书城工具英语同义词的奥秘
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第22章

elongate,extend,lengthen,prolong,protract

动词。这几个词的共同含义是延伸。elongate仅指空间的延伸。如:The railway line elongates right to the coast.(铁路一直延伸到海边。)extend指空间、土地或时间的延伸。如:The bus line has been extended to the next town.(这条公共汽车路线已延伸到邻镇。)Can't you extend your visit for a few days longer?(你不能把访问时间延长几天吗?)lengthen指时间或空间的延长。如:The days are lengthening.(白昼长起来了。)The runway of the airfield has been lengthened another 500metres.(机场跑道延长了500米。)prolong主要指时间的延长。如:Inept management prolonged the shortage of parts.(管理不善使缺乏零件的时间拖长了。)protract多指时间的大大延长,它往往以过去分词当作定语出现,如the protracted negotiations(旷日持久的谈判),the protracted war(持久战)等。

else,other

形容词。这两个词的共同含义是“别的”、“其他的”。else用于someone(somebody),anyone(anybody),nobody,something,anything,nothing,what,who等疑问代词、不定代词之后。如:I've said I'm sorry.What else can I say?(我已说我很抱歉,我还能说什么呢?)Who else's bicycle can this be if it's not Mabel's?(这辆自行车如果不是梅布尔的,那会是谁的呢?)

这两个词也可作副词,其共同含义是“另外”、“别样”。else常用于when,how,where,anywhere,somewhere,nowhere等副词特别是疑问副词之后。如:When else shall we have the outing if sunday is ruled out?(假如星期天不行,那我们还要到哪一天去郊游呢?)How else could we have succeeded but for the open policy?(要不是开放政策,我们怎能成功呢?)I wouldn't go and work anywhere else.(我不愿去别处工作。)other作定语用,如some other day(他日),other people(别人)等。

embolden,encourage,foster,hearten,inspire

动词。这几个词的共同含义是鼓励。embolden指壮胆。如:The success emboldened him to embark on further experiments.(有了这次成功,他就更加大胆地继续进行实验了。)encourage含义最广,最常用,一般指勉励或怂恿。如:The prospect of prosperity encouraged the financiers to make investments.(繁荣的前景鼓励了金融家们投资。)His parents'excessive love of him encouraged his idleness.(他父母对他的溺爱助长了他的懒散。)foster多指鼓励或助长抽象事物,有时含有贬义。如:Ignorance fosters superstition.(无知助长迷信。)hearten指“使人重新获得勇气”。如:The recent victory heartend the team when their morale was rather low.(最近的胜利使士气有点低落的球队重新振作起来。)inspire指感召他人面向未来更加努力。如:His example inspired the others to greater efforts in their studies.(他的榜样激励了其他人在学习上更加努力。)

emigrate,immigrate,migrate,move

动词。这几个词的共同含义是“改变居住的地方”。emigrate指自本国移居他国。如:Paul's grandfather emigrated from Europe to the United States.(保罗的祖父从欧洲移居美国。)immigrate指自本国移至他国定居或成为该国公民。migrate指人短期移居他地或指某些鸟、鱼等依季节自世界之一地移至另一地。如:Rich people often migrate in winter to warmer countries.(有钱人常在冬天移居较温暖的地区。)Some birds migrate regularly between hot and cold countries.(某些鸟类在热带和寒带之间定期移栖。)move指搬家。如:A great number of people moved from the city to the suburbs.(大批人口从市区迁往郊区。)

encounter,meet

动词。这两个词的共同含义是相遇。encounter强调偶然相遇,也指遭遇。如:He encountered many interesting people during his travels.(他在旅途中与许多有趣的人萍水相逢。)We encountered the enemy on a narrow mountain path.(我们在狭隘的山道上同敌人遭遇。)meet的含义最为广泛,可指会见、偶遇、遭遇,也可指约会,如meet one's kith and kin(会见亲友),meet one's childhood pal(偶遇儿时伙伴),meet difficulties(遭遇困难),meet one's girlfriend(约会女友)等。

encroach,infringe,intrude,invade,trespass

动词。这几个词的共同含义是“侵犯他人的权利或财产”。encroach指蚕食,如encroach on another country's territory(蚕食别国领土)。infringe是法律用词,如infringe a copyright(侵犯著作权)。intrude指闯入,如intrude oneself into a meeting(闯进会场),intrude on a private conversation(打扰别人的密谈)。invade主要指武力侵占。如:Hitler's armies invaded Poland all along the border.(希特勒的军队沿边界全线侵入波兰。)trespass也是法律用词,指未经许可进入私人土地。如:All those who trespass on this land will be prosecuted.(非法侵入此地者法办。)

encumber,hamper,hinder,impede,obstruct

动词。这几个词的共同含义是妨碍或阻止。encumber指拖累,常用于被动语态。如:Some countries are encumbered with a rapid growing population.(一些国家受到人口猛增的拖累。)hamper指“使人不能任意行动”。如:Don't hamper me when I am working.(在我工作的时候别妨碍我。)hinder是最通用的词,既可指有意识地妨碍,又可指客观上妨碍。如:His stubbornness hinders him in relationships with other people.(他的顽固妨碍他跟别人的关系。)Her mother's sudden illness hindered her from going to the seaside.(她母亲突然生病,使她不能前往海滨。)impede指有意识地阻碍,在程度上比hinder轻。如:The tight bandage impeded the circulation of the blood to rescue the snake-struck person.(绑紧的绷带阻碍血液循环以抢救那个被蛇咬伤的人。)obstruct不仅指妨碍,而且往往指完全阻止。如:A parading procession obstructed the traffic in the street.(游行队伍堵塞了这条街上的交通。)

endless,eternal,everlasting,interminable

形容词。这几个词的共同含义是“无限的”。endless是日常用词,指时间或空间的无限,如endless duration(无限期),endless space(无限空间)等。eternal指时间的无限,即“永恒的”,如eternal life(永生),eternal truth(永恒的真理)等。everlasting的含义同eternal,但有时含贬义,如everlasting quarrels(没完没了的争吵)。interminable是较文雅的词,其含义同endless,但往往含贬义,如interminable controversy(无休止的争论)。

enormous,hefty,huge,immense,massive,ponderous,vast

形容词。这几个词的共同含义是“巨大的”。enormous指“体积、数量、程度等巨大的”,也可用于抽象事物,如an enormous house(巨大的房屋),an enormous meal(大餐),an enormous profits(巨大的利润)等。hefty是比较通俗的词,指“身体大而壮的”或“物体大而重的”,如a hefty man(壮汉),a hefty postal parcel(大而重的邮包)等。huge指“体积特别巨大的”,如a huge skyscraper(巨大的摩天大楼)。immense常含褒义,指“体积、范围、程度极大的”,如an immense palace(宏伟的宫殿),the immense Pacific(浩瀚的太平洋)等。massive指“物体大而重的”,在这个意义上与hefty相同,但不如hefty通俗;也指“范围、规模、程度特大的”,如a massive air raid(大范围空袭)。ponderous有时含贬义,指“庞大沉重的”,如a ponderous body(笨重的身躯)。vast指“面积、空间广大的”,如the vast plains(广阔的平原)。

entente,pact,treaty

名词。这几个词的共同含义是双方或多方经过谈判取得的一致意见。entente指国家或政党间达成的协议或谅解,它可能是书面的,也可能仅仅是国家元首之间的口头协定,不如正式条约那样有约束力,如entente cordiale(友好协议)。pact指正式签订的协议,如a peace pact(和平协约)。treaty泛指国家间正式签订的条约。

entrails,offal,viscera

名词。这几个词的共同含义是动物体内的东西。entrails是一般的用词,指动物的脏腑,尤指肠。offal指被屠宰的牲畜体内不太好吃的部分,如心、脑等。viscera是医学名词,其含义同entrails。