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Commonly Confused and Misused Words
常见易混易错单词
1 不定冠词a/an 与定冠词the
• “a/an”: 用于可数或单数名词之前
例:"A new species of Escherichia was identified.“
(other species also exist)
•“the”: 指目前或将来独一无二事物
例:" The organism responsible for the outbreak was Escherichia coli."
2 affect/effect (and impact)
• “effect”作为名词时,表示“行为的结果”
• “affect ”作为动词时,意思为“影响”
BUT
• “effect” 作为动词时,意思为“引起变化”
• “affect” 作为名词时,意思为由于某人行为举止或语言引起的感受或情绪
• “impact” 只用于描述“一件事对另一件事”产生的冲击,不能作为“affect”使用
例:“Ingesting massive doses of ascorbic acid may affect his recovery.”
(influence the recovery in some way)
例:“Ingesting massive doses of ascorbic acid may effect his recovery.”
(produce/cause the recovery)
Luckily, the medicine did not adversely affect the patient. Many scientists believe that global warming is the effect of greenhouse-gas emissions.
3 because/as/since
• “as” 表示时间,而不是因果关系
例:“As we were completing the paper, new evidence came to light.”
• “because” 表示因果关系
例:“Five participants could not complete the follow up questionnaire because they had moved out of the target district.”
• “since” 表示时间关系
例:"Since we completed the study, there have been 3 additional outbreaks."
4 because of/due to
• “due to” = adjective + preposition, adjectival phrase meaning “attributable to” or “caused by” 归因于…
例:"The problem was due to mechanical failure."
• “because of” = conjunction + preposition, adverbial phrase
meaning “as a result of” or “owing to” 因为/由于
例:“The problem occurred because of mechanical failure.”
5 comparable/similar (and same)
• “comparable”: 可与…相比的, 类似的
例:“Because the methods are different, the statistics are not comparable.”
• “similar”: 相似
例:"The mortality rates in Sweden and Chile are similar."
* “Same” 有时会与 “ similar” 混淆。 “Same” 指完全一样,或 “identical”,通常不用于科研结果的比较 , 特别是两项不同研究的比较
6compose/comprise/constitute
• “compose”
*1) 构成,主动语态
例:“Fifty states compose the United States of America.”
* 2) 构成,被动语态
例:“The United States of America is composed of 50 states.”
• “comprise” 包括,包含
例:“The United States of America comprises 50 states.”
• “constitute”与“compose” 意思相同
7 currently/presently/at present (and "now")
• “currently” (preferred) and “at present” mean “now” 现在
例:“There are currently no available studies on Han Chinese populations.”
• “presently” means “soon”, “shortly”, “in the near future.”不久的将来
例:“Presently, we will go to the Forbidden City.”
* 最好使用currently”或“at present”,“Now” 经常被错误使用
8 demonstrate/exhibit/reveal/show
• “demonstrate” 演示
例:“The technician demonstrated how to operate the pH meter.”
• “exhibit” 展示
例:"He exhibited the mineral specimens at the last congress."
* 不用于表示被动地体现某事物
× "The patient exhibited a rash"
○ "The patient had a rash.”
• “reveal” 揭示/显示
例:“The X-ray revealed a tumor in the lower part of the stomach.”
• “show” 指示/表明
例:The results show that the GaN film is of the wurtzite structure and has the Ga-polarity.
* “demonstrate” 的主语应该是生命体,像 “The data demonstrated that...” 这样的用法应当避免。
9 significant vs. important/great/major/valuable
• “significant” 通常用于统计学意义达到一定数值的上限或下限
例:“The mean blood pressure was significantly lowered, with a P value of 0.05”
例:“The results of this research will be of great value to all nanotechnology researchers.”
* 如不单纯表示统计学意义,建议使用其它单词
10 employ/utilize vs. use
• “use”: adequate in most cases to mean applying or drawing on for a purpose. “use”: 使用广泛,表示为达到某一目的采用的方法与事物
例:“An autorefractor was used to measure refractive error.”
• “employ”: can also mean to put a person to work or put an object to use. “employ”: 聘用某人或采用某物
例:“All of the subjects had been employed at the company since 1997 or earlier.”
* Tip: 在科学写作中,实在无必要使用 “utilize”
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