012. St. John’s, Newfoundland, lies on the same latitude as Paris, France, but in spring St. John’s residents are less likely to be sitting at outdoor cafes than to be bracing themselves against arctic chills, shoveling snow, or seeking shelter from a raging northeast storm.
= St. John’s, Newfoundland, lies on the same latitude as Paris, France/, but in spring St. John’s residents are less likely to be sitting at outdoor cafes/ than to be bracing themselves against arctic chills, shoveling snow/, or seeking shelter from a raging northeast storm.
# St. John’s, Newfoundland 坐落在和法国巴黎同一纬度上/但是那里的人们春天不喜欢坐在户外咖啡店/相比之下更喜欢拥抱北极的寒冷和铲雪/或在肆虐的东北暴风雪中寻找遮蔽。
*地名等专有名词是不需要知道其确切含义的，因为他们并不影响对句意的理解。这
句话的一个难点就是 less likely to do A…than to do B。对于 likely to do A…than to do B 我们还是很容易理解的，就是喜欢做 A 多于喜欢做 B，而 less likely to …than to than to 则恰恰相反，不喜欢做 A 而喜欢做 B。
013. According to a ruling by the state supreme court, the owner of polluted land is liable for the cleanup of the property even if the owner is not responsible for pollution that occurred before the title changed hands.
= According to a ruling by the state supreme court/, the owner of polluted land/ is liable/ for the cleanup of the property/ even if the owner is not responsible for pollution that occurred before the title changed hands.
#
014. Scientists have suggested that once every 10 million years or so a truly colossal object from space cuts through the atmosphere and slams into Earth,
sending up a global pall of dust that blots out the Sun, alters the climate, and changes the
course of evolution by killing off many plant and animal species.
=Scientists/ have suggested/ that once every 10 million years or so/ a truly colossal object from space/ cuts through the atmosphere and slams into Earth/, sending up a global pall of dust/ that blots out the Sun, alters the climate,
and changes the course of evolution/ by killing off many plant and animal species.
#科学家曾经提出/每隔大约 1000 万年/一个真正巨大的太空物体/就穿过大气层并撞击地球/，引起全球性的烟幕/它阻挡了太阳，改变了气候，并改变了进化的过程/通过使很多植物和动物物种灭绝。
*这句话相对较长，也较复杂。整个句子都是科学家说出的内容，我们只要找准要琢磨的单词，就可以把句子理解成“什么怎么样”。这句话较难理解还因为它有很多生词，像 Earth，因为是大写的所以指的是地球;有些动词短语如：cut through， slams into， send up， blot out 等需要理解其意思。