长难句翻译

难句类型：复杂修饰、插入语

Some geologists，however，on the basis of observations concerning mantle　xenoliths， argue that the mantle is　not layered，but that heterogeneity is created by fluids rich in "incompatible elements" （elements tending toward　liquid rather than solid state）percolating upward and transforming　portions of the upper mantle　irregularly，according to the vagaries of the fluids’ pathways.

但是，某些地质学家，以对地幔捕虏岩体（xenolith）所作的观察为依据，指出地幔并非是分层排列的，相反，地幔的异质性是由那些富含“不相容成分”的流质构成的，这些成分趋向于流体而非固体的状态，自下而上渗透扩散，并依照这些流质流向的任意性，不规则地将上部地幔的某些部分予以改变。

解释：本句的主句中有一个长插入语however,on the basis of observations concerning mantle xenoliths,割裂了主谓，但句子的主要难度还是在that引导的宾语从句中，从句中有由but 所连接的两个句子，一起延续到句末。首选是rich in incompatible elements修饰fluids；后面又有一个同位语和一个分词结构，都是修饰incompatible elements的，最后还有一个状语来修饰那个分词结构，层层修饰，比较复杂。

长难句训练

训练：The best evidence for the layered-mantle thesis is the well-established fact that volcanic rocks found on oceanic islands，islands believed to result from mantle plumes arising from the lower mantle，are composed of material fundamentally different from that of the mid-ocean ridge system， whose source，most　geologists contend，is the upper mantle.

答案见下期