考研英语核心词汇辨析(黑魔方系列2007版之七)
2008-02-19来源:
concentrate, focus 这两个动词都有"集中"的意思。concentrate v.集中,集中精力(后接on,宾语可以是具体或抽象的东西);浓缩,压缩。 During exams, students concentrate hard on answering the questions.考试期间,同学们集中精力回答问题。focus v.集中(于某事物);将(注意力等)集中于……(后接on,宾语一般不是具体的东西)。Please focus your minds on the following problem.请集中考虑以下问题。confinement, limitation, restraint这一组名词都有"限制,局限"的意思。confinement n.限制,囚禁(于某地或某种境地)。The prisoner was sentenced to three months' solitary confinement.那犯人被判处单独监禁三个月。limitation n.限制,局限;(能力的)缺点,弱点。That employee has limitations on what work he can do.那个雇员能做的工作有限。restraint n.克制,抑制;约束措施。Even though the mother was very angry, she acted with restraint and didn't yell at her child.即使母亲很生气,她仍克制自己没有向孩子大吼。 considerable, considerate这是一对形近易混的形容词。considerable a.相当大的,相当多的;值得考虑的。That family owns a considerable amount of land.那个家族拥有大量的土地。considerate a.考虑周到的,体贴的,后面常跟of结构。He is always considerate of others; he is kind and sympathetic.他总是很体谅别人,他很慈善并且富有同情心。conserve, preserve, reserve这是一组形近易混词,且都有"保存"的意思。conserve v.保存,保藏,保护(强调节约)。In winter, some people conserve energy by lowing the heat at night.冬天,为节约能源有些人在夜里把暖气调小。preserve v.保护;维持;保养;防止(食物)腐败(强调使不受破坏)。The government preserves the rights of the individual person.政府保护个人的权利不受侵犯。reserve v.保留,储备(强调为某一特殊目的);订(座位),预定。We are reserving these seats for my parents.我们把这些座位留给我的父母。 continual, continuous, constant, incessant这一组形容词都有"不断的,不停的"的意思。continual a.连续不断的;频繁的。表示时断时续的发生。That dog's barking is a continual annoyance.那条狗不停地叫,真是烦死人了。continuous a.不停的,连续不断的,强调中间不停顿。Our homes and offices need a continuous supply of electricity.我们的家庭以及办公室需要不间断的供电。constant a.不断的,经常的,强调始终如一地经常出现。Everything in the universe is in constant motion.宇宙中的万物都在不断地运动。incessant a.不停的,持续不断的,强调令人厌烦地重复出现,中间有可能有停顿。Incessant noise makes me appreciate silence.持续不断的噪声骚扰使我喜欢安静的环境。convert, invert, revert, transform这一组动词都有"转变"的意思。convert v.转变,变换,含有"使某人改变观点"的意思。He wants to convert to Catholicism.他要皈依天主教。invert v.使颠倒,使倒转,使反向。常常表示位置、顺序、方向等的颠倒。The baby inverted the cup and spilled her orange juice.婴儿把杯子打翻,弄洒了里面的橙汁。revert v.归还,恢复原状。指回到原来的状态或情形。John gave his brother a house, and when his brother died, ownership reverted back to John.约翰送给他的哥哥一所房子,当他的哥哥去世后,房子的所有权重新归于约翰。transform v.改变,转变,指形状、颜色、大小、性质等的改变。A little paint will soon transform the old house.刷一点油漆很快就会使这所旧房子大为改观。credible, credulous, plausible这一组形容词都有"可信的"意思。credible a.可信的,可靠的。That the student told the teacher a credible story that she missed classes because she was sick.那个学生跟老师讲了实情,她没来上课是因为她病了。credulous a.轻信的,易于相信的。She was credulous when she listened to the salesman and bought the car for too much money.她很容易轻信别人,竟然听信那个销售员的话以高价买了那辆车。plausible a.似乎有理的(可信的)。常带有怀疑的意思。Even though it is a plausible explanation, I am not completely convinced.虽然这个解释合理,但仍不可能使我完全相信。decline, refuse, reject, deny这组动词都有"拒绝"的意思。decline v.婉言拒绝,谢绝,相当于refuse politely,主要用于拒绝有关社交活动的邀请或要求帮助的请求,后接名词或动词不定式,主语只能是人。I invited her to join us, but she declined.我邀请她和我们在一起,可是她婉言谢绝了。refuse v.是比较普通的用词,表示"拒绝",含有非常坚决地、不客气地拒绝的意思。reject v.抛弃,不采纳,主语可以是人或物,后接名词,不能接动词不定式。He asked her to go to the movies three times, and each time she rejected him.他三次约她去看电影,但每一次都被拒绝。deny v.否认,否定,其后可接名词,代词或that从句。The defendant denied the accusations made against him in court.被告在法庭上否认了对他的指控。deduce, induce, reduce这是一组形近易混词。deduce v.推断,推理,演绎。My friend becomes quiet when his girlfriend is angry with him; today he is quiet and so I deduce she is angry.我的朋友在他的女朋友生他的气的时候就会变得沉默,今天他很沉默,所以我推断她生气了。induce v.引诱,劝;引起,导致。We couldn't induce the old lady to travel by air.我们无法劝说那位老太太坐飞机去。reduce v.减轻,减小;降低。He reduced his weight by 20 pounds by eating less and exercising.他通过节食和运动,体重减轻了20磅。 delay, postpone这两个词都有"延迟"之意。delay v.延期,延缓,耽搁,常指由于不可避免的障碍等原因而延期。Her late arrival delayed the start of the meeting.她的迟到使会议延迟开始。postpone v.耽搁,暂缓,常指将某事放置一边,等到另一事发生或一定时间后再做。Our meeting for today was postponed until next week.我们今天的会议推迟到下周举行。demonstrate, illustrate这两个词都有"说明"的意思。demonstrate v.多指通过具体动作或物体进行演示、示范、表演、展示等以达到说明或解释的目的。This salesman demonstrated how to cook with a pressure cooker.这个推销员当众演示如何用压力锅煮东西。illustrate v.强调通过举例、列图表或比较等方式来说明道理。The teacher illustrated the history lesson by telling a story about George Washington.那个老师通过乔治·华盛顿的故事来讲述他的历史课。disappear, vanish, fade这一组词都有"消失"的意思。disappear v.消失,不见;灭绝,不复存在。是个一般用语。The little dog was just there, then he disappeared.那条小狗刚才就在那里,然后就不见了。vanish v.消失,不见,指突然间化为乌有,强调非常彻底地、神秘莫测地消失、失踪。The man ransintosthe shop and vanished from sight.那个男子跑到了商店里,然后就消失了。fade v.指衣服的颜色褪色,声音的逐渐消失。The wallpaper has faded from red to pale pink.墙纸从红色褪成了淡粉色。decline, decrease, diminish, reduce这一组动词都有"减少"的意思。decline v. (数量、数字、价格、比率)下降,下落。Last year, the crime rate in Chicago has sharply declined.去年芝加哥的犯罪率明显下降。decrease v.减少,减小,强调逐渐地下降或减少的过程。diminish v. (力量、势力)减弱,减少,强调由于某种原因而减少,这种减少可以造成能够为人们所察觉的后果或损失。The need to take action has diminished.已经没有多少需要采取行动的必要性了。reduce v.是及物动词,指通过人为的方法在数量、规模、范围等方面减少,也可以指在地位、重要性方面降低等级。He reduced his weight by 20 pounds by eating less and exercising.他通过节食和运动,体重减轻了20磅。