not... because

首先应当明确, not...because 本身是一个歧义结构。R. Quirk 等曾举过一个有趣的歧义句。

I didn't leave home because I was afraid of my father.

a) 我并不是因为怕父亲才离开家的。(I left home, but it wasn't because of my father that I did so.)

b) 因为我怕父亲,所以没有离开家。(Because I was afraid of my father, I didn't leave

home.)

因此,我们在翻译某个具体的句子时,必须认真分析句意,并结合上下文,来确定 not... because 的含意。根据句意,你们所提供的句(A)的译文是合乎情理的,而你所提供的句(B)的译文,却是违背原意的。实际上,句(B)的否定范围一直延伸到句末,换句话说,because 从句是否定的重心。全句似可译为:

他并不因为亚里斯多德说过什么事如何如何，他就轻易相信。

《英语难题解答400则》的作者认为，当not...because作“并不是因为……”解（即not否定because从句)时，必须有but because从句来跟随，否则就是“半句”“晦涩难懂”(p.40)。这种说法显然是要求英语的表达方式来服从中国人的思路。这无助于深入掌握英语这一歧义句型的实质。实际上，这种句型本身虽是有歧义的，但是由这种句型所构成的具体的句子往往是没有歧义的。下面的大量实例证明了这一点，也证明了not...because在作“并不是因为”解时，并不一定要求带上but because。

1. I don't teach because teaching is easy for me.《大学英语》(精读Ⅲ, p. 39) 我之所以教书不是因为我觉得教书轻松。

2. He didn't like them because they are always helpful but because they never complain. 他喜欢他们，并不是因为他们总是乐意助人，而是因为他们从不抱怨。

3. Raven didn't leave the party early because Carol was there. 雷文并不是因为卡罗尔在那里而很早地离开了那次聚会。

4. Raven didn't leave the party early, because Carol was there. 雷文没有很早地离开那次聚会，因为卡罗尔在那里。

5. Thatcher said, “I do not say this because I believe that we should be in any way provocative towards the Soviet Union or anyone else.” 撒切尔说：“我这样说，并不是因为我认为我们应当对苏联或其他国家采取任何挑衅的态度。”

6. I did not do it because I am indifferent to your advice.

①我并不是因为对你的忠告漠不关心而没有做那件事。

②我没有做那件事，因为我对你的忠告不感兴趣。

7. “Neither believe nor reject anything,” he wrote to his nephew, “because any other person has rejected or believed it. Heaven has given you a mind for judging truth and error. Use it.” (《大学英语》精读 Book 2. Unit 3) 他给侄儿写信说: “不要因为别人相信或拒绝,你就跟着相信或拒绝,上帝赐给你一个头脑是让你自己去判断真理和谬误的。使用它吧。”

8. But Captain Fawcett did not take him because the trip was too dangerous. (New Concept English, Book 2, L. 29) 但是福西特机长没有带他去, 因为这段旅程太危险了。

9. You must keep up your spirits, mother, and not be lonesome because I'm not at home. (Dickens) 妈妈，你必须振作起精神，不要因为我不在家而感到孤独。

(参见 negation)