本篇选自Los Angeles Times 2019年10月的一篇文章，原文标题为Editorial: Is Net Neutrality Alive or Dead? It’s Hard to Tell(社论：网络中立性依然存在或是已经消逝?这很难说)。主要描述了作者呼吁国会明确美国联邦通信委员会的权力，以监管宽带供应商的行为，从而保护互联网的开放性和创新精神。我们今天学习的是第一段的内容：
(1)From the early days of broadband,advocates for consumers and web-based companies worried that cable and phone companies selling broadband connections had the power and incentive to favor affiliated websites over their rivals’. (2)That’s why there has been such a strong demand for rules that would prevent broadband providers from picking winners and losers online, preserving the freedom and innovation that have been the lifeblood of the Internet.首先帮助大家解决本句中可能存在的词汇障碍：
broadband n.宽带连接，宽频带
advocate n. 拥护者，支持者
incentive n.刺激，激励，鼓励
affiliated a.隶属的
preserve v. 保护，维护，保留
第二步对长难句进行断句，找出标点，从属连词，短语等标志，可以把句子断成如下的结构：
(1)From the early days of broadband,// advocates for consumers and web-based companies worried // that cable and phone companies selling broadband connections // had the power and incentive to favor affiliated websites over their rivals’. (2)That’s why there has been such a strong demand for rules //that would prevent broadband providers from picking winners and losers online, //preserving the freedom and innovation // that have been the lifeblood of the Internet.
第三步分析断开的各部分结构的成分：
(1)句中，from介短为句首状语、for介短为定语修饰advocates、selling短语做定语修饰companies、to do不定式为表目的状语、而句子的主干为：advocates worried +that宾语从句
(2)句中，主干为that’s +why表从;第一个that定从修饰rules， prevent sb. from doing sth.为固定搭配—阻止某人做某事，preserving短语作状语，第二个that定从修饰freedom and innovation。
下一步先整体处理各个划分的结构内部的句子理解，(1)From the early days of broadband,// advocates for consumers and web-based companies worried // that cable and phone companies selling broadband connections // had the power and incentive to favor affiliated websites over their rivals’. —自早年安装宽带以来，//消费者和互联网公司的拥护者担心//售卖宽带连接的电信公司//有权力和动机偏袒自家的网站，而不是竞争对手的网站。
(2)That’s why there has been such a strong demand for rules //that would prevent broadband providers from picking winners and losers online, //preserving the freedom and innovation // that have been the lifeblood of the Internet.——这就是为什么有强烈的制定规则的需求//阻止宽带供应商在线挑选赢家和输家//保护自由和创新精神//一直是互联网的命脉
明确了各个成分内部的句意之后，还需要梳理清楚各个结构之间是否需要调整语序，句(1)各个结构之间无需调整，句(2)中有两个定语从句，第一个定从顺译，第二个定从调整到修饰对象前
经过调整之后，该句的句意可以整理如下：
自早年安装宽带以来，消费者和互联网公司的拥护者担心售卖宽带连接的电信公司有权力和动机偏袒自家的网站，而不是竞争对手的网站。这就是为什么(人们)有强烈的制定规则的需求来阻止宽带供应商在线挑选赢家和输家，(来)保护一直是互联网命脉的自由和创新精神。