idiom
used when mentioning the last person or thing of a group, in order to say that they are not less important than the others
not less.... than
no less … than 有两个用法:
一是表示同等性,意思是“与……一样”、“不比……差”(强调两者具有同等性)。如:
He is no less wise than you. 他跟你一样聪明。(两者一样 wise)
A dolphin is no less a clever animal than a dog is. 海豚与狗同样都是聪明的动物。(两者一样 clever)
It was no less a personage than the bishop. 这是与主教同等重要的人物。(同样是personage)
European leaders met through the night for 11 hours with no less a task than saving the euro currency. 欧洲领导人聚在一起,通宵开了11个小时的会议,要完成挽救欧元这一任务。(“挽救欧元”与其他工作一样属于重要任务)二是表示惊奇,意思是“竟然”。如:
Good heavens! It’s no less a person than the president! 天哪!原来竟是总统啊!
The message came from no less a person than the Prime Minister. 电文竟是首相发来的。▲比较 no more…than(与……一样不)的用法:
A whale is no more a fish than a horse is.
- 马与鲸一样,都不是鱼。
- 马不是鱼,鲸也不是鱼
- 鲸不是鱼就如同马不是鱼一样。
英语常见问题大词典:
no more than
从翻译的角度来看,这类句型有一个很重要的特点,就是than 后面的从句在形式上是肯定的,在意义上是否定的; 表面上表示不同等的比较,实质上则是表示等同关系。如:
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He is no more your friend than I am your mother.
他不是你的朋友,就像我不是你的母亲一样。
He is no more a god than we are.
他和我们一样,也不是神。
You are no more a vampire than I am.
A whale is no more a fish than a horse is.
He is no more fit to be a minister than a school boy would be.
他不适合当局长,就像一个小学生不适于当部长一样。如果我们对 no more… than 结构有了较清楚的了解的话,那么对 no less… than 结构就很容易理解和掌握了。大家知道,no more… than 结构与其说是进行比较,不如说是强调否定:既否定 no more… than的前项,也否定它的后项。no less… than 则与 no more… than 相反,它是用来进行肯定的:既肯定其前项,也肯定其后项。列如:
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- He is no less guilty than you. 他和你同样有罪
- In war no less than peace, food was an important influence. 在战争时期,如同在和平时期一样,粮食具有重要的影响。
- A whale is no less a mammal than a horse is. 鲸鱼和马一样也是哺乳动物。
- Italian is no less a mother tongue for her than English. 如同英语一样,意大利语也是她的母语。
- Our soldiers fought with no less daring than skill. 我们的战士战斗得既英勇又懂战技。
- Language is concrete, no less so than speaking. 语言如同言语一样,也是具体的。