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在这一节里，我们主要讨论陈述句和疑问句用作主语的情况。此外，英语里还可以用 because 引导的从句来充当句子主语，对此我们也将予以介绍。
对于 that 引导的主语从句，我们要重点看其在句中的位置特点：它一般是置于句末的，偶尔也可以置于句首。
由 that 引导的主语从句可以直接放在句首。请看例句：
1 That the seas are being overfished has been known for years.
妙语点睛 这里 that 从句 that the seas are being overfished 即是一个主语从句，直接置于主语位置。
精品译文 海洋正在被人们过度捕捞，许多年以来这已是尽人皆知的事情了。
2 That the plates are moving is not beyond dispute.
妙语点睛 这里 that 从句 that the plates are moving 即是一个主语从句，直接置于主语位置。
精品译文 地球板块是在漂移的，这一点毫无争议。
有时候，即使 that 从句比较长而复杂，也可能被直接置于句首来作主语（这样的句子结构并不常见），比如：
3 That such a conjunction of circumstances might occur again soon, especially considering shrinking US defense budgets and diminishing overseas base access , is problematical at best.
图解解句
妙语点睛 看到句首的 that such 就知道，这里的 that 只能作为连词而不是指示词，因此可以判断其后接的必然是一个主语从句。另外，两个分词短语 shrinking US defense budgets 和 diminishing overseas base access 是并列关系，一同作分词 considering 的宾语。请注意：不要误认为 considering 与 diminishing 并列。
精品译文 至于在近期内能否再次出现这种各个情况巧合的局面，即使是最乐观的看法也是值得怀疑的，尤其是考虑到美国国防预算缩减和海外基地减少的情况。
译文心得 这句话的语序不是常见的英文惯用语序。按照正常的英文思维的表达应该是 It is problematical at best that... ，即先表达态度，再展开叙事。而这句英文却符合汉语的思维方式，即先叙事后表态。所以，这句话就可以按照原文的顺序来翻译成汉语。
但是，更常见的情况是用 it 作形式主语置于句首，而将 that 主语从句放在句末。因此，下列都是常见的主语从句句型（作文中常用的句型，重点内容）：
It's reported that... 据报道……
It is generally thought that... 人们普遍认为……
It has been found that... 现已发现……
It's believed that... 据信……
It should be noted that... 应当注意……
It must be pointed out that... 必须指出……
同样可以这么用的动词还有： say, expect, know, estimate, forecast 等。比如下面这些句子：
4 As a child -- and as an adult as well -- Bill Gates was untidy. It has been said that in order to counteract this, Mary drew up weekly clothing plans for him.
精品译文 童年时期，以及即使长大成人后，比尔·盖茨也不修边幅。据说为了改掉他的这个毛病，玛丽为他制定了一周着装计划。
5 And it is imagined by many that the operations of the common mind can be by no means compared with these processes, and that they have to be acquired by a sort of special training.
妙语点睛 该主语从句的基本结构是 it is imagined that...and that... ，即这里是两个 that 从句并列，在句中作主语，即并列的主语从句。
精品译文 许多人以为，普通人的思维活动根本无法与科学家的思维过程相比，这些思维过程必须经过某种专门训练才能掌握。
6 It is generally agreed that a person of high intelligence is one who can grasp ideas readily, make distinctions, reason logically, and make use of verbal and mathematical symbols in solving problems.
妙语点睛 这里是在过去分词 agreed 前面加了副词 generally 修饰，其他可以这么使用的副词有： universally, normally, usually 等。
精品译文 人们普遍认为，高智商的人有这样的一些特点：理解力强、辨别力强、逻辑推理能力强，并且在解决问题的过程中善于利用文字或数学符号。
It is clear that... 显然……
It is likely that... 很可能……
It is certain that... 可以相信……
It is fortunate that... 幸运的是……
It is possible that... 很可能……
It is natural that... 很自然……
It is strange that... 奇怪的是……
It is necessary that... 有必要……
请看例句：
7 Fortunately, the White House is starting to pay attention. But it's obvious that a majority of the president's advisers still don't take global warming seriously.
妙语点睛 该主语从句的基本结构是 it is obvious that... ，即这里是 that 引导的主语从句。
精品译文 幸好白宫已经开始注意到全球变暖问题。但是很显然，总统周围的大多数顾问仍然没有认真对待该问题。
8 Furthermore, it is obvious that the strength of a country's economy is directly bound up with the efficiency of its agriculture and industry, and that this in turn rests upon the efforts of scientists and technologists of all kinds.
妙语点睛 该主语从句的基本结构是 it is obvious that...and that... ，即这里是 that 引导的并列主语从句，两个连词 that 都要保留，尤其是第二个 that 不能省去。
精品译文 再者，很显然，一个国家的经济实力与其工农业生产效率密切相关，而效率的提高又有赖于各类科技人员的努力。
It is a pity that... 可惜的是……
It is good news that... ……真是太好了。
It is no wonder that... 难怪……
It is a fact that... 事实是……
It is a good thing that... ……真是件好事。
It is a shame that... 遗憾的是…… / ……真是太不像话了。
It is an honor that... 真荣幸……
It is my belief that... 我相信……
It is common knowledge that... ……是常识。
It is a miracle that... ……真是奇迹。
请看例句：
9 It is an established fact that factory workers work better, harder, and have fewer accidents when their machines are painted orange rather than black or grey.
精品译文 事实证明，如果把工厂里的机器漆成橘黄色而不是黑色或灰色，工人就会干得更勤奋、更出色，事故也会更少。
10 It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife. （《傲慢与偏见》“ Pride and Prejudice ”中的第一句话）
精品译文 一个众所周知的事实是，一个单身汉若是非常有钱，那么他一定想要找个妻子。
It seems that... 似乎……
It happens that... 碰巧……
It comes about that... 结果是……
It follows that... 因此…… / 由此可见……
It turns out that... 结果证明是……
It dawns upon/on sb. that... 某人突然想起……
It makes no difference that... ……无所谓
It is of little consequence that... ……无关紧要
It occurs to sb. that... 某人突然想起……
It doesn't need to be bothered that... 不必担忧……
请看例句：
11 It dawned upon me that there is a logical connection between all the things that happen in that immensely connected body of salted water that covers 71 percent of the surface of the earth.
妙语点睛 注意 it dawns upon sb. that 这个句型在译成汉语时要用人作主语，译作“某人想到……”，但在英语里是用 it 作形式主语。
精品译文 我忽然明白了，覆盖地球表面 71% 的巨大盐水体中所发生的一切事情之间都是有联系的。
12 When I decided to quit my full-time employment it never occurred to me that I might become a part of a new international trend.
妙语点睛 注意 it occurs to sb. that 这个句型译成汉语时用人作主语，译作“某人想到……”，但在英语里是用 it 作形式主语。
精品译文 当我决定放弃全职工作的时候，我怎么也没有想到我会成为一个新的国际流行趋势的一部分。
连词 whether 以及连接代词或连接副词引导主语从句一般放在句首，这不同于上面讨论的 that 引导的主语从句。请看例句：
1 Whether the Government should increase the financing of pure science at the expense of technology or vice versa often depends on the issue of which is seen as the driving force.
妙语点睛 这里是 whether 引导的主语从句，谓语部分是 depends on the issue 。 of 后面接的 which 从句是一个宾语从句，补充说明 issue ，相当于 issue 的同位语。
精品译文 政府究竟是以减少对技术的经费投入来增加对纯理论科学的经费投入，还是相反，这往往取决于把哪一方面看作是驱动性的力量。
2 However, whether such a sense of fairness evolved independently in capuchins and humans, or whether it stems from the common ancestor that the species had 35 million years ago , is, as yet, an unanswered question.
妙语点睛 这个句子看起来较复杂，其实还是由 whether 引导的主语从句。这里是两个并列主语从句，由并列连词 or 连接，谓语动词是 is 。
精品译文 不过，这种公平感是在卷尾猴和人类身上各自独立演化而成的，还是来自于 35, 000, 000 年以前他们共同的祖先，这还是一个未解之谜。
3 Whether the eyes are "the windows of the soul" is debatable; that they are intensely important in interpersonal communication is a fact.
妙语点睛 这个句子里包含两个主语从句，分别由 whether 和 that 引导。
精品译文 眼睛是否是“心灵的窗口”，这还有争议；但无疑，眼睛在人际交流中有着重要的作用。
我们再来看几个由连接代词或连接副词引导的主语从句，此时从句一般位于句首。
4 Whoever tries to resolve a conflict soon learns that nothing pleases everybody.
妙语点睛 这里的连词代词 whoever 相当于 who 的强调形式，它引导的从句作主语，主句的谓语是 learns 。其中 whoever 在从句中作主语。
精品译文 任何想要试图解决这个矛盾的人很快就会发现，他不可能让所有人都满意。
5 What happened on September 11, 2001 will be forever etched （铭刻） in our memories.
精品译文 2001 年的“ 9 · 11 ”事件将会永远印刻在人们的脑海里。
6 Several days ago, a Beijing-based IT company fired about 400 people overnight. The act startled the fired employees and at the same time worried the rest. Moreover, what was special about this case was that the day before the 400 were fired, they all received from their boss a gift — the book Who Moved My Cheese ?
妙语点睛 这里是连词代词 what 引导的主语从句， what 在从句中作主语。
精品译文 几天前，北京一家 IT 公司一夜之间就解雇了 400 名员工。这一事件震惊了被解雇的员工，同时也让其余员工感到担心。此外，有意思的是，就在这 400 名员工被解雇的前一天，他们都从老板那收到了一份礼物——一本名为《谁动了我的奶酪？》的书。
7 How well the predictions will be validated by later performance depends upon the amount, reliability, and appropriateness of the information used and on the skill and wisdom with which it is interpreted.
妙语点睛 这里是连词副词 how 引导的主语从句， how well 在从句中充当状语，修饰动词 validated 。
精品译文 这些预测将在多大程度上为后来的表现所证实，取决于采用的信息的数量、可靠性、适应性，以及解释这些信息的技能和才智。
在英语中，还有一种较为特殊的主语从句，即是由 because 引导的主语从句。这种主语从句的结构一般是“ because+ 陈述句”，置于主语位置，后面直接加谓语，而且这个谓语往往都是 does not mean 。在 because 前面往往会有 just 一词，起强调语气的作用。请看例句：
1 Just because someone doesn't love you the way you want them to doesn't mean they don't love you with all they have.
妙语点睛 该句的主语是 just because someone doesn't love you the way you want them to 这个从句，谓语是 doesn't mean 。
精品译文 如果有人没有以你希望的方式去爱你，并不意味着他们没有全身心地爱你。
2 Something which seems valuable at first may turn out to be worthless. Example: "All that glitters is not gold!" Just because something appears valuable does not mean that it really is valuable.
妙语点睛 该句的主语是 just because something appears valuable 这个从句，谓语是 does not mean 。
精品译文 有些东西乍看起来很值钱，但后来却证明是一文不值。比如，人们常说“闪光的并不都是金子”。只是看起来很值钱的东西并不意味着真的很值钱。
再看下面这个比较好的例句，也许能引起读者的一些思考：
3 There is a big difference between activity and accomplishment. Just because you are doing something doesn't mean you are getting anywhere. One must evaluate one's activity in order to have accomplishment.
妙语点睛 该句的主语是 just because you are doing something 这个从句，谓语是 doesn't mean 。
精品译文 工作与成就这两者之间是有很大差距的，仅仅是在不停地工作并不意味着你就取得了成就。因此，人们必须认真审视自己眼下的工作，看是否真的能够取得成就。
本节的重点是 that 主语从句的各种句型。其次，了解 because 引导的主语从句，做到会翻译即可。
Exercise 1.2 （ Keys: P333 ）
选择最佳答案填空。
1. It is obvious ______ on more important things.
A. which the money should we spend
B. what the money should we spend
C. that the money should we spend
D. that we should spend the money
2. ______ hard water does not mix well with soap.
A. That is a well-known fact
B. That is a well-known fact in which
C. It is a well-known fact that
D. It is a well-known that
3. ______ every magnet is surrounded by a magnetic field.
A. It believes that
B. It believed that
C. It is believed that
D. It's believing that
4. ______ was to return to school.
A. That really interested him
B. What really interested him
C. Which really interested him
D. That interested him really
5. ______ your men have been on my land without permission.
A. It seems that
B. There seems to be
C. That seems
D. It seems for
6. ______ I have made no arrangements to deal with such cases.
A. It appear that
B. That appears
C. They appear that
D. It appears that
7. ______ that the first cheese was probably made more than 4, 000 years ago by nomadic tribes in Asia.
A. The belief
B. Although they believe
C. It is believed
D. Believing
8. ______ to space travelers is high acceleration or deceleration forces.
A. That can be dangerous
B. What can be dangerous
C. They can be dangerous
D. It can be dangerous
9. ______ unstable and explodes as a supernova is not known.
A. For a star to become
B. How a star becomes
C. A star becomes
D. That a star is becoming
10. ______ composed traditionally has been a subject of debate among scholars.
A. Where ballads how
B. Ballads were how they
C. How ballads that were
D. How ballads were
11. ______ that the professor's strictness with him is not to punish a careless student but to teach him how to be precise.
A. Joseph was dawned
B. It was dawned on Joseph
C. It dawned on Joseph
D. Joseph dawned it on
12. ______ was not our concern.
A. No matter how he might pass the examination
B. Whether he passed the examination or not
C. Though he might pass the examination
D. While he passed the examination