重要短语和典型句型

英语中常见的重要短语及典型句型

1．

(1) ... not so much...... as (but) ...与其说……还不如说……

(2) ... not so much that.....as (but) that......与其说……还不如说……

(3) ... not so much as..... (=not even) 甚至于不……，连……也不……

(4) ... might as well ... as..... 与其说……还不如说……

例1：He is not so much a teacher as a scholar.

译文：与其说他是老师，还不如说是学者。（注意翻译时动作的对象）

例2：It wasn't so much his appearance I liked as his personality.

译文：与其说我喜欢他的外表，不如说我喜欢他的品格。

例3：It's not so much that I don't want to come but I just haven't got the time.

译文：倒不是因为我不想来，而是我根本没有时间。

例4：He didn't so much as say thank you after all we'd done for him.

译文：我们为他干了那么多事，他甚至连谢谢都没有说一声。

例5：You might as well throw your money into the sea as lend it to him.

译文：与其将钱借给他，还不如把钱丢进大海。（注意翻译时动作的对象）[注意]：more ... than ...

1) she is more beautiful than her sister. 她比她姐姐漂亮。

2) George is more intelligent than aggressive. 与其说乔治言行放肆，不如说他聪颖过人。

以上第1)句是more... than结构的一般用法，即在两个不同的事物之间就同一方面作比较；而第2)句是就同一个人的两个不同方面作比较。因此要译成“与其说……还不如说……”。

more...than结构在上述1) 2)两句中的用法也适用于less ... than结构，得出相反的含义：

例如：

1) John is less daring than quick-witted. 与其说约翰胆大，不如说他脑子灵活。

2) George was less intelligent than aggressive. 与其说乔治聪颖过人，不如说他言行放肆。

2．几个不定代词的固定搭配：

have none of: 不参加；不准；不接受

I will have none of your stupid ideas! 我才不接受你那愚蠢的想法！

He was offered a job but he said he’d have none of it. 他有一个工作机会，但他说他不接受。

none but (=nothing but): 只有(=only)

None but the brave deserves the fair. 只有英雄才配得上美人。

She chose none but the best. 她只选最好的。

She is nothing but a child. 她只不过是个孩子。

none other than:（表示惊讶）不是别人，正是…… (= no one else but)

It’s none other than Tom! We thought you were in Africa.

none the +比较级词+ for:毫不，一点也不

He spent 2 weeks in hospital but he’s none the better for it.

他在医院里待了两个星期，但一点也没好转。

My car is none the worse for wear. 我的车子一点也没有损耗。

none the wiser:不知情

If we take only one piece of cake, mother will be none the wiser.

如果我们只拿一小块蛋糕，母亲是不会知道的。

none to (在形容词或副词前) 不太；一点都不

The service in this restaurant is none too fast. 这家旅馆的服务一点效率都没有。anything but:①除---之外什么都（此处的but等于except）②决不(=not at all) I eat anything but (except) fish. 除了鱼，我什么都吃。

She is anything but a good cook. 她决不是个好厨师。(即：除了好厨师，她什么都是。)

anything of:①（疑问句/条件句）一点点；②（否定句）一点也（没有）

Is he anything of a poet? 他有一点点诗人的样子吗？

I haven’t seen anything of him lately. 最近我没有见过他。

for anything: (否定句)（给什么都）不，决不

I won’t go there for anything. 我决不去那里。

or anything:（意味着还有其他的可能性）

If Bernard wants to call me or anything, I’ll be here all day.

如果伯纳德要找我或什么的，我整天都会在这儿。

if anything:若有任何不同的话

If anything, my new job is harder than my old one.

要说有什么不同的话，我的新工作反而比旧工作要难些。

or something:或什么的（表示说话者不能肯定）

She is a stewardess or something. 她是空姐或什么的。

something like:有点像，大约

An airship is shaped something like a cigar. 飞船的形状有点像雪茄。

something of a...:多少有点，有几分像，略懂

he’s something of a book collector. 他有几分像书籍收藏家。

something to / in: （叙述等）有些道理

There’s something to / in what you say; I’ll take yo ur advice.

你说的有些道理，我会接受你的建议

have / be something to do with:与……有关

I think Guy Fawkes had / was something to do with a plan to blow up the bridge.

我想盖佛克跟图谋炸毁桥梁有关。

nothing but (= none but = only):仅仅，只不过

We could see nothing but fog. 除了雾之外我们什么也看不见。

for nothing:①免费的；②徒劳的；③无缘无故的

She got the ticket for nothing. 她免费得到那张票。

All our preparation for nothing! No one’s even come to the party.

我们为宴会所作的准备都白费了! 连一个人都没来。

They quarreled for nothing.他们无缘无故地争吵。

make nothing of: (常和can一起用)不理解；不重视,轻视(= think nothing of)

I could make nothing of the passage. 我不理解这篇文章。

He makes / thinks nothing of working ten hours a day. 他不在乎一天工作十小时。

to say nothing of: 更不用说（= not to mention / without mentioning）

Three people were badly hurt, to say nothing of damage to the building.

三个人受了重伤，建筑物的损害更不用说了。

have nothing to do with:与……无关

I have nothing to do with the accident. 我与这场事故无关。

nothing if not:格外地；非常地(= very / much / extremely)

He was nothing if not clever. (= He was very clever.) 他格外聪明。

nothing of:无……的部分；无……的气质

There was nothing of the lady in her behavior. 她的举止根本没有淑女的气质。

区别：

all but几乎，差一点，除……以外其余都是

but fo r要不是

but that+从句：若不是……

例1：She all but fainted when she heard the news.

译文：她听到这一消息时几乎晕倒了。

注：此句中a11 but意为nearly，almost。

试对比：

All but the little children thought that the trip was exciting．

译文：除了小孩，大家都认为这次旅行是激动人心的。

此句中all but意为a11 except。

例2：But for the rain we should have a pleasant journey.

译文：要不是下雨，我们的旅行本来是愉快的。

例3：He would have helped us but that he was short of money at the time.

译文：若不是他那时缺钱，他是会帮助我们的。

注1)．but that引导的从句中谓语用陈述语气。2)．but that有灵活的译法。如：Nothing would satisfy that child but that I place her on my lap．(那孩子什么都不要，只要我把她抱在怀里。)

3．“名词+or+名词”结构中or后的名词是同位语，应译为“即……；或者称……”例1：Moreover, technology includes techniques, or ways to do things, as well as the machines that may or may not be necessary to apply them.

译文：再者，除机器外技术还包括技艺，即制作方法，而动用这些技艺并不一定都需要机器。

4．“only + to do”意为“……，结果却……”，即表示与句子谓语动作的目的相反的结果。

例1: They don't have to pay for expensive seats at the theatre, the cinema or the opera, only to discover, perhaps, that the show is disappointing.

译文：他们不必花钱去戏院、电影院或歌剧院买价格很贵的票，（如果去了，）结果却可能发现，所演的节目令人失望。

例2: They hurried there only to find the meeting canceled.

译文：他们匆匆忙忙赶到那儿，结果却发现会议被取消了。

5．not more / -er than 与no more / -er than结构

比较：

John is not better than Tom.

John is no better than Tom.

前一句表示“约翰不比汤姆好”，属于普通的比较结构；后一例用了no 情况就不同了。no better than 相当于as bad as，含义是两人一样坏。这里，“no + 形容词或副词比较级+ than”所表示的可以说是该形容词或副词的反意。

例如：no richer than = as poor as和……一样穷

no bigger than = as small as 和……一样小

no later than = as early as和……一样早

同样地：

I have not taken more than six courses this semester.

I have taken no more than six courses this semester.

前一句的含义是本学期选的课不多于六门；后一句的含义是只选了六门。强调“少”。

上述结构与表示前后都否定的no more...than (= not...any more than)又有所不同：

例：A whale is no more a fish than a horse is.（鲸和马同样不是鱼。）

另外，在某些结构中，单独使用more than也能表示否定概念：

例1：That is more than I can tell. 我简直不能说。

例2：My trip to Beijing is more than sightseeing. 我去北京不仅仅是旅游观光而已。

6．no more...than... (= not...any more than)和……—样都不……(表示前后都否定)

例1：The heart is no more intelligent than the stomach, for they are both controlled by the brain.心脏和胃一样都无智力可言，因为它们都是由大脑控制的。

例2：There is no reason they should limit how much vitamin you take, any more than they can limit how much water you drink．

译文：他们没有理由限制你服用多少维他命，就像他们不能限制你喝多少水一样。例3：More and more Afro-Americans see him as a tricky enemy who has no more love for them than he has for the Congolese．

译文：越来越多的美国黑人认识到他是个诡计多端的敌人。他仇视美国黑人，正像他仇视刚果人民一样。(直译：…，他不爱美国黑人，正像他不爱刚果人一样。) 注释：not...any more than是no more...than的一种强调形式。

例如：

1) Jack is no more intelligent than John. (=Jack is not intelligent any more than John.) 杰克与约翰一样都不聪明。

2) A man can no more fly than a bird can speak. (=A man cannot fly any more than a bird can speak.) 人不会飞翔，就像鸟不会说话一样。

3) As a nation, the French are no more eager to 1earn about their wartime failings than are the Japanese. (=As a nation，the French are not eager to learn about their

wartime failings any more than are the Japanese.)

作为一个国家，法国正如日本一样不积极地从他们的战争失败中吸取教训。

上述例句表明，no more...than并不表示比较，而是表示比喻，含有比喻意义的比较级用于否定时，than后面的从句不用否定式，但译成汉语时要用否定式。而与上述句型意义相反的是：no less...than，意为：“和……同样是……”。例如：Human is no less an animal than a monkey is. 人和猴都是动物。

而no less than的意思为：“简直是，实在是”，例如：

1) It is no less than blackmail to ask such a high price. 如此索要高价，简直是敲诈。

2) It is no less than a scandal. 这实在是一件丑闻。

7．not nearly (=by no means，far from) 远不

例1: The food supply will not increase nearly enough to match this, which means that we are heading into a crisis in the matter of producing and marketing food.

译文：食品供应将远远赶不上人口的增长，这就意味着我们在粮食的生产和购销方面正面临危机。

注：1) this是指上面提到的“到21世纪初世界人口将增加到60亿或70亿”。2) 又如：There are not nearly enough people here to do the job．(这里的人手远远不够承担这项工作。)

8．“更不用说”的表示法：

much less

still less

以上两短语引导的词组或从句，表示一种追加的否定，less是由little的比较级，所以这两个词组只能用于否定句中，可译为“更不用说，更不必说”。

to say nothing of

not to speak of

not to mention

let alone

这四个词组也意为“更不用说”，也是一种追补的说法。但它们与much less和still less有所不同。这些词组可以随前一句的意思而定，即前一句是肯定，则追加的也是肯定意义；如果前一句是否定，则追加的是否定意义

例1：I could not agree to, much less participate in such proceedings.

译文：我不能同意这种行为，更谈不上参加这些行动了。

例2：He knows little of mathematics, and still less of chemistry．

译文：他几乎不懂数学，更不用说化学了。

例3：I did not even see him, still less (= much less) shake hands with him.

译文：我看也没有看见过他，哪里还谈得上同他握手呢?

例4：In old China, here was hardly any machine-building industry, to say nothing of an electronic industry.

译文：在旧中国，几乎没有什么机器制造工业，更不用说电子工业了。

例5：Sally takes singing and dancing lessons, to say nothing of swimming and tennis lessons.

译文：莎莉学了唱歌和舞蹈课，而且还学了游泳和网球课。

例6：At that time they could not afford the ordinary comforts of life, not to speak of luxuries.

译文：那时他连普通生活都不能维持，更不要说奢侈品了。

例7：They have three fine sons, not to speak of their two 1ovely daughters.

译文：他们有了三个好儿子，而且还有两个可爱的女儿。

例8：I don't know algebra or geometry，not to mention calculus．

译文：我连代数、几何都不懂，更不必说微积分了。

例9：A11 they have to do is press a button，and they can see plays, films, operas and shows of every kind, not to mention political discussions and the latest exciting football match.

译文：他们所要做的只是按一下电钮，就能看到各种戏剧、电影、歌剧和各式各样的演出，而且还能看到各种政治辩论和最近举行的激动人心的足球赛。

例10：I can't add two and two, let alone do fractions.

译文：我连2加2都不会，更不要说做分数题了。

注意：美国成语词典认为let alone只能用于追加的否定。但是，有的词典认为，该短语也可以引导追加的肯定。例如：There were five people in the car, let alone the luggage and the two dogs.

9．nothing else than 完全是，实在是

例1: What the man said was nothing else than nonsense.

译文：那人讲的话完全是一派胡言。

例2: Your success was due to nothing else than your own diligence.

译文：你的成功完全是由于你自己的勤奋。

10．It is not that...but that...这不是说……，而是说……

例1: It is not that the scales in the one case, and the balance in the other, differ in the principles of their construction or manner of working; but that the latter is much finer apparatus and of course much more accurate in its measurement than the former.

译文：这并不是说在一种情况下所使用的磅秤和另一种情况下所用的天平在构造原理上或工作方式上存在差别，而是说与前者相比，后者是一种更精密得多的装置，因而在计量上必然更加准确。

11．can not...too...再……也不过分

例1: We cannot be too careful of health. 我们无论如何注意健康也不为过。

例2: You cannot be too careful when you drive a car. 你开车时再小心也不过分。例3: We can not be too faithful to our duties. 我们必须尽力忠于职守。

12．other...than... 或other than...不同于，非；除了

例l: Plants which refine crude ores are often located in countries other than those in which the crude ores are mined.

译文：提炼矿石的厂房通常不是设在采矿石的国家而设在其它国家。

例2: Reactions other than the desired one often occur when reactants are brought together.

译文：当这些反应物放在一起时，常发生不希望有的一些反应。(即：…常发生与希望有的反应不同的反应。)

例3: All parts of the house other than the windows were in good condition.

译文：除了窗之外，屋子的其它部分都完好无损。

13．... the last + n. + 不定式或定语从句：意为“…最不可能的……”

例1: She would be the last person to go along with the scheme.

译文：她可能会是最不同意这项计划的人。

例2: That's the last thing I'd expect you to do.

译文：那是我最不期望你做的事情。

14．It is asserted that．．．有人断言．．．

It is believed that．．．据认为．．．．，人们相信．．．．

It is considered that．．．有人认为．．．

It is reported that．．．据报道．．．

It is said that．．．据说．．．．

It is supposed that．．．据推测．．．

It is told that．．．据传．．．

It appears that看来似乎．．．，好像．．．

It is well known that．．．众所周知．．．

It is estimated that．．．据估计．．．

It was pointed out that．．．有人指出．．．

It is generally accepted that．．．人们通常认为．．．，一般认为．．．，大家公认．．．

It is alleged that．．．人们断言．．．

It is claimed that．．．有人主张．．．，人们要求．．．

It cannot be denied that．．．不可否认

It has been found that．．．实践证明

It is predicted that．．．据估计．．．，据预测．．．

It is suggested that．．．有人建议．．．

15．It goes without saying that．．．不言而喻，……

例：It goes without saying that in order to speak good English, we must first of all learn good pronunciation.

译文：不言而喻，为了讲好英语，首先必须学好发音。

16．It is common knowledge that…众所周知，……

例：It is common knowledge now that Chinese people are very intelligent.

译文：众所周知，中国人和很聪明。

17．It occurs to sb. that…(某人) 想起……

例1: It occurred to me suddenly that I had met him somewhere.

译文：我突然想起在什么地方见过他。

例2: It occurred to me that she was jealous of me.

译文：我突然发觉她嫉妒我。