1.It is a great pleasure to tell how I served my apprenticeship as a businessman.我很高興談?wù)勎沂窃鯓右娏?xí)辦實(shí)業(yè)的。
這里apprenticeship是比喻義?？突诒疚闹兴v的并不是他怎樣學(xué)習(xí)經(jīng)商，而是記敘了他不滿13歲時開始在棉紡廠當(dāng)小工的情況。但他把他少年時期這段經(jīng)歷看成是他一生成功創(chuàng)業(yè)（包括創(chuàng)建慈善事業(yè)）的“學(xué)徒期”（他在第六段中把這段時間稱為“我以后辦實(shí)業(yè)見決期的前奏”，即my preparation of the subsequent apprentice as a businessman），因?yàn)檫@段艱苦生活的磨難使他終身受益。
serve：spend a period of time learning a trade/ in a post/in prison
當(dāng)學(xué)徒；任職；服刑，
eg：He has served in the army for three years.
他已經(jīng)服了三年兵役。
eg：Franklin Roosevelt served 4 terms as U.S.President.
富蘭克林羅斯福當(dāng)了四任美國總統(tǒng)。
eg：The man is serving a three-year sentence for bribery.
他因受賄被判入獄3年，正在服刑。
eg：After serving a three-year apprenticeship in a garment factory，the young man was employed as a tailor.
在一家服裝廠當(dāng)了3年學(xué)徒之后，那年輕人被聘任為裁縫。
2.But there seems to be a questionpreceding his：Why did I become a businessman？
precede：（formal）to come or go before sb./sth.in time，order，position，etc；to happen before sth.
先于，位于……之前，優(yōu)先
eg：A loud roar preceded the earthquake.
巨大的轟鳴聲之后發(fā)生了地震。
eg：In the preceding lecture we dealt with the development of nuclear technology.
上一節(jié)課我闡述了核技術(shù)的歷程。
3.I am sure that I should never have selected a business career if I had been permitted to choose.我相信要是我有選擇的余地，我不會選擇經(jīng)商的生涯。
if I had （此句包含一虛擬條件句）
eg：If I had been admitted by Peking University，I should have found a better major.
我要是被北大錄取了，我就會找到一個更好的專業(yè)。
4.The eldestson of parents who were themselves poor，I had，fortunately，to begin to perform some useful work in the world while still very young in order to earn an living and therefore came to understand even early boyhood that my duty was to asistmy parents and become，as soon as possible，a breadwinner in the family.作為窮人家里的長子，我有幸為了謀生不得不很小就出外干活，因而在孩童時期就懂得了我的責(zé)任是協(xié)助父母養(yǎng)家，盡快成為家里掙錢的人。這是個包含60個詞、三個從句、結(jié)構(gòu)復(fù)雜的句子。句子的主干是主語+由and連接的兩個并列謂語：1）had to begin to perform some useful work……，2）came to understand……。 the eldest son of parents是主語的補(bǔ)足語；who were themselves poor是定語從句，修飾parents；fortunately（副詞），in the world（介詞短語），while still very young（= while I was still very young省略形式的時間從句），in order to earn a living（不定式短語）都是狀語是，修飾第一個謂語動詞had to begin to perform.在第二個謂語動詞之后，in early boyhood是它的時間狀語，以下是一個系表結(jié)構(gòu)的賓語從句，其中my duty是主語，表語是兩個并列的不定式短語to assist my parents和（to）become a breadwinner，as soon as possible和in the family都是become a breadwinner的狀語。注意fortunately一詞前后各有一個逗號插入had to begin 之間，使其醒目，作者強(qiáng)調(diào)小小出外干活其實(shí)是件“幸運(yùn)”的事。
Eldest年長的
earn a living：make a living謀生
eg：He began to earn a living by himself when he was over ten years old.
他十多歲就開始自己謀生了。
注意assist與help的區(qū)別：前者表示“協(xié)助”，被協(xié)助的人起主要作用，協(xié)助人起輔助作用（養(yǎng)家糊口主要是他父母的責(zé)任）；
help表示為他人做一部分工作，或一起做。
eg：This academic year，Xiao Li is assisting Professor Chen in Modern British History.
這個學(xué)年，小李為陳教授的“英國現(xiàn)代史課”當(dāng)助教。
eg：Xiao Li helped Professor Chen to carry those books to his office.
小李幫陳教授把那些書搬到他的辦公室。（可能小李搬的更多。）
breadwinner掙錢的人，養(yǎng)家糊口的人
eg：He is the only breadwinner of the five-people family.
他是這五口之家掙錢的人。
5.What I could get to do，not what I desired，was the question.I was not in a position to choose a job；I had to accept any job I could find.問題是，我能找到什么活干，而不是我想干什么活。（意思是因?yàn)槿诵?，不易找到工作，不是人選工作，而是有什么就干什么。）
更常用的形式是：The question is = The problem is，問題是……，
eg：The problem is how to find a way through out the forest.
問題是如何找到走出森林的路。
eg：The question is whether he is competent for the job not whether he will accept the job.
問題是他是否勝任這個工作，而不是他是否愿意接受這個工作。
eg：The question is whether he would like me to assist him，not whether I'm ready to so.
問題是他是否讓我協(xié)助他，而不是我是否愿意。
6.He owned no fewer than four handlooms and employed apprentices.他有四臺之多的手工織布機(jī)，還雇了幾個學(xué)徒。
no fewer than：不少于（表示在當(dāng)時的情況下，這個數(shù)目是大的）
eg：That cool summer，they sold no fewer than 70 airconditioners.
那個涼爽的夏天，他們賣出的空調(diào)機(jī)也有70臺之多。
eg：At the first class of this term，there were no fewer than 20 students in his class.
這里apprenticeship是比喻義?？突诒疚闹兴v的并不是他怎樣學(xué)習(xí)經(jīng)商，而是記敘了他不滿13歲時開始在棉紡廠當(dāng)小工的情況。但他把他少年時期這段經(jīng)歷看成是他一生成功創(chuàng)業(yè)（包括創(chuàng)建慈善事業(yè)）的“學(xué)徒期”（他在第六段中把這段時間稱為“我以后辦實(shí)業(yè)見決期的前奏”，即my preparation of the subsequent apprentice as a businessman），因?yàn)檫@段艱苦生活的磨難使他終身受益。
serve：spend a period of time learning a trade/ in a post/in prison
當(dāng)學(xué)徒；任職；服刑，
eg：He has served in the army for three years.
他已經(jīng)服了三年兵役。
eg：Franklin Roosevelt served 4 terms as U.S.President.
富蘭克林羅斯福當(dāng)了四任美國總統(tǒng)。
eg：The man is serving a three-year sentence for bribery.
他因受賄被判入獄3年，正在服刑。
eg：After serving a three-year apprenticeship in a garment factory，the young man was employed as a tailor.
在一家服裝廠當(dāng)了3年學(xué)徒之后，那年輕人被聘任為裁縫。
2.But there seems to be a questionpreceding his：Why did I become a businessman？
precede：（formal）to come or go before sb./sth.in time，order，position，etc；to happen before sth.
先于，位于……之前，優(yōu)先
eg：A loud roar preceded the earthquake.
巨大的轟鳴聲之后發(fā)生了地震。
eg：In the preceding lecture we dealt with the development of nuclear technology.
上一節(jié)課我闡述了核技術(shù)的歷程。
3.I am sure that I should never have selected a business career if I had been permitted to choose.我相信要是我有選擇的余地，我不會選擇經(jīng)商的生涯。
if I had （此句包含一虛擬條件句）
eg：If I had been admitted by Peking University，I should have found a better major.
我要是被北大錄取了，我就會找到一個更好的專業(yè)。
4.The eldestson of parents who were themselves poor，I had，fortunately，to begin to perform some useful work in the world while still very young in order to earn an living and therefore came to understand even early boyhood that my duty was to asistmy parents and become，as soon as possible，a breadwinner in the family.作為窮人家里的長子，我有幸為了謀生不得不很小就出外干活，因而在孩童時期就懂得了我的責(zé)任是協(xié)助父母養(yǎng)家，盡快成為家里掙錢的人。這是個包含60個詞、三個從句、結(jié)構(gòu)復(fù)雜的句子。句子的主干是主語+由and連接的兩個并列謂語：1）had to begin to perform some useful work……，2）came to understand……。 the eldest son of parents是主語的補(bǔ)足語；who were themselves poor是定語從句，修飾parents；fortunately（副詞），in the world（介詞短語），while still very young（= while I was still very young省略形式的時間從句），in order to earn a living（不定式短語）都是狀語是，修飾第一個謂語動詞had to begin to perform.在第二個謂語動詞之后，in early boyhood是它的時間狀語，以下是一個系表結(jié)構(gòu)的賓語從句，其中my duty是主語，表語是兩個并列的不定式短語to assist my parents和（to）become a breadwinner，as soon as possible和in the family都是become a breadwinner的狀語。注意fortunately一詞前后各有一個逗號插入had to begin 之間，使其醒目，作者強(qiáng)調(diào)小小出外干活其實(shí)是件“幸運(yùn)”的事。
Eldest年長的
earn a living：make a living謀生
eg：He began to earn a living by himself when he was over ten years old.
他十多歲就開始自己謀生了。
注意assist與help的區(qū)別：前者表示“協(xié)助”，被協(xié)助的人起主要作用，協(xié)助人起輔助作用（養(yǎng)家糊口主要是他父母的責(zé)任）；
help表示為他人做一部分工作，或一起做。
eg：This academic year，Xiao Li is assisting Professor Chen in Modern British History.
這個學(xué)年，小李為陳教授的“英國現(xiàn)代史課”當(dāng)助教。
eg：Xiao Li helped Professor Chen to carry those books to his office.
小李幫陳教授把那些書搬到他的辦公室。（可能小李搬的更多。）
breadwinner掙錢的人，養(yǎng)家糊口的人
eg：He is the only breadwinner of the five-people family.
他是這五口之家掙錢的人。
5.What I could get to do，not what I desired，was the question.I was not in a position to choose a job；I had to accept any job I could find.問題是，我能找到什么活干，而不是我想干什么活。（意思是因?yàn)槿诵?，不易找到工作，不是人選工作，而是有什么就干什么。）
更常用的形式是：The question is = The problem is，問題是……，
eg：The problem is how to find a way through out the forest.
問題是如何找到走出森林的路。
eg：The question is whether he is competent for the job not whether he will accept the job.
問題是他是否勝任這個工作，而不是他是否愿意接受這個工作。
eg：The question is whether he would like me to assist him，not whether I'm ready to so.
問題是他是否讓我協(xié)助他，而不是我是否愿意。
6.He owned no fewer than four handlooms and employed apprentices.他有四臺之多的手工織布機(jī)，還雇了幾個學(xué)徒。
no fewer than：不少于（表示在當(dāng)時的情況下，這個數(shù)目是大的）
eg：That cool summer，they sold no fewer than 70 airconditioners.
那個涼爽的夏天，他們賣出的空調(diào)機(jī)也有70臺之多。
eg：At the first class of this term，there were no fewer than 20 students in his class.