1. "The test of any democratic society," he wrote in a Wall Street Journal column, "lies not in how well it can control expression but in whether it gives freedom of thought and expression the widest possible latitude, however disputable or irritating the results may sometimes be. We won't retreat in the face of any threats."

【譯文】他在《華爾街日報》一篇專欄文章中寫道：“任何一個民主社會的考驗不在于它能多有效地控制各種情感的表達，而在于是否給予了人們最廣泛的思考和表達的自由，無論有時這種結果會引起多大的爭論和憤怒。我們不會在任何威脅面前退卻。”

【析句】引號里實際上包括兩句話。第一句較難，其主干是The test… lies not in… but in，兩個賓語，分別是how well it can control expression和whether it gives… latitude。however disputable… sometimes be作句子的狀語。

【講詞】freedom of thought意為“思想的自由”，freedom of expression意為“表達的自由”或“自由表達”。in the face of意為“面對”。In the face of mounting opposition, the government withdrew its support for the plan.This flexibility is an essential advantage in the face of changing business requirements.

2. Levin would not comment on the debate last week, but there were signs that the chairman was backing off his hard line stand, at least to some extent.

【譯文】萊文不愿對上周的辯論做出評論，但有跡象表明，這位董事長的強硬立場起碼在一定程度上有所緩和。

【析句】句子本身并不難，但是要正確理解某些詞和詞組。

【講詞】back off意為“后退”。Why Democrats backed off education budget?stand意為“立場”。She defended her stand on the issue.extent意為“廣度；寬度；長度；范圍；程度”。to a certain extent，to a great extent，to some extent，to such an extent that，to that extent，to the extent of，to the extent that。