讀懂一句英文，您要花多少時間？

下面這個句子來自紐約時報（The New York Times）Art and Design 版，某篇關於大英博物館維京海盜展覽的第一段。

A Viking feasting bucket, one gallon in volume and a millennium old, attracted a noisy debate among visitors in the Sainsbury Exhibitions Gallery of the British Museum one recent afternoon over just how drunk it could make them and how quickly. (41 words)

就像無數新聞寫作的首段，這一段是由一個句子構成的。（只有一個句點，表示所有片段都以符合句法的架構緊密結合。）

讀懂這句英文，您要費多少神？

這句的程度接近 TOEIC 第七大題。雖然字多，但結構中等難度。

首先，找出主幹（主詞和動詞）：

A Viking feasting bucket, one gallon in volume and a millennium old, attracted a noisy debate among visitors in the Sainsbury Exhibitions Gallery of the British Museum one recent afternoon over just how drunk it could make them and how quickly.

Attract 的意義是「吸引」，後面要說出吸引了什麼：

A Viking feasting bucket, one gallon in volume and a millennium old, attracted a noisy debate among visitors in the Sainsbury Exhibitions Gallery of the British Museum one recent afternoon over just how drunk it could make them and how quickly.

如此一來，我們就分出來這句子的主幹「bucket attracted debate」和枝葉。

不過，這枝葉也未免茂密了些，按照位置再分出兩類：一是放在主幹的單字前面，修飾或說明用的訊息（藍字，有兩處），一是放在主幹的單字後面，也是修飾或說明用的訊息（紫字，為數眾多）。

A Viking feasting bucket, one gallon in volume and a millennium old, attracted a noisy debate among visitors in the Sainsbury Exhibitions Gallery of the British Museum one recent afternoon over just how drunk it could make them and how quickly.

放在前面的訊息長相比較單純：

Ÿ A (限定詞，表示後面的 bucket 是單數) Viking feasting (兩個形容詞，修飾 bucket) bucket

Ÿ a (限定詞) noisy (形容詞) debate

放在後面的訊息雖然龐雜，但是可以從介係詞或連接詞來斷開：

A Viking feasting bucket, (one gallon in volume) and (a millennium old), attracted a noisy debate (among visitors) (in the Sainsbury Exhibitions Gallery) (of the British Museum) (one recent afternoon) (over just how drunk it could make them and how quickly).

括弧內的結構大多是（介系詞 + 名詞字組），大致上回答了 where、when、why、how 這類副詞性質的問題。

Ÿ Where was there a debate?  Among visitors.

Ÿ Where were the visitors?  In the Sainsbury Exhibitions Gallery.

Ÿ Where is this Sainsbury Exhibitions Gallery?  Of the British Museum.

Ÿ Why was there this debate?  Over just how drunk it could make them and how quickly.

有時候回答這類問題只有名詞字組，不需介係詞：

Ÿ When was the debate?  One recent afternoon.

Ÿ How large is the bucket?  One gallon in volume.

Ÿ How old is the bucket?  A millennium old.

最後，比較複雜的只有最後一個括弧的內容。只要把介係詞 over 之後的全部看做一個名詞就單純多了：

Ÿ over [just how drunk it could make them and how quickly]

  = over something

這個名詞叫做「名詞子句」，就是它也有自己的主幹：

Ÿ over [(1) just how drunk it could make them and (2) how quickly (it could make them drunk)]

結論：再怎麼複雜的句子，給它大卸八塊之後，就從大怪獸，變成無害的小嬰兒囉。嗯，我怎麼想起 Harry Potter 最後一部電影中，Harry 到了人間與天堂的中間（limbo），看見伏地魔變回殘破肉身的畫面，噁！

最後送上中譯，翻譯者把這一堆枝葉安排得很妥當哦！

最近一個午後，大英博物館聖伯利展館一個維京人宴會用、容量近四公升的千年酒桶引發遊客熱烈討論：它會讓維京人多快喝醉、醉得多厲害。

Source 原文出處：http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/29/arts/design/vikings-in-london-glamorous-but-just-like-family.html?_r=0

參考中譯：李京倫譯，聯合報週二紐時特刊，2014年4月15日，頁5