副詞 rather:

1. on the contrary
   同義詞：instead
2. to some (great or small) extent
   同義詞：kind of, kinda, sort of
3. more readily or willingly
   同義詞：preferably, sooner
4. to a degree (not used with a negative)
   同義詞：quite

1. Poultry is rather cheap now.
   現(xiàn)在的禽肉相當(dāng)便宜。
2. I would rather fail than cheat in the examination.
   我寧愿考不及格，也不愿意考試作弊。
3. I'd rather walk than take a bus.
   我愿意走路而不愿意坐公共汽車。
4. I would rather stay at home.
   我寧可呆在家里。
5. These shoes are rather too big.
   這雙鞋有點(diǎn)太大了。

rath.er

adv.（副詞）
More readily; preferably:
寧可：更愿意地；較合意地：
例句：
I`d rather go to the movies.
我寧愿去看電影

With more reason, logic, wisdom, or other justification.
較合理地：有更多原因、學(xué)識(shí)、邏輯或其他證明地
More exactly; more accurately:
更確切地；更精確地：
例句：
He`s my friend, or rather he was my friend.
他是我的朋友，不過更確切地說，他曾經(jīng)是我的朋友

To a certain extent; somewhat:
相當(dāng)?shù)兀哼_(dá)到一定程度地：
例句：
rather cold.
相當(dāng)寒冷

On the contrary.
相反地
[r2.Yôr., rô.-] Chiefly British Most certainly. Used as an emphatic affirmative reply.
[r2.Yôr., rô.-] 【多用于英國】 當(dāng)然：最肯定地。做為對(duì)肯定性回答的加強(qiáng)語氣

來源：
Middle English
中古英語
from Old English hrathor [comparative of] hrôthe [quickly, soon]
源自 古英語 hrathor [] hrôthe的比較級(jí) [快地，很快地]
from hrôth [quick]
源自 hrôth [快的]

In expressions of preferencerather is commonly preceded by would or in formal style should :
在表達(dá)選擇的意思時(shí)rather 一詞往往跟在 would 或更正式的形式 should 之后：
例句：
We would rather rent the house than buy it outright.
我們寧可租這幢房子，也不愿直接買下它。

例句：
I should rather my daughter attended a public school.
我希望我的女兒能上公立學(xué)校。

The use ofhad in these constructions may now be more infrequent than it once was but is still encountered in reputable writing:
在上述結(jié)構(gòu)中使用had 現(xiàn)在沒有過去常用， 但即使在十分著名的文章中，還能發(fā)現(xiàn)這種用法：
例句：
I had rather be dead than be a slave.
我寧可死去，也不愿意當(dāng)奴隸。

This use ofhad was once widely criticized as a mistake, the result of a misanalysis of the contraction in sentences such asI`d rather stay. But it is in fact a survival of the subjunctive formhad that appears in constructions like had better and had best, as in
這種對(duì)had 的使用曾經(jīng)招致廣泛的批評(píng)， 人們認(rèn)為這是由于對(duì)I`d rather stay 這句話簡略形式的誤解所致。 但實(shí)際上這是對(duì)例如在had better 或 had best 中 had 虛擬用法的延用，我們能說：
例句：
We had better leave her alone. (Notice that in these constructions would and should cannot be used.)
我們最好由她去（注意在這種句子中不可使用 would 或 should )。

This use ofhad shows an unbroken line of usage running back to Middle English, and traditional criticisms of these constructions are unfounded. ·Before an unmodified noun onlyrather a is used: It was rather a disaster. When the noun is preceded by an adjective, however, bothrather a and a rather are found: It was rather a boring party. It was a rather boring party. Whena rather is used in this construction, rather can be construed as qualifying only the adjective, whereas withrather a it can be construed as qualifying either the adjective or the entire noun phrase. Thusa rather long ordeal can mean only .an ordeal that is rather long,. whereasrather a long ordeal can also mean roughly .a long process that is something of an ordeal.. Rather a is the only possible choice when the adjective itself does not permit modification: The horse was rather a long shot (not The horse was a rather long shot ). See Usage Note at better should
Had 的這種使用方法可以一直追溯到中古英語， 但歷史上并沒有對(duì)此方法批評(píng)的記載。在一個(gè)沒有修飾詞的名詞前，一般只使用rather a ： 真是一場災(zāi)難。 但當(dāng)名詞前有形容詞時(shí)，rather a 和 a rather 就都能使用了： It was rather a boring party 。It was a rather a boring party 。 在這種搭配中，如果使用a rather ， rather 只是用來修飾這個(gè)形容詞； 如果使用rather a， 那么同時(shí)修飾形容詞和名詞，即可認(rèn)為修飾形容詞也可以為修飾名詞詞組。 因此a rather long ordeal 的意思僅指布道很長， 而rather a long ordeal 則可概略地指一個(gè).像布道似的漫長過程。. 如果形容詞本身沒有引申義，那么就只能使用rather a ： The horse was rather a long shot （而不是 The horse was a rather long shot ) 參見 bettershould