代词anything可指人吗

anything可指人吗？比如下面一题：

—Is he a boy with good manners?

—No, he is __________ but polite.

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

此题应选A。容易误选B，D。有的考生认为，既然句子主语是 he, 所以这里只能选B，D表示“人”。

其实此题应选A。因为 anything but 是一个习语，意为“根本不是”或“一点也不”，可用于人或事物。如。如：

Her father was anything but a poet. 她父亲根本不是诗人(即你说他是什么都行，就是不能说他是诗人)。

My income is anything but large. 我的收入绝对不算多。

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，他决不会干那种事。

Such a man was anything but a hero. 那样的人绝不算英雄。

类似地，nothing but(意为：只有……，只不过) 也有类似用法。如：

There was nothing but an old table in the room. 房间里只有一张旧桌子。

Don’t have him for a friend. He is nothing but acheat. 不要和他交朋友，他是个骗子。

The man you talked to just now was nothing buta thief. 刚才同你讲话的那个人是个贼。