---
url: https://gaojian.site/new-concept/book-4/02-spare-that-spider.md
description: 新概念英语第四册：Spare that Spider。精读、词块回忆、双向译练、句法、逻辑与FSRS复习。
---

# 02 · 不要伤害蜘蛛

### 第1段

Why, you may wonder, should spiders be our friends? Because they destroy so many insects, and insects include some of the greatest enemies of the human race. Insects would make it impossible for us to live in the world; they would devour all our crops and kill our flocks and herds, if it were not for the protection we get from insect-eating animals. We owe a lot to the birds and beasts who eat insects but all of them put together kill only a fraction of the number destroyed by spiders. Moreover, unlike some of the other insect eaters, spiders never do the least harm to us or our belongings.
Spiders are not insects, as many people think, nor even nearly related to them. One can tell the difference almost at a glance, for a spider always has eight legs and an insect never more than six.
How many spiders are engaged in this work on our behalf? One authority on spiders made a census of the spiders in a grass field in the south of England, and he estimated that there were more than 2,250,000 in one acre; that is something like 6,000,000 spiders of different kinds on a football pitch. Spiders are busy for at least half the year in killing insects. It is impossible to make more than the wildest guess at how many they kill, but they are hungry creatures, not content with only three meals a day. It has been estimated that the weight of all the insects destroyed by spiders in Britain in one year would be greater than the total weight of all the human beings in the country.

中文理解：你也许会问，蜘蛛为什么会是我们的朋友？因为它们消灭了大量昆虫，而昆虫中有些正是人类最危险的敌人。要不是那些以昆虫为食的动物保护我们，昆虫早就会让人类无法在地球上生存：它们会吃光庄稼，害死成群的牛羊。我们十分感激那些吃昆虫的鸟兽，但它们消灭的昆虫加在一起，也只占蜘蛛捕杀数量的一小部分。而且，与某些其他食虫动物不同，蜘蛛对我们及我们的财物丝毫无害。
许多人以为蜘蛛也是昆虫，其实并非如此，蜘蛛与昆虫的亲缘关系甚至都不近。两者几乎一眼就能分清：蜘蛛有八条腿，昆虫的腿则从不超过六条。
究竟有多少蜘蛛在替我们做这件事呢？一位蜘蛛研究专家曾调查英格兰南部一片草地上的蜘蛛数量。他估计，每英亩草地有超过二百二十五万只蜘蛛；换算到一个足球场大小的地方，就大约有六百万只各种各样的蜘蛛。蜘蛛一年中至少有半年忙着捕杀昆虫。它们究竟吃掉多少，我们顶多只能粗略估计；不过，这些小家伙胃口很大，一天三餐可满足不了它们。据估算，英国蜘蛛一年捕杀的昆虫，其总重量会超过英国全体人口的体重总和。

* **the human race**：人类；指整个人类，race在这里不是赛跑。

* **if it were not for**：要不是有……；设想去掉现实中存在的条件，后面通常说明本会怎样。

* **owe a lot to**：在很大程度上归功于；可以表达受益、归功，不一定指欠钱。

* **put together**：加在一起；undefined

* **only a fraction of**：仅占……的一小部分；比较两者数量差距，fraction不一定是精确分数。

* **do the least harm**：造成丝毫伤害；在never等否定词后，the least加强“丝毫不”的含义。

* **related to**：与……有亲缘关系；可指亲缘，也可指一般关联，按上下文选义。

* **tell the difference**：辨别差别；tell在这里是辨别，不是讲述。

* **at a glance**：看一眼就；突出不必细查即可辨认，通常修饰判断或看出。

* **on our behalf**：替我们；为我们；可说代表某人，也可说替某人做事。

* **made a census**：进行了一次数量调查；census强调统计数量，并非随便观察。

* **something like**：大约；差不多；undefined

* **are busy**：忙于；busy后接动名词活动；原句把for at least half the year插在busy与in killing insects之间。

* **the wildest guess**：极不精确的猜测；undefined

* **not content with**：不满足于；指满足现状；与表示愿意做的be content to do区分。

* **It has been estimated**：据估计；形式主语it先占位，that后给估计内容；被动完成时不等于估计已经得到证实。

#### Why, you may wonder, should spiders be our friends?

这是一个特殊疑问句，主体是 Why should spiders be our friends?，should 位于主语 spiders 前，属于疑问句的正常语序。you may wonder 是插入语，表示“你也许会问”。去掉插入语，疑问句仍然完整。

原句主体是直接问句，不宜同时按普通宾语从句分析。若改成 you may wonder 后接宾语从句，则应使用陈述语序：why spiders should be our friends。

#### Because they destroy so many insects, and insects include some of the greatest enemies of the human race.

这是对上一句 Why…? 的简略回答。Because 引出的原因部分内部，由 and 连接两个主谓宾分句；Because 仍是表示原因的从属连词。完整理解时，可把省略的主句补为“蜘蛛应当是我们的朋友”。

#### Insects would make it impossible for us to live in the world; they would devour all our crops and kill our flocks and herds, if it were not for the protection we get from insect-eating animals.

复合句，以分号分成前后两句，第一句为主谓宾+宾补结构，其中不定式作动词宾语，且后跟补足语时，常用 it 作形式宾语，而将不定式后置.

第二句的主句为主谓宾结构，使用 would + 动词原形的并列结构，有两个谓语 devour 和 kill，后面跟一个 if 引导的条件状语从句，该从句为主系表结构，使用了虚拟语气，表示对现在情况的虚拟. 其中包含一个定语从句修饰 protection，该定语从句为主谓结构. 这里需要留意的是，在句意上，if 所引导的条件状语从句是修饰整个句子的，包括分号前的句子，在翻译的时候需要留意，这个前提不存在将导致分号前后两句的坏情况发生.

虚拟语气的条件句建议对照语法书进行系统复习，此处稍微讲解虚拟条件句中的三个情况，这里不讨论真实条件句.

一、对现在情况的虚拟，主句谓语使用 would/should/might/could + 动词原形，条件句的谓语动词用过去式，be 动词用 were；

二、对过去情况的虚拟，主句谓语使用 would/should/might/could + have + 动词的过去分词，条件句的谓语动词用过去完成时；

三、表达设想中的将来情况，主句可使用 would/should/might/could + 动词原形，条件从句可采用过去式、should do 或 were to do 等结构。它们的区别涉及语体和说话人的设想态度，不能一概按出现顺序排列可能性高低。

#### We owe a lot to the birds and beasts who eat insects but all of them put together kill only a fraction of the number destroyed by spiders.

并列复合句，全句以 but 分成前后两句，第一句为主谓宾结构，其中包含一个 who 引导的定语从句，为主谓宾结构.

后句为主谓宾结构，有一些定语作进一步的补充说明.

#### Moreover, unlike some of the other insect eaters, spiders never do the least harm to us or our belongings.

简单句，主谓宾结构.

#### Spiders are not insects, as many people think, nor even nearly related to them.

复合句，并列的两个主系表结构，中间带有一个 as 引导的定语从句. 意思是人们普遍认为蜘蛛是昆虫，as 引导的补充性关系从句回应“蜘蛛是昆虫”这一看法，而非修饰名词 insects 本身，但实际上跟大家所认为的不同，蜘蛛并不是昆虫，也不是昆虫的近亲，这里 think 可以理解为 believe.

as 引导的定语从句主要用于两种结构，一种是用于 as we all know 之类的句型中， as 可作为主语、宾语和表语等，as 在这种结构中，作“正如”解，这类定语从句如果放在句首，在功能上其实更偏向于状语从句；另一种是 such…as 之类的固定结构中，还包括 the same…as…，as…as…，so…as…等，as 引导的定语从句常用省略结构，在从句中既可以指人、物，也可指整个句子.

此句为第一种结构，as 在这里作表语. (29.3.2- 1)

后半句，nor 后面省略了主语和系动词，因 nor 在句首，那么需要倒装，补充完整为 nor are spiders \[even nearly] related to them.

#### One can tell the difference almost at a glance, for a spider always has eight legs and an insect never more than six.

复合句，主句主谓宾结构，后面 for 引导一个原因状语从句，为并列句，均为主谓宾结构，只不过后一句省略了谓语，an insect never has more than six legs.

#### How many spiders are engaged in this work on our behalf?

简单句，主谓宾结构.

#### One authority on spiders made a census of the spiders in a grass field in the south of England, and he estimated that there were more than 2,250,000 in one acre; that is something like 6,000,000 spiders of different kinds on a football pitch.

复合句，该句在结构上为两个句子，2-1 句为首句，2-2 与2-3 句为第二句.

2-1 句为主谓宾结构.

2-2 与2-3 在结构上是并列的，以分号相分隔，故2-2 句为主谓+宾语从句的结构，该从句至 acre 为止，该从句为 there be 句型.

2-3 句为主系表结构.

#### Spiders are busy for at least half the year in killing insects.

简单句，主系表结构.

#### It is impossible to make more than the wildest guess at how many they kill, but they are hungry creatures, not content with only three meals a day.

并列复合句，以 but 分为两句，前句为主系表结构，it 为形式主语，而动词不定式为实际主语.

后句为主系表结构.

#### It has been estimated that the weight of all the insects destroyed by spiders in Britain in one year would be greater than the total weight of all the human beings in the country.

复合句，主谓+主语从句结构，it 为形式主语，后面的从句为真正的主语.

该主语从句为主系表结构.

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[Nce · 本册复习台](/new-concept/book-4/review) · [三册选择地图](/new-concept/)

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