容易混淆的詞匯
考生由于對(duì)形似、意近的詞辨別不清,不知道他們各自的具體用法,而在托福寫(xiě)作中出現(xiàn)失誤。比如,有的詞雖然意思相同,但他們表達(dá)同一個(gè)意思的程度是不同的;有的英語(yǔ)單詞的漢語(yǔ)意思相同,但他們所限定修飾的詞、使用的范圍或者連接的成分是不同的;有的單詞的文體風(fēng)格不同,有正式和非正式之分。
要注意自己寫(xiě)文章的總體風(fēng)格,在正式文體中避免使用非正式的語(yǔ)言。鑒于選詞的難度,考生應(yīng)在平時(shí)注意多查詞典,注意其中所舉得例句,在看英語(yǔ)材料時(shí)留心寫(xiě)作詞匯的具體使用環(huán)境,并摘錄一些自己能看明白但說(shuō)不出的表達(dá)。
1、Original: Bill Gates gives a definite answer that college education does count.
Revised: Bill Gates gave a definitive answer: college education does count.
Definite意思是“明確的”、“一定的”,指意思明確,不會(huì)誤解;definitive也是“明確”的意思,但往往指“權(quán)威性、最后決定的”。此話出自比爾·蓋茨之口,體現(xiàn)權(quán)威性,故將definite改為definitive。
2、Original: …people may attend a university or college for various reasons...
Revised: …people attend university or college for a multitude of reasons...
此處將various改為短語(yǔ)a multitude of更為正式,體現(xiàn)人們讀大學(xué)的原因很多。
3、Original: The kinds of education that we got on school are formal and intense ones...
Revised: The kinds of education that we receive at school is formal and of tentimes very intense.
不必用kinds of education,直接用education(教育)即可;“受教育”不同get,改為receive;“在學(xué)!辈槐赜胊t school;把one去掉,用oftentimes very intense指出學(xué)校教育常常是非常嚴(yán)格的。
4、Original: They can foster their interests in some fields to make life more colorful and meaningful.
Revised: They can even pick up hobbies to make life more colorful and enjoyable.
Foster their interests是“培養(yǎng)興趣”,此處用pick up hobbies(開(kāi)始各種各樣的興趣)更為合適;不同的興趣是我們生活的調(diào)味劑,使我們的生活多姿多彩,樂(lè)趣無(wú)窮,把meaningful換成enjoyable,與colorful搭配更合適。
5、Original: Needless to say, more employment means more income and less idle life, so that people can enjoy a better life and make investment in their future.
Revised: Needless to say, more employment means income and less idle time, so that people can enjoy a better life and invest in their own futures.
把idle life改為idle time更為合適,表示“閑散時(shí)間”;make investment可改為動(dòng)詞invest,與and前的動(dòng)詞enjoy詞性一致;人們各自有自己的未來(lái),故將in their future改為in their own futures。
6、Original: Another important factor that contributes to the extension of life expectancy is the development of medical science.
Revised: Another imortant factor that contributes to the rise in life expectancy is the development of medical science.
“人的壽命的延長(zhǎng)”可以表示為life extension,但是如果用life expectancy,則要用the increast of 或the rise in life expectancy。
7、Original: the growth of life span.
Revised: the rise in/increase of life span.
Life span意思是“壽命”,growth指“生長(zhǎng),增長(zhǎng)”,“壽命的延長(zhǎng)”用growth不合適,life span“壽命的延長(zhǎng)”可以用rise in/increase of/extension of.
8、Original: energy saving
Revised: energy efficiency
Energy saving一般作定語(yǔ),此處名詞短語(yǔ)“節(jié)能”用energy efficiency。
9、Original: with the increasing complicatedness of the job profile
Revised: with the increasing complexity of the modern jor profile
Complicatedness意思是“錯(cuò)綜復(fù)雜”,但是這種錯(cuò)綜復(fù)雜是有邏輯的;complexity也是“復(fù)雜”的意思,但這種復(fù)雜是雜亂無(wú)辜的,現(xiàn)代的工作情況用complexity較為合適。
10、Original: Such experience will difinitely be helpful in children's later life.
Revised: Such experience will benefit them later in life.
Helpful是“提供幫助”的意思,而benefit是“使…受益”。這里作者想說(shuō)的是孩子將來(lái)的人生會(huì)受益于這樣的經(jīng)歷,用benefit合適,因?yàn)檫@樣的經(jīng)歷不一定能對(duì)孩子將來(lái)的人生提供什么具體的幫助。
11、Original: In my submission, people should sometimes do things that they do not enjoy doing.
Revised: Because of these circumstances, I believe it is inevitable that people must do what they don't enjoy doing.
In one's submission雖然也可以表示某人所持的觀點(diǎn),但是這是一種非常formal(正式)的表述,用在這里和整體文章的風(fēng)格不太相符。
12、Original: For no one can promise what will happen in the future, if you don't save some money, an emergency will probably make you a cat on a hot brick.
Revised: Because no one can predict the future, if you don't save money an unforeseen emergency can be financially crippling.
Promise的意思是“承諾、允諾”,用在這里不合適,作者要說(shuō)的是沒(méi)有人能與之未來(lái)發(fā)生的事,應(yīng)該用predit。還有,作者在這里用了一個(gè)慣用語(yǔ)a cat on a hot brick,這又有一個(gè)錯(cuò)誤。第一,這個(gè)表述本身有錯(cuò)誤,正確的應(yīng)該是like a cat on hot bricks。第二,這個(gè)慣用語(yǔ)的意思是“忐忑不安,如熱鍋上的螞蟻“,用在這里意思也不太合適。