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雅思写作最常用错的五组词

2015-02-26来源:互联网

  雅思作文因为比较模式化,相对来说用错词的情况也少一些。提醒考生们在常见错误方面应注意:在谈及价位时我们应该用高低而非大小贵贱来表达,即high/low price 而非big/small price 或者expensive/cheap price; great value而不是bigvalue; their living condition is poor而非bad等等。其实,小作文中比较集中的错误在“比较与对比”搞不清楚,所以出现‘compare’与 ‘contrast’ 的使用错误,这里我们详细说一下。

  一、compare与contrast的误用

  我们先从两者的定义入手来看两者的区别。Compare的定义为:to examine people or things to see how theyare similar or different. Contrast的定义为:to compare two or more things to show thedifference between them. 由定义不难看出前者侧重于找到两个或多个事物的异同,而后者则侧重于它们的不同。

  看个例句:

  It is interesting to compare their situations to ours./It is interesting tocontrast their situations to ours.

  前一句翻译为:对比一下我们的情况与他们的情况会很有趣。

  后一句的翻译为:我们的情况与他们的情况有很大的不同,这很有趣。

  再看一个引自OXFORD ADBANCED LEARNER’S DICTIONARY的例子:

  There is an obvious contrast between the culture of East and West.

  The company lost $7 million in contrast to a profit of $6.2 million a yearearlier.

  When you look at their new system, ours seems very old-fashioned bycontrast.

  不难发现,Compare 翻译为“ 与。。。相比”而contrast可译为“明显不同的是。。。”,切记这种翻译方式就不会用错彼此了。

  二、介词使用错误

  1、普通介词的误用

  一般表现为固定搭配错误,如常把provide sb with sth用成provide sb sth; be satisfied with用成besatisfiedfor等等,虽然这样的错误看似无伤大雅,但在考官眼里就是影响顺畅阅读的,当然会影响最终成绩。解决的办法简单而古老:把常见的固定搭配牢记于心,问题自然就解决了。

  2、“to”作为介词的误用

  “to”最常见的用法是以动词不定式符号的形式出现的,所以同学们也已经习惯了 “to do”的固定搭配。对于一些如walk to me, to theleft等介词to表方向等常见用法一般也不会出现错误。但是对于与动词搭配的介词to就会经常犯错:

  如:

  More and more students have taken to depend on their parents to makedecision for them.

  这里的 ‘take to’ means ‘to begin to do sth as a habit’ 其中‘to’为介词,所以后面只能接名词或相当于名词的词,如动名词。所以黑体处应改为“depending on”。“taketo”的另一个常用用法也需要牢记:

  Prefer A to B中的 “to”也是介词,会有 prefer doing sth to doing sth/ prefer sth tosth else, 这里提醒您,“prefer to do sth rather than do sth”中的“to”可是真正的不定式符号。He hasn’ttaken to his new school. (这里‘take to’ means ‘to start liking sb or sth’)

  类似的常用用法请同学们牢记:

  Be used to doing

  Be accustomed to doing

  See to doing

  Adapt to doing

  Adjust to doing

  prefer doing sth. to doing sth.

  等等,请注意平时仔细积累。

  三、assume及claim使用不够准确

  我们知道, think, assume,claim是议论文中常用引出观点的动词。在实际作文中,同学们往往认为几个词的意思是一样的,完全可以代换,所以拿过来就用。甚至还有同学把consider也拿过来与之混用。我们首先还是从定义来看这几个词的不同:

  Think: to have opinion or belief about sth.

  翻译为“认为”,通常接宾语从句来表达比较确定的观点。

  Assume: to think or accept that sth is true but without having proof ofit.

  翻译为“假设、假定”,是否有事实依据是不确定的。

  Claim: to say sth is true although it has not been proved and other peoplemay not believe it.

  翻译为“声称”,用这个词往往意味着不赞同紧跟其后的观点,所以很少用作 ‘I claim that…

  Scientist are claiming a breakthrough in the fight against cancer, but infact, ….

  所以 ‘It is claimed that’ 通常翻译为“有报道称。。。”。和‘it is reported that’的区别在于后者翻译为“据报道”,往往代表著作者赞同报告的内容,

  Consider: to think about sth carefully, especially in order to make adecision

  翻译为“考虑”,一般不用作引出观点,看个例子:

  We are considering buying a new car.

  所以,提醒您,千万不要在雅思作文的第一段(观点表达段)就因为用词把握不准而导致对整篇文章的低分印象。

  四、表“建议”的词汇后面忘记用虚拟从句

  这是摘自学生作文中的一个病句:

  I suggest he continues his study instead of working after graduation fromhigh school.

  所以提醒您,一定要牢记以下常见表“建议”的词汇,而且要记住这些词接从句时要用虚拟语气:因为‘suggest’翻译为“建议”,所以后面的从句应该用虚拟语气,黑体部分应该改为 “(should) continue”

  Recommend, suggest, advise

  五、such as与for example的混用

  我们知道,在表示举例子的时候,such as 与like是完全等同的,如:Wild flowers such as/like orchids andprimroses are becoming rare.

  但是同学们对于Such as、for example 的把握还是不够准确。我们都知道,后者接句子前者接词语表示举例子。于是就有了下面的写法:

  There is a similar word in many languages, such as in French andItalian.

  这里的such as改为 for example为好,因为“in French and Italian”其实是“there is a similarword in French and Italian”的简化,所以要用 for example来引出例证。再来看几个类似的例子:

  It is possible to combine computer science with other subjects, for examplephysics.

  最后,提醒各位考生,在平时的写作中绝对不能放过任何的模棱两可,只有平时“斤斤计较”才能做到“写作使人精确”。