25. In the West,before mass communication and literacy, the most powerful mass medium was the church, which reminded worshippers that their souls were in danger and that they would someday be meat for worms.

【分析】多重復合句。句子主干為the most powerful mass medium was the church。in the West 為地點狀語；before mass communication and literacy 為時間狀語;which引導非限制性定語從句，修飾先行詞church, 其中又包含兩個由that引導的并列賓語從句，作reminded 的賓語。
【譯文】在西方,在大眾傳媒和教育普及之前，最強大的大眾媒體是教堂，它提醒信徒們，他們的靈魂處于危險之中，他們總有一天會成為蠕蟲的食物。

26. And since these messages have an agenda — to lure us to open our wallets — they make the very idea of happiness seem unreliable.

【分析】復合句。破折號之前是since引導的原因狀語從句；破折號中間是不定式短語作agenda的同位語，破折號之后是主句。
【譯文】由于這樣的信息都有一個目的：誘惑我們打開錢包，所以它們使“幸福”的概念本身顯得虛假。