13.a bit,a little
a bit和a little都作"一点儿"讲,但用法不同。
1)a bit和a little在肯定句中修饰动词、形容词、副词和比较级时可以互换,表示"一点儿"的意思。例如:
The speaker spoke up a bit/a little so as to make himself heard more clearly.
演讲者把嗓门提高了一点儿,以便使别人听得更清楚。
2)a bit和a little在否定句中的意思恰恰相反,not a bit相当于"not at all"(一点儿都不);not a little相当于"very(much)"或"extremely"(很、非常)。例如:
She is not a bit tired.(=She is not tired at all.)
她一点都不累。
She is not a little tired.(=She is very tired.)
她很累。
He didn't eat a bit.(=He ate nothing.)
他一点儿也没吃。
He didn't eat a little.(=He ate a lot.)
他吃了很多。
3)a little可以直接作定语修饰名词,而a bit则要在后面加of构成短语才能作定语,两者都只能修饰不可数名词。例如:
There is a little/a bit of food left for lunch.
午饭只能吃剩下的一点食品了。
4)a bit of的另一种形式是bits of,a little则没有这种变体。例如:Besides this,he used part of an old army wireless set,and some bits of wood.除此之外,他还利用了一部分旧的军用无线电发报机的一部分零件和一些木片。
14.sound,noise,voice
这三个词均含有"声音"之义,但具体含义不同:sound泛指一般声音或声音的总称,可用作可数名词或不可数名词;noise指给人带来厌恶感或产生不良后果的声音,如噪音、吵闹声等,可用作可数名词或不可数名词;voice指人或动物发出的嗓音、吼叫声,通常用作可数名词。例如:
He suddenly heard a sound in the quiet night.
The boy made a noise by knocking at the door.
Don't make much noise.The baby is sleeping.
"Are you lost now.Please follow me!",a voice from the heavy fog said.
