would rather … than和would sooner…than 用法解析
其实要讲的是would rather … than、would … rather than和prefer to … rather than、would sooner…than 用法解析
As long ago as the fourteenth century, an Englishman, Sir John Hawkwood, made the remarkable discovery that people would rather pay large sums of money than have their life work destroyed by gangsters. 《新概念英语3 A noble gangster》
早在14世纪,英国人约翰.霍克伍德就有过非凡的发现:"人们情愿拿出大笔的钱,也不愿毕生的心血毁于歹徒之手.
would rather … than … 宁可…也不…（比较状语从句）“更愿…而不愿…”，“宁可…而不愿…”，“和…相比，更愿意做…”。表主观意愿，在两者中选其一。than前后的两个相比较的部分一般是对等的，也就是我们说的平行结构。
I’d rather play tennis than swim.
= I’d play tennis rather than swim.
我宁愿去打网球也不愿去游泳。
Tom would rather die than surrender. = Tom would die rather than surrender.
汤姆宁死也不投降。
The soldiers vowed that they would rather die than surrender.
士兵们发誓宁死不降。
He would rather die than be a convict.
他宁愿死也不愿当囚犯。
He would rather die than live in dishonour.
他宁死不愿忍辱偷生。
Liu Hulan would rather die than surrender before the enemy.
刘胡兰在敌人面前宁死不屈。
Rose would rather do homework than go out.
罗丝宁愿在家做家务，也不愿出去。
I would rather be a teacher in the countryside than be a salesman in the city.
我宁愿去农村当老师，也不愿在城市里当一名销售人员。
Alexander Graham Bell once told his family that he would rather be remembered as a teacher of the deaf than as the inventor of the telephone.
Alexander Graham Bell曾告诉家人，他更愿意让后人记住他是聋子的老师，而非电话的发明者。
They would rather work than live on welfare.
他们宁愿工作而不愿靠社会保障金过活。
Kids would rather play than study
孩子们宁愿玩也不愿学习。
He would rather do the work with you than celebrate the National Day. 他宁愿和你一起工作，也不愿过国庆节。
I would rather invest time in Rebecca than in the kitchen.
我宁愿把时间花在丽贝卡身上也不愿花在厨房里。
Most men would rather go to the grave than own up to feelings of dependency.
大多数男人宁死都不愿承认有依赖感。
He himself believed in freedom, so much so that he would rather die than live without it.
他非常崇尚自由，不自由，毋宁死。
He would rather have a decent death which served some purpose than a meaningless death.
他宁愿死得其所，也不想无谓地死去。
I would rather pay for a meal than watch nine friends pick over and split a bill
我宁可掏钱请客，也不愿看到9位朋友算来算去分摊账单。
I would rather stare at a clear, star-filled sky than a TV set
我宁可凝视繁星满天的晴朗夜空也不愿盯着电视机。
She would rather perjure herself than admit to her sins.
她宁愿在法庭上撒谎也不愿承认她的罪行。
He would rather shoot himself than compromise his principles.
他宁愿一枪打死自己也不愿违背自己的原则。
We would rather withdraw the draft resolution than amend it.
与其修改决议草案，不如予以撤回。
She'd rather die than lose the children. 她宁愿死也不愿失去孩子们。
“At that time, I would rather have been a factory worker than an animal keeper,”he said. “那时，我宁愿做一个工厂工人，也不愿做动物饲养员，”他说道。
If I’d lived in 1400. I’d rather have been a knight than a monk. 如果我生活在1400年，我宁愿当骑士，不当修道士。
I would rather share one lifetime with you than face all the ages of this world alone.
我宁可和你一同度过这一生，也不想孤单地这悠长时光。
prefer to … rather than=would…rather than：
She prefers to work rather than remain idle. 她宁愿工作也不愿闲着。
would rather…than= would sooner…than
I’d sooner die at your side than live without you.
我宁可死在你身边，也不愿在没有你的时候活着。
I would sooner give up sleep than miss my evening class
我宁可不睡觉，也不愿错过晚上的课。
If I were a young man I would sooner go to prison than fight for this country
如果我是个年轻人，我宁愿进监狱也不愿为这个国家打仗。
Ford vowed that he would sooner burn his factory to the ground than build a single vehicle for war purposes
福特郑重声明他宁可把自己的工厂付之一炬，也不愿意生产一辆用于战争的车辆。
注：当than后的动词原形与前面的动词原形相同时可以省去。如：
I’d rather go on Sunday than on Monday. 我宁愿星期天去而不在星期一去。
有时可将rather than置于句首来加强语气。如：
Rather than refuse to help you, I would borrow money from my friends. 我宁可向朋友借钱，也不愿拒绝帮助你。
