【问】 We are less credulous than we used to be. In the nineteenth century，a novelist wouldbring his story to a conclusion by presenting his readers with a series of coincidences—most of them wildly improbable. (New Concept English，Book 3，L. 36)
 在most of them之后是否省略了连系动词are?
 【答】 如果像你说的那样，在most of them之后加上连系动词are，那么这个句子就变成错句了。为什么呢?因为从形式上看它既不可能是并列分句(无并列连词)，也不可能是从属分句(无从属连词)。而原文中的most of them wildly improbable却是正确的，因为它是一个正确的格式——独立结构(Absolute Construction)。独立结构的语法功用是充当句子的状语。其特征是：有自己的逻辑主语(如上句中的most of them)并且和句子的主语(如上句中的anovelist)不一致。
 从词性看大致有如下几类：
 A.名词或代词+现在分词
 1. Time (Weather) permitting，we shall start tomorrow.
 如果时间(天气)允许的话，我们将明天动身。
 2. Aluminium being very soft，we can press it easily into any shapes desired.
 铝很软，所以我们可以很容易地将它压成所需要的任何形状。
 3. The decision having been made，the next problem was how to make a good plan.
 作出决定后，下一个问题就是如何做出一个好的计划。
 B.名词或代词+过去分词
 1. The job finished，we went home straight away.
 工作结束后，我们马上回家了。
 2. This sum added，we will have enough money for the trip.
 如果加上这笔钱，我们旅行的费用就足够了。
 C.名词或代词+形容词
 1. He entered the room，his nose red with cold.
 他走进屋来，鼻子冻得红红的。
 2. He sat in the front row，his mouth half open...
 他坐在前排，嘴半张着……
 你提问的句子便属于这种类型(代词+形容词)。
 其他的独立结构有：名词或代词+副词，名词或代词+介词短语等等。
 1. Dinner over，we decided to play bridge.
 吃过饭后，我们决定打桥牌。
 2. In half an hour Delia came，her right hand in a bandage.(许国璋《英语》(二)，P.155)
 半小时后，迪莉娅回来了，她右手缠着绷带。
 请做下面的英语试题：
 1. The students________ (do) all the exercises，the teacher went on to explain the text.
 2. His eyes still________ (fix) on the lamp，he did some serious thinking.
 3. In the course of her life，Mary Anne Sadlier________ ，some fifty of them original novelsand collections of stories.
 A. produced nearly sixty books B. produced sixty books nearly
 C. nearly sixty books produced D. sixty books nearly produced
 4.The Hawaiian coastline is bordered by many coral reefs，some living，but____dead.
 A.most of them B.most of their
 C.others are D.the rest are being
 5.Along the rocky New England coast are small areas of sand and gravel beach，some cre-ated from glacial debris，____by the action of ocean storms.
 A.upbuilding others B.others build up
 C.others built up D.built up others(TOEFL，84.5)
 (参见with⁹，being.nominative absolute past participle construction)