（1）做某事对……没有帮助
下面句子节选自The Economist关于欧洲海外援助的文章Foreign-aid champion Europe is giving more than ever
上面句子的意思是：对于抵达自己国家的难民，许多国家把花在他们身上的钱作为对外援助预算的一部分。庇护在欧洲的难民，无论多么高尚和必要，对难民的来源国几乎没有什么帮助。
Sheltering refugees in Europe, however noble and necessary…这里however意思不是“然而，但是”，而是相当于no matter how（无论如何，不管怎样），比如：However hungry I am, I never seem to be able to finish off a whole pizza. 无论有多饿，我似乎都吃不下一整个薄饼。
从这一句中我们可以提取出一个句式：Doing...however XX, does little for…（某事无论看起来有多么……也对……没有多少帮助）。比如一味帮助孩子避免挫折，无论这种行为有多么合理，它也对孩子未来的成长没有多少帮助。我们可以说：
Sheltering children from all kinds of obstacles in the name of love, however justifiable, does little for their future success in school and in life.
（2）某事让……雪上加霜
下面句子来自The Economist关于哥伦比亚教育的文章Blocking the schoolhouse door
Learning has always been difficult for Samuel Duván Rodríguez, a seven-year-old with a neuro-developmental disorder. It has become tougher still since his school in Bogotá, Colombia’s capital, closed because of covid-19. His mother says he uses her phone to log in to his teacher’s lessons. But he seems to take in little. It doesn’t help that he has to share the device with his ten-year-old brother.
句子意思是：7岁的塞缪尔·杜万·罗德里格兹患有神经发育障碍，学习对他来说一直很困难。自从他在哥伦比亚首都波哥大的学校因新冠疫情停课以来，情况变得更加艰难。他的母亲说他用她的手机登录观看老师的课程。但他似乎理解得很少。他还不得不和他十岁的哥哥共用这部手机，这让情况变得更糟。
最后一句出现了一个句式：It doesn’t help that… 这是英语里面一个固定句式，其中it是形式主语，指代that...这一部分的内容。该句式用来对前面提到的情况进行递进，意思相当于"What makes the situation worse is that…" 比如上文提到塞缪尔·杜万·罗德里格兹用母亲的手机上网课效果不好，而雪上加霜的一点是，他还需要和他哥哥共用一个手机。
我们可以用该句式来说明某事让原本已经糟糕的情况变得更差，比如很多毕业生因为缺乏工作相关技能而找不到工作，而雪上加霜的一点是，很多公司因为经济衰退而不得不裁员。可以说：
Many new graduates find it difficult to land an ideal job for lack of job-related skills. It doesn't help that an increasing number of firms are laying off workers due to the current economic downturn.
（3）做……比某人预想的要难
下面句子来自The Economist关于亚马逊的一篇文章Amazon’s department-store plans are less surprising than they appear
Making Amazonmarts appeal to shoppers may be harder than Amazon anticipates. It reportedly wants them to sell its cheap private-label garments and gadgets, which is at odds with its aspirations for the stores to offer high-end fashion, where it has struggled online.
句子意思是：要让消费者对亚马逊实体店感兴趣，其难度可能比亚马逊预想的要高。据报道，亚马逊希望实体店出售平价的自有品牌服装和小工具，但这与其希望实体店提供高端时尚商品的愿景相悖。亚马逊的高端时尚商品在线业务一直难有起色。
最后一句…where it has struggled online是where引导的定语从句，where在这里相当于in which，即：it has struggled online in which (= high-end fashion).
第一句可以学习一个句式：Doing…may be harder than XX anticipates，意思是“做……可能比XX预想的要难”，这一句式在考场作文中有很广泛的用途，比如在健康话题中我们可以说：
Maintaining a healthy weight may be harder than many anticipate, not least because more and more people are having a sedentary lifestyle.
在交通话题中可以说：
Reducing congestion in the city may be harder than government officials anticipate for the simple reason that the number of private cars has been rising in recent years.
（4）XX增强了关于……的共识
下面句子来自The Economist关于疫情的文章Return to school has caused a surge in covid-19 cases in under-vaccinated counties
With appropriate precautions in the classroom and high levels of community vaccination, the beginning of the new term need not have been so scary. Our findings add to the growing consensus that in-person schooling doesn’t have to be accompanied by growing covid-19 cases.
句子意思是：如果在教室采取适当的预防措施，并在社区进行广泛的疫苗接种，新学期的开始本来不该那么可怕。我们的发现印证了一个不断增涨的共识，即面对面的教学并不一定会带来新冠病例的增加。
从第二句中我们可以学习一个在议论文中很好用的表达：XX adds to the growing consensus that…（XX印证了一个不断增涨的共识，即……）。在使用该句式时我们可以先陈述一个科学发现，然后进一步说明该发现印证了一个不断增涨的共识。比如在家庭教育话题中可以说：
Surveys have found that family engagement in early education is crucial to children's future success. This finding adds to the growing consensus that parents should spend more quality time with their children and build good parent-child relationships.
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