“rather” 以及与其有关的短语结构“rather than”, “would rather...than...”是近年大学英语四级考试中频繁出现的一个考点，下面我们回顾一下自2000年以来四级考试中与 “rather”有关的考题：

　　1. Wouldn't you rather your child ________ to bed early? (00-1)

　　A) go B) went C) would go D) goes

　　2. The manager would rather his daughter ________ in the same office. (00-6)

　　A) had not worked B) not to work

　　C) does not work D) did not work

　　3. I'd rather have a room of my own, however small it is,than ________ a room with someone else. (01-1)

　　A) share B) to share

　　C) sharing D) to have shared

　　4. In fact, Peter would rather have left for San Francisco than ________ in New York. (02-6)

　　A) to stay B) stayed

　　C) staying D) having stayed

　　5. Who would you rather ________ with you, George or me？(02-6)

　　A) going B) to go C) have gone D) went

　　6. When I go out in the evening I use the bike ________ the car if I can. (03-12)

　　A) rather than C) in spite of

　　B) regardless of D) other than

　　(Key:1-B, 2-D, 3-A, 4-B, 5-D, 6-A)

　　“rather”的用法主要有以下几种：

　　1. 用作副词，修饰形容词、副词的原级、比较级，并可与too连用，意为“有点；相当，十分”等。如：

　　(1) It's rather cold. 天气相当冷。(暗示冷得有点过头)

　　(2) Actually, I did rather well in my exams. 实际上，我考得相当不错。

　　(3) The dress was rather more expensive than I had expected, so I didn't buy it. 那件衣服比我预计的贵得多，所以我没买。

　　(4) The train was rather too crowded for a comfortable journey. 火车太拥挤，旅程不舒服。

　　(5) The first speaker began to talk, very fast and rather loudly. 第一个发言者开始说话，说得很快，声音也有点大。

　　(6) I rather think he was telling the truth. / I rather like the decorative effect. 我想他是在说实话。/ 我喜欢这装饰效果。(后接动词，用于礼貌地表达自己的观点、情感等)

　　2. 用作副词，用于补正前言，意为“更确切地说，或者说”。如：

　　(1) In football, the Republic of Ireland had been for years content to be among the second, or rather the third-raters. 在足球方面，爱尔兰共和国几年来甘心居于二流，确切地说是三流水平。

　　(2) Japan does not have a national minimum wage, but rather a local system which tends to set minima at very low levels. 日本没有全国统一的最低工资制，而有把最低工资水平定得很低的地方制度。

　　3. “rather than”作复合介词，用于平行结构中，后接动词、名词、代词、形容词、副词、不定式、-ing形式等，表示选择，意为“是……而不是……”。如：

　　(1) It rather sank than raised his comfort. 这没有使他感到更舒服，而是更不舒服。(动词)

　　(2) It was rather honour than happiness to Fanny. 这对范妮来说不只是高兴，简直是荣幸之至。(名词)

　　(3) He's my sister's friend really, rather than mine. 他是我妹妹的朋友，而不是我的朋友。(代词)

　　(4) TV play is relaxing rather than interesting. 电视剧不是有趣，而是使人放松。(形容词)

　　(5) Issues of communication need to be resolved sooner, rather than later. 交流问题需尽早解决，而不可拖延。(副词)

　　(6) Rather than squeezing your own oranges, have you tried buying packs of orange juice?无需用自己的橙子挤汁，你尝试买过盒装橙汁吗？(现在分词)

　　(7) She was shocked, rather than pleased. 她不是高兴，而是吃惊。(过去分词)

　　(8) I'd prefer to go in August rather than in July. 我宁愿八月，而不是七月去澳大利亚。(介词短语)

　　注：1)“rather than”连接并列动词不定式时可有三种形式。(可参考Practical English Usage 518) 如：

　　(1) Sir John's approach was to listen to local opinion rather than to impose blueprints. 约翰爵士的方法是去倾听当地人的意见，而不是强加给他们各种计划蓝图。(较正式文体中用带“to”的不定式)

　　(2) He warned that he was prepared to go to prison rather than give up / giving up their daughter. (罪犯)他警告说他已经准备好去坐牢，而不会交出他们的女儿。(不带“to”的不定式或-ing形式)

　　注：2)可用“not...but rather...”连接并列谓语动词，时、体、态随主语变化。表示某人不做某事，而做另一件事。如：

　　The committee does not deal with individual correspondence, but rather discusses issues in its newsletter. 委员会不受理个人信函咨询，而是在它的简报上探讨问题。

　　4. “would rather”(缩略型：'d rather；美国英语中有时用“had rather”)或“would rather/sooner…than…”表示选择，意为“宁愿……”；“宁愿……而不愿……”。由于“rather”常跟“would”之后，《科林斯英语词典》(Collins Cobuild English Dictionary)将“would rather”标记为短语情态动词(phrasal modal)，所以“would rather”结构遵循情态动词的语法规则，其后接动词原形。如：

　　(1) I have been out very often lately, and would rather stay at home. 我近来常出去，所以我宁愿呆在家里。

　　(2) I would rather/sooner endure pain in my own feelings than you should suffer. 我宁可自己忍受感情的煎熬也不愿让你痛苦。

　　5. 当“would rather”后接从句主语与主句主语不同时，有以下三种情况：

　　i. “would rather”后接动词过去时，表示对现在或将来情况的一种期望。如：

　　(1) I would rather the doctor were satisfied! 我宁愿大夫现在已经心满意足。

　　(2) I'd rather you didn't tell her now. 我宁愿你现在不告诉她。

　　ii. “would rather”后接动词过去完成时，表示对过去情况的一种愿望。表达类似意思时更常用含有“wish”的虚拟语气结构。如：

　　(1) I would rather/wish she had not gone with them. 我宁愿/真希望她没跟他们一起去。

　　(2) I would much rather she had stayed in the countryside. 我多么希望她就呆在农村里。

　　iii. “would rather”后也可接情态动词或动词原形。如：

　　(1) I would rather you would not, father. 爸爸，我宁愿你别那样。

　　(2) I would rather you should say no more than run this risk. 我宁愿你拒绝而不要冒这个险。

　　(3) I have no information one way or the other, but I would rather he would do it than not do it. (Collins Cobuild English Dictionary)我毫无半点消息(不知情)，但我宁愿他去那样做而别不去做。

　　(文/徐福文；英语辅导报 大学一年级版 04～05学年第19、20期； 版权归英语辅导报社所有，独家网络合作伙伴新浪教育，未经许可，不得以任何形式进行转载。)