书城工具英语同义词的奥秘
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第25章

forgo,forsake,sacrifice,waive

动词。这几个词的共同含义是放弃。forgo是幽默词,常指放弃某种令人愉快的东西。如:The actors forwent their pay for the benefit performance.(演员们参加义演,谢绝了工资。)forsake指主动舍弃自己已有的具体或抽象的事物,如forsake medicine for literature(弃医从文),forsake bad habits(抛弃坏习惯),forsake wife and children(遗弃妻儿)等。sacrifice指为了某种正义目的或信仰而舍弃自己的生命。如:The soldiers were willing to sacrifice their lives for their country.(士兵们甘愿为国捐躯。)waive专指自愿放弃要求、权利、特权等。如:Both sides agreed to waive the clause dealing with reparations.(双方同意删除有关赔偿的条款。)

fowl,poultry

名词。这两个词的共同含义是家禽。fowl在较古老的英语中泛指鸟类,在现代英语中指家禽,尤指雌禽。poultry泛指各种供食用或下蛋的家禽。

fragment,remnant,scrap,shred

名词。这几个词的共同含义是某个物体的一小部分。fragment指碎片。如:He dropped the glass on the floor,and it broke into fragments.(他把玻璃杯掉在地上,杯子破成碎片。)remnant指残余物,如the remnants of a feast(筵席剩菜),the remnants of the enemy division(敌师残部)等;此外,还专指零头布,如a remnant sale(零头布拍卖)。scrap指小片或碎屑,可用于具体及抽象事物,如a scrap of paper(一小片纸),scraps of bread(面包碎屑),a few scraps of news(几则琐闻)等。shred(常用复数)指长条形碎片,如shreds of carrot(胡萝卜片)。

fresco,mural

名词。这两个词的共同含义是壁画。fresco指水彩壁画,特指在墙上抹灰未干时用颜料所作的壁画。mural指墙壁上的图画艺术装饰,包括各种壁画,如湿法壁画、瓷砖壁画等。

fresh,new,novel

形容词。这几个词的共同含义是“新”。fresh意为“新鲜的”,如fresh air(新鲜空气),fresh fruit(新鲜水果)等。new意为“新的”,如new technique(新技术),the new society(新社会)等。novel意为“新奇的”,如a novel idea(新奇的想法),a novel scene(新奇的景象)等。

frighten,scare,startle,terrify

动词。这几个词的共同含义是“使惊恐”。frighten的应用范围较广,可用于多种情况,常指突然或有意识地惊吓。如:The fire alarm frightened me.(火警把我吓了一跳。)A shout frightened the children away.(一声大喝把孩子们吓跑了。)scare比frighten更加强调有意识地吓唬。如:He scared the children with a ghost story.(他讲鬼故事吓唬孩子们。)He got a gun and scared off the thief.(他拿了一支枪把小偷吓跑了。)startle强调突然性。如:I was startled out of my sleep by a thunderbolt.(一声霹雳把我从睡梦中惊醒。)terrify在这几个词中分量最重,指“吓破胆”。如:Facing a sentence of death,the embezzler was terrified out of his senses.(贪污犯由于可能被判死刑,吓得魂不附体。)

gander,goose,gosling

名词。这几个词的共同含义是鹅。gander指雄鹅。goose指鹅或雌鹅,也可泛指蹼足的水禽。gosling指小鹅。

gape,gaze,stare

动词。这几个词的共同含义是注视。gape指由于惊讶而瞠目结舌地注视。如:He gaped at the scene of two tigers fighting for a goat.(他瞠目结舌地看着两只老虎争夺一只山羊。)gaze指由于赞美或惊讶而注视。如:The girl gazed at the dancers.(女孩子注视着舞蹈演员们。)stare指瞪着眼睛注视。如:She stared at the man with contempt.(她轻蔑地瞪眼看着那个男人。)

gauntlet,glove,mitt,mitten

名词。这几个词的共同含义是手套。gauntlet指昔时骑士所戴的金属护手,也指运动时用的防护手套。glove指分成五指的手套。mitt指防护手套及棒球手套。mitten指拇指分开而其余4指套在一起的两指手套,也指露指手套。

gazette,journal,newspaper,press

名词。这几个词的共同含义是报纸。gazette尤指政府专门登载通告、布告等各种重要的官方文件的公报,如an official gazette(官方公报);也指一般的报刊;大写用于报刊名。journal泛指报刊,通常指日报或周报。newspaper是最通俗的词,其含义同journal。press是报刊的统称,指报界或报业,如a press agency(通讯社),a press baron(报业大亨),a press conference(记者招待会)等。

gibe,jeer,ridicule,scoff,sneer,taunt

动词。这几个词的共同含义是嘲笑。gibe指带讽刺意味地嘲笑。如:The rich man gibed at my plain living.(这个阔佬嘲笑我的朴素生活。)jeer指粗鲁地大声嘲笑或起哄。如:Hooligans jeered the singer off the stage.(流氓们用粗鲁的嘲笑把演唱者从舞台上轰了下去。)ridicule指冷酷无情地嘲笑。如:A critic ridiculed the writer of the absurd poem.(一位评论家对那个写荒唐诗的作者大肆挖苦。)scoff指由于轻蔑、无礼、不信而进行嘲笑。如:Many people scoffed at Edison when he was trying to invent an electric lamp.(爱迪生试图发明电灯时,许多人嘲笑他。)sneer指轻蔑地讥笑对方的错误、缺点等。如:Maybe he speaks good English,but he has no right to sneer at others who don't.(他英语讲得也许不错,但他无权嘲笑英语讲得不好的人。)taunt指笑骂。如:The crowd taunted the athlete for his poor performance.(群众笑骂这个运动员成绩不佳。)

glance,glare,peep,peer

动词。这几个词的共同含义是“看”。glance指匆匆一瞥,如glance at the headlines in the newspaper(浏览一下报上的大标题),glance down the list of names(自上而下粗略地看一下名单)等。glare指瞪眼。如:They didn't fight,but stood there glaring at one another.(他们没有打架,但却站在那里互相怒目而视。)peep指偷看。如:I peeped through the keyhole and saw a man nosing around in the room.(我从锁眼里偷着瞧,看见一个人在屋里嗅探着什么。)peer指凝视。如:He peered into the sky,trying to find the dim star.(他凝视着天空,想找到那颗不太亮的星星。)

grass,herb,weed

名词。这几个词的共同含义是草。grass特指禾本科植物。herb指草本植物,如药草。weed指杂草。

grave,mausoleum,sepulchre,tomb

名词。这几个词的共同含义是坟墓,其区别在于:grave泛指埋葬尸体的场所。mausoleum指名人或要人的陵墓。sepulchre是美式英语的旧用法或圣经上的用法。tomb指有装饰性墓碑的大墓。

greet,hail,welcome

动词。这几个词的共同含义是欢迎。greet可指冷静地迎接,也可指热烈地欢迎。如:He greeted his guests at the door.(他在门口迎接他的客人们。)We greeted the combat hero with loud cheers.(我们以热烈掌声欢迎战斗英雄。)hail指隆重地欢迎。如:As the envoy was entering the hall,the audience rose and hailed him.(那位特使走进礼堂时,在座的人都起立欢迎。)welcome指一般地欢迎来访者。如:We welcome your presence.(欢迎光临。)

gruel,porridge

名词。这两个词都指用燕麦片在水中或牛奶中熬成的粥。gruel较稀,porridge较稠。

guiltless,innocent

形容词。这两个词的共同含义是“无罪的”。guiltless指“没有某一种具体罪行的”。innocent指“不仅没有罪行,而且没有犯罪念头的”。

gypsum,plaster

名词。这两个词的共同含义是石膏。gypsum指作原料用的天然石膏。plaster指熟石膏。

gyrate,revolve,roll,rotate,spin,turn,twirl,whirl

动词。这几个词的共同含义是旋转。除gyrate是不及物动词外,其余7个词既是及物动词,又是不及物动词,其确切含义有同有异,且有所侧重。gyrate指圆圈式地或螺旋形地旋转。如:The dancing couples gyrated to the beat of the music.(一对对舞伴随着音乐节拍旋转。)revolve既指物体自身旋转,也指使其他物体旋转。如:The earth revolves on its own axis.(地球自转。)He revolved the pencil with his fingers.(他用手指转动铅笔。)roll指滚动,包括物体自身滚动和使其他物体滚动。如:The kitten rolled in the mud.(小猫在泥里打滚。)The little boy likes to roll a hoop.(这小男孩喜欢滚铁环。)rotate的含义同revolve,但主要指物体自身旋转。spin的含义也同revolve,但强调快速,如spin round(快速转身),spin a top(抽陀螺)等。turn是通用的词,含义最广,可以代替这组词里的任何一个。twirl的含义同spin,但主要指快速转动其他物体。如:The monk is twirling his beads.(和尚在捻佛珠。)whirl的含义同rotate,但强调飞快的速度,如the whirling dancers(飞快旋转的舞者);这个词还特指人体晕头转向。如:The dazzling light made my head whirl.(耀眼的阳光使我晕头转向。)

hare,rabbit

名词。这两个词的共同含义是兔。hare指野兔。rabbit指野兔和家兔,也指兔毛皮和兔肉。