由于这一课文章中长句较多，我们采用逐句分析的方法，先把句子精简，再依次分析句子主要成分的用法、从句的类型、词组的用法等等。
本文分4部分讲解，最后对文章的结构进行分析，希望对大家的英语学习有帮助。
Lesson 52 Mud is mud
My cousin, Harry,
keeps a large curiously-shaped bottle on permanent display in his study.
Despite the fact that the bottle is tinted a delicate shade of green, an
observant visitor would soon notice that it is filled with what looks like a
thick, grayish substance. If you were to ask Harry what was in the bottle, he
would tell you that it contained perfumed mud. If you expressed doubt or
surprise, he would immediately invite you to smell it and then to rub some into
your skin. This brief experiment would dispel any further doubts you might
have. The bottle really does contain perfumed mud. How Harry came into the
possession of this outlandish stuff makes an interesting story which he is fond
of relating. Furthermore, the acquisition of this bottle cured him of a bad
habit he had been developing for years.
解析：
1. 第一句可以精简成“My
cousin keeps a bottle on display in his study.”
（1）keep sth on
display: （展示某物）
on display: sth that is on display is in a place where people can look at it （展示物）
on permanent display: on
display forever （长期展示）
动词除了用keep外，还可以用put或 be。
例：
Owen said the
fossil would be put on display in about a month. （欧文说化石将在一个月后展出。）
Benner’s works
will be on display at the Berman Gallery. （宾纳的作品即将在博尔玛美术馆展出。）
（2）in his study: 在他的书房里
（3）a large curiously-shaped bottle:
large≈big，但有的地方不能通用。
如以下的例子，习惯用large：
1) What size of shirt do you wear? Medium or Large? （你穿几号的衣服？中号还是大号？（这就是衣服上写着S, M, L的原因，S = Small）
2) A large population of homeless people lives in the park. （大量无家可归者住在公园里。）
3) Aunt Betsy was a very large woman. （fat的委婉说法）
2. 第二句可以精简成“a visitor would notice that...”
（1）notice后面连接宾语从句“that it
is filled with what looks like a thick, grayish substance”,这个从句又可以精简成“it is filled with...”。
（2）“despite the fact that the bottle is tinted a delicate shade of
green”，状语。
1) despite：without being prevented by sth;
even though sth else exists or is true (尽管；虽有)
例：
Despite international
pressure, progress has slowed in the peace talks. （尽管国际上一直施加压力，但和平会谈的进展却放缓了。）
Lorin said he and
his sister make a good team, despite the fact that they sometimes argue.
（罗林说虽然他和姐姐时不时会吵架，但两人一起合作无间。
2)“that the bottle is tinted a
delicate shade of green”是fact的同位语从句。
3)
a delicate shade of green：（淡绿色）
同样，a delicate shade of pink/blue: （淡粉色、淡蓝色）
The room was
decorated in pastel shades. （房间被刷成淡色系的。）（“a pastel color” is pale and light）
3. 第三句可以精简成“he would tell you...”
（1）“that it
contained perfumed mud”做tell的宾语
（2）“If you were
to ask”，这里用was/were
+动词不定式 来表示过去预计发生并且发生了的事。
4. 第四句可以精简成“he would invite you ...”
（1）“to smell it
and then to rub some into your skin”动词不定式做invite宾语
（2）“If you
expressed doubt or surprise”，状语从句
5. 第5、6句可以精简成“This
experiment would dispel any doubts. The bottle does contain mud.”
（1）“you might have”是doubts的定语从句，其中关系代词“that”被省略掉。
（2）dispel any further doubts：
dispel：to make sth go away, especially a
belief, idea or feeling （打消；驱散）
例：
We want to
dispel the myth that you cannot eat well in Britain. （我们要打破你在英国吃不好的迷思。）
Light poured into
the hall, dispelling the shadows. （光芒注入大厅，驱散了影子。）
6. 第7句可以精简成“...makes a story.”
（1）“How Harry came into the possession
of this outlandish stuff”充当整个句子的主语；“which he is fond of relating”是story的定语从句。
（2）come into the possession of sth=have,
own （拥有）
例：
The country is not
in possession of (=doesn’t have) nuclear weapons. （国家没有核武器。）
（3）relate the story: to tell someone about
events that have happened to you or someone else （讲故事）
例：
Paige related
the story of her legal battles in great detail. （佩琪非常详尽地讲述了她打官司的故事。）
7. 第8句可以精简成“the acquisition cured him of...”
（1）“he had been
developing for years”是habit的定语从句。
（2）cure sb of...： to make sb stop behaving in a
particular way （使某人不再做某事）
例：
Nothing could cure
her of her impatient with Anna. （她对安娜怎么都耐心不起来。）
（3）develop
a habit （培养习惯）
<类似用法>：develop your speaking skills