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 mn 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。)