5 这是accept的通常用法

问：现有一个问题请教。有这样一个句子：（1）Propaganda, on the other hand, teaches us to accept as self-evident matters about which it would be reasonable to suspend our judgement or to feel doubt.

请问句中“to accept as self-evident matters about which it would be reasonable…to feel doubt”部分的句子成分应如何分析？

答：句（1）中的to accept…to feel doubt是不定式短语作宾语us的补足语（object complement），这是teach sb. to do sth.这一常用结构的要求所致，这不难理解。你的困惑可能是由于对accept sth. as+adj.这一用法的变化不太熟悉。accept用作及物动词，意为“（欣然地）接受（事物、观点、看法等）”（to take something that someone offers you，or to agree to do something that someone asks you to do），例如：

（2）Are you going to accept their invitation？

（3）Scholars now generally accept Einstein’s theory of relativity.

accept sth. as+adj.则意为“接受（相信）……是真实或正确的”（to take something as true，believe something）。例如：

（4）The police accepted his story as true.（警察对他的话信以为真。）

你所提问的句（1）即是这种用法。应该注意，accept既可接sb.，也可接名词。例如：

（5）But neither group was prepared to accept Soares as premier.

（6）We can’t accept it as a basis for a decision.

可见句（1）的正常语序应为…to accept matters about which it would be reasonable to suspend…to feel doubt as self-evident，但由于宾语部分matters…to feel doubt过长，为了保持句子平衡的修辞需要而置于as self-evident之后，这是一种常见的修辞手段。类似的情况如：

（7）Many people consider impossible what really is possible.

（8）They found half hidden among the rocks a plant which they had never seen before.

最后，句（1）中的about which…to feel doubt是修饰matters的定语从句，从句是常用句型：It is（was，will be，would be…）+adj.+to infinitive，从句的真实主语是to suspend our judgement or to feel doubt，谓语是would be reasonable。应该注意的是句（1）中的介词about位于从句之前是比较正式的用法，多用在正式文体中。例如：

（9）This is the book for which you asked.

（10）The person from whom the message came did not say his name.