核心考点not so much...as结构精讲

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。熟悉甚至掌握这个句型的用法，你就可以好好装个逼。这个句型的用法特点如下

1.从结构上来看，它可以有两种结构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。

以下就用十个非常经典的例句，希望你能好好体会其中的奥义。如果能背下来最好。

01

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.

这是1994年的考研翻译真题。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.

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。

02

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.

这是2000年的考研真题。本题考查的是not so much A as B这一比较句型。这里的平行结两个that引导的从句that I disliked her和that l just wasn't interested in the whole business.两者在这里作表语。

译文：并不是因为我不喜欢她，而是因为我对整个事情根本就不感兴趣。

03

3. It was not so much the many blows he received for the lack of fighting spirit that led to his losing the game.

要把for改成as。这是1992年的考研真题。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 blow she 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，被强调的部分是表示一个原因，说明是什么原因导致他比赛失利。

译文：导致他比赛失利的真正原因，不是由于他遭受到的打击，而是因为他缺乏斗志。

04

4.The conveniences that Americans desire reflect not so mucha leisurely lifestyle as a busy lifestyle in which even minutes of time are too valuable to be wasted.

这是1995年的考研真题，·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。

译文：美国人所渴望的种种便利设施，与其说是反映了一种休闲的生活方式，倒不如说是反映了一种忙碌的生活方式，正是因为忙碌，所以每分钟都很宝贵而不容浪费。

05

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.

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。

译文：对于我们这一代在20世纪80年代被敦促要搏击生活的女性来说，在90年代中期过着节奏放慢的生活，与其说是对神秘的美好生活的追求——自己种有机蔬菜、冒险进入一个仙境——倒不如说我们都认识到了自己的局限性。

06

6.The great use of a school education is not so much to teach you things as to teach you the art of learning.

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.

译文：学校教育的伟大作用不在于教会你多少东西，而在于教会你学习的技巧。

07

7.The trumpet player was certainly loud, but I was notbothered by his loudness so mıłch as by his lack of talent.

这里被比较的是两个介词短语by his loudness和by his lack of talent.

译文：这个吹喇叭的人，吹的声音够大，但是让我很烦的不是他的大声，而是他根本就是缺乏演奏天赋。

08

8.The great thing in this world is not so much where we stand as in what direction we are moving.

译文：人生的意义不在于你目前身在何处，而在于你心向何方。

09

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.

译文：我们俩都承认，我们的婚姻在浪漫这方面已大打折扣了，这倒不是因为缺少性生活，而在于缺少交流。事实上，保持交谈曾一直是我们感情的催化剂。

10

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.

译文：他不重视学习，只喜欢"消遣"。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。