excuse，forgive，pardon

这三个词都表示“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。常用词组：excuse for原谅；excuse from/to do免除。如：Please excuse me for using your telephone without asking permission. I thought you wouldn't mind.请原谅，我没有得到你的允许就用了你的电话，我想你不会介意吧！The meeting lasted so long that Mr. Laurence had to excuse himself to keep an appointment.会开了好久，因此劳伦斯为了赶另一个约会，不得不请求先行离去。

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.她如此善良，竟能原谅在她处境最艰难时背叛她的挚友。He forgave injuries so readily that he might be said to invite them.他如此爽快地宽恕了那些伤害，简直可以说，他是在招惹伤害。

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。作原谅讲时，同excuse。It became necessary to fly our lives, but we couldn't expect to be pardoned.我们有必要逃命，但我们不能指望得到宽恕。Please pardon my asking, but isn't my text book on your desk?对不起，请问，我的课本是在你的桌子上吗？

economic与economical

两个词都可译成“经济的”，但含义不同。economic用以指与贸易、工业或财富等有关的“经济上的”或“有关经济学方面”的意义，一般用作定语。如：They are faced with many economic problems.他们面临许多经济问题。The country is in a bad economic state, so we must reduce profits.国家经济状况不佳，所以我们应减少利润。

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。如：This is an economical stove.这是一种经济煤炉。She is an economical housekeeper and feeds her family cheaply.她是一个节俭的家庭主妇，她全家的花销不大。

each other与one another

这两个代词词组都作“互相”解，较多地在句子中充当宾语。each other一般只用于两个人或事物之间，one another则用于超过两个人或事物的场合。试比较：Wagner and Strauss often exchanged gifts with each other. （指两者。）The members in our group learned from one another. （指超过两者。）又如：They sat down opposite to each other.他们相对而坐。They were not suited to each other.他们俩不合适。We have known one another since we were children.我们在小的时候就相互认识了。这两个词组的差别目前已不是很严格，有时可互相替换。

effective与efficient

这两个形容词虽然都可译成“有效的”，但含义有所不同。effective指某物有一种显著的，预期的效果或是取得了预期的效果，它还可表示“有战斗力的，得力的”的意思。如：Her efforts to improve the school have been very effective.他为改善学校而做出的努力是卓有成效的。This machine is an effective remedy for acid indigestion.这是一种治疗胃酸过多的良药。He has become an effective assistant.他已成为一名得力的助手。

efficient主要指某人办事效率高，不浪费时间和精力等，也可指机械设备“有效率的”。如：A good leader should be both competent and efficient.一名好领导应该精明能干，办事效率高。Our efficient new machines are much cheaper to run.我们所买的高效机器运转消耗要小得多。　

exhausted，tired，tiresome

这三个词都与“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“耗尽的，用光的”。The athletes were too much exhausted to wake easily when once asleep.运动员们疲惫不堪，一旦入睡便很难醒来。The enemy troops being exhausted and demoralized, our troops won a series of victories.敌军疲惫不堪，士气低落，我军连战皆捷。

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，在英语中，也可表示“厌倦，不耐烦。常用于下列短语：be tired of (doing) sth. 厌倦做某事。I'm sure you must be tired after cycling all that distance.骑了那么远路，我想你肯定累坏了。When I first got to Wisconsin, I was tired of eating such kind of food as hamburger every day.初到威斯康星时，我对每天都吃汉堡类食品而感到厌倦。

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 grasping abstract statements made my learning very tiresome.难以理解的抽象表述使我对学习感到厌烦。The lecture lasted three hours and it was really tiresome.讲座持续了三个小时，的确令人劳累。　

electric与electrical

1 ). electric为“电的，用电的，带电的”，指任何电动的或发电的装置，被修饰的物体本身可带电。如:  electric light, electric stove, electric piano, electric motor, electric bell。又如： Please connect the two electric wires.请将这两根电线接起来。 With this electric blanket, the grandpa won't feel cold in winter.有了电热毯，到了冬天爷 爷就不觉得冷了。

2)． electrical为“电的，与电有关的，电气科学的”，指与电有关的事物，被修饰的词本身并不能带电。  如：electrical engineer, electrical energy, electrical engineering。又如： All the electrical work was done by my younger brother.所有的电工活都由弟弟来干。 He buried himself in an electrical book.他埋头读一本电学方面的书。　

especial与special

在表示事物不寻常，过分或特殊时，这两个词可以互换使用，只是special较especial普遍。不过，我们通常用special表示一种特别的目的。如：She paid special (especial) attention to clothes.她特别讲究穿着。That's my father's special chair in his office.那是我父亲办公室的专用椅子。These are special shoes made for John.这是专门为约翰做的鞋子。　

energy，strength，power

energy为“精力，活力，能量”，指人或动物所积蓄的内在或释放的活力，也指物理学上的能量。strength为“力气，力量”发挥的内在素质与体质，也可指物理学上的强度。试比较：He has so much energy that he can work as hard as three men. （energy指精力）The successful carrying out of the work is due to his youth and energy. （energy指活力）The energy of the sun has been widely used now. （energy指能量）All the passengers pushed the bus with all their strength, but it refused to move. （strength指力气）As the saying goes, "Unity is strength", let us work hard together to overcome the difficulties. （strength指强度。）

power为“力，力量，能力，权力”。它是力的总称，指各种力，如电力，动力或某事物的能力。它也可指人所具有的力量，能力，权力及势力等。当指人所具有的力气时，它与strength同义。如：A football player needs power/strength to run with the ball. （power指体力。）I'll do everything in my power to help that old lady. （power指能力。）Electricity gives us power and makes machines work. （power指电力。）　

everyone与every one

everyone亦作everybody，只指人。它可译作“每个人，人人，大家”。在句子中，只作主语和宾语，其后一般不跟of短语。如：He spoke so slowly that everyone could understand him.他说得很慢，每个人都能听懂。I know everyone in the college.我认识学院的每一个人。

every one不仅可以指人，还可指物，即“每个（人或物），所有的”，其后可跟of短语。如：I don't know every one of them.这些人我并不是个个都认识。I have five pictures. Every one of them is very beautiful.我有五张照片，每一张都很漂亮。　

engaged in与engaged to

1)．engaged in表示“从事，忙于”，用在连系动词be后作表语，指一种状态，介词in后接表示工作、活动的名词或动名词。如： Sister Liu is engaged in making clothes for an orphan.刘大姐正忙于替一位孤儿做衣服。

2)．engaged to表示“与……订婚”，用于连系动词be， get等后作表语，用be时表示状态，用get时表示动作，介词to后接一个人的名词或代词，如： When travelling in Europe he got engaged to an Italian girl.他在欧洲旅行时与一位意大利女孩订婚了。 Shelley is engaged to Scott.雪利与斯高特订婚了。

except，except for，excepting

这三个词都表示“除……之外“的意思，其含义和用法有别。except是一个介词，指从整体里“减去”一部分，与介词besides（“除了……还”）相对。其后可接名词，代词，副词，介词短语等。如：All except Comrade Wang are present.除了王同志全体都到了。I looked everywhere except there.除了那里以外，我到处都看了。I went nowhere except to the factory.除了去工厂外，我哪儿都没去。His books seem to be everywhere except where they ought to be.他的书似乎放得都不是地方。

except for是一短语介词，常常用来引述一个相反的原因或细节，因而部分地修正了句中的主要意义。如：This machine is of a new type except for a few short-comings here and there.这台机器是新型的，除了某些地方有些缺点。Your composition is good except for a few spelling mistakes.你的作文除了少许拼写错误外，写得很好。

excepting是分词介词，一般用于句首或not, without, always等后面，其后多接名词或代词。如：There is nobody in the room excepting John.除了约翰外，房子里没有其他人。Everybody must study, not excepting those who have a better grasp of Marxism.每个人都必须学习，对马克思主义懂得较多的人也不例外。Excepting Sundays the stores are open daily.除星期日以外，这些商店每天都开门。　

exhibit与exhibition

exhibit在用作名词时，往往与exhibition混淆。其实它们的词义是不同的。exhibit表示一件或一宗“展览品，陈列品”，构成exhibition（展览会）的一部分，有时可以指小型的“展览会”。如：Don't touch the exhibits!勿摸展品！We visited an exhibit of oil painting yesterday.我们昨天参观了油画展览。

exhibition主要表示一种大型的“展览会”，如商品，珍品或艺术品展览会等，它亦可表示一种“展览”或“表演”的动作。In Beijing they went to the art exhibition. 在北京，他们去参加了美术展览会。The country holds an economic and trade exhibition every year.这个国家每年举行一次经贸展览会。They placed artistic handcrafts on exhibition last month.他们上个月展出了手工艺品。An exhibition match of Ping Pong will take place next week.下星期将举行一次乒乓表演赛。　

enter与enter into

这两者都可指“进入”。

1)．enter可作及物动词，一般指进入一个具体地点或事物，如场所，建筑物等。它也可指“参加”，含有到里面去工作或学习等意思，如参加战争，军队，入学，入院等：enter the room / town / shop /  party / army / war / university / hospital。

2)．enter into常用于抽象或借喻的说法中，如进入生活，谈话，讨论，解释及参加某项活动等：enter  into public life/conversation/discussion/explanation/politics。enter into也可用于特别强调深入某具体场所或某物的场合。如：We entered into a woody mountain.我们置身于一个树木繁多的山林中。Some poison has entered into his body.一些毒素已侵入他的体内。　

even，even though，though

这一组词十分容易混淆。

1)．even是副词，作“甚至”解，用来强调语气。它在句中的位置应靠近所强调的词或短语，否则会引起歧 义。体会以下各句意思： She would not even enter my room.她甚至不进我的房间。 Even she would not enter my room.甚至连她也不进我的房间。 She would not enter even my room.她甚至连我的房间也不进来。

2)．even though (= even if)和though都为连词，前者为“即使，纵使”，表示退一步设想，引导一个条件状语从句，含有不肯定的意味；后者为“虽然”，引导一个让步状语从句，表示的是一种事实。参见下列两个例句，前一句表示一种设想与假设，后一句表示“他确实知道”的事实。 He will not tell us the secret, even though/even if he knows it.即使他知道这个秘密，他也不肯说出来。 He will not tell us the secret though he knows it.虽然他知道这个秘密，但却不肯说出来。

take a chair与take the chair

take a chair是"拿一把椅子" 坐一会儿"的意思。例如：He has just taken a chair into the room.他刚才拿了一把椅子进了房间。Won't you take a chair?你请坐一会儿，好吗？

take the chair是一个习惯用语，表示"担任主席，主持会议"的意思当然，在一定场合，它也可以表示"拿（这）把椅子"的意思。例如：We hope you will be so kind as to take the chair.希望你会乐意主持这次会议。Who took the chair at the conference?那次会议谁担任主席？Please take the chair out.请把这把椅子搬出去。 　

take...as与take...for

这两个关联短语都是指"把...看作，把...当作"的意思，但含义有所不同。

take...as是一般地看待某人或某物，相当于regard...as。例如：They take us as little kids who count for nothing.他们把我们看作是无足轻重的孩子。We mustn't take success and failure as a personal matter.我们不应当把成败看作是个人的事。

take...for有把某物或者人错看成或错当成的含义。例如：At first they took him for a foreigner. Several months later, they came to know he is a true Chinese.开始他们都把他当成外国人，几个月后，他们才知道他是一个真正的中国人。Do you take me for a fool who believes that tale?你是不是把我看成个傻瓜，以为我竟会相信那种谎言？ 　

take note，take note of，take notes (of)

take note是动名型短语动词，可用作不及物或及物动词。作前者时，一般独立使用；作后者时，通常其后接不定式或that从句。其意义和作用相当于take care,即表示"注意，留心"的意思。例如：Take note, keep children away from the water's edge.注意，勿让孩子在水边逗留。Take note not to wake the baby.留神，别把孩子吵醒了。Please take note that this city is in the north, not in the south of China.请注意，这座城市是在华北，不是在华南。

take note of是动名介型短语动词，作及物动词用，其后须跟名词，代词等作宾语，其作用和意义相当于pay attention to。例如：Your remarks have been taken careful note of, and I hope we'll soon reply to each of them in detail.你的讲话已受到充分注意，我想不久以后逐一详细答复。Nobody took any note of the old man's death.没有谁注意到那老人死了。

take notes表示"记笔记"的意思，用作不及物动词；take notes of意为"把...记下来"，其后须跟所记下的内容，作宾语。例如：He spoke so rapidly that it was difficult to take notes without missing something of what he said.他讲得太快，要把他的话毫无遗漏地记录下来是困难的。Do you take notes of the lectures?你听课记笔记吗？Since there was no textbook for the course, his students had to take detailed notes of everything the professor said.由于这个课程没有课本，学生们只好详细记录教授的讲课内容。 　

take the place of与take place

take the place of是"代替"的意思。若所代替的对象是代词，则通常采用take one's place的形式。例如：Electronic computers have taken the place of thousands of working people.电子计算机代替了千万个人的劳动。Last night, our monitor didn't come and I was asked to take his place.昨晚我们班长未到，大家要我代替他。

take place表示"发生，举行"的意思，是不及物短语动词，不可用被动语态。它仅用于历史上的事件，集会等，而不用于地震等自然界的现象。它常可与happen换用。例如：In 1919,the May 4th Movement took place in China.1919年，中国爆发了五四运动。Battle after battle took place in which the enemy suffered heavy losses.战斗一个接一个地进行，在这些战斗中敌人蒙受了重大损失. 　

tell...of，tell...about，tell...from

tell...of和tell...about中的动词tell后须接表示人的名词或代词，介词of和about后接谈到的情况或内容，这两个词组在一般情况下可以换用。但在表示提起某事时，倾向于tell...of,在表示详细地讲述有关情况时，倾向于用tell...about。例如：She told us of / about the difficulties she had met with in her work.她给我们谈了谈她在工作中碰到的困难。We must tell them of/ about our decision.我们应当把我们的决定告诉他们。He told us about the present situation.他给我们谈了当前的形势。

tell...from表示对好坏，优劣，真假或两种事物加以 "区分"的意思。其中tell后的宾语与介词from后的宾语一般都是一对相反或相近的意义的词。例如：Can you tell her from her twin sister?你能分得出她和她的孪生姐妹吗？But through practice one can tell the true from the false.但通过实践我们可以区别真伪。 　

terrified of与terrified at

这两个词组中的terrified均为形容词化的过去分词，同连系动词be连用。 terrified of是"害怕"的意思，相当于afraid of, 其后可接名词，代词或动名词，表示原因。例如：The child was terrified of being left alone in the house.那孩子害怕把他一个人留在家里。 She was terrified of being killed in an air raid.她很害怕在空袭中被炸死。

terrified at后除可接名词，代词或动名词,表示"因听到（看到）...而害怕"。常有terrified at the thought of/ at the idea of/ at the prospect of, etc.等搭配,即表示"想到...而惊恐，想象...而惊恐，展望...而惊恐"等意思。例如：She was terrified at the deafening explosion.她被那震耳欲聋的爆炸声吓了一跳。The old lady was terrified at the thought of crossing such a busy road.老妇人想到要穿过这样一条繁忙的马路便感到害怕。　

title，topic，subject，theme

theme："主题，论题，题目"，指人们为了进行文学或艺术方面的论述而选取的主体，如诗的思想，主张，乐曲的主旋律或绘画的基调，它与subject, topic的区别在于它有时暗示在立意，形式，效果等方面进行了比较，如an overworked theme（老生常谈的题目）指立意上与别的作品相比并无新意。This is a one-man show of paintings whose theme was the vulgarity of modern life.这是一个以现代生活的庸俗为主题的个人画展。The graduates wrote a number of essays whose theme was man's will-power.研究生们写了以人类的意志力为主题的一系列论文。

title："标题，题目"，指书，绘画，剧作等创作作品的名称；还可讲作"头衔，称呼，权利"。短语：an essay under the topic of 题为...的文章。例如：It was the book's eye-catching title that helped me make up my mind to buy it.正是这醒目的书名才使我下决心买下这本书。This is a picture that requires no title; I think everyone knows what the author really wants to show.这是一幅无需任何标题的图画，我相信人人知道作者想展示什么。

topic："话题，题目，主题，论题"，指人们普遍感兴趣或对之持有不同观点，因而可供讨论的题目，也指为了对之进行独特而有创意的论述而选择的话题，可指整篇作品的主旨，也可指某个章节，段落乃至单句包含的要点。The topic of your article is very good, but your spelling and style must be improved.你文章的题目很好，但拼写及风格必须改进。I cannot remember in a very long conversation what topic has been touched upon and what has not.我不记得在拖得很长的谈话中什么话题涉及到了，什么没有涉及。

subject："题目，主题"，在这组词中词义最广，最不确切，泛指在某一范围内的主题，以及取舍并处理某种材料的指导原则，涉及面广，概括性强，一般包括若干topic。例如：When someone rang at the door, he was doing research on the subject matter which would be under discussion in his next day's philosophy class.有人按门铃的时候，他还在为第二天哲学课所讨论的主题寻找资料。He chose "A Reform in Teaching Methods" as the subject of his lecture.他选择"教学方法的改革"作为讲话的题目。 　

though与although

这两个词都有"虽然"之意，均不能与but连用，但可加yet, still等词以加强语气。

although："尽管，虽然"，只作连词，较正式，一般情况下可以用though替代。He passed the exam although he had been prevented by illness from some classes.虽然他曾因病耽误了学习，但他考试还是及格了。Although he was seriously wounded, he still held out on the battle-field.他虽然身负重伤，但坚持不下火线。

though："虽然，尽管，即使"，还可以与even连用，even though即使，纵然。作副词时，一般不能置于句首，译作："然而，不过"，相当于nevertheless。I can see that New York must seem dull to her though the family won't admit it.我看得出来纽约对她来说一定很单调乏味，虽然家里人不愿承认这一点。She won't leave the TV set, even though her husband is waiting for his supper.即使丈夫等着吃饭，她也不愿离开电视机。　

thoughtful与considerate

这组词均有"周到的"之意。

considerate："周到的，体贴的"，指对他人的感情或处境周到，能设法减轻他人的悲伤或分担他人的苦恼。常用句型：It's considerate of sb. to do;常用词组：be considerate towards / about sb.对...体贴的。It was very considerate of you not to play the piano while your mother had a bad headache.你在母亲头痛得很厉害时不弹钢琴，真是考虑得非常周到。He was too courteous and considerate to make stubborn subordinates bend to his will.他对人很客气，体贴，不迫使固执的属下服从他的意愿。

thoughtful："体贴的，关怀他人的"，指无私地关心他人，为他人的安逸，舒适着想，能推测了解到别人的愿望或需用。常用句型:It's thoughtful of sb. to do;常用词组:be thoughtful about/ for 对...（考虑）周到的。It was very thoughtful of you to make all the necessary arrangements for us.你们考虑得很周到，为我们做好了一切必要的安排。It was very thoughtful of you to warn me of your arrival.你来之前先通知我，真是考虑周到。

worth, worthy to, worthy of, worthwhile

worth是“值得”的意思，一般看作介词（也有人认为是形容词），后面通常接（金额，时间，精力之类的）的名词或动名词。接动名词时，要用主动形式，表示的却是被动的意义。有时为了强调，worth前还可以用适当的副词修饰。例如：What is worth doing at all is worth doing well.凡是值得做的，就值得好好去做。This precision instrument is worth 10,000 yuan.这台精密仪器值一万元。The research work is worth our while.我们在这项研究工作上花了精力是值得的。

worthy to和worthy of除表示“值得的”的意义外，还有“配得上，相称的”等意思。前者后通常接被动不定式，间或接主动不定式。后者后通常接名词（但不能接有关钞票数目的名词）或动名词的被动形式，有时也接动名词主动形式。例如：It is a thing worthy to be seen.这件东西值得一看。Nothing occurred worthy of being mentioned.没有发生什么值得一提的事。She is worthy of this necklace.她是配得上这条项链的。