1.Humble, Lowly, Meek 谦卑

　　Humble: 主要指对自己或自己的地位、成就等表现得谦卑，自感低卑的。

　　Defeat and failure make people humble.

　　Lowly: 较文雅的用语, 指谦逊, 很少用以形容人。

　　He had a lowly heart.

　　Meek: 指性情温顺的 屈从他人的行为或意见

　　He is as meek as a lamb.

　　2.Damage: 主要指造成价值，效用，完整性方面的损坏。

　　The water they had thrown over everything to put out the fire damaged the books.

　　Harm: 强调带来损失，病痛或痛苦。

　　Though he knows clearly that smoking harms his health, he simply cannot give it up.

　　Hurt: 尤其指感情或身体遭受创伤。

　　My little boy fell off a ladder and hurt himself.

　　You hurt my feelings!

　　Injure: 一般常指不公正地对待或冤屈某人，即有意识地侵害别人的权利或毁坏别人的健康、成就等，也可以指外表、健康、安逸等遭受破坏

　　The gas polluted the surroundings and injured the health of workers and residents of the area.

　　Spoil: 强烈的毁坏 毁灭之意。指不仅造成价值，精力，兴致的损伤，还意味着可能造成某种毁灭或彻底破坏，也有宠坏的意思。

　　John joined the party and spoiled the pleasure of everyone by his impolite behavior.

　　3.Can & Be able to 都可以表示能够。

　　时态角度：can通常用来表示现在的一般能力。

　　而当表示将来能力时，一般用will be able to。

　　be able to 还表示要经过一番努力才能做到的事。

　　If I concentrate on the work, I'll be able to work out the problem.

　　I'll be able to speak French in another few months.

　　4.grateful to & grateful for 都表示感谢。

　　grateful to指 对……表示感激，其中的介词to表示对象，宾语通常是人或组织团体。

　　grateful for指 为……表示感激，其中的介词for表示原因，宾语通常是某一件事。

　　I'll be very grateful to you if you will give me an early answer.

　　We're grateful for all that you've done to us.

　　介词to和for可同时与grateful连用，to短语应置于for短语之前。

　　They were particularly grateful to us for our timely help.

　　5.exhausted, tired, tiresome 都与疲劳疲倦有关。

　　exhausted: 筋疲力尽的，疲惫不堪的，语气最强。形容人因劳累过度而再无剩余精力或耐力继续做某事。在句中可作表语 状语。当它形容物，如资源等时，意为耗尽。

　　I was too much exhausted to wake easily when once asleep.

　　tired:累的 疲倦的，普通用词，泛指由于工作紧张或其他原因导致的疲乏，也可表示 厌倦 不耐烦。

　　常用于短语be tired of (doing) sth. 厌倦做某事。

　　I'm sure you must be tired after cycling all that distance.

　　When I first got to U.S.A, I was tired of eating such kind of food as hamburger every day.

　　tiresome: 令人厌倦的 讨厌的，描写毫无趣味，易让人生厌的人或事物，也指单调重复的工作使人感到疲劳。

　　The difficulty of abstract statements made my learning very tiresome.

　　6.lonely, lonesome

　　lonely: 孤单的 寂寞的，更强调指渴望陪伴的孤独感受。

　　A lonely young sailor felt sorry for himself because his girlfriend no longer loved him.

　　He spent many lonely days on the deserted island before that attractive girl appeared.

　　lonesome : 无伴的 独居的，通常表达分别或丧偶后的孤寂卑凉，含义较为痛切。

　　The house she had always thought of as overcrowded was lonesome when her children grew up and went out on their own.

　　7.familiar with & familiar to 都表示 熟悉。

　　familiar to

　　介词to后接人称名词或代词的宾格形式。

　　This subject is familiar to us.

　　These are the rules that are familiar to everyone.

　　familiar with

　　介词with后接事物名词。

　　They are familiar with English.

　　We are all familiar with the three states of matter.

　　8.Glad & Happy & Pleased

　　glad为 高兴的 乐意的，指一时短暂的强烈喜悦，只用于人。只能作表语，不作定语，后接介词of短语，不定式或that从句。

　　I'm glad of your success in the games.

　　happy为 幸福的 高兴的，隐含一种强烈的满足感，可用于人或事物。它可作定语及表语，后可接介词 about, at, over, with短语及不定式或that从句。

　　The story has a happy end.

　　pleased为 喜悦的 满足的，指持续时间较长的喜悦，只能用于人。它多作表语，很少被用作定语，它的后面可接介词at, about, with短语，不定式或that从句。

　　There is nothing to be pleased about.

　　Mother was pleased with my full mark in arithmetic.

　　9.Base & Basis 表示 基础 基地。

　　We camped at the base of the mountain.

　　Our company's base is in New York , but we have extended many branches all around the world.

　　base用来指某物体的具体"基础"或底部的"支柱"。

　　What's the basis of your opinion?

　　We are willing to develop economic relations with all countries on the basis of mutual benefits.

　　basis则用来表示抽象意义上的"基础"，常用于比喻句。

　　10.fairly, quite, rather 都用来说明形容词和副词的程度。

　　Fairly 相当 还算，是这一组词中语气最轻的一个。

　　Quite 相当 或多或少地 在某种程度上，语气比fairly稍强。

　　Rather 相当 有点 颇，语气最强。

　　fairly只用于修饰褒义的形容词和副词。

　　She is fairly clever.

　　rather主要用于贬义

　　rather poor/bad/stupid/ugly

　　也可用在某些褒义的形容词和副词前，具有比fairly更强烈的褒义。

　　相当于very: rather good/ well/pretty /clever。

　　若在没有褒贬意义的词前用fairly，表示说话人赞同。

　　若用rather，则表示不赞同。

　　She is fairly tall for her age.

　　She is rather tall for her age.

　　rather可与too及比较级连用，而fairly和quite则不可。

　　My mother is rather better today.

　　quite和rather还可和动词连用，fairly则不可和动词连用。

　　This does not quite satisfy me.

　　I don't quite follow you.

　　They rather expected to win the match.

　　I rather like her.

　　quite和rather都可修饰名词，但须放在不定冠词前。

　　It's rather a pity.

　　当名词前有形容词时，quite和rather可放在不定冠词后，也可放在不定冠词前。

　　They had a quite good time. Or …quite a good time

11.Select & Elect

　　select指在广泛的范围中进行有斟酌的精选，淘汰的意味较重，其后须跟名词或代词作宾语。

　　Most of the delegates to the conference are selected from advanced workers.

　　It is difficult to select good materials for middle school students to read.

　　elect的最普通意思是通过正式手续或投票形式的选举，其后须跟人或职称名词作宾语，亦可跟名词+名词，名词+as短语，名词+不定式短语的复合结构。

　　We elected him monitor.

　　They elected Jimmy Carter (as) President.

　　They elected him to take part in the competition.

　　12.apply for & apply to

　　apply for 申请 请求。

　　I want to apply for the position.

　　apply to可以表示 敷上 涂上。

　　Apply some medicine to his wound.

　　还可表示 努力 专心，相当于devote…to。

　　God, I promise I will apply my life to you.

　　13.Gone & lost & missing

　　gone表示 丢了 没了，含有一去不复返的意味，在句中可作表语和补语，但不能做定语。

　　My fever is gone, but I still have a cough.

　　She looked down at her dress and found her necklace gone.

　　lost 表示 丢失，含有失去后难以回归的意味，在句中可作定语，表语和补语。

　　The parents found the lost child at last.

　　His elder brother was lost at sea.

　　missing表示 失踪了 不见了，强调某人或某物不在原处，在句中可作定语，表语和补语。

　　My dictionary is missing.

　　The police are trying their best to find the missing school-girl.

　　14.good at & good with

　　good at 指 擅长于 善于某一科目 某种业余消遣或某种活动，其后接名词或动名词。

　　He is good at maths.

　　We are not only good at destroying the old world. We are also good at building the new one.

　　good with 通常指 善于使用 处理某物或对待某人，其后通常接表示工具，人体器官或人的名词。

　　He was good with his hands and heads.

　　He is good with these tools.

　　She understands children, so she is good with them.

　　15.answer for & answer to

　　Do you think parents should have to answer for their children's behavior?

　　You will have to answer for your wrongdoing one day.

　　answer for是 对……负责 、因……(错误)而负责 的意思。

　　This is the answer to the question.

　　That answers precisely to our need.

　　answer to是 适应，符合 和 与……一致等意思。

　　16.be about to & be to do & be going to do 将要做某事

　　be about to = be just going to do，意思是即将马上就要去做。在由这个短语构成的句子中一般不可再加上表示时间的状语(如at once, next)

　　I am about to leave for Shanghai.

　　be to do主要表示安排或计划要在将来做的事情，它还可以表示命令等语气，相当于should, must 等。可以同将来的时间状语连用。

　　The US President Bill Clinton is to visit Japan next week.

　　be going to do 一般可以和be to do换用，它在通常情况下表示计划安排或准备去做某事的意向，但并不一定马上去做。它一般都与时间状语连用;此外，它还可以用来表示某种推断或可能性。

　　What are you going to do for your holiday?

　　It's going to rain soon, look at those black clouds.

　　17.Beat & Hit & Strike 都有 打 击 敲 的意思。

　　beat 表示 连续不断地打击;尤其指心脏的跳动。

　　hit表示 撞击(尤指一次性的)或命中(目标)。

　　strike除了与hit同义外，还可以理解为划(火柴);给人深刻印象等。

　　The man looked dead but his heart was still beating.

　　He hit the ball so hard that it went over the wall.

　　She struck (or: hit) him hard on the head with a vase.

　　He went in, struck a match and lit a candle to give light.

　　The foreigner was deeply stricken by the beauty of the Guilin.

　　18.add to / add…to / add up to

　　add to 增加 增添的意思。

　　They also raise fish and poultry, thus adding to the total income.

　　Her son's death added to the old lady's sadness.

　　add…to 把……加到……上去。

　　Would you please add a few notes to the article?

　　add up to 加起来等于，总计达。

　　The various building programs add up to several thousand new homes.

　　The total figures add up to 270.

　　19.Certain & sure

　　certain表示 有把握的 确信的，语气较强，主语可以是人也可以是物，表示有充分的信心。

　　有时也有“某些”的含义。

　　It is certain that the temperature will rise.

　　He is certain to come.

　　Sure 确信的 无疑的，主语常为人而不是物。

　　He is sure to succeed.

　　certain和sure在接不定式和of短语时意思上有差别。

　　They are certain/sure to succeed.

　　他们一定会成功。

　　They are certain/sure of success.

　　他们有成功的把握。

　　The strike is certain/sure to take place.

　　罢工必然会发生。

　　They are certain/sure of victory.

　　他们确信会获得胜利。

　　第一例用不定式表示说话人对某事的推断，

　　有“一定，必然”的含义。

　　第二例用of短语表示主语本人的信念，

　　有“确信，对...有把握”的含义。

　　20.War & Battle & Fight

　　可表示具体的战争和战斗，亦可用于抽象意义。

　　War 战争，每个war之中可以包含许多次的battle

　　Battle 战役，指在war进行之中的各次战役及大的战斗

　　Fight 作战 战斗 解，一个battle之中可以包含多次的fight，尤指短兵相接的肉搏战。

　　Russia was beaten in the war with Japan.

　　He led the battle against.

　　There had been two or three sea fights between the two countries

21.die from, die of 都表示因……而死。

　　die from和die of都可表示因疾病，饥饿，寒冷，年迈，疲劳过度等造成的死亡。

　　die from/of illness/hunger/cold/old age/overwork/poison

　　die from另可表示由外因而造成的死亡，象事故，损伤，环境条件，自然灾害等。

　　die from a traffic accident/a wound/carelessness/an electric shock/an earthquake。

　　The young driver died from the wounds he received in the road accident.

　　The 3-year-old child died from her fall out of the high window.

　　die of另可表示因内在感情而造成的死亡，像失恋，失望，羞愧，大喜大悲等。

　　die of love/disappointment/shame/joy/grief/a broken heart。

　　Grandma Zhou died of grief soon after her husband's death.

　　They drowned themselves in the sea and died of love.

　　22.excuse, forgive, pardon 都表示 原谅 宽恕。

　　Excuse 原谅，指有意放过人们在社会，习俗方面的具体行为。如错误，疏忽或失职，不予以指责和惩罚。

　　Please excuse me for using your telephone without asking permission. I thought you wouldn't mind.

　　Forgive 饶恕 宽恕 赦免，感情色彩较浓，表示不但放弃一切报复要求，而且打消一切复仇的心理，不再愤恨，强调主观和内心的宽恕。

　　She was so kind as to forgive her intimate friend who had betrayed her when she was in a great difficulty.

　　Pardon 原谅 宽恕，正式用语，指放弃处罚要求，予以赦免，尤其指由上级按法律正式赦免过失或过错。

　　原谅时，同excuse。

　　It became necessary to fly our lives, but we couldn't expect to be pardoned.

　　23.Location & Position & Situation & Spot

　　Location 位置 场所 场地，指某物所处的固定但也许并不明确的位置，也可指找到的或可加以利用的场地。还可解作“定位，测位选址”

　　industrial location

　　The location of the missing plane can hardly be identified without more detailed information.

　　Position 方位 地点 位置，通常是指某物所处的实际或相对的位置，适用于具体及抽象的事物，因此还可解作社会地位 职务 见解 立场 姿态 等。

　　Can you show me the position of the school on the map?

　　Before the invention of the timing devices they told the time by the position of the sun.

　　Situation 地点 位置 场合，它所指的地点更注重考虑周围的环境，还指抽象的对某人或社会有影响的条件事实 事件的总和，因此可以解作 境况 形势 局势 处境 等。

　　常用短语：

　　cope/ do with the situation 应付当前情况

　　save the situation 挽回局势

　　The situation of the camp was chosen with respect to its healthfulness and its nearness to the city.

　　Spot 地点 现场，指范围清楚的特定地点，也可指事件或行为的发生地，具有较强的 有限空间意义

　　a historic/ scenic spot 古迹/ 风景名胜

　　常用词组：on the spot 当场

　　She was probably mad with hunger and thirst in that lonely hot spot.

　　The police were on the spot within a few minutes of hearing about the crime.

　　24.Learn & study

　　Learn 学习 学会，侧重学习的成果，指从不知到知，从不会到会的学习，强调通过学习去获得知识和技能，它没有凭勤奋努力而获得知识的意味。亦可指向某人学习，从某处学习及学习一门技能等。

　　learn music, learn new words, learn to skate, learn from experience, learn from LeiFeng…

　　Study 学习 研究，强调学习的过程，指深入系统地学习，带有努力勤奋的意味。其学习对象往往是科学，艺术和需要深入探讨，研究的问题及学科，不是单纯地获得技巧。

　　study medicine, study science, study a map, study engineering, study painting…

　　下列句子中的learn和study均不能互换

　　If you study hard, you'll learn the language well.

　　He learned traditional Chinese medicine from a famous Chinese doctor.

　　在指某学科的学习时，或在不需要强调两者的区别时, learn 和study可以换用。

　　How long have you learned/ studied Japanese?

　　We must keep on learning/ studying if we do not want to lag behind the times.

　　25.fine, good, well 都表示 好

　　Fine 好，程度胜过good。

　　指人的身体安好，优秀，高尚，优美，文雅，令人满意，天气晴朗等。另可表示纤弱，稀薄，细致，精致，单纯等。

　　fine weather; fine artist; fine salt; fine gold…

　　Good 几乎可用来指除“健康”以外的所有的好。

　　good days; good students; a good chance; a good book…

　　Well 作形容词时只能表示身体和情况的好。

　　well在句中只能作表语，不能作定语。

　　He looks good.他看来是个好人。

　　He looks well.他看来很健康。

　　I'm feeling very good. 我感到情绪很好。

　　I'm feeling very well.我感到身体很好。

　　26.Economic & Economical 经济的。

　　economic用以指贸易 工业 财富等有关的 经济上的 或 有关经济学方面 的意义，一般用作定语。

　　They are faced with many economic problems.

　　The country is in a bad economic state, so we must reduce profits.

　　economical则指与节约同义的经济，相当于not wasteful。

　　既可指人也可指物，既可作表语也可作定语。

　　This is an economical stove.

　　She is an economical housekeeper and feeds her family cheaply.

　　27.Gaze & Glare & Stare

　　Gaze 凝视，指聚精会神地注视，含有倾慕，神往或惊喜等意味。常和at, on, into连用。

　　He gazed into the blue sky.

　　She gazed at/on the film star with admiration.

　　Glare 怒视，指凶狠愤怒地注视，强调敌对的态度。常和at连用。

　　The angry farther glared at his son.

　　The men who were fighting glared at each other.

　　Stare 盯着看 呆看，指出于惊奇或痴呆 无礼地 目不转睛地看。常和at, on, into连用。

　　His eyes were staring at her like those of a wild animal.

　　He stared on the foreigner in wonder.

　　28.Scene & Scenery

　　scene是可数名词，通常指一个风光，舞台的一幕布景等，它还可用于指戏剧 电影中的 一场 或 一段情节。它也可用于指故事事件等发生的地点 场所。

　　The picture presents the bleak, bare, grayish scene of a February morning.

　　The scene on Hamlet is Denmark.

　　A dark lane was the scene of the murder.

　　scenery是集合名词，为不可数名词，通常指户外一个地区整个的自然景色，而不是个别的局部的风景，它也可指舞台(全堂的)布景。

　　The scenery is imposing.

　　The scenery pictures a garden in the moonlight