would rather 

an expression used to indicate strong preference 宁愿

He would rather be poor than get money by dishonest methods．

他宁可穷也不愿意用不诚实的手段获取金钱。

Henry would rather that his girl friend worked in the same department as he does．

亨利希望他的女朋友和他在一个部门工作。 

"I would rather cry in the back of a BMW than smile on the back of a bicycle, " said one woman to her suitor. 

一位女嘉宾在面对她的追求者时，曾这样说“我宁愿坐在宝马里哭，也不愿坐在你的脚踏车上笑”。

If you are like millions of other people, I'm sure you would rather eat those foods now than take medications when you are older.

如果你的想法和大多数人相同，那么我能肯定你会宁愿现在就吃那些食物，而不是年老的时候才去服药。

Many people have great ideas, but implementing them takes a lot of time and effort, so they would rather work at their own projects than join yours. 

很多人有远大的想法，但是实现它们需要大量时间和努力，所以他们宁可从事自己的工作也不会加入你。

If it’s true that we would rather initiate change than have it thrust upon us, then why do we not do it more often? 

确实如此，我们宁愿发起改变，而不喜欢强加的改变。 那么，我们为什么不更多地发起改变呢？