13.short of / be short of / nothing short of
short=except,是副词的用法。在前面可以使用的动词有:come, fall, run等,表示“不足”、“缺乏”的意思,其中“of”做“from”解释。至于be short of 与nothing short of 中的“short of”则为形容词。be short of 表示“不足”或“离开”;nothing short of表示“完全”。
1)Short of theft, I will do anything I can for you.
2)We are short of hands at present.
3)His conduct was nothing short of madness.他的行为简直发了狂。
14.anything but / nothing but / all but
在英文中anything but=never;意即“除此之外,别的都是”,是表示强调的否定;
nothing but=only; 意即“除此之外,别的都不是”;
all but=almost; nearly
三种用法中,but都有“except”含义
15.much more / much less
He likes a child, much more a baby.他喜欢小孩,更加喜欢婴孩。
He doesn't like a child, much less a baby.他步喜欢小孩,更加不喜欢婴孩。
解释:
much more 用于肯定句之后,表示程度增加;表示更多,much可以改为still
much less用于否定句之后,表示程度减少;表示更少,可译为“何况”、“还论” |
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