英语陷阱:容易混淆的词语(二) 答案 2011年1月16日 寄自美国佛州迈阿密 别说我没警告大家。从这些答案可见此挑战之难度,我们也可以看到英语和汉语的不同特点。英语是很精确,逻辑性的语言,比如,汉语没有对 emigrate 和 immigrate,或对 fictitious 和 fictional 做类似区别,但这种微妙的区别对英语极为重要。 1. (A) allude (B) elude a. The bank robber has failed to elude the police and is now behind bars. b. In his speech the President will allude to the valuable contribution immigrants have made to America. 2. (A) dateline (B) date line (C) deadline a. Please do not miss the deadline for claiming re-imbursement for lost baggage. Otherwise the airline can refuse to pay. b. When flying westbound from San Francisco to Beijing you will cross the International date line. You must set the calendar forward by one day. c. A dateline is a journalism phrase which indicates the date and location of a story, and is normally placed at the top of an article. 3. (A) definite (B) definitive a. I cannot give you a definite answer until I have spoken to the boss. b. The Origin of Species is a definitive work by Charles Darwin. It lays the foundation for the theory of evolution. 4. (A) deprived (B) depraved a. Only someone with a depraved mind can commit such a horrific crime. b. Many children from the third world are deprived the basic necessities of life. 5. (A) discrete (B) discreet a. People who are rude have never learned to be discreet and courteous. b. The American flag is composed of three discrete colors: red, white, and blue. These three colors are completely separate from one another. 6. (A) disinterested (B) uninterested a. The passersby are uninterested in the commotion and continued on with their business. b. There were many disinterested citizens who simply did not bother to vote. (Note: disinterested here means "who have lost interest". 这是一个现代用法。) c. Only those who are truly disinterested can vote in this resolution. (Correct grammatical usage. Here disinterested means having no stake in the outcome.) 7. (A) economic (B) economical It is (a) uneconomic to buy one subway ticket for $3 when you can buy 6 for $15, but traveling by subway is till the most (b) economical way to move about in New York City. 8. (A) emigrate (B) immigrate My parents have decided to (a) emigrate from China, they have chosen to (b) immigrate to the USA. 9. (A) fictitious (B) fictional a. Most people use fictitious names when commenting on newspaper articles. b. The movie “The South Pacific” is based on fictional characters. 10. (A) formally (B) formerly a. Writing the speech was formerly the job of the executive assistant, but she quit, so the boss now has to do it himself. b. Mary will be formally presented with the award when she returns from her vacation. 11. (A) fortunate (B) fortuitous a. Many immigrants know they are very fortunate to be living in Canada. b. It was fortuitous that no one was around when the bomb went off. 12. (A) imminent (B) eminent a. Harvard Law School has many eminent legal scholars in their ranks who will move on to become top judges. b. I know from a reliable source that an announcement of the award is imminent. 13. (A) incident (B) incidence a. Three recent incidents of road rage have made many people nervous about driving in the city. b. Following the flag-burning incident there was a riot in the streets of San Mateo. c. Increased incidence of malnutrition has raised fear of a rickets epidemic in Haiti. 14. (A) lose (B) loose a. It was a loose screw which caused the door to become unhinged. b. Your brain: use it or lose it! 15. (A) lure (B) allure a. Advertising deep discounts is a common ploy used by supermarkets to lure customers to their stores. b. Much of New Orleans is old and run down, but the city has not lost its allure. It is still a great place to visit. - (A) allude 间接提起 (B) elude 逃避(追捕)
- (A) dateline 新闻发布日期和地点(B) date line 日界线(C) deadline 截止日期
- (A) definite 确切,具体 (B) definitive 最终的,终极的
- (A) deprived 被剥夺,丧失 (B) depraved 堕落,颓废
- (A) discrete 离散,不连续 (B) discreet 慎重,谨慎
- (A) disinterested 失去兴趣,无利益关系 (B) uninterested 无关痛痒,毫无兴趣
- (A) economic 划算 (B) economical 便宜,经济
- (A) emigrate 移民(出国) (B) immigrate 移民到某国
- (A) fictitious 虚构的 (B) fictional 故事/小说里的人物(两个词语都有“虚假”,“虚幻”的意思)
- (A) formally 正式 (B) formerly 前,前任,以前
- (A) fortunate 幸运 (B) fortuitous 幸亏
- (A) imminent 即将来临 (B) eminent 杰出
- (A) incident 事件 (B) incidence 发生率
- (A) lose 失掉 (B) loose 松动
- (A) lure 引诱,吸引 (B) allure 诱惑,诱人
五分钟英语:容易混淆的词语(一) 精选口语英译和造句 英语课 - 测试你的成语知识(一) |