每课http://image109.360doc.com/DownloadImg/2020/11/1705/207579085_1_20201117053013930_wm一句：新概念英语第2册第94课
【往期回顾】
今天我们接着来看第94课的“每课一句”。
一、课文原文
Lesson 94 Future champions
Experiments have proved that children can be instructed in swimming at a very early age. At a special swimming pool in Los Angeles, children become expert at holding their breath under water even before they can walk. Babies of two months old do not appear to be reluctant to enter the water. It is not long before they are so accustomed to swimming that they can pick up weights from the floor of the pool. A game that is very popular with these young swimmers is the underwater tricycle race. Tricycles are lined up on the floor of the pool seven feet under water. The children compete against each other to reach the other end of the pool. Many pedal their tricycles, but most of them prefer to push or drag them. Some children can cover the whole length of the pool without coming up for breath even once. Whether they will ever become future Olympic champions, only time will tell. Meanwhile, they should encourage those among us who cannot swim five yards before they are gasping for air.
——选自《新概念英语》第二册，外语教学与研究出版社，1997年10月第1版
二、每课一句
Whether they will ever become future Olympic champions, only time will tell.
注意本句话中whether所引导的从句虽然处于句首位置，但其实它并不是主语从句，而是tell的宾语从句。也就是说，整个句子实际的语序原本是：
Only time will tell whether they will ever become future Olympic champions.
作者之所以把whether引导的宾语从句提到句首，主要是为了突出“only time will tell”。
这么处理背后的原理是语法当中的尾心原理（End focus，也叫句尾焦点），即把整个句子当中最重要的成分放到句末来强调，因为句末的位置最为重要。比如：
Last week I went to the theatre.
这句话如果按照常规的语法规则，句中的时间状语last week也可以放到句末。但是，按照尾心原理，作者在这句话里是想重点告诉我们他上周去了什么地方，这样就可以跟下一句话（The play was very interesting）形成很好的衔接了，因为the play和the theatre是形成词汇同现关系的。
在写作中，尾心原理可以通过掉尾句（Periodic sentences）来实现。有关掉尾句的运用，大家可以参考我之前在第2册第1课的“每课一句”中的分享：
每课一句：新概念第2册第1课
在有关句子语序的调整的原理中，还有一个常用的原理，叫做尾重原理（End weight，也叫句尾重心）。这个原理是指把句子中结构较为复杂、篇幅较长的成分放到句末。比如：
We'll have to put the next meeting of the General Assembly off.
这句话中的宾语the next meeting of the General Assembly被置于off前面，但因为其篇幅远超过off，这就违背了句子的尾重原理，所以最好修改为：
We'll have to put off the next meeting of the General Assembly.
三、更多拓展
Meanwhile, they should encourage those among us who cannot swim five yards before they are gasping for air.
本句话需要注意的是由who引导的定语从句修饰的先行词是those，而those作为先行词后接定语从句的用法是较为繁杂的。
其主要用法如下：
1、当those指人时，常后接who或whom（常省略）引导的定语从句。如：
Those who know him will admire him for his work.
所有认识他的人都敬佩他所做的工作。
I like to help those whom I love and those who I know love me.
我喜欢帮助那些我爱的人和那些我知道爱我的人。
【注意】此时，也可以用that来连接定语从句，但使用频率没有who或whom高。
2、当those指物时，常后接which引导的定语从句。如：
Such abrupt and great changes of structure are widely different from those which most species apparently have undergone.
这些构造上的突然而巨大的变化，是和一般物种显然所经历的变异大不相同的。
The interests he is most likely to enjoy will be those which enable him to show off himself or his talents.
他最有可能感兴趣的就是那些能让他表现自己或炫耀才华的事情。
【注意】此时，也可以用that来连接定语从句，但使用频率没有which高。
3、those后面还可用whose或“介词+which”等引导。如：
The workers get rid of those whose work is not up to the mark.
工人们赶走了工作不符合要求的人。
We can here attempt no more than the discovery of the points at which Shakespeare connects with his rivals and those at which he dominates them.
我们在这里只能试图揭示莎士比亚和他的对手之间的联结点和他超出同辈的地方。