1. average, ordinary和common
average, ordinary和common都有“一般的、普通的”的意义,但 average强调“平均”,ordinary侧重“不出众、平平淡淡”,common更显出“随处可见”。如:
My average income this year is 2000 yuan a month.
我今年的月平均收入是2000元。
Though he is just an ordinary official in Taizhou City, Zhang Yunquan has performed extraordinarily well.
尽管张云泉同志只是泰州市的一个普通官员,但他在平凡的工作岗位上作出了不平凡的贡献。
It is quite common to see people walking and talking on the cell phone in China.
在中国随处可见边走边用手机打电话的人。
2. can和be able to
can和be able to都表示“会,能够”的意义,但侧重点不同。can指人天生具备的能力或可能性,be able to则常侧重用来指经过后天努力而具备了的做某事能力。如:
Babies can feel hungry soon after they are born. 幼婴出生不久就能感觉到饥饿。
I can answer all the questions on the paper. 我能回答试卷上所有的问题。
After ten minutes of struggle, the old man was able to rise to his feet unsteadily.经过十分钟的努力挣扎,这个老人终于能够摇摇晃晃地站了起来。
3. gift和present
gift 和present都有“礼物、赠品”的意义,但除了表示“礼物”之外各有其不同的含义。gift还可以表示“天赋”,present亦可以用作形容词,表示“在场的”或用作动词,表示“呈现、赠送”。如:
Not all the children have the gift for music. 不是所有的小孩都有音乐天赋的。
All the people (who were) present were amused to laughter.所有在场的人都被逗笑了。
We presented the old man with a jade tortoise, wishing him a long life. 我们给这个老人赠送了一只玉龟,祝他老人家长寿。