翻译题
How many Facebook Mends do you have? For some, the answer can be a signal of social success, and the numbers claimed can be enormous: Facebook permits 5,000 of them (though these might include products and companies as well as people). But Robin Dunbar, a psychologist at Oxford University, has long reckoned that claims of vast numbers of Facebook friends do not say much about actual human relationships. Dr. Dunbar is the originator of Dunbar's number, a rough measure of the number of stable relationships that individuals can maintain. He found a correlation between the average size of each species's neocortex (a recently evolved part of the brain) and that of their social groups. 【F1】Deducing the results to humans, he reckoned, meant they should have social circles—of close friends and relatives, and frequently seen acquaintances—of about 150 people. Things have changed a bit since Neolithic and Roman times, though, and many wonder what effects modem technology might have on the size of such circles. 【F2】Perhaps there is indeed a cognitive limit, imposed by the brain's internal architecture, on how large a social structure can be maintained. But there may also be another limit: time. Mamtaining 150 friendships face-to-face consumes a lot of that. Gathering together many times this number of connections online, though, is an easy thing. Previous attempts to decide between these possibilities have tended to come down on the cognitive-limit side of the fence. 【F3】But they have been criticized for looking at unrepresentative groups of people: students (inevitably), scientists and particularly heavy users of social networks. The latest try, in which Dr. Dunbar carried on a survey organized by a biscuit-maker, has overcome that. It is the first national-scale, randomly sampled study to investigate the matter. 【F4】The survey asked 2,000 people, chosen because they were regular social-network users, and a further 1,375 adults in full-time employment who might or might not have been such users, how many friends they had on Facebook. The results showed, to no surprise whatsoever on the part of Dr. Dunbar, that the average number in the two groups were Dunbar-sized numbers: 155 and (when those who did not use Facebook at all were excluded) 187, respectively. 【F5】These results, then, confirm that what constrains an individual's number of friends is neurological. Even though social networks could help people handle far more social interactions than Dunbar's number describes, it seems the human brain simply cannot keep up.
【答案解析】①此句为主从复合句，主句宾语是由一个省略引导词that的从句充当。②主句的主语是动名词短语Deducing the results to humans。he reckoned可视作是插入语。③破折号之间的介词短语of close friends…acquaintances也可看作是插入语，作宾语social circles的后置定语，说明人类社交圈的范围，即包括什么人。句末的of about 150 people亦是social circles的后置定语，说明人类社交圈的人数。
问答题12.【F2】
【正确答案】对于个人能维持多大规模的社交圈，这种认知上的限度很可能是受大脑内部结构影响的。
【答案解析】①本句为there be句型，主语为a cognitive limit。②句子中间插入了一个过去分词短语imposed by…，充当非谓语成分修饰主语a limit，说明认知上的限度受大脑内部结构影响。③句尾的介宾短语on how large…can be maitained说明这种限度是有关人类能维持多大规模的社交圈。其中can be maintained是省略引导词的定语从句，修饰a social structure。
【答案解析】①此句为使用被动语态的现在完成时态的简单句，冒号后为三个并列的名词及名词短语。②主干中谓语动词搭配be criticized for doing sth．意为“因做某事受到指责”。③冒号后的三个并列名词students，scientists和heavy users是对前面unrepresentative groups of people“不具代表性的人群”进行具体说明。
【答案解析】①本句为主从复合句。主句为“主谓双宾”句型。间接宾语是2,000 people and a further 1,375 adults，其后都带有较长的修饰成分。直接宾语是由how many连接的从旬充当。句子还包含一个原因状语从句和一个定语从句。②现在分词短语chosen…social-network users修饰前面的2,000 people，说明2,000个人被选取参与调查的原因。③who引导的定语从句修饰的是a further 1,375 adults，说明这1375名成年人可能是社交网络使用者，也有可能不是。