But, the force of geographiwww.58yuanyou.comc conditions peculiar to America, the interplay of the varied national groups upon one another, and the sheer difficulty of maintaining old-world ways in a raw, new continent caused significant changes.
但美国特有地理条件的推动，不同民族之间的相互作用，以及在原始崭新的大陆维护旧世界方式的纯粹困难，这些条件引起了重大变化。
These changes were gradual and at first scarcely visible. But the result was a new social pattern which, although it resembled European society in many ways, had a character that was distinctly American.
【结构解析】
1. 首句主干为主系表结构，即：These changes /were/ gradual and scarcely visible. “at first”再次表“起初”之意。首句译为：这些变化是渐进的，起初几乎是不可见的
2. 第二句主干为主系表结构，即：the result/ was / a new social pattern，译为：（这些变化）最终的结果是形成了一个新的社会模式。
3. which引导定语从句，即：which had character that was distinctly American，其中that was distinctly American 为which引导的定语从句中嵌套的定语从句，DpfLM修饰character; 整个定语从句译为：（这个社会）带有明显的美国特色。
4. although it resembled European society in many wawww.58yuanyou.comys为which引导的定语从句中嵌套的让步状语从句，译为：虽然这个社会模式在许多方面与欧洲社会很像。
gradual / rdul / adj. 逐渐的，渐进的
scarcely / skesli; NAmE skers- / adv. 勉强，几乎不
visible / vizbl / adj. 可见的
social DpfLMpattern 社会模型，社会形式
resemble / rizembl / vt. 看起来像，显得像
character / krkt(r) / n. 品质，特征
distinctly / distiktli / adv. 截然不同地；显著地
【参考译文】
These changes were gradual and at first scarcely visible. But the result was a new social p原由网attern which, although it resembled European society in many ways, had a character that was distinctly American.
这些变化是渐进的，起初几乎是不可见的。但最终却形成了一个新的社会模式，虽然这个社会模式在许多方面与欧洲社会很像，它还是带有显著的美国特色。
The first shiploads of immigrants bound for the territory which is now the United States crossed the Atlantic more than a hundred years after the 15th- and 16th-century explorations of North America.
