写作中用词不准确是很容易犯的毛病,good,terrible,see,nice,kind,greatly,think,know,something等词汇在考生作文中反复出现。这些词本身并没有问题,是英语常用词,但是它们表达的意思过于模糊,很多情况下,应该使用意义更加准确的词。况且,总是使用这几个词会给人以表达形式单调,词汇量贫乏,文章缺乏感染力的印象。下面的一些例子,通过换用一、两个准确生动的词语或是运用一些固定搭配及习语就使整个句子增色不少。
词汇使用实例1
Original: Solving trivial problems in the dorm will add your social experience and help you to understand other people’s feelings and learn to be kind。
Revised: Solving trivial problems in the dorm will enrich your social experience and help you to understand other people’s feelings and learn to be considerate。
评析
add,kind表达的含义都比较宽泛。add可以指数量上的增加,也可以指程度的加强,对于“丰富经验、增加知识”这个意思,用enrich会使表达更准确。kind从字面意义上讲是“好的、善良的”,用kind来形容人无法具体地表现出一个人的性格特征到底怎样,原句中是想表达“考虑周到、体贴入微”的特点,要准确表达这个含义应选择considerate。
词汇使用实例2
Original: Science and technology have greatly influenced our lives and our society is changing very rapidly。
Revised: Science and technology have come to pervade every aspect of our lives and, as a result, society is changing at a speed which is quite unprecedented。
评析
greatly,rapidly属于常用词,表示程度高、速度快,这样的词在表达效果上不够具体,缺乏说服力,在修改后的句子中用了pervade every aspect of our lives就具体生动地表现出科技的影响力到底有多大,其影响力已渗透到我们生活的方方面面,at a speed which is quite unprecedented意为“以一种前所未有的速度”,形象地道出了变化速度之快。
词汇使用实例3
Original: Young people tend to think that real life is as nice and interesting as it is in the novels and movies, while more experienced adults think this kind of naive daydream will only be destroyed by later experiences and every one should learn to get used to common everyday life。
Revised: Young people tend to think that real life is as dramatic and fascinating as it is in the novels and movies, while more experienced adults think this kind of naive daydream will only be destroyed by later experiences and every one should learn to get used to tedious everyday life。
评析
nice,interesting,common都属于普通词汇,用到句子中也显得平淡苍白。nice的意思是“好的,令人愉快的”,interesting是“有趣的”,这两个词都不能准确地描绘出年轻人所憧憬的美好生活,句中想表达的是年轻人认为生活如同小说、电影一般充满戏剧变化,激动人心,要体现这层含义应该用dramatic,fascinating。dramatic表示“刺激的,戏剧性的,给人深刻印象的”,fascinating表示“具有强烈吸引力的,迷人的,使人神魂颠倒的”,这两个词的程度要比nice,interesting深得多,表现力也更强。原句用common表达实际的现实生活的枯燥无味是不准确的,common的意思是“普通的,平常的”,普通平常的东西不一定是枯燥的,tedious是表示“(因过长、过慢或单调)令人厌倦的,烦人的”,恰好传达出现实生活由于琐碎和重复而变得索然无味这种含义。
词汇使用实例4
Original: We all know that most factories would be of no use if there were not clean water supply。
Revised: It goes without saying that most factories would be of no use if there were not clean water supply。
评析
同上例一样,know这样的初级词汇应避免在作文中使用,It goes without saying that…是一个固定结构,意思是“……是不言而喻的”,常在作文中用来引经据典或表明一个尽人皆知的道理,类似的表达还有:
An old saying goes that…
Proverb goes that…
It is universally acknowledged that…
It is generally accepted that…
词汇使用实例5
Original: The use of drugs has increased greatly in the last ten years。
Revised: The use of drugs has increased significantly in the last ten years。
评析
greatly是一般用语,表示程度高,“很,非常”,使用相当普遍而没有新意,在写作中应尽量避免使用这些通俗而又陈旧的词汇,应换用一些更加正式,更有说服力的词语,例如significantly表示达到了非常重要的或可观的程度,“重大的,可观的”,能够具体说明药品使用方面,增长幅度巨大。significantly还可以替换成considerably,tremendously等,同样具有不错的表达效果。