【问】 下面是《朗文常用英语正误词典》(朗文出版公司、上海译文出版社联合出版,P.65)所列出的正误句: “× The teachers will be able to visit our schools and compare our teaching methods totheir own. √ The teachers will be able to visit our schools and compare our teaching methods withtheir own.” 我认为compare with与compare to是可以通用的。下面的例句可以证明这一点: 1.Compared with (to) him I am a bungler.(Fowler) 与他相比,我是一个工作笨拙的人。 2. London is large,compared to (with) Paris.(ALD) 与巴黎相比,伦敦很大。 不知我的看法是否正确? 【答】 我们在compared with/to条目中论述了独立使用的compared with与compared to是可以通用的,但是我们并没有讲compare... with与compare... to是完全可以通用的。因为这两个结构在意义和用法上还是有一些区别的。当表达“把……比作……”这个意思的时候,用compare... to,当表达“将……与……作比较”这个意思的时候,用compare... with。 1. Shakespeare compared the world to a stage. (Wood) 莎士比亚把人世比作舞台。 2. In the Bible,Christians are compared to sheep,evil persons to goats,and the use ofwine to serpents. 在《圣经》中,基督徒被比作绵羊,坏人被比作山羊,饮酒被比作毒蛇。 3. People compared him to a little white mouse. (Sinclair) 人们把他比作一只小白鼠。 4. She was most offended when her husband compared her hat to a pudding basin.(ODCIE) 当丈夫把她的帽子比作一只做布丁的面盘时,她非常生气。 5. “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?”(Shakespeare) 我可以把你比作夏天吗? 6. The writer was compared to Shakespeare. (LDPV) 人们把这位作家比作莎士比亚。 7. The poets compared her lips to roses. (Hill) 诗人们把她的唇比作玫瑰。 8. The police compared the fingerprints on the gun with these on the door. (MD) 警察将枪上的指纹与门上的相比较。 9. We can start by comparing the work of the historian with the work of the politician.(LDPV) 我们可以首先把历史学家的著作同政治家的著作作一比较。 对于初学者,掌握了compare... with和compare... to的这一区别,就足够了。对于英语研究者还应知道,在较少的情况下,人们有时也使用compare... to来表达“将……同……作比较”的意思。例如: 1. My elder brother,Steve,gets straight A’s. I am an average student——mostly B’s. My father always compares me to him and says,“If Steve can make A's why can'tyou?” 我哥哥史蒂夫,一直得“优”,而我是个一般水平的学生,通常是“良”。我父亲总是把我和他作比较。他说:“既然史蒂夫能得“优”,为什么你不能呢?” 2. The work was hard and dangerous and the hours were long,but the pay was good com-pared to the wages in the old country. 这项工作很艰苦,很危险,而且时间也很长,但是与这个国家过去的工资相比较,它的报酬还是很可观的。 3. Compared to optical telescopes,these are blunt instruments. (CBSE) 与光学望远镜相比,射电望远镜是迟钝的仪器。 4. “You'll never really know what happiness is unless you have something to compare itto” 如果你没有某种可比较的东西,你就永远也不会真正明白什么是幸福。 此外,还应懂得,在cannot compare这一特殊结构中compare with与compare to是没有区别的: 1. Social life in a village cannot compare to that of a large city.(LDPV) 乡村的社会生活是不可能与大城市的社会生活相比的。 2. Social life in a village cannot compare with that of a large city. (LDPV)乡村的社会生活不能与大城市的社会生活相比。 3. The south of England is certainly beautiful,but it can't compare with the south ofFrance for sunshine. (ODCIE) 英格兰南部诚然是美丽的,但是就充足的阳光而言,它与法国南部是无法相比的。 4. The south of England is certainly beautiful,but it can't compare to the south of Francefor sunshine. (ODCIE) 英格兰南部诚然是美丽的,但是就充足的阳光而言,它与法国南部是无法相比的。