1. "The test of any democratic society," he wrote in a Wall Street Journal column, "lies not in how well it can control expression but in whether it gives freedom of thought and expression the widest possible latitude, however disputable or irritating the results may sometimes be. We won't retreat in the face of any threats."

【譯文】他在《華爾街日?qǐng)?bào)》一篇專欄文章中寫道：“任何一個(gè)民主社會(huì)的考驗(yàn)不在于它能多有效地控制各種情感的表達(dá)，而在于是否給予了人們比較廣泛的思考和表達(dá)的自由，無論有時(shí)這種結(jié)果會(huì)引起多大的爭(zhēng)論和憤怒。我們不會(huì)在任何威脅面前退卻。”

【析句】引號(hào)里實(shí)際上包括兩句話。第一句較難，其主干是The test… lies not in… but in，兩個(gè)賓語，分別是how well it can control expression和whether it gives… latitude。however disputable… sometimes be作句子的狀語。

【講詞】freedom of thought意為“思想的自由”，freedom of expression意為“表達(dá)的自由”或“自由表達(dá)”。in the face of意為“面對(duì)”。In the face of mounting opposition, the government withdrew its support for the plan.（面臨越來越大的阻力，政府撤消了對(duì)這一計(jì)劃的支持。）This flexibility is an essential advantage in the face of changing business requirements.（在商業(yè)要求發(fā)生變化之時(shí)，這種靈活的方式是一個(gè)必要的優(yōu)勢(shì)。）

2. Levin would not comment on the debate last week, but there were signs that the chairman was backing off his hard line stand, at least to some extent.

【譯文】萊文不愿對(duì)上周的辯論做出評(píng)論，但有跡象表明，這位董事長(zhǎng)的強(qiáng)硬立場(chǎng)起碼在一定程度上有所緩和。

【析句】句子本身并不難，但是要正確理解某些詞和詞組。

【講詞】back off意為“后退”。Why Democrats backed off education budget?（為什么民主黨在教育預(yù)算這個(gè)問題作出讓步？）stand意為“立場(chǎng)”。She defended her stand on the issue.（她為自己在這一問題上的立場(chǎng)進(jìn)行了辯解。）extent意為“廣度；寬度；長(zhǎng)度；范圍；程度”。to a certain extent（在一定程度上），to a great extent（在很大程度上），to some extent（在某種程度上），to such an extent that（到這樣的程度竟然），to that extent（達(dá)到那樣的程度），to the extent of（到……的程度），to the extent that（達(dá)到……程度）。