That is just as well_其他_趣味英语-查字典英语网

That is just as well

And in situations like this, a reason for that "preference" is usually given in context, either explicitly or implicitly. For example in the Economist story, what's been said or and implied essentially is this:

No damage to the Gorges Dam was reported. No damage either to stadiums built for the upcoming Olympics in Beijing. That is fortunate, better than the other way around because, you see, the dams had been facing criticism that they might be vulnerable to earthquakes as well as be a potential eco-liability. No-one wants to hear that they are not safe, certainly not now – in the immediate run-up to the Olympics.

Alright, let me give you a few more examples so that you can get the hang of "just as well" – Paraphrasing (in brackets) is mine.

1. There aren't many manual controls on the Sony T100. That is just as well (That's perhaps better, for). Surely they would be difficult to access with the small size of the buttons and the multitude of options crammed in the menus already. The manual controls that are included are discussed in the following sections.

2. Bureaucracies are difficult to kill and NATO is unlikely to die soon. That is just as well (That's perhaps not so bad, because): Abolishing it would cause real traumas and tremors, and the organization does provide useful if minor functions in military planning and training, as well as a forum.

3. Still, this new rule cannot function properly in the longer run. Eventually, an unexpected economic slowdown will lower revenue and raise entitlement spending by so much that Congress will be politically incapable of raising taxes or cutting spending fast enough to make up for the shortfall. That is just as well (That's fine), because the tax increases and spending cuts, encouraged by the new budget rule, do not make sense when the economy is slowing.