few /fjuː/ ●●●S1W1 determiner, pronoun, adjective (comparativecompfewer, superlativesuplfewest) → phew
1FEW/NOT MANY[no comparative] a small number of things or people 一些,几个
a few
I have to buy a few things at the supermarket.
我得到超级市场买些东西。
Pam called to say she’s going to be a few minutes late.
帕姆打电话来说她要晚几分钟到。
There were a few people sitting at the back of the hall.
大厅后面坐着几个人。
There are a few more things I’d like to discuss.
还有一些事我想讨论一下。
few of
I’ve read a few of her books.
我读过她的几部作品。
I could suggest many different methods, but anyway, here are just a few.
我可以推荐许多不同的方法,不过这里就只说几个。
There are only a very few (=not many) exceptions.
只有少数例外。
the last/next few
The office has been closed for the last few days.
最近几天那家办事处没有开门。
every few days/weeks etc
The plants need to be watered every few days.
这些植物隔几天就得浇次水。
the/somebody’s few days/weeks etc
She had enjoyed her few days in Monaco.
她在摩纳哥的那几天玩得很开心。
2quite a few/a good few/not a fewa fairly large number of things or people 相当多,不少
She must have cooked a good few dinners over the years.
这些年她一定做过不少次晚餐。
quite a few/a good few/not a few of 只有少数例外。
There were hundreds of protesters, not a few of whom were women.
有几百名示威者,其中不少是女性。
3ENOUGHnot many or hardly any people or things 很少,不多;几乎没有OPP many
low-paid jobs that few people want
没有几个人想要的低薪工作
Many people expressed concern, but few were willing to help.
许多人表示关心,但是愿意帮忙的几乎没有。
The team that makes the fewest mistakes usually wins.
通常失误最少的队会赢。
few of
Very few of the staff come from the local area.
员工中几乎没有当地人。
Mr Wingate was full of explanations, but precious few (=hardly any) of them made sense.
温盖特先生一大堆解释,但是言之成理的少之又少。
the few
The cathedral was one of the few buildings not destroyed in the war.
这座大教堂是少数未被毁于战火的建筑物之一。
This hospital is one of the few that are equipped to provide transplant surgery.
这是少数拥有外科移植手术设备的医院之一。
somebody’s few belongings/friends etc
I gathered together my few possessions.
我收拾了仅有的几样东西。
4no fewer thanused to emphasize that a number is large 至少,不少于〔用于强调数目很大〕
I tried to contact him no fewer than ten times.
我试图联系他不下十次。
Examples from the Corpus
no fewer than• I tried to contact him no fewer than ten times.
5as few as 5/10 etcused to emphasize how surprisingly small a number is 只有5/10等〔用于强调数量出乎意料地小〕
Sometimes as few as 20 out of 500 or more candidates succeed in passing all the tests.
有时,500名甚至更多的候选人中只有20名能通过所有测试。
Examples from the Corpus
as few as 5/10 etc• The number of bodies that will be left standing is unclear but could be as few as 10.• Infection can result from ingestion of as few as 10cysts.• But if every worker made pins separately, the factory might make as few as 10 or at the most 200.
6to name/mention but a fewused when you are mentioning only a small number of people or things as examples of a large group 略举几个例子
This is a feature of languages such as Arabic, Spanish and Portuguese, to name but a few.
这一特征见于多种语言,略举几个例子来说,如阿拉伯语、西班牙语、葡萄牙语。
7the (privileged/chosen) fewthe small number of people who are treated better than others and have special advantages 少数(特殊的/挑选出来的)几个人
Such information is made available only to the chosen few.
此类信息只有少数几个人才可以知道。
The needs of the many have been ignored – instead, the priority has been to bring benefits only to the few.