1.“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1：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，而动用这些技艺并不一定都需要机器。

　　2.“only + to do”意为“……，结果却……”，即表示与句子谓语动作的目的相反的结果。

　　例1: 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.

　　译文：他们不必花钱去戏院、电影院或歌剧院买价格很贵的票，(如果去了，)结果却可能发现，所演的节目令人失望。

　　例2: They hurried there only to find the meeting canceled.

　　译文：他们匆匆忙忙赶到那儿，结果却发现会议被取消了。

　　3.not more / -er than 与 no more / -er than 结构

　　比较：

　　John is not better than Tom.

　　John is no better than Tom.

　　前一句表示“约翰不比汤姆好”，属于普通的比较结构;后一例用了no 情况就不同了。no better than 相当于as bad as，含义是两人一样坏。这里，“no + 形容词或副词比较级 + than”所表示的可以说是该形容词或副词的反意。

　　例如： no richer than = as poor as 和……一样穷

　　no bigger than = as small as 和……一样小

　　no later than = as early as 和……一样早

　　同样地：

　　I have not taken more than six courses this semester.

　　I have taken no more than six courses this semester.

　　前一句的含义是本学期选的课不多于六门;后一句的含义是只选了六门。强调“少”。

　　上述结构与表示前后都否定的no more...than (= not...any more than)又有所不同：

　　例：A whale is no more a fish than a horse is.(鲸和马同样不是鱼。)

　　另外，在某些结构中，单独使用more than 也能表示否定概念：

　　例1：That is more than I can tell. 我简直不能说。

　　例2：My trip to Beijing is more than sightseeing. 我去北京不仅仅是旅游观光而已。

　　4.no more...than... (= not...any more than) 和……—样都不……(表示前后都否定)

　　例1：The heart is no more intelligent than the stomach, for they are both controlled by the brain. 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.

　　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。

　　例3：More and more Afro-Americans see him as a tricky enemy who has no more love for them than he has for the Congolese.

　　译文：越来越多的美国黑人认识到他是个诡计多端的敌人。他仇视美国黑人，正像他仇视刚果人民一样。(直译：…，他不爱美国黑人，正像他不爱刚果人一样。)

　　注释：not...any more than是no more...than的一种强调形式。

　　例如：

　　1) Jack is no more intelligent than John. (=Jack is not intelligent any more than John.)

　　杰克与约翰一样都不聪明。

　　2) A man can no more fly than a bird can speak. (=A man cannot fly any more than a bird can speak.) 人不会飞翔，就像鸟不会说话一样。

　　3) As a nation, the French are no more eager to 1earn about their wartime failings than are the Japanese. (=As a nation，the French are not eager to learn about their wartime failings any more than are the Japanese.)

　　作为一个国家，法国正如日本一样不积极地从他们的战争失败中吸取教训。

　　上述例句表明，no more...than并不表示比较，而是表示比喻，含有比喻意义的比较级用于否定时，than后面的从句不用否定式，但译成汉语时要用否定式。而与上述句型意义相反的是：no less...than，意为：“和……同样是……”。例如：

　　Human is no less an animal than a monkey is. 人和猴都是动物。

　　而no less than 的意思为：“简直是，实在是”，例如：

　　1) It is no less than blackmail to ask such a high price. 如此索要高价，简直是敲诈。

　　2) It is no less than a scandal. 这实在是一件丑闻。

　　7.not nearly (=by no means，far from) 远不

　　例1: The food supply will not increase nearly enough to match this, which means that we are heading into a crisis in the matter of producing and marketing food.

　　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：1) this是指上面提到的“到21世纪初世界人口将增加到60亿或70亿”。2) 又如：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。)