问英语｜英语常见问题解答

as much(...) as¹

问

（1）He is as much a stranger in the village today as he was the first summer he arrived. (TOEFL) (2) That is as much as to say that I am a liar. (ALD) 句(1)和句(2)中的 as much(...) as 和 as much as 的意义和用法是否相同?

答

句(1)中 as much...as 是指“情况(程度)与……相同”。as 引导一个从句,句(1)可译为:他今天在村里仍是个陌生人,就像他来到村子的第一个夏天那样。类例:

You hated him as much as I. 你恨他像我恨他一样深。
I agree with you as much as [ (I agree) with ] Robert. (CGEL) 我同意你跟同意罗伯特的程度是一样的。句(2)中的 as much as 的意思是“(几乎)等于”“差不多”, 整个短语起状语作用。句(2)可译为: 这几乎等于说我是个说谎者。类例:
I as much as realized that it was a mistake. 我差不多已认识到这是个错误。
You as much as promised you would help me. 你实际上已答应要帮助我。
The clerk as much as told me that I was a fool. (DAI) 那个职员无异于说我是个傻瓜。请做下面的英语试题：
The atmosphere is as much a part of the earth as ____ its soils and the water of its lakes, rivers and oceans. A. are B. is C. do D. has(全国六级,90.1-44)
Language belongs to each one of us, to the flower-seller ____ to the professor. A. as much as B. as far as C. the same as D. as long as(全国六级,91.6-68)
The ideal listener stays both inside and outside the music at the moment it is played and enjoying it almost as much as the composer at the moment he composes. (全国研考,00-19)
Language belongs to each member of the society, to the cleaner ____ to the professor. A. as far as B. the same as C. as much as D. as long as(全国英语专业四级,98-47) as much (…)

as much(...) as⁴

问

It is generally believed that teaching is ____ it is a science. A. an art much as B. much an art as C. as an art much as D. as much an art as(全国高考,01-28)

《高考英语词典》(华东理工大学出版社, p. 48) 对上题作了如下解答:

“‘as much . . . as’有‘事实上’、‘实际上’、‘几乎等于’这样的含义……故选 D。一般相信教书是门艺术，事实上也是一门科学。”

请问上句中的“as much ... as”果真作“事实上”“实际上”“几乎等于”解吗？

答

该书作者误解了上题的句子结构,作出了错误的解答并给出了错误的译文。究其原因,是作者把 as much sb./sth. as 同 as much as 这两个不同的结构混为一谈了。

as much sb./sth. as 表示“某人/某物(在程度或数量上)与……相同”，即表示“同等比较”。请注意：后一个 as 引导的是从句或省略型的从句。例如：

He is as much a stranger in the village today as he was the first summer he arrived. 他今天在村里仍是个陌生人，就像他来到村子的第一个夏天那样。
She is as much a friend to me as a mother. (CIDE) 她既是我的母亲,又是我的朋友。
I shall try, with as much patience as is possible, to explain yet again... (CCED) 我将尽可能用最大的耐心设法再解释一次……
We didn't spend as much time at the museum as I had hoped. (MED) 我们在博物馆花费的时间并不像我原来所希望的那么长。

而 as much as 在作“事实上”“几乎等于”解时, 是一个整体, 中间不能插入任何成分, 一般用作状语。例如:

By running away he as much as admitted that he had taken the money. 他一跑就几乎等于他承认他拿了这笔钱。
He as much as (= almost) admitted that it was his fault. 他几乎承认了那是他的错。

[句意]一般认为,教学既是一门科学,也是一门艺术。

[附注]在as much A as B这种句型里，A是语义重点(新信息)，应译为“既是B，又是A”。由此看来，上引《高考英语词典》上的译文，把语义重点给弄颠倒了。

as much(...) as

问

John, as much as his brothers ____ (was, were) responsible for the loss. 我拿不准，这里应选 was，还是应选 were

我拿不准,这里应选 was,还是应选 were。

答

as much as,如同 as well as 一样,被看作是准并列连词,因此谓语动词的数决定于第一个名词的数。在上例里,John 是单数,故谓语动词应用单数(was)。类例:

The Minister, as much as the trades union is responsible for the present impasse.

部长,同工会一样,要对目前的僵局负责。

as much(...) as

问

I tried to give a good speech, as much for Hillary and Sara as for the crowd. (B. Clinton, My

Life, p. 222)

[原译]我发表了一个精彩的演讲,与其说是讲给听众听,还不如说是讲给希拉里和萨拉听的。(《我的生活》, p.245)

《我的生活》的译者将克林顿原话中的 as much for Hillary and Sara as for the crowd 译为“与其说是讲给听众听，还不如说是讲给希拉里和萨拉听的”，给了我这么一种感觉：克林顿对听众这么不负责任，这么不在乎，他还有脸讲出来！

答

上面的译文引起你产生了以上的感觉,这是理所当然的。因为上面的译文确实有这样的暗含意义。但这绝不是克林顿的本意,而是译者误译了克林顿的原话。大家知道,as much...as 这个结构不同于 not so much...as 结构,是用来表示同等比较的,见 as much...as $^{1-4}$ 。

[试译]我要竭尽全力发表一篇精彩的演说,既是为了听众,也是为了希拉里和萨拉。