Chapter 3状语从句
3.10 比较状语从句
3.10 比较状语从句
比较状语从句的结构或句型很多，下面我们将一一详细讲解。
3.10.1 连词as 的基本用法
as引导比较状语从句，其基本结构是as...as。前一个as是副词，而后一个as才是比较状语从句的连词。具体用法如下：
一、结构1：as+形容词或副词+as
1 The work is not as difficult as you think.
2 Eyes are as eloquent as lips (are).
3 An adult human must take eight steps to go as far as a giraffe does in one stride.
4 Do you enjoy listening to records? I find records are often ______, if not better than, an actual performance.
A. as good as B. as good C.good D.good as
正确答案 A。
妙语点睛 这是考研真题。这里as good as是一个完整的结构，不能省去as。原句相当于说“I find records are often as good as an actual performance, if they are not better than it.”。由此可见，if not better than是一个省略句。
二、结构2：as+形容词+a(n)+可数名词单数+as
这里前一个as作为副词来修饰形容词，而这个形容词同时又修饰一个名词。使用这个结构时要特别注意这里的形容词置于不定冠词之前这一特点。请看例句：
5 Rarely has a technological development had as great an impact on so many aspects of social, economic, and cultural development as the growth of electronics.
妙语点睛 若没有as修饰great，原本的结构是a great impact，但现在将其放置在as...as结构中，则冠词和形容词的语序要互换，因此成了as great an impact as。另外要注意的是，整个句子是一个倒装句，正常语序为“A technological development has rarely had as great an impact on...as the growth of electronics.”。
6 Americans tend to think from small to large. Let us take as simple an example as the addressing of envelopes.
妙语点睛 若没有as修饰simple，原本的结构是a simple example，但现在将其放置在as...as结构中，则冠词和形容词的语序要互换，因此成了as simple an example as，译成“像这样的一个简单例子”。另注：这里as...as结构并不是引导一个比较状语从句，举这个例子主要是为了说明“as+形容词+a(n)+可数名词单数+as”这一结构的用法。
7 His function is analogous to that of a judge, who must accept the obligation of revealing in as obvious a manner as possible the course of reasoning which led him to his decision.
妙语点睛 这是考研翻译真题。这个句子的难点在于revealing...his decision这一部分，难点有二：一是in as obvious a manner as possible这个有些怪异的结构；二是revealing的宾语the course of reasoning which led him to his decision后置了。这里的介词短语in as obvious a manner as possible是由in an obvious manner和as...as possible两个结构叠加而成的。原本的in an obvious manner修饰动词revealing，作方式状语，可译成“以很明了的方式”。然后，按照我们上面所述的as...as的用法特点，在in an obvious manner这个介词短语上加上了as...as possible这一结构来修饰manner，此时不定冠词要放在obvious后面，于是便有了in as obvious a manner as possible，译成“以尽可能明了的方式”。另注：这里as...as结构并不是引导一个比较状语从句，举这个例子主要是为了说明“as+形容词+a(n)+可数名词单数+as”这一结构的用法。
8 While there are almost as many definitions of history as there are historians, modern practice most closely conforms to one that sees history as the attempt to recreate and explain the significant events of the past.
妙语点睛 这是考研翻译真题。虽然我们在标题中提到的结构是“as+形容词+a(n)+可数名词单数+as”，但这里的形容词若是数量形容词，如many，则其中的名词当然要用复数了，本句就是一例（as many definitions...as）。
三、在否定句中第一个as可用so代替
9 No other modern nation devotes so small a portion of its wealth to public health as the United States does.
妙语点睛 注意否定词（no）在句首，故此句为否定句，第一个as可以用so代替。
10 Television is one of the means by which these feelings are created and conveyed—and perhaps never before has it served so much to connect different peoples and nations as in the recent events in Europe.
妙语点睛 这是考研翻译真题。这里有了否定词never，所以后面可用so代替第一个as。
四、为了保持句子平衡，从句还可以用倒装结构
此时的结构是“as...as+助动词+主语”。请看例句：
11 Small as it is, the ant is as much a creature as are all other animals on the earth.
妙语点睛 这里的as are all other animals on the earth是一个倒装结构，主语是all other animals on the earth。另外，这里的as much...as表示的是“在同等程度上”，翻译时可以处理成“和……一样”。关于这个用法，请参看3.10.2小节。
12 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. do C.is D.has
正确答案 A。
妙语点睛 这里的主语是its soils and the water of its lakes, rivers and oceans这个复数形式的名词短语，所以谓语动词要用are。
13 The computer revolution may well change society as fundamentally as did the Industrial Revolution.
妙语点睛 这里的as did the Industrial Revolution是一个倒装结构。
3.10.2 as句型一：as much as结构
as much as结构看似简单，其实不然。我们先来看一个读者的提问：
The “failed”experiments are as much a part of the process as the experiment that ultimately “works”. 请问as...as中间放的除了形容词外就是副词，那么本句中的as much a part of the process as the experiment that ultimately “works”如何解释？
要回答这个问题，首先得弄清楚这里的as much...as结构。很多读者看到as much as时，很可能是将其翻译为“和……一样多”，其实不然。英语里的as much as往往是表示两个事物之间程度的比较，表示“在同等程度上”，在翻译时要灵活处理。请看例句：
1 Small as it is, the ant is as much a creature as are all other animals on the earth.
妙语点睛 这里as much...as表示的是“在同等程度上”，翻译时可以处理成“和……一样”。另外，这里的are all other animals on the earth是一个倒装结构，主语是all other animals on the earth。
2 The atmosphere is as much a part of the earth as are its soil and the water of its lakes, rivers and oceans.
妙语点睛 这里的as much...as表示的是“在同等程度上”，翻译时可以处理成“如同……一样”。另外，同上一句一样，这里的are its soils and the water of its lakes, rivers and oceans是一个倒装结构，主语是its soils and the water of its lakes, rivers and oceans这个复数形式的名词短语，所以谓语动词用are。
现在我们再来看那位读者所问的句子：
3 The “failed”experiments are as much a part of the process as the experiment that ultimately “works”.
妙语点睛 首先，这个句子和上面句子的结构非常类似，都有as much a part...as这样的结构。这里的as much...as同样是表示程度的。
我们再来看有关as much as这个结构的考研真题：
4 Television is one of the means by which these feelings are created and conveyed—and perhaps never before has it served so much to connect different peoples and nations as in the recent events in Europe.
妙语点睛 这是考研翻译真题。首先，这里因为有否定词never，所以我们可以用so来代替as，于是本句出现了so much...as的结构。这里比较的对象是时间，一个是before（以前），一个是in the recent events in Europe（在欧洲近来发生的事件中）。本句要说明电视在这两个不同时间所起作用的程度不同。具体来说，强调的是电视在欧洲近来发生的事件中所体现出的connect different peoples and nations（连接不同民族和国家）这方面的作用是以往任何时候都没有的。为此，可以将其转译为“作用之大，前所未有”。
5 Scientists generally agree that the earth's climate will warm up over the next 50 to 100 years ______ it has warmed in the 20, 000 years since the Ice Age.
A. as long as B. as much as C.as soon as D.as well as
正确答案 B。
妙语点睛 这是考研真题。这里的as much as同样是表示程度，说明地球气候变暖的程度在两个不同长度的时期内是一样的。
The ideal listener stays both inside and outside the music at the moment it is played and enjoys it almost as much as the composer at the moment he composes.
妙语点睛 这是考研改错题。改正后的句子是the ideal listener...enjoys it as much as the composer does at the moment he composes，这里用does代替enjoys，表示对音乐的“欣赏”。这里的as much as同样表示“同等程度上”。
3.10.3 as句型二：not so much...as结构
在英语考试中，not...so much as这一句型常常出现。若是不熟悉这个结构，考生就很难理解和翻译。这个句型的用法特点如下：
1. 从结构上来看，not...so much as可以有两种结构：not A so much as B或者not so much A as B；
2. 从意思上来看，该句型的基本含义为：“与其说A倒不如说B”，或者“是B，而不是A”。但在实际的翻译中非常灵活；
3. A和B是两个被比较的平行结构，如：同为介词短语、动词不定式、名词短语或其他平行结构。
只要把握住上述三个用法特点，就不难理解这个句型了。请看下列例句：
1 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.
妙语点睛 这是考研翻译真题。本题考查的是not so much A as B这一比较句型。这里的平行结构是两个介词短语：through the insights of great men of genius和because of more ordinary things like improved techniques and tools，两者在这里作状语，修饰谓语moves forward。
2 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
正确答案 D。
妙语点睛 这是考研真题。本题考查的是not so much A as B这一比较句型。这里的平行结构是两个that引导的从句：that I disliked her和that I just wasn't interested in the whole business，两者在这里作表语。
3 It was not so much the many blows【A】 he received for【B】 the lack of fighting spirit that led【C】 to his losing【D】 the game.
正确答案 B，应该改为as。
妙语点睛 这是考研真题。这道题有一定的迷惑性，因为在英文中的确有for the lack of这一固定搭配，意为“由于缺乏”。但本题考查的实际是not so much A as B这一比较句型。这里的平行结构是两个名词短语：the many blows he received和the lack of fighting spirit，两者在这里作表语。该句的基本框架结构是“It was...that led to his losing the game.”，即是一个强调句型，被强调的部分表示原因，说明是什么原因导致他比赛失利。
4 The conveniences that Americans desire reflect not so much a leisurely lifestyle as a busy lifestyle in which even minutes of time are too valuable to be wasted.
妙语点睛 这是考研真题。本句含有not so much A as B这一比较句型。这里的平行结构是两个名词短语：a leisurely lifestyle和a busy lifestyle，两者在这里作reflect的宾语。
5 For the women of my generation who were urged to keep juggling through the ’80s, downshifting in the mid-’90s is not so much a search for the mythical good life—growing your own organic vegetables, and risking turning into one—as a personal recognition of your limitations.
妙语点睛 本句含有not so much A as B这一比较句型。这里的平行结构是两个名词短语：a search for the mythical good life—growing your own organic vegetables, and risking turning into one和a personal recognition of your limitations，两者在这里作表语。
下面是更多的精品例句：
6 The great use of a school education is not so much to teach you things as to teach you the art of learning.
妙语点睛 这里被比较的是两个动词不定式短语：to teach you things和to teach you the art of learning。
7 The trumpet player was certainly loud, but I was not bothered by his loudness so much as by his lack of talent.
妙语点睛 这里被比较的是两个介词短语：by his loudness和by his lack of talent。
8 The great thing in this world is not so much where we stand as in what direction we are moving.
9 We both agreed that our marriage had taken a marked decline in the romance department. And it wasn't a lack of sex that concerned us so much as the lack of conversation. Conversation, in fact, has always been our aphrodisiac.
10 He does not respect learning and prefers “sport”. The problem set for society is not the virtue of the type so much as its adequacy for its function.
3.10.4 as句型三：（just） as..., so结构
这一句型表示类比。具体用法如下：
1. 基本意思是“正如……，所以”；
2. 第二句可用倒装结构。
我们来看例句：
1 Just as virtue is its own reward, so is vice its own punishment.
妙语点睛 这句话里含有just as..., so结构，并且采用了倒装结构so is vice，正常语序应该是so vice is its own...。
这句话的意思类似于汉语中的“善有善报，恶有恶报”。该句来自葛拉西安《智慧书》中的一篇短文：
Lead a good life. Two things bring life speedily to an end: folly and immorality. Some lose their life because they have not the intelligence to keep it, others because they have not the will. Just as virtue is its own reward, so is vice its own punishment. A virtuous life never dies. The firmness of the soul is communicated to the body, and a good life is not only long but also full.
2 Just as dark clouds cannot long hide the sun, so no lies can cover up the fact.
3 Just as food nourishes the body, so do books enrich the mind.
这里的just也可以省去，比如下面例句：
4 As you sow, so will you reap/so you will reap.
5 As it is the mark of great minds to say many things in a few words, so it is the mark of little minds to use many words to say nothing.
6 As land is improved by sowing it with various seeds, so is the mind by exercising it with different studies.
3.10.5 连词than的基本用法
一、可比性问题
可比性问题，即指应是两个同类事物才能比较，如he 和I。不是同类事物是无法比较的。
1 He is taller than I (am).
The weather of the South is wetter than the North. *
妙语点睛 这是典型的错误，因为the weather of the South和the North是两个截然不同的事物，无法进行比较，只能是“南方的天气”和“北方的天气”这两个同类事物才能比较。故原句应改为：The weather of the South is wetter than that of the North. （为避免重复，用that代替 the weather。）
2 Young readers, more often than not【A】, find the novels of【B】 Dickens far more【C】 exciting than Thackeray【D】.
正确答案 D，应改为：Thackeray's。
妙语点睛 这是考研真题。这里比较的对象是两个作家的小说，所以要用Thackeray's，相当于Thackeray's novels。
二、比较形式问题
比较形式问题，即指在有than的比较句里，主句中必须有比较级形式出现。
3 There are few electronic applications ______ to raise fears regarding future employment opportunities than robots.
A. likely B. more likely C.most likely D.much likely
正确答案 B。
妙语点睛 这是四级真题。本题考查的是比较级的形式。这里只有more与后面的than构成结构上的搭配，故B正确。
4 On the whole【A】, ambitious students are much likely【B】 to succeed in their studies than are those【C】 with little【D】 ambition.
正确答案 B，应改为：more likely。
妙语点睛 这是考研真题。我们看到这个句子里有than，那么其前面就应该有比较级形式与其构成结构上的呼应，所以把much likely改为more likely。
5 In the long run【A】, however, this hurry【B】 to shed full-time staff may be【C】 more harmful to industry as【D】 it is to the workforce.
正确答案 D，应改为：than。
妙语点睛 这是考研真题。此题与上一题相反，这里是有比较级形式的more，但其后面没有than来引导从句，所以，我们把as改为连词than。
三、为了保持句子平衡，从句还可以用全部或部分倒装
此时的结构是：than+助动词+主语。请看例句：
6 On the whole, ambitious students are more likely to succeed in their studies than are those with little ambition.
妙语点睛 这里than are those with little ambition是一个倒装结构，主语是those with little ambition。
下面是更多的例句：
7 Foreign-born Asians and Hispanics “have higher rates of intermarriage than do U.S. -born whites and blacks”.
8 In addition, far more Japanese workers expressed dissatisfaction with their jobs than did their counterparts in the 10 other countries surveyed.
9 The surface conditions on the planet Mars are more like the earth's than are those of any other planet in the solar system.
10 Ichthyosaurs had a higher chance of being preserved than did terrestrial creatures because, as marine animals, they tended to live in environments less subject to erosion.
11 With the growing prosperity brought on by the Second World War and the economic boom that followed it, young people married and established households earlier and began to raise larger families than did their predecessors during the Depression.
3.10.6 no more...than结构
在考研英语中，no more...than这一句型出现过多次，比如出现在旧题型的语法选择题中，近年来出现在阅读理解和翻译中。若是不熟悉这个结构，考生就很难理解和翻译。这个句型的用法特点如下：
1. 从结构上来看，no more...than有个变体形式not...any more than；
2. 从功能上来看，这个句型表示的往往是两个事物之间的类比关系，是用than后面从句中的事物来作比，以阐明than前面的主句所要表达的观点；
3. 从意思上来看，这个结构的基本意思是“同……一样不”。既然是类比关系，翻译时我们就要表达出来，可以有两种选择：先译主句后译than引导的从句，即“……不能……，就如同（than引导的从句）……不能……一样”；或者先译than引导的从句后译主句，即“正如（than从句）……不能……，所以……同样不能……”；
4. 特别要注意的是，than后面的句子为肯定形式，但要译成否定的意思。
我们只要把握住上述四个用法特点，就不难理解这个句型了。请看下列例句：
1 But his primary task is not to think about the moral code, which governs his activity, any more than a businessman is expected to dedicate his energies to an exploration of rules of conduct in business.
妙语点睛 这是考研翻译真题。本题考查的就是no more...than的变体句型not...any more than。上面说过，这个句型是用来表示两个事物之间的类比关系，由上下文知道，这里类比的对象是intellectual（就是his指代的对象）和businessman，用businessman的行为特点作比，就是为了说明intellectual的行为特点。我们看到，从句的谓语is expected是肯定形式，但翻译时一定要译成否定的意思“不能指望”，这是由这个句型的特点决定的。下面的译文采用了先译主句后译从句的译法。
2 There is no reason they should limit how much vitamin you take, ______ they can limit how much water you drink.
A. much more than B. no more than C.no less than D.any more than
正确答案 D。
妙语点睛 这是考研真题。本题考查的是no more...than的变体句型not...any more than，注意这里的否定词用了no （reason）相当于not的强调形式，所以这个句子的基本框架是There is no...any more than...。同样，这里是表示两个事物之间的类比关系，这里类比的对象是vitamin和water。我们看到，从句的谓语can limit是肯定形式，但翻译时一定要译成否定的意思“不能限制”，这是由这个句型的特点决定的。下面的译文采用了先译从句后译主句的译法。
3 The heart is ______ intelligent than the stomach, for they are both controlled by the brain.
A. not so B. not much C.much more D.no more
正确答案 D。
妙语点睛 这是考研真题。本题考查的是no more...than的句型。注意这里是单纯表示比较关系而不是类比关系，比较的对象是heart和stomach，可以简单地译成“A与B同样不”。
4 Blaming the permissive 1960s is nothing new, but this is not yet another criticism against the decline in education. Mr. McWhorter's academic specialty is language history and change, and he sees the gradual disappearance of “whom”, for example, to be natural and no more regrettable than the loss of the case-endings of Old English.
妙语点睛 本句所含的就是no more...than的句型。注意这里是单纯表示比较关系而不是类比关系，比较的对象是whom和case-endings，可以简单地译成“A与B同样不”。
下面是更多的经典例句：
5 As a jazz lover, I find it refreshing that many Chinese pop stars are beginning to be influenced by jazz, and are including jazzy rhythms and harmonies in their songs. However, incorporating jazz elements into pop music does not make it jazz, any more than putting chili pepper into a McDonald's hamburger turns it into Sichuan cuisine.
妙语点睛 本题所含的就是no more...than的变体句型not...any more than。这里就是用来表示两个事物之间的类比关系，是把音乐和食物来做类比。我们看到，从句的谓语turns是肯定形式，但翻译时一定要译成否定的意思“不能变为”，这是由这个句型的特点决定的。下面的译文是采用了先译主句后译从句的译法。
6 A fool can no more see his own folly than he can see his ears.
7 Unmerited praise is no more honor than deserved blame is.
3.10.7 表示倍数比较的三种句型结构
在英文中，除了用than和as来对两个事物进行比较外，我们还可以用times和twice等词来说明两事物之间的倍数关系。在英文中，表示两事物倍数关系的比较，我们可用以下三种句型（以三倍即three times为例）：
1. “倍数+比较级”结构：A is three times bigger （或其他形容词的比较级） than B
2. “倍数+as...as”结构：A is three times as big （或其他形容词的原级） as B
3. “倍数+名词”结构：A is three times the size （或其他形容词对应的名词形式） of B
请看下列各例句：
1 When the United States entered just such a glowing period after the end of the Second World War, it had a market eight times larger than any competitor, giving its industries unparalleled economies of scale.
妙语点睛 这里是“倍数+比较级”结构。
2 There are about 105 males born for every 100 females, but this ratio drops to near balance at the age of maturity, and among 70-year-olds there are twice as many women as men.
妙语点睛 这里是“倍数+as...as”结构。
3 There are only half as many fisheries as there were 15 years ago.
妙语点睛 这里是“倍数+as...as”结构。
4 According to the Canadian Institute for Health Information, prescription drug costs have risen since 1997 at twice the rate of overall health-care spending.
妙语点睛 这里是“倍数+名词”结构。
5 Americans eat ______ as they actually need every day.
A. twice as much protein B. twice protein as much twice
C. twice protein as much D.protein as twice much
正确答案 A。
妙语点睛 这是四级真题。此题考查的是倍数关系的表达。根据上面说到的“倍数+as...as”结构，这里的倍数twice应该放在as...as前面，故twice as much protein正确，其他的表达均不符合这个句型。
6 And since 1991, productivity has increased by about 2% a year, which is more than twice the 1978-1987 average.
妙语点睛 这里是“倍数+名词”结构，不过在倍数前面加了修饰语more than。
7 As a result, California's growth rate dropped during the 1970s, to 18.5 percent—little more than two thirds the 1960s growth figure and considerably below that of other Western states.
妙语点睛 本句和上一句的相似之处在于都是“倍数+名词”结构，即倍数的后面接名词短语（如the 1978-1987 average, the 1960s growth figure），并且都有修饰语more than。但上一句是倍数twice，而这句话里是分数two thirds。
3.10.8 the more..., the more结构
这个句型读者应该比较熟悉，翻译起来也不难，其基本意思是“越……，越……”。但很多英语初学者在使用这个句型时常常会犯错，究其原因，就是没有把握该句型的核心要点。正确使用这个句型的关键在于，要知道这里的比较级部分都须在各自的分句中充当一定的成分，换句话说，相当于是将分句中的某个成分变为比较级之后提到了句首。请读者先来翻译这样一个中文句子：
1 你用词越准确，人们就能越容易理解你的意思。
这里的“准确”可以用exact来表达。那么这句话该如何翻译呢？请读者不妨提笔练习一下。
下面我来提供几个版本的译文，看看与大家刚才翻译的是否相同。
1） The more exact you use your words, the easier people will understand you.*
2） The more exactly you use your words, the more easily people will understand you.
3） The more exact your words are, the easier it is for people to understand you.
4） The more exact words you use, the more easily people will understand you.
妙语点睛 上面的译文并不全对。分析上面句子的对错，要牢牢抓住该句型的核心要点——比较级部分都须在各自的分句中充当一定的成分。
在句1）中，两个分句的比较级部分分别是the more exact和the easier，再往后看各自引导的分句you use your words和people will understand you就会发现，这里使用的形容词比较级the more exact和the easier是不能修饰句子的谓语use或understand的（因为形容词不能修饰动词），即比较级部分无法充当后面分句的任何成分，因此句1）的译文不对。
在句2）中，鉴于句1） 的错误原因，我们把比较级部分都改为副词的比较级the more exactly和the more easily，此时就能修饰句子的谓语use或understand（因为副词修饰动词），即比较级部分充当了后面分句的某一成分，这里是作方式状语，因此句2）的译文非常正确。
在句3）中，鉴于句1）的错误原因，我们只要使形容词的比较级the more exact和the easier能够在后面的分句中充当成分就对了，所以把后面的分句进行了改写，分别为your words are和it is for people to understand you。这样，形容词的比较级the more exact就在其后的分句your words are...中作表语，相当于your words are more exact；形容词的比较级the easier就在分句it is... for people to understand you中作表语，相当于it is easier for people to understand you，即比较级部分充当了后面分句的某一成分，这里是作表语，因此句3）的译文非常正确。
在句4）中，比较级部分the more exact words作后面分句的谓语use的宾语，相当于you use more exact words；比较级部分the more easily作后面分句的谓语understand的方式状语，相当于people will more easily understand you，即比较级部分充当了后面分句的某一成分，因此句4）的译文非常正确。
综上所述，我们总结出这个句型的三个用法要点：
1. 正确使用该句型的核心：比较级部分都须在各自引导的分句中充当一定的成分。
2. 从结构上来看，这个句型的前半部分是从句，后半部分是主句，即“the+比较级（从句），the+比较级（主句）”，这就是为什么前半句常用一般现在时态，而后半句常用一般将来时态，类似于其他状语从句的“主句用将来时，从句用一般现在时”的规则一样。
3. 翻译成汉语时，一般是按前后正常的语序，先译从句，后译主句。
我们再来看其他更多的例句。下面这个例句告诉我们为什么说考古学家能够成为一个女人最好的丈夫：
2 An archaeologist is the best husband a woman can have: the older she is, the more interested he is in her.
妙语点睛 我们看到，这里的比较级the older在分句the older she is中作表语，the more interested在分句the more interested he is in her中作表语。
在下面这个例句中，一位美国的老年人把人类的衰老过程比作爬山，说得很有道理，他告诉我们，要以一种平和而积极的心态来面对自己已逝去的青春：
3 Aging is a part of life, and it can be an exciting and rewarding part. It has been said that aging is like climbing a mountain: the higher you get, the more tired and breathless you become, but the view becomes much more extensive.
妙语点睛 我们看到，这里的比较级the higher在分句you get中作表语，the more tired and breathless在分句you become中作表语。
下面这个例句说明了“帮助别人就是在帮助自己”的道理：
4 The more we help others, the more we receive in return. We advance ourselves as we help others.
朋友是什么？下面这个例句做出了回答：
5 Friends are lights in winter: the older the friend, the brighter the light.
妙语点睛 这个句子的比较部分是省略结构，完整的表达应该是the older the friend is, the brighter the light is，即省去了系动词is。所以，比较级都是在各自引导的分句中作表语。注意，在这个句型中，系动词常常会被省去。
下面这个例句讲了该如何学习英语，说的就是要多花时间和外国人“泡”在一起，和他们“泡”的时间越多，你的英文就会越地道，有条件的读者不妨效仿：
6 For a Chinese person to write in English, he or she must first be able to think in English. This can only be done after a long time of reading foreign books and magazines and interacting with other foreigners. The more time you spend with native speakers, the more you will understand how they think and the better you will be able to write in a way that is similar to theirs.
妙语点睛 这里的比较级the more time在分句you spend with native speakers中作spend的宾语，the more在分句you will understand how they think中作状语，修饰understand，the better在分句you will be able to write in a way that is similar to theirs中作状语，修饰able，因为我们要说you will be better able to...。由此可见，所有的比较级都充当了各自分句的某一成分。
7 Why study?
The more we study, the more we know.
The more we know, the more we forget.
The more we forget, the less we know.
So, why study?
在公共场合讲话时如何才能做到不怯场？下面这个例句给了我们答案：
8 In the case of public speaking “familiarity breeds confidence”, so the more familiar you become with what you want to say and the more you practice it, the more confidence you will acquire.
妙语点睛 这里的familiarity breeds confidence来自familiarity breeds contempt这一固定俗语，后者表示“亲则狎”，就是说人与人之间在非常熟悉了之后，就不再会有敬畏之心，甚至是不太尊重对方了。
面对2007年火爆的股票市场，很多人摩拳擦掌，按捺不住想进入：
9 John: The stock market is really hot now. I’m thinking of getting into it.
Casey: Well, I suggest you be careful. It's easy to get your fingers burnt.
John: My uncle works for a securities company. He will help me to make an investment portfolio.
Casey: But I think the hotter the market is, the more risk there is.
John: Yes, you are right. But the more risk there is, the more profit there might be.
顺便说一下，这个句型有一个变体结构，虽然不太常用，但在阅读中还是见过的。利用上面“考古学家是最好的丈夫”的那个例句来做解释。请比较：
10 1） An archaeologist is the best husband a woman can have: the older she is, the more interested he is in her.
2） An archaeologist is the best husband a woman can have: he is more interested in her, the older she is.
妙语点睛 我们看到，例句1）是正常的句型，但在例句2）中有了两大变化。首先是主从句的位置发生了改变，主句he is more interested in her在前，从句the older she is在后；其次，主句由原来的the more interested he is in her变成了he is more interested in her，即比较级由句首回归到句中本来的表语位置，而且冠词the也没有了。
我们再来看一个我不久前在一本书上读到的句子：
11 You never stop learning. All the time, everything becomes more interesting and beautiful the more you understand it.
妙语点睛 如果按正常的比较句型，这个句子应该写成The more you understand it, the more interesting and beautiful everything becomes.
3.10.9 A is to B what/as C is to D结构
此句型用来表达事物之间的类比关系，从字面上理解就是“A与B之间的关系，就类似于C和D之间的关系”。比如大家都熟悉的“军民鱼水情”这句话，该如何把它译成英语呢？请看下面这个例句：
1 The people is to the people's army what water is to fish.
妙语点睛 这句话的字面意思就是“人民与人民军队之间的关系，就像鱼和水之间的关系一样”，简言之，就是“军民鱼水情”。
我们再来看其他例句。谈到哈佛大学，其案例教学最为著名，于是有了这样类比的句子：
2 Case study is to Harvard what the Leaning Tower is to Pisa.
3 Personality is to man what perfume is to a flower.
4 Stress is inevitable, but you don't have to be a victim of it. So what are the tools that can calm our nerves and open our minds? Here comes the good news: we all have the inner resources that are needed—courage, optimism, humility, humor, intuition, acceptance, forgiveness, love and yes, patience. These inner resources are to our souls what medicine is to our bodies.
这一句型有一个变体结构，可以改写为“what/as C is to D, so is A to B或A is to B”。请看例句：
5 As water is to fish, so is the people to the people's army （或the people is to the people's army）.
6 As blood vessel is to a man's body, railway is to transportation （或so is railway to transportation）.
7 What Newton was to mechanics and Darwin to biology, Freud was to psychology.
思维总结
比较状语从句应该是九大状语从句中内容最多的一个项目，涉及各类句型结构。读者应该重点掌握有关as的各个句型，比如as much as结构和not so much...as结构。还要掌握no more...than的句型特点，这是个难点句型，考试中经常见到。另外，还要熟练掌握表示倍数比较的三种句型。
思维训练3.10 Key
一、选择最佳答案填空。
1. The number of registered participants in this year's marathon was half ______.
A. of last year's B. those of last year's C.of those of last year D.that of last year's
2. An adult human must take eight steps to go ______ as a giraffe does in one stride.
A. as far B. the farther C.how far D.farther
3. The harder you work, ______ you have of passing your exam.
A. more chance B. more chances C.the more chance D.the chances
4. The knee is ______ most other joints in the body because it cannot twist without injury.
A. more likely to be damaged than B. much likely to be damaged than
C. likely to be more damaged than D.more than likely to be damaged
5. Smoking is so harmful to personal health that it kills ______ people each year than automobile accidents.
A. seven more times B. seven times more C.over seven times D.seven times
6. Just as the soil is a part of the earth, ______ the atmosphere.
A. as it is B. the same is C.so is D.and so is
7. I would have paid ______ for my car if the salesman had insisted, because I really wanted it.
A. as much twice B. much twice C.twice as much D.two times
8. Any preexisting illness, even ______ the common cold, increases the chances of contracting another disease.
A. as mild one as B. as one mild as C.as a mild one as D.as mild a one as
9. After retirement my father earns only ______ as he used to. However, he lives happily enjoying his leisure time.
A. a half as much B. a half as many C.half as many D.half as much
10. The greater population there is in a locality, ______ for water, transportation, and disposal of refuse.
A. the great need B. the greater need there is
C. greater the need D.the greater the need there is
11. In China the South generally receives much less snow than ______ the North.
A. does B. it does C.does in D.it does in
12. Robin ______ give up his scheme than the spider would give up his attempts.
A. will no longer B. can no more C.would rather D.would no more
13. The air inside a house or office building often has higher concentrations of contaminants ______ heavily polluted outside air.
A. than does B. more C.as some that are D.like of
二、翻译下列句子，注意分析句型。
14. Just as we nurture our bodies with the right vitamins and nutrients, so we need to nurture our minds with good thoughts.
15. Science is built with facts just as a house is built with bricks, but a collection of facts cannot be called science any more than a pile of bricks can be called a house.
16. A causeless event or thing, we cannot think of any more than we can of a stick with only one end.
17. The greatness of a people is no more determined by their number than the greatness of a man is determined by his height.
18. What Newton was to mechanics and Darwin to biology, Freud was to psychology.
19. Stress is inevitable, but you don't have to be a victim of it. So what are the tools that can calm our nerves and open our minds? Here comes the good news: we all have the inner resources that are needed: courage, optimism, humility, humor, intuition, acceptance, forgiveness, love and yes, patience. These inner resources are to our souls what medicine is to our bodies.