整体分析：
状语和主谓宾部分非常明显，下面对定语从句进行分析。
关系词where，剩下的部分分成下面几个语意结构：
our welfare system has evolved
from being based on the principle of unemployment insurance
to providing a permanent top-up to wages set so low they provide insufficient means by which to support a family
前两个结构也比较显而易见，下面分析第三个：
providing a permanent top-up to wages (set so low they provide insufficient means by which to support a family)
括号内是wages的后置定语，是一个结果状语“so...that...”结构，省略了that。对语句进行还原应该是：the wages are set so low that they provide insufficient means by which to support a family，这样就很容易看出they其实就是wages。
下面对they provide insufficient means by which to support a family进行分析：
by which to support a family是means的后置定语，which指的就是means，字面意思是“设置得很低的薪水提供了不足够的方式，通过这种不足够的方式来养家”，其实就是说薪水不足以养家。追问
状语和主谓宾部分非常明显，下面对定语从句进行分析。
关系词where，剩下的部分分成下面几个语意结构：
our welfare system has evolved
from being based on the principle of unemployment insurance
to providing a permanent top-up to wages set so low they provide insufficient means by which to support a family
前两个结构也比较显而易见，下面分析第三个：
providing a permanent top-up to wages (set so low they provide insufficient means by which to support a family)
括号内是wages的后置定语，是一个结果状语“so...that...”结构，省略了that。对语句进行还原应该是：the wages are set so low that they provide insufficient means by which to support a family，这样就很容易看出they其实就是wages。
下面对they provide insufficient means by which to support a family进行分析：
by which to support a family是means的后置定语，which指的就是means，字面意思是“设置得很低的薪水提供了不足够的方式，通过这种不足够的方式来养家”，其实就是说薪水不足以养家。追问
感谢了哈！很详尽！
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第1个回答 2018-03-08
by后是定语从句，which指means,其他的就简单了。追问
那个by是什么
追答by means of
用，依靠，将，借助于
[例句]
The drawing is transferred onto the wood by means of carbon paper.
这幅画是通过复写纸印到木头上的。
我知道set so low 修饰那个wage，但不理解为什么后面紧接着they …的这部分 这个是修饰什么的？
they provide 是提供工资还是提供谋生方式？
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