1、 Brief Account of the history of China. (中国历史简述)
Account：在这里应理解为“说明”的意思。
2、 China traces its origins as a clearly separate political and cultural unit to ancient times.
追溯到古代，中国是一个政治与文化划分得很清楚的国家。
as：在这里应理解为“被看作”。
3、 The dominating class in the later dynasties was made up of scholar-officials, who were recruited to serve the government based on their intelligence and skills rather than their family background.
(1)make up of sth 由……组成。如：
Farming and mining make up most of the country’s industry.
来自www.Examw.com (2)rather than 与其(某人/某事)，不愿，不要，不是。如：
It’s management that’s at fault rather than the work-force.
错在资方而不在劳方。
4、 Its downfall in 1911 led the country to be torn apart by warlords, civil war, and Japanese invasion for several decades.
tear sth apart：彻底毁灭或击败某物，严厉地批评某事物。如：
The critics tore her new play to pieces. (剧评家们把她的新戏批评得一无是处。)
5、 Governor Arthur Phillip directed the ships carrying “transported” convicts and jailors into Jackson, to the north.
transported 在这里为过去分词作定语，修饰 convicts and jailors.
