It was a great moutain of a wave.波浪如山高。

That fool of a Tom did it. 这是汤姆那个笨蛋做的。

That old cripple of a Henn.那个年老的残废者亨。

It would make the deuce of a scandal.这会弄得声名狼藉的。

of前后的名词指同一人或物体。其中的"名词＋of"后出现的名词前面，必须有一个不定词，即使是固有名词，该冠词也不可省略。

a devil of a man = a devish man

a rascal of a fellow = a rascally fellow

2. in +人

They have an enemy in him.他才是他们的敌人。

分析：in = in the person of （在那人身上），表示一个人身上具有的性质、资格、能力等。原来是由于形状（与形状有关的in，如：in a circle； in print； in a heap； in couples； in human shape； in ruins等）所转来的，而有"即……是也"、"就是"的含义。这种in多出现在find， see， behold， lose等动词后面。

He had something of the hero in him.

China lost a great artist in （the death of ） Chi Paishi.

3.short of / be short of / nothing short of

short=except，是副词的用法。在前面可以使用的动词有：come， fall， run等，表示"不足"、"缺乏"的意思，其中"of"做"from"解释。至于be short of 与nothing short of 中的"short of"则为形容词。be short of 表示"不足"或"离开"；nothing short of表示"完全".

1）Short of theft， I will do anything I can for you.

2）We are short of hands at present.

3）His conduct was nothing short of madness.他的行为简直发了狂。

4.anything but / nothing but / all but

在英文中anything but＝never；意即"除此之外，别的都是"，是表示强调的否定；

nothing but=only； 意即"除此之外，别的都不是"；

all but=almost； nearly

三种用法中，but都有"except"含义

5.much more / much less

He likes a child， much more a baby.他喜欢小孩，更加喜欢婴孩。 www.daxueshi123.com

He doesn’t like a child， much less a baby.他步喜欢小孩，更加不喜欢婴孩。

解释：

much more 用于肯定句之后，表示程度增加；表示更多，much可以改为still

much less用于否定句之后，表示程度减少；表示更少，可译为"何况"、"还论"

6.more……than……can"达到不可能的程度"

morethan……can"简直不可能"

He earns more money than he can spend.

7.more than + 动词，译为"深为， 十二分的"

This more than satisfied me.这使我十二分的满意。

More is meant than meets the ear.有言外之意。 来www.daxueshi123.com

What we lose in flowers we more than gain in fruits.

8.less……than

During the week he saw less of her than usual.在那一个星期内，他比平常要少见到她。

less……than"较少"、"较差"、"不及"、"不如".该less做形容词时好翻译，做副词解释时难译。

Proof-reading is not interesting， still less so when it is one’s own work.

Proof-reading is uninteresting， still more so when it is one’s own work.

His lecture left me less than satisfactory.他的演讲怎么也不能使我满意。

He observed with interest the errors of her face and figure， the thin underlip， too heavily penciled eyebrows， and her legs less than slim although not actually skinny.

他感兴趣地望着她面孔和身体上的一些缺点，那太薄的下唇，画的太浓的眉毛和她那瘦弱的双腿，虽然还没有达到皮包骨头的程度。

9.the + 比较级＋理由

I like him all the better for his faults.因为他有缺点，所以我更加喜欢他。

连接"理由"部分的可以为：for， because， on account of ， owing to 等，前面部分常常出现的结构为：all（much）the + 比较级。该结构中的the = to that degree.

10.what he is / what he has

We honour him for what he is ， not for what he has.

我们尊敬的是他的人品，而不是他的财富。

what he is ＝his character

what he has = his property

It is not a question how much a man knows， but use what he can make of what he knows； not a question of what he has acquired， and how he has been trained， but of what he is， and what he can do.

问题不在于一个人知道多少，而在于他能否运用他的知识；问题不在于他所学为何，受过怎样的教育，而在于他的人品，以及他的能力。

11.what + 名词 / what + little + 名词

He gave me what money he had about him.他把他身上所有的钱都给了我。

I gave him what little mony I had.我竭尽绵薄之力将仅有的钱都给了他。

what + 名词 含有"all the ……that"或"that……which"含义。译为"所有的……"，what做关系代名词。

what + little（few等一类词） + 名词 含有"虽少但全部"或"所仅有的"

She saved what little money she could out of her slim salary to help her brother go to school.

12.what with……and what with / what by …… and what by

What with illness and what with losses， he is almost ruined.半因为生病，半因为亏损，他几乎整个儿毁了。

What by brikes and what by extortions， he made money.

或由受贿，或由勒索，他发财了。

此为what的副词用法，可译为"多少（＝somewhat）"、"半（＝patrly）"

what with……and what with表示"原因"

what by …… and what by表示"手段"

What with overwork and under-nourishment he fell ill.

由于过劳，加上营养不足，他终于病倒了。

13.if any

1）He despises honour， if any one does.世界上真有人轻视荣誉的话，他便是一个。

2）He has little， if any， money.他即令有钱，也是极少的。

if any ， if ever 意思是"果真有，即令有的话"，相当于if there is （are） any at all.。它通常是伴随有little， few， seldom等准否定词。与此相近的用法还有if anything，意思是"if at all"或"if there is any difference"，可以译为"倘若有异同，如果稍有区别的话".还有"if a day"意思是"at least".

There is little ， if any ， hope.希望甚微。

It occurs seldom， if ever（ = seldom or never）。真有其事，也不常发生。

If anything， he is a little better today.如有什么不同，他比昨天好了一点。

The greatness has little， if anything， to do with rank or power.真正的伟大是和权力与地位毫无关系的。