考研英语长难句│20170724

The samething happens to this day, though on a smaller scale, wherever a sediment-ladenriver or stream emerges from a mountain valley onto relatively flat land,dropping its load as the current slows：the water usually spreads out fanwise,depositing the sediment in the form of a smooth, fan-shaped slope.

 
难句类型：复杂修饰+插入成分

1. 本句的主句结构很简单thesame thing happens,但是作者为了说明是什么同样的事情发生而大费周章，though on a smaller scale做插入成分，说明现在是在更小的规模上发生同样的事情。

2. 如果跳过这段插入成分，主句和从句连在一起读就是The same thing happens to this day, wherever asediment-laden river or stream emerges from a mountain valley onto relativelyflat land. 到此处句子并不难理解，但是作者用动名词构成的短语dropping its load as the current slows来修饰从句，表示伴随发生的动作。

3. 并在状语结束的时候用冒号，引出了一个句子来解释从句。

译文
现代也有冰水沉积，尽管规模相对较小。凡是有携带泥沙的河流或者溪流从山谷流至相对平坦的地面时，砂石就随着水流速度的减慢逐渐沉淀；水流通常呈扇形扩散，它们所携带的砂石也会沉淀为光滑的扇形斜坡。

明日长难句预告│0725

Sediments are also dropped where a river slows on entering a lake or the sea, the deposited sediments are on a lake floor or the seafloor at first, but will be loca ted inland at some future date, when the sea level falls or the land rises; such beds are sometimes thousands of meters thick.