▲下面句子中的As hard as she tried 可理解为让步倒装：

As hard as she tried, she always fell behind the other swimmers in the races.

句意为：不管她如何努力，她在比赛中也总是落在其他游泳选手的后面。

当然此句也可说成（与上面的句子意思是一样的）：

Hard as she tried, she always fell behind the other swimmers in the races.

即在上面的句子中，As hard as she tried 和 Hard as she tried 都可以说，意思是一样的，但前者主要用于美国英语中。

▲《韦氏高阶英语词典》的as词条有如下用法及例句（包括括号内的解释也出自该词典）：

1. Much as I respect him (=although I respect him very much), I still have to disagree with him on this point.

= (chiefly US) As much as I respect him, I still have to disagree with him on this point.

2. Improbable as it seems, it’s still true.

= (chiefly US) As improbable as it seems, it’s still true. (=although it seems improbable, it’s still true.)

▲其他例句：

As much as I hate to do it, I must stay home and study tonight. ——张道真《现代英语用法词典》much词条