一道prep2012的题，对解释有点疑问

DesmondWang

The infant mortality rate has decreased steadily over the past decades and is now at a lower rate than ever before.
A. now at a lower rate than
B. now lower than
C. now a lower rate than
D. presently lower than it was
E. presently lower than the rate was
我一开始选D，答案是C
然后这是OE：D. The phrase ever before introduces a continuous expanse of time before the present moment (presently) that should be described with the present perfect tense it has been rather than the simple past tense of it was. Also the word order it was ever is the reverse of the more standard and less awkward it ever was.我暂时认可，但是对于B，为什么than后面不用补出动词呢，以下我引用RON大神说过的话：
1) VERB TENSE SHIFT
if there is a change in verb tense between the two halves of the comparison, then you MUST include the verb in both halves. (if the verb is omitted in the second part of the comparison, then the implication is that the tense is the same in both halves.)
so:
Heating-oil prices are expected to be higher this year than they were last year
--> correct
BUT
if you wrote
Heating-oil prices are expected to be higher this year than last year
then this would be incorrect, since there must be a tense shift between what is happening this year and what happened last year.
这里说了有tense shift的话，应该要补出动词的，那这题里省掉的it has been和前面的is不是tense shift吗？我觉得应该是"The infant mortality rate has decreased steadily over the past decades and is now lower than it has been ever before."
为什么可以省略呢？还是我的理解有误，请指教，谢谢了！

Alaska17

摘一段字典上ever的解释。大家就当idiom来处理吧。别过多的想了。
3 [ADV] ADV after compar than, ADV after adj-superl
You use ever after comparatives and superlatives to emphasize the degree to which something is true or when you are comparing a present situation with the past or the future.
She's got a great voice and is singing better than ever...
Japan is wealthier and more powerful than ever before...
He feels better than he has ever felt before...
This is the most awful evening I can ever remember.

奥兰多铁杆球迷

这题答案不是B吗？？？？

vicvicvicky

我认为是ever before应该用现在完成时的，所以de不对。如果错了请指教！

MisterD

Heating-oil prices are expected to be higher this year than they were last year
--> correct
BUT
Heating-oil prices are expected to be higher this year than last year
--> correct
Ron mentioned if there is a answer choice with tense shift then that is preferred....

Adverbs that refer to AN INDEFINITE TIME IN THE PAST (ever, never, already, yet) typically require the PRESENT PERFECT:

John is hungrier than he HAS EVER BEEN before.
My family HAS NEVER VISITED France.
Mary HAS ALREADY SEEN the movie.
Sally HASN'T FINISHED the book YET.

Thus, in D, WAS ever before is incorrect.

The OA implies the following:
The rate is now lower than [IT HAS] ever [BEEN] before.
The words in brackets are omitted, but their presence is understood.

TerraceHo

答案是B，now lower than.

kiwifoodtown

还是那个说法，这是选择题，不是改错题，只是要在现有的答案里选个相对合理的答案，很可能没有一个答案是最完美的，但只能选择了。LS说的对，过于纠结太理想化的东西是不现实的。

DesmondWang

nononononono。。。亲。。千万别绕进去，你记得有个than anticipated/ estimated的用法吧，这个和then ever其实是一个意思，就是直接用，咱根本不用不出来，找了两个句子
（1）. The report on the gross national product—the nation’s total production of goods and services—showed that second-quarter inflation was somewhat lower than previously estimated and that the savings rate was slightly higher.

（2）. The financial crash of October 1987 demonstrated that the world’s capital markets are more closely integrated than ever before and that events in one part of the global village may be transmitted to the rest of the village—almost instantaneously
而且就ever而言在表示 "at any time" 时也可用在肯定句中，主要用于进行比较的句子，因而产生了than ever(before)这个习语。
那么就如：She was happier than she had ever been．其实就是等于She was happier than ever（before）．

-- by 会员 sisichen666 (2012/12/13 1:23:51)

谢谢啦，您说的是对的，但是补出来也不算错，对吧。所以问题就在于什么时候补，什么时候不补，因为两种形式的正确答案都有看到过，所以把握不好。。。
另外觉得您的第一个例子second-quarter inflation was somewhat lower than previously estimated 其实我觉得之里没有tense shift所以不用补出，因为可以写成second-quarter inflation was somewhat lower than （it was） previously estimated ；
难道说ever是特例= =

DesmondWang

比较的肯定是rate，现在的rate和之前任何时期的rate，只是如The OA implies the following:
The rate is now lower than [IT HAS] ever [BEEN] before. 所说，省略了括号里的东西。

唯一合理的解释应该就是看到ever before自动认为是完成时态的比较。

SC的正确选项并不一定是完美的或者说语法上完全正确的（GMAC和之前的ETS都承认过这点），但一定是5个选项中最好的。

Ron大神这句话应该可以让你欣慰：

if there is a correct answer that should contain the tense shift, but lacks it (like this one), then i'm quite sure that all five choices will do the same thing. i.e., the writers just forgot.

少年不要纠结于完美了，莫非你是处女座？

-- by 会员 jeffjarrett (2012/12/13 6:50:36)

谢谢，不是处女座，呵呵，只是搞不清楚什么时候该省，什么时候不该省。我的确看到过很多句子有补出来看起来henclear，也看到过句子省略，但在我看来很多句子并没有歧义，所以只是把握不住。。。怎么说呢。。。省略的这个度。

花露水6

比较的肯定是rate，现在的rate和之前任何时期的rate，只是如The OA implies the following:
The rate is now lower than [IT HAS] ever [BEEN] before. 所说，省略了括号里的东西。

唯一合理的解释应该就是看到ever before自动认为是完成时态的比较。

SC的正确选项并不一定是完美的或者说语法上完全正确的（GMAC和之前的ETS都承认过这点），但一定是5个选项中最好的。

Ron大神这句话应该可以让你欣慰：

if there is a correct answer that should contain the tense shift, but lacks it (like this one), then i'm quite sure that all five choices will do the same thing. i.e., the writers just forgot.

少年不要纠结于完美了，莫非你是处女座？

-- by 会员 jeffjarrett (2012/12/13 6:50:36)

我也很纠结 总觉得从语法角度说省略就不平行了 还是不大懂