2008高考必背英语词汇讲座-R字头

1、rather than, other than, would rather(...than)

　　rather than是连词，前后两端所连的词性是一致的，通常译为“而不是”或“与其说是……不如说是”，有时可用短语介词instead of替代。例如：He was engaged in writing a letter rather than(= instead of) reading the newspaper.他那时是在写信而不是看报纸。John ought to go rather than(= instead of) Jean.应该去的是约翰，而不是吉恩。These shoes are comfortable rather than pretty.这些鞋子谈不上漂亮，但穿起来倒很舒服。Evans is a historian rather than a writer.埃文斯与其说是个作家，不如说是个史学家。

　　other than有两种意思：一是用来表示否定意义，即“不同于（= different from)，非（= not)";二是用来表示排除意义，即“除了”，相当于except。例如：The truth is quite other than what you think.事实真相和你们想的完全不一样。They are patriotic and support socialism, although many of them come from other than working class families.他们是爱国的，是拥护社会主义的，尽管他们当中有许多人并非出身于工人阶级家庭。She can hardly be other than grateful.她除了感激之外还能怎么样呢。He has visited every country in Asia other than Japan.除了日本之外，他访问了所有的亚洲国家。

　　would rather表示选择或主观上的愿望，其中的would亦可解作had。它表示“宁愿，宁可”的意思。如果要把取舍的双方都表达出来，则应该用would (or: had) rather … than,表示“宁愿……也不……”的意思。例如：My aunt invited me to the movies, but Isaid I had rather go on a picnic with thegirls.我的姑妈邀请我去看电影，可是我说我倒愿意跟女孩子们一起去野餐。I am sure they would (or: had) rather die than give up.我深信他们一定会宁死不屈。He would rather resign than take part in such a dishonest transaction.他宁愿辞职，也不愿参与那样不诚实的交易。

　　注意：would rather 后亦可接that从句，that通常省略，从句中用动词用过去时形式表示虚拟。 would rather...than的连词than后亦可接that从句。例如：I would (or: had) rather he came on Monday.我宁愿他星期一来。I would rather lose a dozen cherry trees than that you should tell one lie.我宁愿丢失一打樱桃树也不愿听你说一句谎话。 　

2、reach at, reach for

　　这两个词组都有“伸手去拿（取）”的意思，但涵义有所不同。

　　reach at的意思是“伸手企图去触摸或达到（try to touch or attain by reaching)"。例如：He reached at the flowers in my hand.他伸手想触摸我手中的花。She reached at the glass, but it had dropped.她想把那个玻璃杯子抓住，但还是掉下去了。

　　reach for没有“企图”的含义，它指一般意义上的“伸手去拿（取）某种具体的实物”。例如：The boy stood on tiptoe and reached for the map on the wall.男孩踮着脚，伸出手去拿墙上的地图。Then, reaching for a pencil, he wrote down his telephone number.然后，他伸手拿了支铅笔，写下了他的电话号码。

3、refer to, refer...to

　　refer to中的refer是不及物动词，与介词to一起构成及物动词词组。它主要有三种意思：1.查阅，参考书 2. 指...而言，适用于 3.提到，提及。例如：In this connection, please refer to our letter of May 6.关于这个问题，请参阅我们五月六日的来信。Here he was referring to two different world outlooks.这里他所说的是两种不同的宇宙观。The author referred to his teacher twice in his essay.作者在文章中两次提及他的老师。

　　refer … to 中的refer是及物动词，to为介词，它主要有两种意思：1.“把……提交给”，to后接组织，团体等名词 2.“把……归功于”，相当于owe … to。例如：The Local Court decided to refer the case to the High Court.地方法院决定把这案件提交高级法院处理。They referred their success to the correct leadership of the Party.他们把取得的成就归功于党的正确领导。 　

4、regret doing, regret to do

　　regret doing是指“做了某事而感到遗憾或后悔”的意思，即v-ing 的动作发生在regret的动作之前。有时v-ing用完成形式。例如：She regretted missing the train.她为没有赶上火车而感到懊恼。I regretted having left the work unfinished.我为没有完成这件工作而感到有些遗憾。

　　regret to do是指当时或现在“遗憾地做某事”。尽管regret在这儿是动词，但常译为副词的意思,相当于regretfully。例如：The comrade regretted to inform us that Xiao Lin had been severely injured.那位同志遗憾地通知我们，小林受了重伤。I regret to tell you that we cannot stay here any longer.我遗憾地告诉你，我们不能再在这儿多呆了。 　

5、reply, answer, respond

　　reply：“回答，答复”，正式用语，指以书面形式答复，也指用行动回击，在辩论中回敬。除了后面带直接引语和that引导的宾语从句外，一般只作不及物动词。常用作拟人化，常用词组：in reply to回答，答复。I answered your letter by sending a postcard last Sunday and havebeen waiting for time to reply to it.上周我寄了一张明信片来回复你的信，此后一直等时间复信。Do you intend to reply to this attack on your character?对这种对你品行的攻击你打算回敬吗？

　　answer：“回答，答复”，普通用词，常指口头回答问题，答复争论或指责，或要求给予辩护，inanswer to回答，响应。Usually you use words to answer a question but not always. You might answer by shaking your head or shrugging your shoulder.通常你用言语回答问题，但并不是总这样，你可以摇头或耸肩以示回答。These figures were given in answer to the question from the opposition spokesman.列举这些数字是为了答复反对党发言人的质问。

　　respond：“反应，响应”，指通过口头或行动做出相关反应，并且常常是即刻地或毫不犹豫地做出反应。I should like to respond to my opponent's remarks about the government's actions.对于我的对手就政府所采取的行动所说的那番话，我愿意做出答复。Is it true that antiquated legal ideas prevent the government from respondingeffectively to the demands which modern society makes up to it?过时的法律观点真的会妨碍政府对当代社会向其提出的要求做出积极的反应吗？When Martin insulted the referee， he responded by ordering him off the field.马丁辱骂裁判时，裁判以令其退出比赛场地作为答复。 

 

6、responsibility, duty, obligation

　　responsibility：“责任“，一般由于法律，职业或道德等要求而必须尽的责任，而且含有要对后果负责任的意思。常用短语有：accept/ assume/ take the responsibility 任但责任、负责任；decline all responsibility about拒绝对……负任何责任。例如：I will lend you my camera if you will assume full responsibility for it.如果你能负完全责任，我愿把照相机借给你。The manufactures disclaim all responsibility for damage caused by misuse.使用不当而造成的损坏，生产厂家不负任何责任。

　　duty：“义务，责任，职责”，通常强调由于道德、伦理、法律规定等而产生对自己及他人乃至社会的义务或责任，还指在工作中应尽的责任（常用复数）。例如：The delivery on confidential letters was a duty that he never relegated to anybody else.他从未把投递机密信件的责任推给任何其他人。The first thing to do is to acquaint yourself with your new duties and colleagues.第一件要做的事情就是熟悉你的新职务和同事。

　　obligation：“必须履行的义务、负担、责任”，强调由于现实的压力如诺言、誓言、契约、法律及社会习惯的约束而对他人应尽的义务或应当承担的责任。常用短语有：fulfill an obligation 履行义务；express sb's deep obligation to 向...表示深切谢意；a matter of obligation 义不容辞的责任。例如：I'm under obligation to Professor Hawkins for some useful criticisms upon the first edition of this book.我感激霍金斯教授对于本书初次出版的若干有益的批评。It was plain that Green was carrying out what he regarded as a fixed obligation.很明显，格林当时正在尽一种他认为是不可推卸的义务。 　

7、reserve, conserve, preserve

　　reserve：“保留，保存”，指储藏或保留座位，物品，问题，意见，权利等留待以后需要时再用或指限制目前或他人使用。例如：reserve (one's strength) oneself for the next battle 养精蓄锐以利再战；all rights reserved 版权所有，不得翻印。This is the force of will which had enabled her to reserve the fund intact.正是这种意志力使她能够不动用专款。It's well known to all of us that the runners should reserve some of their energy for the final sprint. 众所周知，运动员应为最后的冲刺保留一些体力。

　　conserve：“保存，保重”，指为了避免不必要的或过多的变化、损失、损耗而采取措施加以保护，而且通常表示保存得完好无损。例如：In my opinion, our constitutional can be conserved only by an intelligent electorates.依我看，宪法权威只能由有才智的选民来维护。John slipped his coffee, made from his carefully conserved supply brought with him from England.约翰慢慢地品尝他从英国带来的并保存得很好的咖啡。

　　preserve：“保护、防护、维护、维持、保存”，强调防御破坏的含义，指采用某些方法以保持某物的存在不受损毁，破坏，还指用各种方法防止食物腐烂。如：There is nothing like routine and regularity for preserving one's peace of mind.日常事物和规律性活动最能保持人的心境平衡。We have done our best to make repairs and preserve these cultural relics and historical sites.我们已尽了最大努力来修理和保护这些文物古迹。

 

8、respective, respectful, respectable

　　这三个形容词都是由动词respect分别加后缀派生而来的，在含义和用法上是有区别的。

　　respective是“各自的，个别的，分别的”的意思，只用作定语，而且几乎总是修饰复数可数名词。例如：Go to your respective places.各就各位。My husband and I are each going to visit our respective mothers.我丈夫和我都分别准备去看望我们各自的母亲。He and I contributed the respective sums of six dollars and four dollars.他和我分别捐了六美元和四美元。

　　respectful是表示：“尊敬（或尊重）的（showing respect)”的含义，可作定语或表语。作定语时，所修饰的名词一般是非生物名词，句中的主语只能是人。例如：When he raised the problem, she kept a respectful silence.当他提出那个问题时，她恭敬地保持着沉默。The boy were well mannered and respectful toward grown-ups.那些男孩们彬彬有礼，尊敬长辈。

　　respectable：“值得尊敬；受敬重的”意思，含被动的意味，可用作定语或表语，其所修饰的名词或句中的主语应该是人。它还可形容人“名声好的；正派的”，或指某种东西是“尚可的，质量还不错的”等意思。例如：He is a respectable old cadre.他是一位可敬的老干部。How dare you talk to a respectable woman like that?你怎么可以对一个受人尊敬的妇女说那样的话？What he did is not quite respectable.他做的事不很正派。His work is respectable but not outstanding.他的工作干得不错，但还不算突出。 　

9、responsible for, responsible to

　　这两个词组中responsible是形容词，一般多用在连系动词be后面作表语。两个词组均表示“对……负责”的意思，但用法有别。

　　responsible for后接表示事物的名词或动名词，表示“对某事负责”的意思。此外，在主语与介词宾语都是事物名词时，其主语和宾语常含有因果关系，翻译时则要灵活对待。例如：The pilot of the plane is responsible for the passenger's safety.飞机驾驶员应对旅客的安全负责。The bad weather is responsible for the small attendance.由于天气恶劣，所以出席人数不多。The gale was responsible for the ship being 36 hours late.大风使该船晚点三十六小时。

　　responsible to后接表示人的名词或代词，表示“对某人负责”的意思。例如：We must be responsible to the people.我们应该对人民负责。Their duty is to hold themselves responsible to the children.他们的责任是对孩子们负责。 这两个词组可合并在一起，构成responsible to sb. for (doing) sth.结构，表示“为所做的事或受托的事向某人或某团体负责”。例如：I am responsible to the parents for the child's safety.我要为这个孩子的安全对他的父母负责。 　

10、result from, result in

　　这两个词组均为动介型短语，均表示主语和介词宾语之间的一种因果关系，但其在用法上是不同的。

　　result from意指“是……的结果，由于……而发生”，即主语表示结果，介词from的宾语则表示原因，即主语的结果是由宾语的原因引起的。

　　result in意指“结果是，导致；结果造成”，其主语表示原因，介词in的宾语则表示结果，即主语的原因导致或造成了宾语的结果。试比较以下两句的转换： His death resulted from an overdose of drugs.他的死是由于服用药物过量引起的。These measures resulted in a great victory.由于采取了这些措施，结果打了一个大胜仗。 　

11、run out, run out of

　　这两个词组都有“用完”的意思，但用法不同。 run out是动副型短语动词，作不及物动词，表示“被用完了（become used up)”的被动含义，其主语通常是时间、金钱、食物等无生命名词。例如：His money soon ran out.他的钱很快就花完了。