七、疑难名词比较与辨析
1、force; energy; strength; power
force表示“力、力量”的意思。指为做或实现某事而实际运用的力量。
He overcame his bad habits by force of will.毅力使他克服了自己身上的不良习惯。
Those people are the progressive forces in the society. 这些人是社会的进步力量。
energy主要强调“精力”，指用来做某事或完成某事的能力。还可以指“能源”。
Young people usually have more energy than the old. 青年人通常此老年人精力充沛。
Many countries are increasing their use of natural gas, wind and other forms of energy. 很多国家正在提高天然气、风以及其他能源形式的利用。
strength表示“力”的意思。指做事情的--种内在能力。就人而育，着重指力气;就物而言，着重指强度潜力等。
He lifted the stone with all his strength.他使出全身力气举起了那块石头。
The side man hasn't got enough strength to get out of bed. 那位病人还没有足够的力气下床。
Power 表示 “能力、能量、动力”的意思。指身体上、心理上和道德上的能力(不管是否发挥出)。
Knowledge is power.知识就是力 量。
I shall do everything in my power to help you.我将尽我的能力帮助你。
2、manner; means; method; way
manner表示“方式、方法”的意思。指个人喜欢采用的方式。
The manner of their meeting makes a good story. 他们相见的方式似乎有些传奇色彩。
He has developed his own manner of acting. 它形成了自己独特的演出风格。
means表示“方法、手段 、工具、财产、资力”的意思。
Students sometimes support themselves by means of evening job. 学生有时通过晚上打工的方法来养活自己。
The quickest means of travel is by plane.最快的旅行工具是飞机。
Have you the means to support a family? 你有维持家的方法没有?
method指做某事的具体步骤或程序，也指系统的、抽象概念的原理。
His idea is all right, but he lacks method.他的想法不错，但是缺少方法。
He is a man of method.他是个有条理的人。
method of teaching 教学方法 method of study 学习方法
Roasting is one method of cooking meat. 烤是做肉的一种方法。
way是最通用的词，也是最不正式的词，本义是“通道、通路”，引申作“方式、方法”讲，含义很广。
In this way over several days, the artist and his mice became friends. 就这样过了几天，这位艺术家和他的老鼠成了好朋友。
Look! Work on it in this way. 看!像这样搞它。
My parents always let me have my own way of living.
3、cost; price; value; worth; expense
cost表示“成本、费用”的意思。 原指生产某种物品的成本 ，包括生产中所支付的原料和劳动。一般要低于售价，有时也可用来泛指价格。也可用于借喻，指所付出的代价，甚至生命。
As a result, costs will be reduced by as much as 90%. 因此，成本将会降低90% 之多。
China Daily has plenty of advertisements, which help to cut the costs of making the newspaper. 《中国日报》刊登大量广告有助于降低报纸生产的成本。
price表示“价格、价钱、定价”的意思。 指经营商品出售的单价，通常要高于商品的出厂成本。也用于借喻，指做某事所付出的代价。
Can you try to get them to bring down the price? 你能把价格讲下来吗?
They can sell their beef at a high price in the capital. 他们可以在首都以高价出售他们的牛肉。
value表示“价值、价格”。指我们所估计一件东西的价值，因此是不能 以金钱估价的。
Instead they are writing once more about things that are common for everyone: feeling alone in the modern world, the value of having good friends and so on. 他们现在再一次写常人常事——现代世界中的孤独感及交好朋友的价值等等。
The park is good value for the money.公园花这么多钱值得。
worth意思是价值。指东西本身的真正价值，是经久不变的，是可贵的。
It was worth five hundred francs at the most.它最多值500法郎。
He asked me how much this computer was worth. 他问我这台计算机值多少钱。
expense意思是“费用、支出、开销”，指花费金钱、时间和精力。
We travelled toFranceat our own expense. 我们自费去法国旅行了。
Do you know at whose expense your visit toJapanwill be?你知道谁将担负你访问日本的费用吗?
4、land; ground; soil; earth
land表示“陆地、土地、地”，是河流和海洋的相对用语。用于指土地或土壤时，着重指它的性质、用途等。有时泛指大地，也可作“国家、地产”讲。
The rocky soil has been turned into rich land.岩石地已变成了沃土。
But some people don't want good farm land to be built on. 但是有些人不愿意把好的农田用来修建厂房。
To the sea captain's surprise, he found that land travel could also be quite pleasant. 使那位船长吃惊的是，他发现陆地旅行也很愉快。
ground(n. )表示“地、土地”的意思。主要指大地表面，也可以指土壤、场地。也可用于借喻指“根据、理由”。
He learnt how to clean rough ground before planting crops. 他学会了在种植作物之前如何拾掇毛糙的土地。
Then the Class 2 runner dropped his stick on the ground when he was passing it on to the fourth runner.然而，当二班运动员传给第四棒时，接力棒掉在地上了。
soil表示“土壤、土地”，指可以生长植物且富有有机物的沃土，宜于农耕。
When the plants are in the ground, I'll put some powder on the soil.当植物种到地里时，我将给地里撒些粉剂。
He studied how to improve soil conditions.他研究如何改善土壤环境。
earth表示“地、地球、泥土”，着重指”大地”，以别于天空。作”泥土”解时，常用于以别于坚硬的岩石。
Later, in a few weeks' time I'll put the little plants in the earth. 几星期后，我将把小植物埋在泥土里。
5、practice; exercise; training; drill
practice; exercise; training; drill都表示“练习、训练”的意思。
training表示“训练、培养、教练、锻炼”的意思。一般指对于身体的锻炼、对动物的训练、对士兵的训练等。
These football players had no strict training until they joined our club.这些足球队员直到加入我们俱乐部才受到严格的训练。
The athlete is in training.这个运动员锻炼得好。
The home training of children is the first class social problem. 儿童的家庭教育是社会的头等问题。
exercise主要指为提高技巧或业务水平而规定的“练习或体格锻炼”。
The book contains a series of graded exercises adapted to the use of beginners. 书中有一系列按难易排列的练习适于初学者应用。
You need more outdoor exercise.你需要多进行户外运动。
practice主要指正规的、有条理的、不断反复的 “练习”或把理论道理贯彻在行动中的 “实践”。
More practice will make you speak with greater fluency. 多练习会使你口语更流利。
The integration of theory and practice is one of the basic points of Marxism. 理论和实践的统一是马克思主义的基本论点之一。
drill表示“操练、训练”的意思。一般指严格的训练或反反复复练习或军事上的练兵。
Let's do some pattern drills.咱们做些句型练习吧。
The soldiers were at drill in the barrack yard.士兵们在营场上操练。
6、sign; signal; mark; symbol
sign表示 “符号、记号、招牌”等意思。是最普通的用语，指一个具有公认意义的、简单的、随意制定的代表物。
Letters are signs used to represent sounds.字母是用来代表声音的符号。
You'll see the sign for the rest rooms.你将看到休息室的指示牌。
signal表示 “暗号、信号”的意思。有时是有意的;有时是无意的。有意的，如强风讯号、求救信号等。
There the electrical signal is changed back into sound. 在那儿电信号又变成声音。
mark表示 “ 痕迹、记号、商标、特征、分数”的意思。指印在物品上的记号，可用在好坏两个方面。作动词时，表示”标明、作记号”的意思。
He got full marks in his maths test. 他在数学测试中得了满分。
Each stone was marked with a number. 每个石头上都标明号码。
symbol表示 “象征”的意思，特别强调故意用来包含某一特定意义的东西，或故意构成的传达某一特定意义的事物。
a good luck symbol 好运气的象征
The lion is considered the king of the forest as it is a symbol of courage and power. 狮子被看作百兽之王，是因为它是勇气与权利的象征。