choose, elect, select

　　choose, elect 和 select 这三个动词都有 “挑选”、“选择” 的意思，但各自的含义和用法有所不同。

　　(1)choose 是普通用语，指按自己的判断力或好恶来进行挑选，挑选可以在两者、也可以在任意多者之中进行，其后接 between A and/or B, sb./sth. from sb./sth., sb./sth. as sth.。

　　Miss Li has to choose between giving up her job and/or hiring a nanny.

　　李小姐得在放弃工作和雇用保姆之间作选择。

　　Could you choose me a good one from among them?

　　劳驾给我从中挑选一个好的,行吗?

　　The students chose Gao Feng as their monitor.

　　学生们选高峰当班长。

　　(2)select 表示在选择上比 choose 要考虑得更细致，主要根据被选对象的优劣，选拔、精选出最佳或最合适者，被挑选对象一般多于两个，其后面常常接 sb./sth. (from sb./sth.), sb./sth.(as sth.)。

　　He selected an appropriate birthday card from the rack for his mother.

　　他从架子上给母亲挑选了一张合适的生日贺卡。

　　Who was selected as the team leader?

　　选谁出来当队长?

　　(3)elect指通过投票等方式正式地选出，常作 “选举”、“推选” 解，后面接sb.(to sth.), sb. (as) sth.。

　　Ms. Mendel was elected to parliament. 门德尔女士当选为议员。

　　We elected him (as) our team leader by a show of hands. 我们通过举手的方式选举他当队长。

　　自我测试

　　根据句意，用choose, elect 和 select 的适当形式填空。

　　1. My wife took a long time to ______ a new dress.

　　2. They want to _____ some from among them for seeds.

　　3. There is nothing to ______ between them.

　　4. The people _____ my brother as chairman.

　　5. The girl _____ the red sweater rather than the pink one.

　　6. My wife was _____ to the committee.

　　7. Why didn’t you _____ a better subject for your composition?

　　8. When people _____ someone, they _____ that person to represent them by voting.

　　答案：

　　1. choose/select 2. select 3. choose 4. elected 5. chose 6. elected 7. select 8. elect, choose

　　contrary，opposite

　　contrary 和 opposite 用作形容词，均可表示“完全相反的”。

　　(1) contrary 一般用于表示相反的意见、计划、目的等抽象意义，有时带有矛盾或敌对的意味：

　　What you have done is contrary to the doctor's orders.

　　你所做的与医生的指示恰好相反。

　　Your statement is contrary to the facts.

　　你的陈述与事实相反。

　　Opposite 和contrary 有时可通用：

　　The trains go in opposite/contrary directions.

　　火车朝着相反的方向行驶。

　　要表达 black 和 white, calm 和 agitate 这样成对的概念时，即这一个是另一个的反面，不可说 What's the contrary of “calm”?而应说 What's the opposite of “calm”? calm(镇静)的反面是什么?

　　(2) opposite 是常用词，常指相反的位置、方向、性质、结果等静态含义，但不一定有敌对的含义。

　　Go into that opposite room, and wait there until I come.

　　到对面那个房间去，在那儿等我回来。

　　It would have just the opposite effect.

　　它会产生完全相反的结果。

　　自我测试

　　根据句意，用 contrary 和 opposite 填空。

　　1. In England you must drive on the ______ side of the road to rest of Europe.

　　2. John and Mary sat at ______ ends of the table.

　　3. This is Number 6, so Number 13 must be on the ______ side of the street.

　　4. “Hot” and “cold” are ______ term.

　　5. The ship was delayed by ______ wind.

　　答案：

　　1. opposite 2. opposite 3. opposite 4. contrary 5. contrary

　　damage, destroy, ruin

　　damage, destroy 和 ruin 这三个单词均表示“破坏”、“损坏”的意思，但各自的含义和用法不同。

　　(1)damage 指部分“损坏”、“损害”、“破坏”或指使用价值有所降低。它可以用作动词，也可以用作名词，用作名词时常与to sth. 连用。

　　A lot of houses in the area were damaged by the storm.

　　暴风雨毁坏了这个地区很多的房屋。

　　The accident did a lot of damage to his car.

　　这次车祸使他的车受到很大的损坏。

　　(2)destroy 只能用作动词，指彻底破坏，以致不可能修复，常作“破坏”、“毁灭”解，也可以指希望、计划等打破。

　　The earthquake destroyed almost the whole town.

　　地震几乎毁灭了整个市镇。

　　My hope of being a writer was destroyed.

　　我想成为一个作家的希望破灭了。

　　(3)ruin 则表示破坏严重，以致不能修复，但这种破坏不像 destroy 那样毁灭某物，而是强调致使该物的使用价值发生了问题。用作动词时，它作“使毁灭”、“使崩溃”、“弄糟”解;用作名词时，它表示“毁灭”、“瓦解”、“废墟”等抽象概念。ruin 也有借喻的用法。

　　The fire ruined the castle. 那场大火使城堡夷为废墟。

　　He has ruined his health through drinking. 他饮酒过多，把身体搞垮了。

　　The house has fallen into ruin. 房子倒塌了。

　　The company is facing ruin. 这家公司面临破产。

　　自我测试

　　根据句意，用 damage, destroy 和 ruin的适当形式填空。

　　1. There was no way of repairing the house. It had been _______.

　　2. A fire had severely _______ part of the school.

　　3. Several buildings were _______ by the bomb.

　　4. He _______ his respects by carelessness.

　　5. Many of the books were _______ by fire.

　　6. We passed the _______ of an old castle.

　　7. She poured water all over my painting and _______ it.

　　8. All hopes of a peaceful settlement were ________ by his violent speech.

　　答案：

　　1. ruined 2. damaged 3. destroyed 4. ruined 5. damaged 6. ruin 7. ruined 8. destroyed