“是A不是B”的常用表达法
佳中
He is liable to make decisions on the basis of his personal likes and dislikes
__________what is best for the organization.
[A] rather than [B] other than
[C] better than [D] more than
【答案】A
【题意】 他倾向于根据他的个人好恶而不是根据什么最有利于组织作决定。
rather than 这个短语相信大家一定都很熟悉，意思是“不是……而是……"，
“尤其说……还不如说……”。如果问你除了 rather than，英语中还有哪些能表示
“不是……而是……”的句句式，你就不一定都很清楚。下面介绍几种常用的表达法。
● A rather than B 肯定A否定B。
1）He is a man who will spoil rather than accomplish something.
他这个人成事不足，败事有余。
2）A business letter should be written in a formal style rather than in a personal
one.
商业信函应按正规格式书写而不是个人风格书写。
3）Nowadays, people doing purchases by check or charge account or credit card,
rather than carrying too much money in the pocket or purses.
如今人们用支票、信用卡帐户或信用卡做生意,而不是口袋或钱包装太多的钱。
4）Jazz is essentially an art of performance rather than of transcription.
爵士音乐基本上是一种表演艺术而不是乐曲改编艺术。
5）These children appear to have been dragged up rather than brought up.
看来这些孩子与其说是抚养大的还不如说是拉扯大的。
6）For the most part Americans think that there is some advantage in attending
one of the better known private institutions, in spite of higher cost, rather
than a state university.
尽管私立院校费用高，美国人多半认为上较著名的私立院校有某些优势，而不
愿上州立大学。
● A instead of B 肯定A否定B。
1）You should reason with him instead of just telling him to obey.
你应该同他讲清道理，而不是只叫他服从。
2）You must make the decision on your own instead of our making it for you.
这个决定得由你们自己来做，而不是由我们帮你们做。
3）He leads his people to take the road of collective prosperity instead of trying to
build up family fortunes.
他领到人们走集体富裕的道路，不搞个人发家致富。
4）There has been a tendency for industry to be located in a single region, instead
of being dispersed evenly over the whole country.
现在有一种倾向工业往往位于单一地区，而不是均匀地分散在全国各地。
5）Instead of looking at human behavior as shaped by culture, sociobiology stresses
natural selection as responsible for human’s particular biotical characteristics.
社会生物学强调不是文化形成人类的行为而是自然选择形成人类特有的特征。
6）The family hoped they would be able to settle the charges out of court instead of
having to be dragged into lengthy legal procedures.
这个家庭希望得到庭外和解，而不是被拖进冗长的法律程序中。
● more A than B 肯定A否定B。
1）In his eye, Peter is more a businessman than his elder brother.
在他的眼中,尤其说彼得是他哥哥，还不如说他是一个商人。
2）He is more dillgent than clever.
与其说他聪明，毋宁说他勤奋。
3）The child was more frighted than hurt.
这孩子伤倒不算什么，只是受惊不小。
4）The so-called division between the pure scientist and the applied scientist is
more apparent than real.
纯科学家与应用科学家之间的所谓区别，与其说是真的，毋宁说是表面的。
5）Most people in modern societies are more familiar with journalistic interviewing
than with any other from of interviewiing.
现代社会大多数人更熟悉的是新闻采访，而不是其他形式的采访。
（此句也可译成：现代社会大多数人对新闻采访比其他形式采访更为熟悉。）
● not so much B as A 否定B肯定A。
1）One’s greatness lies not so much in his wealth as in his character.
一个人的伟大尤其说是他的财富来判断，还不如说是由他的品德来判断。
2）It is not so mcuh the cold as the rain which makes the climate unpleasant.
尤其说是冷，还不如说是雨，使气候令人不快。
3）The great use of a school education is not so much to teach you knowledge
as to teach you the art of learening.
学校教育的最大优点,与其说是教你知识,还不如说是教你学习的方法。
4）The problem is not so much the excess of protein in the diet as the large
amount of saturated fats and cholesterol accompanying it.
问题不在于饮食中有过量的蛋白质，而在于有大量的饱和脂肪和胆固醇。
5）The convenience that Americans desire reflect not so much a leisurely
lifestyle as a busy lifestyle in which minutes of time are too valuable to be
wasted.
美国人渴望便利,与其说反映是一种闲适的生活方式,倒不如说是反映一种忙碌
的生活方式,每一分钟都很宝贵不能浪费掉。
在这一句型中，如果连接的B 和A部分较长，as 有时可改用but，通常在but 前需
用逗号点开。
1）Yet the present development is wholly different, not so much because of
different people, but because of the different thoughts in them.
可是，现在的发展是全然不同的，并不是因为人民不同，而是因为他们的因为他
们的想法不同。
2）Whether their effortsw can be more effective than those of the traditional
politicain may not so much depend on the prpepspent-day working scientists,
but on the scientists now being trained — you.
他们的努力是否比传统的政治家更有效，与其说是取决于当今正在工作的科学家，
毋宁说是取决于正在受训的科学家 —— 你们。
● A, not B 肯定A否定B。
1）The solution is to find a different system of inner-cith transportation, not a less
dangerous fuel.
解决问题的根本办法是要找到一种不同的城内交通体系，而不是寻找一种危害性
小的燃料。
2）We shall judge you by your actions, not by your promises.
我们是凭你的行为，而不是凭你的诺言来评价你。
3）We honour him for what he is, not for what he has.
我们尊敬是他的人品而不是他的财富。
4）It is their good quality，not their low price but which sells our goods.
我们的货物有销路，是因为质好，而不是因为价廉。
● not B, but A 否定B肯定A。
1）He took out of the envelope not a letter but a bill.
他从信封里取出的不是一封信、而是一张账单。
2）But to my mind the most difficult thing to cope with is not the could, but the
lack of daylight.
但是，在我看来，最难适应不是寒冷的天气，而是白天阳光照射时间少。
3）His failure in business was due not to misfortune, but to his own faults.
他生意上的失败不是因为他不走运，而是由于他自己的过失造成的。
4）Our chief source of teeror was not the beating but the wild hysteria that had
seized many of the gruards.
最使我们感到害怕的倒不是拳打脚踢，而是许多士兵的狂暴的歇斯底里。
5）Through all this, it is not the triumph but the struggle that bring about the
complete personal satisfaction in knowing that you as a scientist have given
your all.
由于这一切并不是胜利，而是奋斗产生一种只有你本人作为才能领略到的完全
满足。
在这一句型中，如果A和B部分是that-clause, 则衍生出另一句句型：Not that
……, but that ……，是 It is not that …….., but that …….的省略形式。
1）Not that I dislike the work, but that I am not equal to it.
不是我不喜欢这项工作，实在是我力不胜任。
2）Not that he won’t do it, but that he doesn’t know how to do it.
不是他不愿做，而是他不知道怎么去坐。
3）Not that the results of the expoeriment are not reliable, but that much remains
to be perfected.
不是实验个结果不可靠，而是还有许多工作有待于完善。
