Question

This would allow hearing-impaired customers to enjoy the company of their hearing friends...

...rather than having to sit in a special area. 哪位帮我解读下本句中的would ... raher than 的用法，急！多谢多谢！！！

Answer 1

This would allow hearing-impaired customers to enjoy the company of their hearing friends rather than having to sit in a special area.

这里的 would do sth. rather than doing sth. 一般翻译为“将会。。。而不是。。。”
this would allow sb. to do sth. 这将会允许sb. 去做某事
rather than doing sth. 而不是做某事，而不用做某事

这里面估计 this 指设备/ 举措/ 行为之类的东西
这句子的意思是 这将能让听力有障碍的客人可以陪伴在听力正常的朋友身边，而不用被单独安排在一个特别的位置上。

貌似曾经有篇文章说到某电影院采取了特别的设备，可以让听力有障碍者能享受跟正常人一样的权利，跟大家坐在一起就能正常听电影，而不需要独立开来，被安排在特别的区域。

Answer 2

、would do sth. rather than doing sth.不是也有would do sth. rather than do sth.吗？