no more shorthand than...

more为限定词。这种结构中，no more ... that... 等于 just as many/much as... 。用many或much取决于中心名词为复数名词还是不可数名词。本句中shorthand为不可数名词，所以，She knew no more shorthand than if...

= She knew just as much shorthand as if ...

即她的速记水平和刚毕业的速记专业毕业生的水平是一样高的。

no more +名词+than...，或not any more+名词+than..., more为限定词，= just as many/much as...

no more+形容词或副词+than, 或者no+ -er结尾的形容词+than..., 或者no more,,,than, more为副词。这些结构表示二者都否定的意义，而不是字面上的比较。

关于这一点，夸克《大全》有较为清楚的论述：我想你不需要我翻译吧。

15.70  When more is a determinative or a head of a noun phrase - functions (i) and (ii) in 15.69 - the unit no more . . . than is synonymous with only as many . . . as in countable contexts or with only as much . . . as in noncountable contexts :

Paul has no more friends than I have. ['. . . only as many as. . .']

I have no more money than you have. [' . . . only as much as. . .']

Ted got no more (of the votes) than he needed. [' . . . only as many as . . . ']

She said no more than we expected. [' . . . only as much as. . . ']

But when more is an adverb (or its inflectional variant -er is used), as in the other function types in 15.69, no more . . . than has special implications.

Consider:

Rachel is no more courageous than Saul (is).

The sentence implies that both Rachel and Saul are not courageous ('Rachel is not courageous, any more than Saul is courageous'). Here are some further examples :

Tom is no more athletic than he ever was. ['Tom is not athletic, any more than he ever was athletic.']

I can no more apologize than I could kneel to them.

I would no more think of hitting a student than I would a policeman.

No more. . . than has the same meaning when more modifies a gradable noun:

She is no more a fool than you (are). ['She is not a fool, any more than you are', 'She is not more foolish . . . ']

They are no more scholars than my baby (is). ['They are no more scholarly. . . ']

The rhetorical effect of the construction is not so much to make a comparison as to intensify the negation. That effect is most obvious when the comparison is absurd (cf rhetorical if-clauses, 15.37):

He's no more your friend than I'm your mother.

Not any more. . . than is an emphatic variant of no more . . . than:

Paul hasn't any more friends than I have. ['only as many as. . . ']

Rachel isn't any more courageous than Saul (is). ['Rachel isn't courageous, any more than . . .']

Not more . . . than, on the other hand, is different from both no more. . . than and not any more . . . than when more is an adverb or modifies a gradable noun :

This last sentence allows for the possibility that Rachel is less courageous than Saul. It may also be merely a denial sentence in response to Rachel is more courageous than Saul (is).

Similar distinctions apply to no Iess . . . than, not any less . . . than, and not less . . . than, except that the double negative is less common and as a consequence the distinctions are somewhat blurred.