20170505 长难句每日一句
戳这些文字，陪你解忧
有问题，欢迎长按二维码直接分答提问
【昨日长难句】When one of these noneconomic categories is threatened and, if we happen to love it, we invented excuses to give it economic importance.
当这些无经济价值的物种之一受到威胁时，并且如果我们正好喜欢它，我们就会编造理由来赋予其经济价值。
【今日长难句】At the beginning of century songbirds were supposed to be disappearing. Scientists jumped to the rescue with some distinctly shaky evidence to the effect that insects would eat us up if birds failed to control them.
音频讲解（建议一遍没听懂的童鞋，多听两遍）
【结构解析】
1. 首句中 “be supposed to do /be …” 为固定搭配，译为：“应该”或“被期望”。
2. 第二句主干为句式为“Scientists jumped to the rescue” ；with some distinctly shaky evidence to the effect为状语修饰jump to the rescue; to the effect 为固定搭配，译为：大意是; that insects would eat us up if birds failed to control them 为同位语从句解释the evidence的内容。
【词的处理】
songbird / ˈsɔŋbə:d/ n. 鸣禽
be supposed to … 应该；被期待
jump to sth 迅速加入/做某事
rescue / ˈreskju: /营救；援救
distinctly /dɪ'stɪŋ(k)tlɪ/ adv. 明显地
shaky / ˈʃeiki / adj. 不稳固的；不牢靠的；摇晃的；不确切的
to the effect 大意是
insect / ˈinsekt / n.昆虫
eat up 吃光
fail to 未能
【参考译文】
At the beginning of century songbirds were supposed to be disappearing. Scientists jumped to the rescue with some distinctly shaky evidence to the effect that insects would eat us up if birds failed to control them.
在本世纪初，鸣禽本被认为正趋向灭绝。科学家迅速加入救援，但他们的证据显然站不住脚，这些证据的大意是：如果鸟类不能控制昆虫的数量，昆虫将会降人类吞噬。
【明日长难句】
It is painful to read these round about accounts today. We have no land ethic yet, but we have at least drawn near the point of admitting that birds should continue as a matter of intrinsic right, regardless of the presence or absence of economic advantage to us.