原书 PDF 第 1034—1035 页
“That trumpet player was certainly loud.”
"I wasn't bothered by his loudness ____ by his lack of talent."
A. so much as B. rather than C. as D. than(TOEFL,全国四级,99.6-69)
“这位小号手的确吹奏得很响。”
“响亮得比他缺乏演奏才能更使我烦躁。”(《TOEFL全真考题语法题型分析》，华南理工大学出版社，p.446)
上面的译文我认为不符合原意。但又不知如何译才好。请指教。
上面的句子似应译为：
使我烦恼的与其说是他吹得太响，不如说是他缺乏演奏才能。或：
他缺乏演奏才能比他吹得太响更使我烦恼。
更详细的情形,请见 not so much (…) as 。
The problem set for society is not the virtues of the type so much as its adequacy for its function. (New Concept English, Book 4, L. 19)
[原译1]社会所要答复的问题并不是这类人物有无美德，而是他是否胜任他的职务。（中译本）
[原译2]社会要回答的问题并不是这类人物有无美德，而是他是否胜任其职务。[《新概念英语》(四)，朗文出版公司、世界图书出版公司，1993，p.80]
请分析 not so much as 的含义和译法。
在我国的翻译出版物上,很多人都把 not so much A as B 统统译成了“不是 A,而是 B”。在汉语里,“不是 A 而是 B”意在完全排除(否定)A,而完全肯定 B。但是,根据 COD 的解释,not so much...as 在意义和用法上相当于 less...than,可见这个短语并不是表示肯定一项而否定另一项,而是表示两项兼而有之。换言之,这一结构常常用来比较两种说法的正确程度。在作者看来,后一种说法(as 项)更正确些。例如:
His success is not so much by talent as by energy. 他的成功与其说是由于才能,不如说是由于精力。(这句话决不意味着“他的成功与才能无关”)
He would point out that observation or perception is a concept which refers not so much to acuteness of sight, hearing, etc., or to the care with which they are applied as to the ability to relate phenomena to a complex network of previous experiences and theories. 心理学家会指出，观察和感觉是这样一种概念：这种概念所指的与其说是看、听等的敏锐性，或者看、听等的仔细程度，还不如说是把现象同先前的经历和理论的复杂网络连系起来的能力。
The Mr. Palomar telescope is placed on a mountain not so much to bring it nearer to the heavens as to put it where the air is purer and clearer and the noises and vibrations of cities are avoided. 把帕洛马望远镜安置在山上，与其说是为了更接近天空，还不如说是为了那里的空气比较纯净清新，又可避开城市的噪音和震动。
下列各句中的 not so much...as 也是译为“与其……不如……”，显得好些。
(1) The great use of a school education is not so much to teach you things as to teach you the art of learning.
[原译]学校教育最大的效用,不在教你一些知识,而在教你学习的方法。(钱歌川:《翻译的技巧》,p.231)
难道能说教学生知识,一点不算“学校教育的重大效用”吗?
(2) Success in life does not depend so much on one's school record as on one's honesty and diligence.
not so much (…) as 996
[原译]事业的成功并不靠在学校时的成绩，而要靠为人的诚实和勤勉。（钱歌川：《翻译的技巧》，p.231）
能说学校的学习成绩与事业的成功毫无关系吗？
(3) Science moves forward, they say, not so much through the insights of great men of genius as because of more ordinary things like improved techniques and tools. (全国研考,94)
[原译]新学派的科学家认为科学的发展不是因为科学家的真知灼见,而是因为改进了的工具。
（参考答案，引自《1998年硕士研究生入学英语考试应试指导》，中国人民大学出版社，p.163）
世界上有哪个人真的会说：“科学的发展与科学家的真知灼见毫不相干”吗？请做下面的英语试题：
It was not so much the many blows he received for the lack of fighting spirit that led to his losing the game. (全国研考,92-68)
The conveniences that Americans desire reflecting not so much a leisurely lifestyle as a busy lifestyle in which even minutes of time are too valuable to be wasted. (全国研考,95-11)
The chief reason for the population growth isn't so much a rise in birth rates ____ a fall in death rates as a result of improvements in medical care. A. and B. as C. but D. or(全国研考,97-6)
It wasn't so much that I disliked her ____ that I just wasn't interested in the whole business.
A. rather B. so C. than D. as(全国研考,00-9)
It is not so much the language ____ the cultural background that makes the book difficult to understand.
A. but B. nor C. as D. like(全国英语专业四级,99-45)
《英语专业四级统考真题解析》(南开大学出版社, p.366) 对上题作了如下解答:
“正确答案为 C。否定词... + so much as... 是一个固定搭配,它从反面来表示最高级的概念。如:No country suffered so much as England. (没有一个国家像英国一样遭受这么多的苦难。)”
请问上面的解释正确吗？
该书作者误解了上句中的 not so much ... as 这一固定短语的意义和用法，因而把它与另一结构 not so ... as/not as ... as 混为一谈了。not so much(...) as 意为“与其说……不如说”，见上条。而 not(no) so ... as/not(no) as ... as 意为“不如……”，“不像……”，见 not so ... as/not as ... as。
[试题句意]使得这本书难懂的原因，与其说是语言，还不如说是文化背景。