GWD-8-Q41 中国人很难作对的一题

leafage

When drive-ins were at the height of their popularity in the late 1950’s, some 4,000 existed in the United States, but today there are less than one-quarter that many.
A. there are less than one-quarter that many
B. there are fewer than one-quarter as many
C. there are fewer than one-quarter of that amount
D. the number is less than one-quarter the amount
E. it is less than one-quarter of that amount

Ans: A

今天无意间看了Erin的帖，发现原来分数的量词要用不可数名词。我也已将less than one-quarter这样的词组在NYTimes验证，果然是这样用。

Anyway, what you want to know: yes, you are right that we generally use non-count modifiers (less, amount, much, etc.) when we are referring to percentages and fractions, even when those numbers refer to count nouns. The concept behind this is that we are focusing on the number itself, not on the things the number represents. And this case would be no exception.

附上连结

以上供叁考