是a better voice還是the better voice

請看下面一道題：

How beautifully she sings! I have never heard _________ voice.

A. a better                        B. a best                        C. the better                        D. the best

【分析】此題容易誤選D，認為最高級前用定冠詞才是最佳的。其實此題最佳答案為A，該句可視為是下面這句的省略形式：…I have never heard a better voice than her voice. 全句句意為“她唱得多好啊！我從未聽過她這么好的聲音”。請再看以下類似的實例：

He is fine, never better. 他很好，比以往任何時候都好。

I've never seen a finer bird. 我從未見過比這更美的鳥(即這是我見過的最美的鳥)。

I’ve never found a better job. 這是我找到的最好的工作。

比較以下試題，情形也大致相同：

(1) Boris has brains. In fact, I doubt whether anyone in the class has _________IQ.

A. a high                      B. a higher                       C. the higher                 D. the highest

答案選B，句意為“……我懷疑班上有沒有哪個人比他智商更高”，即“我認為他可能是班上智商最高的”。

(2) “Are you satisfied with his answer?” “Not at all. It couldn’t have been _________.”

A. better                        B. worse                        C. more                        D. less

【分析】此題最佳答案為B，關鍵是要理解 Not at all 的意思。根據上文語境，Not at all 為 I am not satisfied at all with his answer. 之省略，即表示“我對他的回答一點也不滿意”，既然如此，他的回答當然會是 couldn’t have been worse（不可能更糟）。