【词组解说】

More than 的用法          

A. “More than＋名词”表示“不仅仅是”      

1) Modern science is more than a large amount of information.

2) Jason is more than a lecturer; he is a writer, too.

We need more than material wealth to build our country.建设我们国家，不仅仅需要物质财富.

B. “More than＋数词”含“以上”或“不止”之意，如：

3) I have known David for more than 20 years.

4) Let's carry out the test with more than the sample copy.

More than one person has made this suggestion. 不止一人提过这个建议.

C. “More than＋形容词”等于“很”或“非常”的意思，如：

5) In doing scientific experiments, one must be more than careful with the instruments.

6) I assure you I am more than glad to help you.

D. more than + (that)从句，其基本意义是“超过（=over）”，但可译成“简直不”“远非”. 　难以，完全不能（其后通常连用情态动词 can）

  --That is more than I can understand . 那非我所能懂的.

--That is more than I can tell. 那事我实在不明白。

--The heat there was more than he could stand. 那儿的炎热程度是他所不能忍受的

此外，“more than”也在一些惯用语中出现，如：
--More often than not （经常），people tend to pay attention to what they can take rather than what they can give.

--All of us are more than a little concerned about（非常关心）the current economic problems

 

more...than 的用法          

1. 比……多，比……更

　　He has more books than me. 他的书比我多。

　　He is more careful than the others. 他比其他人更仔细。

2. 与其……不如

　　He is more lucky than clever. 与其说他聪明，不如说他幸运。

　　He is more （a）scholar than （a）teacher. 与其说他是位教师，不如说他是位学者。

注：该句型主要用于同一个人或物在两个不同性质或特征等方面的比较，其中的比较级必须用加 more 的形式，不能用加词尾-er 的形式。

 

no more than 与 not more than     

1. no more than 的意思是“仅仅”“只有”“最多不超过”，强调少。如：

　--This test takes no more than thirty minutes. 这个测验只要30分钟。

　--The pub was no more than half full. 该酒吧的上座率最多不超过五成。

--For thirty years，he had done no more than he （had）needed to. 30年来，他只干了他需要干的工作。

2. not more than 为 more than （多于）的否定式，其意为“不多于”“不超过”。如：

Not more than 10 guests came to her birthday party. 来参加她的生日宴会的客人不超过十人。

　　比较：

　　She has no more than three hats. 她只有3顶帽子。（太少了）

　　She has not more than three hats. 她至多有3顶帽子。（也许不到3顶帽子）

　　I have no more than five yuan in my pocket. 我口袋里的钱最多不过5元。（言其少）

I have not more than five yuan in my pocket. 我口袋里的钱不多于5元。（也许不到5元）

 

no more...than 与 not more...than

1. no more...than 表示对两者都否定，意为“同……一样不”（＝neither...nor...）。如：

--He is no more a writer than a painter. 他既不是画家，也不是作家。（＝He is neither a painter nor a writer.）

--He’s no more able to read Spanish than I am. 他和我都读不懂西班牙语。（＝Neither he nor I am able to read Spanish.）

--I know no more Spanish than I know Greek. 我对西班牙语和希腊语同样都不懂。（＝I know neither Spanish nor Greek.）

2. not more...than 指两者都具有某种特征，但是程度不同，意为“不如”“不及”（＝ not so... as）。如：(less…than…)

--She is not more clever than he is. 她不如他聪明。（＝She is not so clever as he is.）

--This book is not more difficult than that one. 这本书不及那本书难。（This book is not so difficult as that one.）

 

no more...than 与 no less...than

1. no more...than 意为“与……一样不”，用于否定两者。如：

She’s no more a great singer than I am. 她不是优秀歌手，我也不是。

A whale is no more a fish than a horse is. 马不是鱼，鲸也不是鱼。

He is no more an artist than you are a mathematician. 就像你不是数学家一样，他也不是艺术家。

2. no less...than 意为“和……一样”，用于肯定两者。如：

Your brother is no less wise than you. 你的兄弟跟你一样聪明。

A dolphin is no less a clever animal than a dog is. 海豚与狗同样都是聪明的动物。

Italian is no less a mother tongue for him than English. 如同英语一样，意大利语也是他的母语。

 

nothing more than /nothing less than

1. nothing less than 完全是，和...一模一样

--It is nothing less than stealing to take a thing away without the permission of its owner.

--They expect nothing less than a revolution. 他们盼望的正是革命。

2. there's nothing I like less than..。这种情况是否定意思

--There's nothing I like less than lying. 我最不喜欢的莫过于说谎了。

--There's nothing I like less than working overtime. 我最讨厌加班。

 

less than 的用法

1. （指数量）不到，不足

　　It’s less than half an hour’s drive from here. 开车到那里不到半个钟头。

　　In less than an hour he finished the work. 没要上一个小时，他就完成了工作。

2. 比……（小）少

　　She eats less than she should. 她吃得比她应该吃的少。

　　Half the group felt they spent less than average. 半数人觉得他们的花费低于平均水平。

3. 不太，一点也不

　　The boys were less than happy about having a party. 开晚会男孩子们并不很高兴。

　　We were less than delighted to have company that day. 那天有客人我们并不太高兴。

He was less than helpful when we arrived. 我们到达时他一点也不帮忙。

 

less...than 的用法

1. 不像（如）

　　He is less honest than his brother. 他不如他哥哥诚实。

2. 比……少，不如……多

　　We drink less coffee than tea. 我们喝咖啡不如喝茶多。

　　I got less money than the others did. 我比别人得到的钱少。

3. 与其……不如……

　　I regard him less as my teacher than as my friend. 与其说我把他当作老师，不如说我是把他当作朋友。

　　注：表示此义时可与 more...than 结构替换（但要注意词序的变化）。如：

He is less a teacher than an expert.／He is more an expert than a teacher. 与其说他是老师，不如说他是专家。

 

no less than 与 not less than

1. no less than 的意思是“多达”“有……之多”，强调多，与 no more than 意思相反。如：

　　He made no less than ￡500. 他赚了多达500英镑的钱。

　　He paid no less than $10，000 for it. 他为此付了一万多美元。

　　No less than 50 people offered to buy it. 至少有50个人提出要买它。

　　No less than 50 passengers got killed in the train accident yesterday. 死于昨天火车车祸的旅客有50人之多。

　　My father， no less than I，is a baseball fan. 我的父亲不亚于我，也是个棒球迷。

2. not less than 为 less than（少于）的否定式，其意为“不少于”“不下于”“至少”。如：

　　He has not less than 10，000 dollars. 他至少有一万元。

　　Not less than 500 people attended the meeting. 参加会议的至少500人。

　　比较：

　　He has no less than seven daughters. 他有7个女儿之多。

He has not less than seven daughters. 他至少有7个女儿。

 

no more...than 与 no less...than

1. no more...than 意为“与……一样不”，用于否定两者。如：

　　She’s no more a great singer than I am. 她不是优秀歌手，我也不是。

　　A whale is no more a fish than a horse is. 马不是鱼，鲸也不是鱼。

　　He is no more an artist than you are a mathematician. 就像你不是数学家一样，他也不是艺术家。

2. no less...than 意为“和……一样”，用于肯定两者。如：

　　Your brother is no less wise than you. 你的兄弟跟你一样聪明。

　　A dolphin is no less a clever animal than a dog is. 海豚与狗同样都是聪明的动物。

　　Italian is no less a mother tongue for him than English. 如同英语一样，意大利语也是他的母语。

 

【陷阱题分析】   

1. How beautifully she sings！I have never heard voice.

　　A. a better    B. a best　　C. the better    D. the best

【陷阱】容易误选 D，认为最高级前要用定冠词。

【分析】其实此题最佳答案为 A。该句可视为 I have never heard a better voice than her voice 之省略，全句句意为“她唱得多好啊！我从未听过她这么好的声音”。请再看以下类似的实例：

　　    He is fine， never better. 他很好，比以往任何时候都好。

　　    This bird is really lovely. I’ve never seen a finer one. 这只鸟真可爱，我从未见过这样好看的鸟。

　　比较以下试题，情形也大致相同：

　　（1）“I’ve never found a better job.”“.”

　　     A. I don’t think so   B. Too bad　　C. Congratulations    D. Don’t worry

　　     答案选C。I’ve never found a better job 可视为I’ve never found a better job than this job 之省略，句意为“我从来没有找到比这份工作更好的工作”，即“这是我所找到的最好的工作”。

　　（2）“What do you think of the service here？”“Oh， . We couldn’t have found a better place.”

　　     A. too bad        B. sorry       C. wonderful        D. impossible

　　     答案选C。We couldn’t have found a better place 可视为 We couldn’t have found a better place than this place，其意为“我们不可能找到一个比这儿更好的地方”，即“这是我们所能找到的最好的地方”。

　　（3） Boris has brains. In fact， I doubt whether anyone in the class hasIQ.

　　     A. a high       B. a higher       C. the higher       D. the highest

　　     答案选B。句意为“……我怀疑班上有没有哪个人比他智商更高”，即“我认为他可能是班上智商最高的”。

　　（4） How cold it is！ We’ve never hadthis winter.

　　     A. the colder day        B. a cold day　　C. the coldest day       D. a colder day

　　     答案选D。句意为“今年冬天我们还从未遇上过这样冷的日子”。

2. Professor White has written some short stories， but he isknown for his plays.

　　A. the best       B. more       C. better       D. the most

【陷阱】容易误选 D。

【分析】此题首先不宜选 B 或D，因为 well known 的比较级和最高级通常是 better known 和best known，有时也可以是 more well known 和 most well known， 但通常不能是 more known 和 most known。至于是选A 还是 C， 这就要看语境。由于句中涉及的只有 stories 和 plays 两个对象，故应选比较级。

3. You arecareful than your brother. You two can’t do the work that needs care and skill.

　　A. not more        B. no more       　　C. not less       D. no less

【陷阱】容易误选 A。

【分析】要做对此题，首先要正确理解以下结构的含义：

　　not more...than＝不如……

　　no more...than＝和……一样不（否定两者）

　　not less...than＝不如……不（即指不如 less 后形容词的反面）

　　no less...than＝和……一样（肯定两者）

　　比较以下各句的意思：

　　You are more careful than he is. 你比他仔细。

　　You are not more careful than he is. 你不如他仔细。

　　You are no more careful than he is. 你和他一样不仔细。

　　You are less careful than he is. 你不如他仔细（你比他粗心）。

　　You are not less careful than he is. 你比他仔细（你不如他粗心）。

　　You are no less careful than he is. 你和他一样仔细。

　　通过以上分析，再结合句子语境，可知此题最佳答案为 B。

4.“Oh， how fat he is！”“But I think he isthan fat.”

　　A. short       B. shorter        C. more short       D. shortest

【陷阱】容易误选 B。认为short 为单音节形容词，故用-er 构成比较级。

【分析】其实正确答案应是 C。要弄清此问题，得先从比较句型的两种不同类型说起。

　　（1）异类同质比较。即指两个不同的人或事物（异类）在同一方面（同质）进行比较。如：

　　     My room is smaller than yours. 我的房间比你的小。

　　     Our country is more powerful than theirs. 我们的国家比他们的国家更强大。

　　（2）同类异质比较。即指同一个人或事物（同类）在两个不同的方面（异质）进行比较，这类句子常译为“（更多的）是……，而不是” “与其……不如……”等。如：

　　     He was more lucky than clever. 他是靠运气而不是靠聪明。

　　     She was more surprised than angry. 她感到更多的是惊讶而不是生气。

　　     This is more a war movie than a western. 这更应当说是一部战争片，而不是西部片。

　　按英语习惯，在进行同类异质比较时，只能用 more 构成比较级，不能用-er 形式，即使是单音节词也是如此。

 

【模拟训练】    

1. I don’t like it at all. It can’t be ______.

　　A. better       B. worse        C. best       D. worst

2. I’m ______ at sums than Jean， but better at history.

　　A. more       B. less       C. worse       D. cleverer

3. We couldn’t have picked ______ day for the picnic－it rained nonstop.

　　A. a worse       B. a worst       C. the worse       D. the worst

4. I know this is not quite the right word， but I can’t be bothered to think of ______.

　　A. a better        B. a best       C. the better        D. the good

5. With the development of the Internet，______ communication is done by regular mail.

　　A. less       B. more       C. little       D. few

6. —If you don’t like the red coat， take the blue one.

　—OK， but do you have ______ size in blue？This one’s a bit tight for me.

　　A. a big       B. a bigger       C. the big        D. the bigger

7. If there were no examinations， we should have ______ at school.

　　A. the happiest time        B. a more happier time       　　C. much happiest time   D. a much happier time

8. —Are you satisfied with what he did？

　　—No， it couldn’t have been ______.

　　A. worse       B. better       C. so bad       D. the worse

9. I think whoever makes ______ contributions to the company than others should get ______ income.

　　A. greater； the higher    B. more greater； a higher　 C. greater；the highest    D. more greater； the higher

10. The Chinese Education Department suggests teachers should receive ______ education to catch up with the development.

　　A. farther；late       B. farther；later       C. further；lately        D. further；latest

11. He knows little of mathematics，______ of chemistry.

　　A. as well as       B. no less than       C. still less       D. no more than

12.the temperature，______ water turns into steam.

　　A. The high， the fast     B. Higher， faster    C. The more higher，the faster     D. The higher， the faster

13. The computers in the other shop will be ______， but ______ as those in this shop.

　　A. cheaper; not as better   B. more cheaper; not as better   C. cheaper; not as good   D. more cheap; not as good

14. —I didn’t do well in this English examination. How about you？

　　—I did ______ you.

　　A. not better than       B. no worse than       　　C. as well as       D. no better than

15. Mary kept weighing herself to see how much ______ she was getting.

　　A. heavier        B. heavy       　　C. the heavier        D. the heaviest

16. —The weather is not good enough for an outing， is it？

—Not in the least. We have not have ______ at this time of the year.

　　A. a worse day       B. a nicer day       　　C. such a bad day        D. so fine a day

17. —Does Jim do his new job well？

　 —______ his old job. How stupid！I fear there’s no hope for him.

　　A. No better than       B. Not better than       　　C. No so well as       D. No as well as

18. This bird is really lovely， and I’ve never seen ______ one.

　　A. a finer       B. a finest       C. the finer       D. the finest

19. —If you go to the post office，would you please get me a stamp？

　　 —I am ______ willing to.

　　A. no more than       B. not more than        C. more than       D. no less than

20.  —Minister，are you satisfied with the performance of the Chinese athletes in Athens Olympics？

　　—Yes， it couldn’t have been ______.

　　A. worse        B. better       C. so bad       D. the worse

【答案与解析】

1. B。it can’t be worse 在此相当于 It’s the worst thing I ever knew。

2. C。句意为“我的算术比琼差，但我的历史比她强”。注意句中的转折连词 but 及其后的 better。

3. A。We couldn’t have picked a worst day 与It is the worst day we’ve picked 同义。

4. A。a better 为a better one 之省略。注意，a better one （一个更好的）是与前文“我知道这不是一个很适合的词”相呼应的。

5. A。若选 B 或C 均不合事实；若选 D，不合语法，因为 few 后要接可数名词的复数形式。

6. B。从句意看，空格处应填比较级 bigger，因此排除A 和 C。选项B 与 D 的区别是，一个用了不定冠词，一个用了定冠词，两者的区别是，不定冠词表泛指，定冠词表特指。

7. D。由于是将有考试与没有考试作比较，所以应用比较级，不用最高级，由此排除 A 和C。选项 B 的错误在于用了 more happier 这样的双重比较级（即 more 后不能再加比较级）。

8. A。由关键词 No 可知，此处的意思是“不可能比这更差的（worse）了”。

9. C。more 不可修饰比较级，排除 B 和 D。greater...than others 表示的是最高级意义，故后面用最高级。

10. D。只有表示实际距离的远，才可用 farther（此时也可用 further），否则就用 further。further education 进修； late 迟的；later 后来；lately＝recently 近来；latest 最新的。

11. C。still／even／much less 更不用说，更何况。

12. D。“the＋比较级，the＋比较级”意为“越……就越……”。

13. C。两者比较用比较级，表示“比……”；同级比较用 as...as 或 not as／so...as。句意为“那家商店的电脑将比这家商店的便宜，但不如这家商店的好。”

14. D。no better than ＝as badly as，意为“一样不好”。

15. A。此题考查比较级的用法。Mary 是想知道她比以往称起来重了多少，故用比较级。“how much＋比较级”意为“比以前（重、高、远……）多少”。

16. A。本题关键是对not in the least 的理解，它的意思是“一点也不好”，故可知道天气很糟糕。not 与比较级连用，事实上相当于一个最高级的用法。后句的意思是：一年之中再也碰不到比这更糟糕的天气了。

17. A。根据 How stupid！I fear there’s no hope for him 可知说话人对 Jim 新工作表现的评价是负面的，故选 A。no better than 表示“与……一样的不好，与……一样的差”之意。句意是：他做新工作与以前工作一样差。他太笨了，我担心他没什么希望了。

18. A。I’ve never seen a finer one 的实际意思是 This is the finest one I’ve ever seen。

19. C。因为 more than 与形容词连用，意为“非常”。

20. B。从 Yes 可知，说话者对中国运动员的表现是持肯定态度的。couldn’t...better 指好得不能再好，就是最好的意思。注意：这种 can 的否定式与比较级连用在听力里面也时常出现。