a lot 是程度副词，跟much和 very much 的用法相同。除了修饰一些动词外（例如like, love, prefer, hope, wish, expect, want, miss, intend, mean, enjoy, would like, feel like, hate, regret, admire, thank, appreciate, believe, trust, look forward to, think of 这些动词或词组。这些词语有一个共同特点，就是表达人的“欲想，好恶，观念”等概念），它还可以修饰“动态介词”。本句，它修饰介词like，可以换用much 或very much。

程度副词 much, very much, a lot 可以用来修饰具有动作性质的介词短语，例如：

The calm water surface is much like a mirror. 那平静的水面很像一面镜子。

The calm water surface is very much like a mirror. 那平静的水面非常像一面镜子。

The calm water surface is a lot like a mirror. 那平静的水面十分像一面镜子。