難句解析：
①They give their owners automatic credit in stores, restaurants, and hotels, at home, across the country, and even abroad and they make many banking services available as well.
▲此句是由and連接的兩個(gè)并列句，其中第一個(gè)句子結(jié)構(gòu)較復(fù)雜，有一個(gè)復(fù)雜的地點(diǎn)狀語in stores, restaurants, and hotels, at home, across the country, and even abroad，在閱讀時(shí)在此處可以適當(dāng)?shù)丶涌焖俣取?br />△此句在理解中的難點(diǎn)是短語give somebody credit，此處credit應(yīng)理解為“信用額度”，在英文中credit card意味著持卡人可以有一定的透支額度。
②Electronic cash registers can do much more than simply ring up sales. They can keep a wide range of records, including who sold what, when, and to whom.
▲這兩個(gè)短句雖然簡單，但是由于其中包含有幾個(gè)短語，如do much more than...，ring up，electronic cash registers等，因此在閱讀中也存在一定的障礙，在我們不知道一個(gè)短語的確切意思的情況下，通過上下文來定位其大致意思就顯得非常重要。
△electronic cash registers意為“電子收銀并記錄”；do much more than的意思是“做的不只是”；ring up的意思可以從第一個(gè)短句的結(jié)構(gòu)中推出，第一個(gè)短句的結(jié)構(gòu)為A can do much more than simply B，我們知道A和B之間只存在程度上的差異，而本質(zhì)相同，因此ring up應(yīng)該與electronic cash registers意思相同或相近，應(yīng)為“收款，記錄”的意思。
③At the same time these computers record which hours are busiest and which employers are the most efficient, allowing personnel and staffing assignments to be made accordingly. And they also identify preferred customers for promotional campaigns.
▲在第一個(gè)句子中包含有兩個(gè)并列賓語從句which hours are busiest and which employers are the most efficient，而在逗號后面的是一個(gè)分詞結(jié)構(gòu)，用來修飾主句。
△第一個(gè)句子中最后一個(gè)詞accordingly和第二個(gè)句子中的preferred是理解的重點(diǎn)。accordingly意為“相應(yīng)地”，而preferred是一個(gè)形容詞，不是prefer的過去分詞，意為“有優(yōu)先權(quán)的，優(yōu)先的”。
④Numerous other commercial enterprises, from theaters to magazine publishers, from gas and electric utilities to milk processors, bring better and more efficient services to consumers through the use of computers.
▲本句中的主語有一個(gè)非常長的修飾成分from theaters to magazine publishers, from gas and electric utilities to milk processors，在閱讀的時(shí)候，如果我們注意到它只是在逗號之間的補(bǔ)充說明成分，我們就可以先跳過去抓句子的主干成分。

來源:可可英語 http://www.ccdyzl.cn/kaoyan/201408/317068.shtml