【问】 Duncairn，a castle built in the twelfth century on the western coast of Scotland，is____a few feet high.

A. hardly more than B. almost more than

C. just as much as D. nearly more than(Nelson，400D)

书上给的答案为A。但我不懂hardly more than是什么意思。查了许多英汉词典也未找到。

【答】 hardly more than如同no more than，le more than， never more than一样，也是用来表达“言其少”的口气的。一般可译为“仅仅””、“才”、“只有”等。更详细的情形，请见no morethan，little more than，never more than。