(1) no less than意为“多达;不下于……;有……之多;与……一样”,相当于as many as, as much as,不仅用于修饰不可数名词,也常用于修饰可数名词复数。
- He paid no less than $10,000 for it.
为了它,他花了不少于一万美元。 - Its estimated population is no less than 328,000.
据估计,人口不少于328000人。 - No less than 2,000 people came to the meeting.
有不下2000人前来参加了会议。 - Man, no less than the lower forms of life, is a product of the evolutionary process.
人和低级生命形态一样,也是进化过程的产物。
(2) 本来no less than只用于修饰不可数名词,等于as much as,但在现代英语中,常接可数名词复数,等于as many as, 而no fewer than反倒不很常用。
- No less/fewer than five people offered to buy it.
不少于五人提出要买下它。
(3) no less...than 意思是“不亚/次于……;跟……一样”,less用作副词,后用形容词原级;no less a person than 可表示“就是……本人”。
- As a technician, Tom is no less skilled than Jack.
作为技术员,汤姆的技术熟练程度不亚于杰克。 - He is no less good at figures than you are accurate in surveying the land.
他的计算之娴熟,不亚于你测量土地时的准确程度。 - He is no less a person than the premier.
他就是总理本人。
(4) not less...than与no less ...than在严格意义上是有区别的,前者的意思是“至少不比……差”,意味着可能还强一点,但在现代英语中,两者已经混用。
- As a technician, he is not less (=perhaps more) skilled than Jack.
作为技术员,汤姆技术熟练程度不比杰克差。
(5) no less than a thousand = as many as a thousand(1 000之多);not less than a thousand = a thousand or more(1 000或多一些)。