A chance in a million ^{夸张修饰（机会渺茫）}

• I'd love to buy a Rolls-Royce, but it costs an arm and a leg.
• Everybody was clapping their hands off.
• I didn't sleep a wink last night.
• He has a skeleton of a wife.

We are less credulous than we used to be (credulous).

People are not so honest as they once were.

• We spend more time traveling than we used to (spend).

less + adj. / adv. + than ... ^{不像...那样}

• This task is less difficult than the previous one. ^{这个任务比上一个任务不那么难。}
• She arrived less quickly than he did.^{她到达的速度比他慢。}

not so / as + adj. / adv. + as ... ^{不像...一样}

• This book is not so interesting as the one I read last week.^{这本书不像我上周读的那本那么有趣。}
• He didn't run as fast as his brother.^{他的跑步速度不像他兄弟那么快。}
• We are not so / as credulous as we used to be. ^替换

He is less introverted than he used to be. ^{他不像以前那么内向了。}
He is not so / as introverted as he used to be.
He speaks English less well than he used to. ^{他英语说的不如以前好了。}
He doesn't speak English so / as well as he used to.

In the nineteenth century, a novelist would bring his story to a conclusion by presenting his readers with a series of coincidences — most of them wildly improbable. 

bring sth. to a conclusion ^{使某事结束、完成某事}

• The two countries decided to bring the war to a conclusion. ^{两国决定结束战争。}
• The team worked hard to bring the project to a conclusion.^{团队努力工作以使项目结束。}

bring sth. to a close / an end  ^{强调的是渐进性的结束，通常涉及到某种逐步的终结。}

• The chairman's speech brought the meeting to a close. ^{主席的讲话结束了会议。}
• The negotiations finally brought the conflict to an end. ^{谈判最终结束了冲突。}
• The rally was brought to a close / an end by the singing of the national anthem.

..., a novelist would end / close / conclude his story by ... ^替换

bring ... to ... ^{把前者带到后者的状态}

• It was the war that first brought him to power.
• So far the US has been unable to bring him to justice.

series of ^{一系列；一连串}

• an unforeseen series of catastrophes 
• There was a series of delays due to bad weather.^{由于恶劣天气，出现了一连串的延误。}
• She noticed a train of thought in his argument.^{她注意到他论点中的一连串思路。}
• The speaker delivered a string of jokes to entertain the audience.^{演讲者讲了一连串的笑话来取悦观众。}
• There was a chain of events that led to his resignation.^{一连串的事件导致了他的辞职。}
• The detective found a trail of clues leading to the suspect.^{侦探找到了一串线索，指向嫌疑人。}
• There was a stream of people leaving the concert hall.^{有一波人从音乐厅离开。}

by coincidence ^{巧了、碰巧的是}

• My mother is called Anna, and by coincidence my wife's mother is called Anna too.

coincide with sth. ^{与…一致（两个事碰巧一起发生、一致）}

• My arrival coincided with his departure.
• If our schedules coincide, we'll go to Shanghai together.

most of them being wildly improbable ^独立主格

— most of them were wildly improbable. ×
— and / but most of them were wildly improbable. ✓
— most of which were wildly improbable.✓

• Apart from an interesting-looking carved dagger, the box was full of crockery, much of it broken.

造句：The archaeologists found fifteen statues, each of them representing a goddess.^{考古学家发现了十五尊雕像，每一尊代表着一位女神。}

Readers happily accepted the fact that an obscure maidservant was really the hero's mother.

A long-lost brother, who was presumed dead, was really alive all the time and wickedly plotting to bring about the hero's downfall.

plot ^{n.阴谋，密谋 v.密谋，暗中策划}

• a plot to assassinate the President ^{暗杀总统的阴谋}
• All the imperialist schemes and intrigues are doomed to failure.
• schemes and intrigues ^阴谋诡计
• scheme ^{v.密谋，策划 n.阴谋，诡计}
• intrigue ^{v. 密谋 n.密谋策划，阴谋}
• conspiracy ^{n.合谋，密谋；阴谋集团}

and wickedly plotting to → ... and wickedly scheming / conspiring to... ^替换

be presumed dead / innocent ... ^{被推定为死亡/无辜…}

• Their nephew was missing, presumed dead.
• In English law, an accused man is presumed innocent until he is proved guilty.
• After days of searching, he was presumed dead.^{经过几天的搜索，他被推定为已故。}
• In legal proceedings, the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty. ^{在法律程序中，被告被推定为无罪，直到被证明有罪。}

alive ^{adj.活着的；仍然存在的（以a开头的形容词，通常只能做表语、补语）}

• He may hunt, beg, or steal occasionally to keep himself alive, ...
• He has been able to tell us more about active volcanoes than any man alive.

living ^{adj.活着的，活的；在使用的（可做定语修饰名词）}

• all living things ^生物
• living proof ^{活生生的证据}
• At such times, justice acts like a living force.

downfall ^{n. fall from a position of prosperity or power}

• Greed led to his downfall. ^{贪婪导致了他的垮台。}

downfall ^{n. thing that causes this}

• His vanity was his downfall.^{他的虚荣心使他堕落。}

undoing ^{n.毁灭；取消；毁灭的原因}

• The team's weak defense was their undoing.
• That proved to be my undoing, for I soon got back to my old bad habit of dozing off in front of the screen. ^NCE3-50

And so on. ^{如此等等、诸如此类}

• and so forth
• and the like
• and what not
• etc. (et cetera)

Modern readers would find such naive solutions totally unacceptable.

improbable → incredible → unbelievable → unacceptable ^发展进程

Modern readers would find such naive solutions totally unacceptable / improbable / incredible / unbelievable / inconceivable / unconvincing / preposterous.

• Chinese students would find such easy examinations totally incredible. ^{中国学生会觉得这么简单的考试是完全无法相信的。}
• Though the crew were at first under the impression that the lost ship had been found, the contents of the chest proved them wrong. ^{使用宾补避免使用从句}
• The facts proved their worries unnecessary. ^{事实证明他们的担心是多余的。}
• The facts proved his accusations totally groundless. ^{事实证明他的指责毫无根据。}
• If you lived in the Mediterranean, for instance, you would consider octopus a great delicacy.
• If you lived in the Northeast of China, you would consider skating a great pleasure. ^{如果你住在中国东北地区，你就会非常喜欢滑冰。}
• She would find such a story totally inconceivable. ^{她会觉得这样的故事完全不可信。}
• She would find such a claim totally unbelievable.^{她会觉得这样的说法完全难以置信。}
• They would find such behavior totally improbable.^{他们会觉得这样的行为完全不能接受。}
• He would find such news totally shocking. ^{他会觉得这样的消息完全震惊。}

Yet, in real life, circumstances do sometimes conspire to bring about coincidences which anyone but a nineteenth century novelist would find incredible.

in real life ^{在现实生活中}

• in the real world ^{在现实世界中}

circumstances ^{n.环境，状况}

• Under no circumstances should you approach that man.
• Due to circumstances beyond our control, ...

conspire to do sth. ^{两个或以上的人表“合谋”，多件事一块儿促成某事发生（多数为不好的结果）}

• Falling demand and high interest rates have conspired to produce a big drop in profits.

but ^{prep.除了，除…外}

• anyone but a nineteenth century novelist ^{除了19世纪的小说家以外的其他人}
• He didn't speak anything but Greek.  ^{他除了希腊语之外不会说其他任何语言。}
• Nobody but Robert would do such a thing.
• Who but a fool would do such a thing?
• His house is the last but one in the street.
• Take the next turning but one on your left.

but ^{后可跟不定式（to） do}

前面如果有实义动词，后面的to就可以省略，如果没有就得写上完整的to do.

• We have nothing to do but wait here. ^{除了等在这里我们不能做其它事}
• We have no choice but to wait here. ^{前面没有实义动词（have 在这里翻译不出来意思）}

造句：In real life, circumstances do sometimes conspire to bring about a series of catastrophes which anyone but the victims would find incredible. ^{在现实生活中，有时确实很多情况会凑到一起导致一连串的大灾难，而这些事情除了受害者之外可能谁也不会相信。}