1 as引导的特殊状语从句，翻译时作定语从句处理
例：“In short”, a leader of the new school contends,“the scientific revolution,as we call it，was largely the improvement and invention and use of a series of instruments that expanded the reach of science in innumerable directions.”(1994年考研试题)
〔译文〕：新学派的一位领袖人物坚持说：“简言之，我们所称之为的科学革命，主要是指一系列器具的改进、发明和使用。这些改进、发明和使用使科学发展的范围无所不及。”
2 anything but根本不；nothing but只不过是；all but几乎，差一点；除……以外其余都是；but for要不是；but that +从句，若不是……
例1 Alone in a deserted house,he was so busy with his research work that he felt anything but lonely.(1990年考研试题)
〔译文〕：虽然他单独一人住在这幢房子里，但他埋头于研究工作，一点也没有感到孤独。
〔注释〕：句中anything but意为not at all。试对比：He seldom talked of
anything but painting.(他除了绘画很少谈到别的事情)。此句中but作介词，意为except。
例2 The method of scientific investigation is nothing but the expression of the necessary mode of working of the human mind;it is simply the mode bywhich all phenomena are reasoned about and given precise and exact explanation. (1993年考研试题)
〔译文〕：科学研究的方法不过是人类思维活动的必?泶锓绞剑?簿褪嵌砸磺邢窒蠼?兴妓鞑⒏?跃?范?辖鞯慕馐偷谋泶锓绞健?
例3 The party was all but over when we arrived.
〔译文〕：我们到达时，聚会已近尾声。
〔注释〕：此句中all but意为nearly,almost。
例4 But for the rain, we would have had a nice holiday.
〔译文〕：要不是因为下雨，我们的假日一定过得很惬意。
例5 But that you had seen me in the water, I would have drowned.
〔译文〕：要不是你看见我掉在水里，我早就淹死了。
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：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，而运用这些技艺并不一定都需要机器。
4 “...,only to +动词”意为“……，结果却……”
例：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.(1995年考研试题)
〔译文〕：他们不必花钱去戏院、电影院或歌剧院买价格很贵的戏票，结果却发现，所演的节目令人失望。〔注释〕：“...，only to +v.”表示与句子谓语动作的目的相反的结果。
5 not nearly永远不
例：Food supply will not increase nearly enough to match this,which means that we are headingsintosa crisis in the matter of producingand marketing food. (1991年考研试题)
〔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。
〔注释〕：1) this是指上面的“到21世纪初世界人口将增加到60亿或70亿”。2)又例：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。)
6 not so much...as...与其说……不如说……
例1 Science moves forward, they say,not so much through the insightsof great men of genius as because of more ordinary things like improved techniques and tools. (1994年考研试题)
〔译文〕：他们说，科学的发展与其说源于天才伟人的真知灼见，不如说源于改进了的技术和工具等更为普通的东西。
例2 The conveniences that Americans desire reflect not so much aleisurely lifestyle as busy lifestyle in which even minutes of time are too valuable to be wasted. (1995年考研试题)
〔译文〕：美国人所需要的各种便利条件与其说是反映一种从容不迫的生活方式，还不如说反映一种忙碌的生活方式。在这种忙碌的生活方式中甚至几分钟时间都得珍惜。
〔注释〕：1)not so much as连在一起写，则意为“连……都不(肯)”，如：He did not so much as thank me for returning his money that I found. (我把找到的钱还给他，他却连谢都不肯谢。) 2)该句型有时也可以用not so much :but :如：The important thing is not so much the actual population of the world,but its rate of increase.(重要的与其说是世界的实际人口量，还不如说是人口的增长率。)又如：But whether their efforts can more effective than those of the traditional politician may depend not so much on the present?day working scientists,butonthe scientists now being trained,i.e -you.(但是，他们的努力是否能比传统的政治家的努力更有成效，与其说是取决于现在正在工作的科学家，倒不如说取决于正在被培训的科学家，也就是你们。) 3)要注意“not so much:but :”与“not so +形容词+ but +从句”之意的区别，后者意为“虽然……但是……”，例如：Thebridge was not so crowded but the bicycles could go through.”(这桥上虽然很拥挤，但是自行车还能穿过去。)
7 much less,still less引导的词组或从句，表示一种追加的否定
less是由little的否定意义而来的，所以这两个词组只能用于否定句中，意为“更不必说”。to say nothing of,not to speak of ,not to mention,let alone这四个词组意为“更不消说”，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。前一句是肯定，则追加的也是肯定意义。如果前一句是否定，则追加的也是否定意义。例1 I could not agree to,much less participate in such proceedings. (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 lessof chemistry. (1991年考研试题)(他几乎不懂数学，更不用说化学了。)
例3 In old China,there was hardly any machine?building industry,to say nothing of an electronic industry. (1985年考研试题)(在旧中国，几乎没有什么机器制作工业，更不用说电子工业了。)例4 I don?t know algebra or geometry,not to mentioncalculus. (我连代数几何都不懂，更不必说微积分了。)例5 I can?t add two and two,let alone do fractions. (我2加2都不会，更不用说做分数题了。)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.车里已经坐了五个人了，行李和那两条狗就不带走了。
8 no more...than...和……一样都不……
例1 The heart is no more intelligent than the stomach,for they are both controlled by the brain. (1994年考研试题)
〔译文〕：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. (1993年考研试题)〔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。
9 more...than...与其……不如……
例1 He is a man who is more brave than wise.
〔译文〕：与其说他是一个勇敢的人，不如说他是一个聪明的人。
〔注释〕：1)more :than常用来比较同一个人或同一个事物的两种不同特征。又如：He is more mad than stupid.他与其说是笨，不如说是疯。2)more than +从句(句中有can或could )实在不能……。例如：Some of the suggestions are more than we can accept.有些建议我们实在不能接受。3)notmore+名词+than+句词：与……一样(是)，如：A big elephant is not more an animal than a little cat is .大象是动物，小猫也是动物。(或：大象和小猫一样是动物)。4)(be )more of a : than a :与其说是……不如说是……，如：He is more of a politician than a scholar.与其说他是个学者，不如说是个政客。
10 no less than简直是，实在是
例1 It is no less than blackmail to ask such a high price.
〔译文〕：如此索要高价，简直是敲诈。
例2 It is no less than a scandal.
〔译文〕这实在是一件丑闻。
11 nothing else than完全是，实在是
例.His negligence was nothing else than criminal.
〔译文〕：他的粗心大意无异于犯罪。
12 It is not that...but that...这不是说……，而是说……
例.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 andof course much more accurate in its measurement than the former. (1993年考研试题)
〔译文〕：这并不是说在一种情况下所使用的磅秤和在另一种情况下所使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。
13 cannot...too...再……也不过分，应该
例1 We cannot be too faithful to our duties.
〔译文〕：我们必须尽力忠于职守。
例2 You can?t attach too much importance to the matter.
〔译文〕：你应该十分重视这件事情。
14 other...than或other than不同于，非；除了
例 Plants which refine crude ores are often located in countries other than those in which the crude ores are mined.(1984年考研试题)〔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他国家。
15 “...the last+n.+tov.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〕：他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。
