代詞anything可指人嗎

anything可指人嗎？比如下面一題：

—Is he a boy with good manners?

—No, he is __________ but polite.

A. anything           B. anyone              C. anywhere          D. anybody

此題應選A。容易誤選B，D。有的考生認為，既然句子主語是 he, 所以這里只能選B，D表示“人”。

其實此題應選A。因為 anything but 是一個習語，意為“根本不是”或“一點也不”，可用于人或事物。如。如：

Her father was anything but a poet. 她父親根本不是詩人(即你說他是什么都行，就是不能說他是詩人)。

My income is anything but large. 我的收入絕對不算多。

His visit to Paris was anything but a success. 他的巴黎之行根本不成功。

I know him well. He will do anything but that. 我了解他，他決不會干那種事。

Such a man was anything but a hero. 那樣的人絕不算英雄。

類似地，nothing but(意為：只有……，只不過) 也有類似用法。如：

There was nothing but an old table in the room. 房間里只有一張舊桌子。

Don’t have him for a friend. He is nothing but acheat. 不要和他交朋友，他是個騙子。

The man you talked to just now was nothing buta thief. 剛才同你講話的那個人是個賊。