巧记英语单词

巧记英语单词

bring，take，fetch，get，carry，

都含“拿”、“带”、“取”的意思。

bring指“从别处把东西或人带来”、“拿来”, 如:

He brought a new book with him.

他带来一本新书。

take指“把东西带走或拿走”, 如:

Please take the letter to the post office.

请把这封信送到邮局去。

fetch指“到别处去把某人或某物带来或拿来”, 如:

She has gone to fetch water.

她去打水去了。

get是常用词, 多用于口语, 与fetch 同义, Go and get some water. 去打些水来。carry指“随身携带(不说明固定方向)”, 有时含有“负担”的意思, 如:

Let me carry the box for you.

请让我替你拿这个箱子。

commit，consign，entrust，confide，relegate

These verbs mean to give over to another for a purpose such as care or safekeeping. 这些动词的含义均有：放弃别的意图，比如关照或保管。（即“委托”）

Commit has the widest application and means to deliver to another to deal with: Commit应用最广，其含义为转交给其他人处理。

The general sent the troops committed to his charge into battle.

将军派由他指挥的部队去战斗。

The word can also refer to giving over for preservation or confinement:

此单词也能指努力保存或限制：

I committed the sonata to memory.

我记住了奏鸣曲。

The patient was committed to the hospital.

病人限制在医院。

To consign is to transfer to another's custody or charge:

consign指交由他人保护或负责：

The owner consigned the paintings to a dealer for sale.

所有者将画委托商人出售。

Entrust and confide stress trust and confidence in another:

Entrust和confide强调对别人信任和相信：

The task was too important to be entrusted to a child.

此任务太重要而不能托付给儿童；

She confided her plans to her family.

她把自己的计划吐露给家人。

To relegate is to assign to a specific and especially an inferior category or position:

relegate是分配给一定的和特殊的下级类别和位置：

Some scientists relegate parapsychology to the sphere of quackery.

一些科学家把灵学归类到骗术范围。

Commit，discharge，do，

都含有“进行某种活动”的意思。

commit指“犯错误或犯下某种罪行”，或指“干某种坏事、傻事”。

如：He was arrested for committing several crimes.他因犯有多种罪行而被捕了。

discharge指“忠实能干地执行任务”，也指“履行职责或诺言”。

如：The nurse discharged her duties. 那位护士履行了自已的义务。

do指“从事任何一种具体的或抽象的工作”。

如：He did the job brilliantly. 他出色地完成了这件工作。

Implement，instrument，tool，appliance

都含“工具”的意思。

implement指“在工作中任何有用或必需的器械”, 尤指“较简单的农田或园艺工具”, 如: new types of farm implements

新式农具。

instrument指“用于精细工作或科学技术的工具”, 如:

surgical instruments

外科器械。

tool多指“手工操作的简单工具“, 如:

tools for carpenters

木工工具。

appliance指“工具”、“器具”、“器械”、“电气用具”, 如:

an appliance for opening tin cans

开马口铁罐头的器具。

Damp，wet，dank，moist，humid，

都含"潮湿的"意思。

damp指"轻度潮湿, 使人感觉不舒服的", 如:

I don't like damp weather.

我不喜欢潮湿的天气。

wet指"含水分或其他液体的"、"湿的", 如:

be wet to the skin

浑身湿透。

dank指"阴湿的", 如:

a dark dank and chilly cave

一个既黑暗又潮湿、又阴冷的洞。

moist指"微湿的"、"湿润的", 常含"不十分干, 此湿度是令人愉快的"意思, 如:

Grasses were moist with dew.

草被露水润湿了。

humid为正式用语, 常表示"空气中湿度大的", 如:

In the east, the air is humid in summer.

在东方, 夏季空气潮湿。

Transient，transitory，ephemeral，fleeting，fugitive，momentary，evanescent

These adjectives mean lasting, existing, or staying for a short time.

Transient usually refers to what remains only briefly:

We stayed at the inn as transient guests.

我们在小酒馆中只作短暂停留。

“The moods were many and transient?(W.H. Hudson).

“心绪纷繁但往往如过往烟云”(W·H·赫德森)。

Transitory more often means inherently short-lived or impermanent:

Transitory更多地指生来短命或不长久：

“This false world is but transitory”(William Dunbar).

“这个虚幻的世界只是昙花一现”（威廉·邓巴）。

“Action is transitory—a step, a blow,/The motion of a muscle, this way or that—/’Tis done”(William Wordsworth). “行动是短暂的－一个脚步，一击/肌肉的运动，这样或那样/这就完结了”（威廉·华兹华斯）。

Ephemeral, which in its original sense means living or lasting only for a day, implies conspicuously brief existence or duration:

Ephemeral原来的意思是指只存活或延续一天的，暗指生存或延续时间非常短的意思：

“the old universal truths lacking which any story is ephemeral and doomed”(William Faulkner).

“没有了古老而普遍的真理，任何故事都短暂并且注定要失败的”（威廉·福克纳）。

Fleeting is applied to what slips away swiftly, often more swiftly than one would wish:

Fleeting用于形容迅速溜走的事物，经常它们消逝得比我们希望得要快：

“Art is long, and Time is fleeting”(Henry Wadsworth Longfellow).

“艺术无尽，而人生有涯”（亨利·沃兹华斯·朗费罗）。

Fugitive especially describes what is elusive or quickly fades:

Fugitive专门用来形容躲避的或很快消失的事物：

“I cannot praise a fugitive . . . virtue, unexercised and unbreathed, that never sallies out and sees her adversary”(John

Milton).

“我不能赞扬一种易变的美德，它没有经受过考验、没有抛头露面，从来就没有挺身而出并勇敢地面对敌人”（约翰·弥尔顿）。

Momentary implies the brevity of or as if of a single moment:

Momentary指一瞬或象一瞬那样短暂的；

I had some momentary misgivings that were quickly resolved.

我曾有过短暂的疑虑，但很快都烟消云散了。

Evanescent suggests that something disappears like vapor:

Evanescent意指象蒸气一样消失的事物：

“The incidents which give excellence to biography are of a volatile and evanescent kind”(Samuel Johnson).

“给传记增添光彩的是那些转瞬即逝的事件”（萨缪尔·约翰逊）

Denote, Connote

Denote means “ to mark? ”or “to signify directly. ”

Denote意思是“作标记”或“直接记作”。

Connote means “to suggest or convey to the mind what is not explicit. ”

connote意思是“暗示那些没有明显表示出来的意义”。

In speaking of words or expressions, denote describes the relation between the expression and the thing it conventionally names, whereas connote describes the relation between the word and the images or associations it evokes.

在表示词和词组意义时denote描述词语与某事物通常意义之间的关系，而connote描述的是这个词与它唤起的图象或联想之间的关系。

例如：

Thus, the word Christmas denotes the holiday celebrated on December 25 and connotes turkey, mistletoe, and chestnuts roasting on an open fire.

这样Chrismas这个词指(denote)在十二月二十五日庆祝的那个节日，并意味着(connote)火鸡、圣诞树或在篝火上烧烤的栗子

Attribute，ascribe，impute，credit，assign，refer

These verbs mean to consider as resulting from, proper to, or belonging to a person or thing.

Attribute and ascribe, often interchangeable, have the widest application:

Attribute和ascribe，常常可互换，应用最为广泛：

a symphony attributed to Mozart;

由莫扎特创作的交响乐；

an invention ascribed to the 15th century.

15世纪的发明。

Impute is often used in laying guilt or fault to another:

Impute通常用来指对他人他物的罪恶或错误：

“We usually ascribe good; but impute evil”(Samuel Johnson).

“我们经常归功于好的东西；但是归咎于恶的东西”（塞缪尔·约翰逊）。

Credit frequently applies to an accomplishment or virtue:

Credit常指一项成就或美德：

“Some excellent remarks were made on immortality, but mainly borrowed from and credited to Plato”(Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.).

“一些优秀的言论是不朽的，但主要从柏拉图处借用并归功于他”（奥立佛·温德尔·霍姆斯爵士）。

Assign and refer are often used to classify or categorize according to character or chronology:

Assign and refer常用于根据其性质或发生年代分级或分类：

Program music as a genre is usually assigned to the Romantic period.

将标题音乐作为一个流派一般属于浪漫时期。

“A person thus prepared will be able to refer any particular history he takes up to its proper place in universal history”(Joseph Priestley).

“经过这种准备的人，可以在历史长河中，归属于任何他从事合适位置的特定历史阶段”（约瑟夫·普利斯特莱）。See Also: quality symbol

Criticize，blame，reprehend，censure，condemn，denounce：

These verbs are compared as they mean to express an unfavorable judgment.

Criticize can mean merely to evaluate good and bad points without necessarily finding fault:

“To criticize is to appreciate, to appropriate, to take intellectual possession”(Henry James). Usually, however, the word implies the expression of disapproval:

The reviewer roundly criticized the novel.

Blame emphasizes the finding of fault and the fixing of responsibility:

“People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are”(George Bernard Shaw).

Reprehend implies sharp disapproval:

“Reprehends students who have protested apartheid” (New Y ork Times).

Censure refers to open and strong expression of criticism; often it implies a formal reprimand:

“No man can justly censure or condemn another, because indeed no man truly knows another”(Thomas Browne).

Condemn denotes the pronouncement of harshly adverse judgment:

“The wrongs which we seek to condemn and punish have been so calculated, so malignant and so devastating that civilization cannot tolerate their being ignored because it cannot survive their being repeated”(Robert H. Jackson). Denounce implies public proclamation of condemnation or repudiation:

The press denounces clandestine support for the counterrevolution.

Knowledge，information，learning，erudition，lore，scholarship

These nouns refer to what is known, as by having been acquired through study or experience.

Knowledge is the broadest; it includes facts and ideas, understanding, and the totality of what is known:

“A knowledge of Greek thought and life, and of the arts in which the Greeks expressed their thought and sentiment, is essential to high culture” (Charles Eliot Norton).

“对希腊的思想和生活方式，及希腊人用以表现他们的思想和感情的艺术的理解，对严肃文化是非常重要的”（查尔斯·艾略特·诺顿）。

“Science is organized knowledge” (Herbert Spencer).

“科学是被组织起来的知识”（赫伯特·斯宾塞）。

Informationis usually construed as being narrower in scope than knowledge; it often implies a collection of facts and data:

Information这个词，人们一般认为它所指的范围要比knowledge窄；它经常指事实和数据的总和：“Obviously, a man's judgment cannot be better than the information on which he has based it ”(Arthur Hays Sulzberger). “很显然，一个人的判断不可能超越作为这种判断基础的信息”（阿瑟·海斯·舒尔茨伯格）。

Learning usually refers to knowledge that is gained by schooling and study:

Learning通常指通过上学和研究获得的知识：

“Learning is not attained by chance, it must be sought for with ardor and attended to with diligence ”(Abigail Adams). “学问不是随随便便就来的，必须热情地去追求，努力地去获得”（阿比盖尔·亚当斯）。

Erudition implies profound knowledge, often in a specialized area:

Erudition暗示深奥的知识，通常用于特殊地方：

“Some have criticized his poetry as elitist, unnecessarily impervious to readers who do not share his erudition ”(Elizabeth Kastor ).

“有人批评他的诗是精英主义的诗歌，那些没有他那种学识的人根本看不懂，这完全没有必要”（伊丽莎白·卡斯特）。

Lore is usually applied to knowledge about a particular subject that is gained through tradition or anecdote: Lore通常用来指通过传说和轶闻获得的关于某一专门方面的知识：

Early peoples passed on plant and animal lore through legend.

古代的人通过传说把他们知道的关于动植物的知识传给后代。

Scholarship is the knowledge of a scholar whose mastery of a particular area of learning is reflected in the scope, thoroughness, and quality of his or her work:

Scholarship是指一个学者的知识，他（她）对某一专门的学术领域的理解可在他（她）著作的视野、深度和质量中得到反映：

a book that gives ample evidence of the author's scholarship.

一本充分显示著者学术水平的书

lure，entice，inveigle，decoy，tempt，seduce

These verbs mean to lead or attempt to lead into a wrong or foolish course, as of action.

Lure suggests the use of something that attracts like bait:

Industry often seeks to lure scientists from universities by offering them huge salaries.

企业经常以高额薪金诱引科学家们离开大学。

T o enticeis to draw on skillfully, as by arousing hopes or desires:

Entice意为通过唤起希望或欲望巧妙地吸引：

The teacher opened the door and, showing the tot the toys on the shelves, tried to entice him into the classroom.

老师打开门，让小孩看着架子上那些玩具，试图吸引他走进教室。

Inveigle implies winning over by coaxing, flattery, or artful talk:

Inveigle暗指通过哄骗、奉承或花言巧语而达到目的：

With tact and perseverance he inveigled her into becoming his law partner.

凭着机智和不懈努力，他终于劝说她成为自己的法律合伙人。

T o decoy is to trap or ensnare by cunning or deception:

Decoy意为通过狡诈或欺骗手段陷害或诱捕：

Partisans dressed as simple farmers selling produce decoyed the soldiers into blistering crossfire.

装扮成卖东西的普通农民的游击队员们把敌军诱入强大的交叉火力圈中。

T empt implies the operation of an attraction that disposes or invites one to do something, especially something immoral, unwise, or contrary to one's better judgment:

Tempt暗指一个诱惑物作用于某人，诱使其做某事，尤指做不道德、不明智、与其正常判断相反的事情：

I'm tempted to tell him what I really think of him.

我忍不住要告诉他我对他的真实看法。

T o seduce is to entice away, as from duty, accepted principles, or proper conduct; it usually suggests the overcoming of moral resistance:

Seduce意为诱惑使脱离职责、公认的准则或适当的行为；它通常指摆脱道德的约束力：

“The French King attempted by splendid offers to seduce him from the cause of the Republic”(Macaulay).

“法国国王试图以十分优厚的条件诱使他脱离共和国的事业”（麦考利）

lure, tempt

这两个动词都有“引诱”的意思。

lure包含着“强烈的、不可抗拒的而且通常是有害的诱惑力”

Perhaps it is the desire for solitude or the chance of making an unexpected discovery that lures men down to the depths of the earth.

可能正是想寻觅一个幽静的去处或者找个猎奇的机会的欲望引诱着人们进入地球的深处。

The hope of high profits lured him into questionable dealings.

意欲获取巨额利润诱惑他做了那些不诚实的交易。

It was not money that lured the adolescent husbandman to the cities, but the gay life.

把那个青年农民引诱到城市的东西不是金钱，而是那里的欢乐生活。

tempt也表示强烈的诱惑力，但更含有“被诱惑者虽然知道不该被诱惑，但无法或难以克制受到诱惑。”

…The decks were soon covered with colourful rugs from Persa, silk from India, copper coffee pots, and beautiful hand-made silver ware. It was difficult not to be tempted. ……

很快甲板上便布满了波斯的彩色毛毯、印度的丝绸、铜咖啡壶以及美丽的手工制作的银器。对此不动心是很困难的。

The woman used all her wiles to tempt him into following her.

那女人用尽了自己的诱骗本领勾引着他尾随而去。

The steaming apple pie tempted him to disregard his diet.

那热气腾腾的苹果馅饼把他诱惑得不去顾及自己需要节食。

Obscure，vague，ambiguous

意思都含“不明确的”。

obscure指“某事物的意思含糊不清, 或因知识缺乏而难解的”, 如:

His reasons remain obscure.

他的理由不清楚。

vague指“模糊的, 不明确的”, 如:

a vague idea

一个含糊的想法。

ambiguous 指“有两种或两种以上的解释而意义不明确的”, 如:

an ambiguous title

模棱两可的题目。

对应反义词：clear，distinct，definite

reveal，expose，disclose，divulge，betray

These verbs signify to make known what has been or ought to be kept from the knowledge of others.

Reveal suggests uncovering what has been concealed:

“He was glad it was to him she had revealed her secret”(Edith Wharton).

“他很高兴她把自己的秘密告诉了他”（伊得斯·渥顿）。

To expose is to lay bare to public scrutiny:

Expose是揭露出来供公众细察：

In a slip of the tongue the schemer exposed his true motivation.

阴谋者一时口误暴露了自己的动机。

Disclose means to make known as if by removing a cover:

Disclose指象通过移去封面那样使其为人所知：

The journalist refused to disclose the source of her information.

这名记者拒绝透露她的消息来源。

Divulge often implies the improper revelation of something private or secret:

Divulge常意指对隐私和秘密的不适宜泄露：

“And whatsoever I shall see or hear in the course of my profession . . . if it be what should not be published abroad, I will never divulge, holding such things to be holy secrets”(Hippocratic Oath).

“对于我在职业生涯中所看到或是听到的，…如果它们是不应在国外公布的，我将决不泄露它们，而将这些事情视为神圣的秘密”（希伯克拉底宣誓）。

To betray is to make known in a breach of trust or confidence:

Betray是指通过出卖和背叛而使为人知：

“A servant . . . betrayed their presence . . . to the Germans”(William Styron).

“仆人…向德国人泄露了他们在场的秘密”（威廉·斯蒂伦）。

The term can also mean to reveal against one's desire or will:

这个词也指违背某人的愿望或意愿的泄露：

Her comment betrayed annoyance.

她的评论透露出恼怒

clever，ingenious，shrewd

These adjectives are compared as they refer to mental adroitness or to practical ingenuity and skill.

Clever, the most comprehensive, stresses mental quickness or adeptness:

“If I ever felt inclined to be timid as I was going into a room full of people, I would say to myself, ’you're the cleverest member of one of the cleverest families in the cleverest class of the cleverest nation in the world, why should you be frightened’”(Beatrice Webb).

“一旦我进入充满人的房间而感到胆怯时，我就会对自己说，‘你是这个世界上最聪明国家的最聪明阶层的最聪明家庭的最聪明成员，为什么你会被吓着呢？’（比阿特丽斯·韦伯）。

Ingenious implies originality and inventiveness:

Ingenious表示有创造力和有创造性：

“ an ingenious solution to the storage problem” (Linda Greider).

“解决贮藏问题的创造性办法”（林达·格蕾德）。

Shrewd emphasizes mental astuteness and practical understanding:

Shrewd强调精明及实际理解力：

“a woman of shrewd intellect and masculine character”(Leslie Stephen).

“具有精明的才智及男子气概的妇女”（莱斯利·斯蒂芬）

effort，exertion，endeavor，application，pains，trouble

These nouns refer to the expenditure of physical or mental energy to accomplish something.

Effort applies to an attempt, great or small, to do something; where it is not qualified, the term usually implies a substantial expenditure of time, strength, or faculties:

“What is written without effort is in general read without pleasure”(Samuel Johnson).

“不费劲写出的东西常会读之无趣”（塞缪尔·约翰生）。

Exertion implies the exercise of vigorous effort:

Exertion表示充沛精力的耗费：

“England has saved herself by her exertions”(William Pitt the Y ounger).

“英格兰通过自己的努力解救了自己”（小威廉·庇特）。

Endeavor suggests earnest striving to achieve a serious goal:

Endeavor意指完成某一严肃的目标而努力：

“There must be positive endeavors to preserve peace”(Franklin D. Roosevelt).

“肯定会有人尽力维护和平的”（弗兰克林·D·罗斯福）。

Application connotes diligence, persistence, and hard work:

Application暗指勤奋、持之以恒和努力工作之意：

He succeeded in his studies by dint of steadfast application.

由于坚持不懈的努力他获得了学业上的成功。

Pains implies attentive or laborious effort:

Pains暗指集中的或勤劳的努力：

“Genius is an infinite capacity for taking pains”(Jane Ellice Hopkins).

“天才往往吃无尽的苦”（简·爱丽丝·霍布金斯）。

T rouble refers to effort that causes inconvenience or bother:

T rouble指那些引起不便或干扰的努力：

Many people watch the news on television to save themselves the trouble of reading the newspaper.

许多人看电视新闻而省去读报的麻烦

trace, vestige, track, trail

These nouns denote a visible sign or perceptible indication of the passage or former presence of something.

Trace applies to both physical and immaterial evidence:

I immediately recognized the charred traces of a fire.

我一下子就辩认出了水烧过后留下的焦炭痕迹。

Despite his excellent English, he still retains the faint trace of a French accent.

他的英语尽管十分出色，但仍带有淡淡一丝法国口音。

Vestige refers to a surviving remnant of what once existed or is past:

Vestige用来指保存下来的曾经存在或现已消亡事物的残余：

“Long lines of edifices, vestiges of whose ruins may still be found.”(William Hickling Prescott);

“现在仍可以找到当年鳞次栉比的大厦的遗迹”（威廉·希克林·普雷斯科特）；

“Vestiges of a very universal custom.” (Henry Hallam).

“一个非常普遍的风俗的遗迹”（亨利·哈勒姆）。

Track usually denotes a mark or succession of marks, as footprints, left by something that has passed:

Track通常指由通过的某物留下的一个记号或一系列记号，如足迹：

Archaeologists excavated fossilized dinosaur tracks from the riverbed.

考古学家从河床中挖掘出恐龙的足迹化石。

Trail can refer to the tracks of a person or an animal, especially one being hunted:

Trail可用来指一个人或动物的痕迹，尤指被追猎的：

“We came across the recent trails of but two of the animals we were after.”(Theodore Roosevelt).

“我们遇到了在追寻中的两只动物的最新踪迹”（西奥多·罗斯福）

offer，present

这两个动词在一起比较的一般含义为“给”。

offer在现代英语中大致有三层意思：

把某物拿出来给对方，对方可能接受，也可能拒绝。

提出某事让对方考虑。

给某人某物，基本上相当于give的含义。在较古一些的英语中，offer表示把贡物摆出来(如宰羊，使之作为贡品)诚心诚意地希望神仙或上帝笑纳

She went on her knees and offered her prayers to God.

她跪下来向上帝祷告。

On arriving at the party, he saw an important person. Then he went up and offered his hand, but the important person was proud and did not take it.

他一到交际会便看到一位要人，后来他走上前去主动伸出了手，但那位要人傲慢，未曾接受。

He offered a few ideas to improve the plan.

他提出了一些改进这个计划的意见。

Ah, yes. The one who offered you a job in Australia.

啊，是啦。是在澳大利亚给你一个职位的那个人。

I have been offered a large sum of money to go away.

曾为我提供一大笔搬迁费。

Many owners of private cars are going to offer free rides to people on their way to work.

许多有小汽车的人都准备给上班的人们以“免费乘车”。

present 可以表示正式的呈递，在其他的用法中，与offer下面的第三个含义相似

…it (the State of Liberty) was officially presented to the American people by Bartholdi.…

由巴萨正式把它送给美国人民。

The servant presented sandwiches to each guest.

仆人把三明治递给了每一位客人。

Our class presented (or offered) a play.

我们班演出了一个话剧。

Each member should present (or offer) a question to be discussed at the meeting.

每一个成员都应该提出一个问题在会上讨论。

The new City Hall presents (or offers) a fine appearance.

新市政厅呈现出漂亮的外观。