my achievement seem small and the pure boredom of jogging, I decided that the only reasonI’d ever run again is if a big dog was running after me!
句意为：那个女孩让我觉得自己的成就微不足道，加上慢跑让我感觉无聊，我决定以后再也不跑步了，除非有一只大狗追着我跑！
句子的主干为I decided that。Between ... and ... 为介词短语作状语，其中making my achievement seem small为现在分词短语作后置定语，修饰the girl；that引导的宾语从句中，the reason (that) ... 表示“……的原因 / 理由”。
We wanted to do something where we do a call to artists in the Bay Area to submit stories for a contest.
句意为：我们想要做一些事情，即向湾区的艺术家发起呼吁，让他们提交故事参加比赛。
本句为主从复合句，句子主干是：We wanted to do something；where引导定语从句，修饰先行词something，说明其具体内容，即发起一个呼吁。不定式短语to submit stories for a contest作目的状语，说明发起呼吁的目的，即让艺术家提交故事参加比赛。
Moreover, having a system in the same building where it’s eaten means zero emissions from transporting plants from soil to salad.
句意为：此外，在同一楼内的这一系统（从种植到食用）意味着蔬菜从土壤到沙拉过程中的零排放。
having a system in the same building为动名词短语作主语，where it’s eaten引导定语从句，修饰先行词building，means为句子谓语。
She writes from the practical angle of a business person rather than as an academic, making for a guide which is highly accessible and informative and which, by the close, will make you feel almost as smart as AI.
句意为：她从商业人士（而非学者）的实用角度出发，使得这本指南通俗易懂、内容丰富，读完之后，你会觉得自己几乎和人工智能一样聪明。
句子主干是：She writes from the practical angle of a business person rather than as an academic；making for ... as AI是非谓语短语作伴随状语，其中嵌入两个which引导的定语从句，都修饰先行词guide。
That’s why most pet cats are able to tell immediately if their owners were around any other cats, which they don’t usually like.
句意为：这就是为什么大多数宠物猫能够立即判断它们的主人是否曾接触过其他猫，而它们通常不喜欢主人这样做。
句子主干是：That’s why most pet cats are able to tell immediately；why most pet cats are able to tell immediately为why引导的表语从句；if their owners were around any other cats为if引导的宾语从句作tell的宾语；which they don’t usually like为which引导的非限制性定语从句，修饰说明它们的主人接触过其他猫的这种情况。
He suggested I think about the difference between endings that I wanted for the characters and endings that were right for the characters, endings that satisfied the story even if they didn’t have a traditionally positive outcome.
句意为：他建议我思考我想要的角色结局和适合角色的结局之间的区别，即满足故事需要的结局，即使这些结局不是传统意义上的美满结局。
本句中that I wanted for the characters、that were right for the characters和that satisfied the story均是定语从句，均修饰各自前面的endings；even if引导让步状语从句；He suggested I think about … 中，suggest意为“建议”，其后的宾语从句中用should + 动词原形表示虚拟语气，think前省略了should。
你理解对了吗？
来源：维词一点号
