The images produced by the camera obscura, a boxlike device that used a pinhole or lens to throw an image onto a ground-glass screen or a piece of white paper, were already familiar—the device had been much employed by topographical artists like the Italian painter Canaletto in his detailed views of the city of Venice.
【难点解析】
本句的难点是定语(produced by the camera obscura)放在了被修饰词(the images)的后面,与汉语表述习惯不一致,另外,出现同位语(a boxlike device)修饰定语中的名词性部分(the camera obscura),而又有一个定语从句(that used a……)又修饰改同位语(a boxlike device),使得主语和谓语被很多成分隔开,给我们理解的带来了一定的困难。找到那些修饰性成分,先忽略它们,再看句子主干就清楚了。
The images produced by the camera obscura[定语], a boxlike device[同位语] that used a pinhole or lens to throw an image onto a ground-glass screen or a piece of white paper[定语从句], were already familiar—the device had been much employed by topographical artists like the Italian painter Canaletto in his detailed views of the city of Venice.
【成分划分】
并列句
The images [主语] produced by the camera obscura, [定语] a boxlike device, [同位语] were [系动词] already familiar. [表语]
并列句
The device [主语] had been much employed [谓语] by topographical artists [状语] like the Italian painter Canaletto in his detailed views of the city of Venice. [同位语]
定语从句
A boxlike device [主语] used [谓语] a pinhole or lens [宾语] to throw an image onto a ground-glass screen or a piece of white paper. [宾语补足语]