casual friendliness of many Americans should be interpretedneither as superficial nor as artificial, but as the result of a historically developed cultural tradition.
【譯文】許多美國人隨意表現出的友善不應該被看作是表面或虛假的應酬，而應看作是一種文化傳統歷史發展的結果。
【析句】句子的主幹結構是The casual friendliness should be interpreted。注意neither… nor… but結構的使用，這種結構表示“既不是……也不是……而是……”，重點在but之後。
【講詞】casual意爲“輕鬆的，隨意的”。I only have a casual acquaintance with avant-garde music.（我對先鋒派音樂略知一二。）He made a casual remark at the reception.（他在招待會上作了即席發言。）superficial意爲“膚淺的”。Only the most superficial mind would assert nowadays that man is a reasonable creature.（如今只有最簡單的.頭腦纔會斷言人是有理智的動物。）The manager made only a few superficial changes in the feasibility plan.（經理只在可行性報告中做幾處無關緊要的小改動。）artificial意爲“人工的；造作的；虛假的”。The policy no doubt set up artificial barriers against women and minorities.（這一政策無疑設置了歧視婦女和少數民族的人爲障礙。）This brand of tinned beans contains no artificial colouring.（這種品牌的罐裝青豆不含人造色素。）
is true of any developed society, in America a complex set ofcultural signals, assumptions, and conventions underlies all socialinterrelationships.
【譯文】像其他發達國家一樣，在美國，人際關係的背後是一系列複雜的文化符號、信念和習俗。
【析句】句子的主幹結構是a complex set of cultural signals, assumptions, and conventions underlies all social interrelationships。as在句中是代詞，表示“這一情況，這一事實”。
【講詞】as is是一個常見的表達方式。The night had turned cold, as is usual around here.（夜晚變得很冷，在這一帶經常如此。）As is described in the picture, "love is a lamp which is brighter in darker places."（如同畫中所描繪的那樣，“愛是一盞燈，在暗處更顯明亮。”）assumption意爲“承擔，擔當；假定；設想”。His assumption of power was welcomed by everyone.（他掌權爲大家所歡迎。）The hostess bustled about with an assumption of authority.（女主人擺出一副權威的樣子忙來忙去。）