容易混淆的词汇

考生由于对形似、意近的词辨别不清,不知道他们各自的具体用法,而在托福写作中出现失误。比如,有的词虽然意思相同,但他们表达同一个意思的程度是不同的;有的英语单词的汉语意思相同,但他们所限定修饰的词、使用的范围或者连接的成分是不同的;有的单词的文体风格不同,有正式和非正式之分。

要注意自己写文章的总体风格,在正式文体中避免使用非正式的语言。鉴于选词的难度,考生应在平时注意多查词典,注意其中所举得例句,在看英语材料时留心写作词汇的具体使用环境,并摘录一些自己能看明白但说不出的表达。

1、Original: Bill Gates gives a definite answer that college education does count.

Revised: Bill Gates gave a definitive answer: college education does count.

Definite意思是“明确的”、“一定的”,指意思明确,不会误解;definitive也是“明确”的意思,但往往指“权威性、最后决定的”。此话出自比尔·盖茨之口,体现权威性,故将definite改为definitive。

2、Original: …people may attend a university or college for various reasons...

Revised: …people attend university or college for a multitude of reasons...

此处将various改为短语a multitude of更为正式,体现人们读大学的原因很多。

3、Original: The kinds of education that we got on school are formal and intense ones...

Revised: The kinds of education that we receive at school is formal and of tentimes very intense.

不必用kinds of education,直接用education(教育)即可;“受教育”不同get,改为receive;“在学校”不必用at school;把one去掉,用oftentimes very intense指出学校教育常常是非常严格的。

4、Original: They can foster their interests in some fields to make life more colorful and meaningful.

Revised: They can even pick up hobbies to make life more colorful and enjoyable.

Foster their interests是“培养兴趣”,此处用pick up hobbies(开始各种各样的兴趣)更为合适;不同的兴趣是我们生活的调味剂,使我们的生活多姿多彩,乐趣无穷,把meaningful换成enjoyable,与colorful搭配更合适。

5、Original: Needless to say, more employment means more income and less idle life, so that people can enjoy a better life and make investment in their future.

Revised: Needless to say, more employment means income and less idle time, so that people can enjoy a better life and invest in their own futures.

把idle life改为idle time更为合适,表示“闲散时间”;make investment可改为动词invest,与and前的动词enjoy词性一致;人们各自有自己的未来,故将in their future改为in their own futures。

6、Original: Another important factor that contributes to the extension of life expectancy is the development of medical science.

Revised: Another imortant factor that contributes to the rise in life expectancy is the development of medical science.

“人的寿命的延长”可以表示为life extension,但是如果用life expectancy,则要用the increast of 或the rise in life expectancy。

7、Original: the growth of life span.

Revised: the rise in/increase of life span.

Life span意思是“寿命”,growth指“生长,增长”,“寿命的延长”用growth不合适,life span“寿命的延长”可以用rise in/increase of/extension of.

8、Original: energy saving

Revised: energy efficiency

Energy saving一般作定语,此处名词短语“节能”最好用energy efficiency。

9、Original: with the increasing complicatedness of the job profile

Revised: with the increasing complexity of the modern jor profile

Complicatedness意思是“错综复杂”,但是这种错综复杂是有逻辑的;complexity也是“复杂”的意思,但这种复杂是杂乱无辜的,现代的工作情况用complexity较为合适。

10、Original: Such experience will difinitely be helpful in children's later life.

Revised: Such experience will benefit them later in life.

Helpful是“提供帮助”的意思,而benefit是“使…受益”。这里作者想说的是孩子将来的人生会受益于这样的经历,用benefit合适,因为这样的经历不一定能对孩子将来的人生提供什么具体的帮助。

11、Original: In my submission, people should sometimes do things that they do not enjoy doing.

Revised: Because of these circumstances, I believe it is inevitable that people must do what they don't enjoy doing.

In one's submission虽然也可以表示某人所持的观点,但是这是一种非常formal(正式)的表述,用在这里和整体文章的风格不太相符。

12、Original: For no one can promise what will happen in the future, if you don't save some money, an emergency will probably make you a cat on a hot brick.

Revised: Because no one can predict the future, if you don't save money an unforeseen emergency can be financially crippling.

Promise的意思是“承诺、允诺”,用在这里不合适,作者要说的是没有人能与之未来发生的事,应该用predit。还有,作者在这里用了一个惯用语a cat on a hot brick,这又有一个错误。第一,这个表述本身有错误,正确的应该是like a cat on hot bricks。第二,这个惯用语的意思是“忐忑不安,如热锅上的蚂蚁“,用在这里意思也不太合适。