1978年高考英语试题中有一选择题:He is——thin.(A.fairly B.rather C.little)答案是B.rather,无疑是正确的。此后,有人撰文认为:rather 只用于“坏”的意思,它所修饰的东西是为我们所不喜欢的(见《英语学习》1979年2期)。近年来,诸多复习资料就 fairly 与 rather 的用法编设的选择题、正误辨认题、改错题也多以上述看法作为判别标准。这种不甚科学的说法给英语学习者印象深刻,在教学中造成了混乱。我曾以 It’s a rathergood picture,isn’t it?作为正误辨认题测验应考学生,几乎人人判为错误。可见以讹传讹,不可等闲视之。《湖南教育》去年第12期熊建国同志《高中英语第二册课文增注》一文与众不同地指出:“fairly常修饰褒义的形容词和副词,而 rather 则不受此限 There was a multiple-choice question in the 1978 college entrance examination English test: He is——thin. (A.fairly B.rather C.little) The answer is B.rather, which is undoubtedly correct. Since then, some authors have argued that: rather is only used for “bad”, and what it modifies is what we do not like (see “English Learning”, Issue 2, 1979). In recent years, many review materials have used the above views as criteria for multiple choices, positive and negative identification questions, and incorrect correction questions for the usage of fairly and rather. This unscientific statement was deeply impressed English learners and caused confusion in teaching. I once used It’s a rather good picture, isn’t it? as a test for students who misunderstood, and almost everyone judged it wrong. Obviously, you can’t wait to see it. In the 12th issue of “Hunan Education” last year, Comrade Xiong Jianguo’s “High School English Book 2 Text Annotation” article stated differently: “Fairly often revises adjectives and adverbs that are ambiguous, but rather is not limited to this.