VOA慢速英语:Making Order From Life's Building Blocks

suffer from患(某种病); 受(某种病痛)折磨; 因(疾病)而痛或不舒服

例句：You must have suffered from a cold.
      你一定是感冒了。

因…而受罚（苦, 损）; 因...而更糟; 受...之苦

例句：Sometimes I still suffer from these weaknesses.
      有时我还是在吃这些弱点的苦头。

2. That gene had earlier been linked to the disorder.

link to与…连接; 联系

例句：Fingerprints linked the suspect to the crime.
      指纹使嫌疑犯与犯罪联系起来。

      It links the human heart to the life of the earth.
      它把人的心脏和地球生命联系起来。

3.The project cost nearly three billion dollars, and was completed in two thousand three.

hardly，nearly，almost的区别

hardly几乎不,具有否定意义

nearly和almost，表几乎

nearly 和 almost 的区别

1)almost 和 nearly 在用法上既有相同之处，也有不同点。在单纯表示"时间、程度、进度"时，almost=nearly。例如：

　The building is almost completed.
　The building is nearly completed.
　第一句比第二句更接近于完成。
 
2)在具体数字前面常用nearly。例如：
 
　The river is nearly 100 metres wide.
　这条河有近百米宽。
　The old man is nearly 80 years old.
　那位老人年近八十岁。

3)almost 可与no, nothing, none, never等连用，此时不能用 nearly 代替。例如：

　Almost no one believed him.
　几乎无人相信他的话。
　There's almost none left.
几乎一个没剩。
　What he said was almost nothing worth listening to.
他所说的话几乎没有价值。

4)almost不可被not修饰，如不说not almost或almost not。表示“几乎不”，可以用hardly。

He could hardly speak English.
他几乎不会说英语。 