2011年北京成人学士学位英语容易混淆词汇
成人本科学位英语考试,除了《成人英语三级词汇手册》列出的词之外,我们学习词汇时还应注意容易混淆的词。英语中有些词,词形和读音相近,但意义却不同;有些同义词,基本意义相同,但内涵的意义有很大差异。我们必须在广泛阅读的基础上,仔细观察每一个词在不同上下文中的含义和用法,从而学会正确使用它。
  1.able, capable, competent
  able为常用词,指具有做某事所需的力量,技巧,知识与时间等,一般下效率无关,用作定语表示能力超出平均水平。如:A cat is able to see in the dark. (猫在黑暗中能看见东西。)
  capable 指满足一般要求的能力,可以是表现出来的,也可是潜在的,搭配是be capable of +doing。用作定语,表示的能力没有able表示的能力强。如:He is capable of running a mile in a minute. (他能在一分钟内跑完一英里。)He is a very capable doctor. (他是一位很好的大夫。)
  competent 胜任合格,或受过专业技术等训练的,但不是超的能力。如:A doctor
should be competent to treat many diseases. (医生应该能治多种病。)
  2.aboard, abroad, board, broad
  aboard 在船(或飞机,车)上。如:I never went aboard a ship.
  abroad 副词,在国外或海外。如:He often goes abroad.
  board 为动词,上(船,飞机,车)。如:The passengers are boarding the plane now.
  broad 为形容词,宽广的。如:He has very broad shoulders.
  3.accept, receive
  accept 接受,receive“接到收到。如:I received an invitation yesterday, but I didn’t accept it. (昨天我收到了一个请柬,但并没有接受邀请。)
  4.accident, incident, event
  accident事故。如:a traffic accident (交通事故)
  incident“附带事件,在政治上特指引起国际争端或战争的事件,事变。
  event “事件,指特别重要的事件,通常是由以前的努力而产生的结果,也指国家和社会的事件。
  5. accomplish, complete, finish, achieve, attain
  accomplish表成功,强调完成的结果而不是过程。如:Because of his hard word, things are accomplished. (由于他的努力,事情都已完成了。)
  complete 表示积极的完成,更具体地指建筑、工程等的完成。如:Has he complete his novel yet? (他的小说写完了吗?)
  finish 最常用,后接动词的-ing形式,表示在一个活动的连续过程中完成了最后的一步或阶段。如:I’ll finish the job alone. (我要独自完成这项工作。)
  achieve 完成,实现,强调通过努力而达到目的。如:You will achieve success if you work hard.
  Attain达到,实现,常用于一般人的能力不易达到的目的。如:Greater efforts are needed before we can attain our goals.
  6.accurate, correct, exact, precise
  accurate准确的,精确的。如:Clocks in railway stations should be accurate.(火车站的钟应该是准确的。)
  correct“正确的,指符合一定的标准或准则,含有无错误的意味。它的反义词是incorrect, wrong.
  exact“精确的恰好的,比大体上正确更进一步,表丝毫不差。它的反义词是inexact
  precise强调精确精密
  7.accuse, charge, sue
  accuse 指责,指控,常与of 搭配。如:His boss accused him of carelessness.
  charge 常与with搭配。如:The police charged the driver with reckless driving.
  sue 常与for 搭配。如:Smith sued his neighbor for damaging his house.
  8.achieve, acquire, require, inquire
  achieve(成功地)完成,实现。如:He will never achieve anything unless he works harder. (如他不努力工作,将会一事无成。)
  acquire取得,获得,学到。如:acquire knowledge (获得知识)
  inquire打听,询问。如:inquire a person’s name(问一个人的姓名)
  require需要。如:We require more help. (我们需要更多的帮助。)
  9.act, action, deed
  act 用作名词时,与action, deed均可表行为举动Act指时间较短的个人行动或行为,强调结果。如:The farmer caught the boys in the act of stealing his apples. (农夫在孩子们正偷他的苹果时把他们抓住了。)
  action较正式,往往指不止包含一个步骤,且持续时间较长的行为或行动,强调行为的过程。如:Actions are more important than words. (行动比语言更重要。)
  deed为正式用语,多指伟大的,显著的,感人的行为。如:They thanked him for his good deeds. (他们感谢他做的好事。)
  10.actual, true, real, genuine
  actual 意为实际的现实的,指所形容的事物在事实上已经发生或存在,而不是仅在理论上可能发生或存在的。
  true“真实的,指与实际相符,而非虚假。
  genuine “真的非冒充的货真价实的,强调正宗而非冒牌。
11.adequate, enough, sufficient
  adequate 足够的,指数量多,适合需要的数量。
  enough足够的,指数量多,足够满足某种目的或愿望。
  sufficientenough,常可互换使用。但sufficient指数量多,足够满足某种需要,在口语中常用enough,在书面语中常用sufficient,在不易肯定时多用enoughEnough可放在被修饰名词后,且可作副词,sufficient则不可这么用。
  12.admit, confess
  两者都表承认
  admit指大胆地承认以前试图不论或推诿的坏事。如:John has admitted to breaking the window. (约翰已承认打破了窗玻璃。)
  Confess常指承认错误,罪行等。如:The thief confessed his crime to the police. (小偷向警察承认了罪行。)
  13.advice,advise
  advice劝告(名词)。如:I want to give you some advice.
  advise劝告(动词)。如:What do you advise me to do?
  14.adopt, adapt
  adopt (1)收养。如:成人英语三级Since they have no children of their own, they decided to adopt a little girl. (他们自己没有孩子,所以决定收养一个小女孩。)(2)采纳,采用,通过。如:He adopted our suggestion.(他采纳了我们的建议。)
  adoptadapt词形相近,后者的意思是使适合改编等。
  15.advance, proceed, progress
  均可表前进
  advance表向一个特定的目的地,在一定的时间或空间内稳定地向前运动。如:Napoleon’s army advanced on Moscow. (拿破仑的军队向莫斯科挺进。)
  proceed强调从一处向另一处的运动,常表停顿后继续前进。如:They proceeded from London to Paris. (他们从伦敦往巴黎前进。)
  peogress 多表自然过程,指生长,发展等稳定地或循环往复地前进。如:The year is prog
ressing, it will soon be summer. (光阴似箭,很快又是夏天了。)
  16.advantage, benefit, profit
  advantage 常指一种使某人处于比其他人相对有利的地位,机会或时机。如:He had the advantage of good education. (受过良好的教育对他十分有利。)
  profit 多指报偿或报偿性的收入。如Did you make any profit last year? (你去年赚钱了吗?)
  benefit 指物质利益或精神方面的好处。如:I get no personal benefit from the business.(我个人从这家企业中并不获益。)