elite ♦︎ society ♦︎ the nobility ♦︎ the aristocracy ♦︎ the gentry ♦︎ the upper classThese are all words for the group of people in a society who belong to a high social class and/or have a lot of power, money or influence.这些词均表示上层社会、掌权阶级。PATTERNS AND COLLOCATIONS 句型和搭配◆among the elite / nobility / aristocracy / gentry / upper class◆the local elite / nobility / aristocracy / gentry◆the British / French, etc. elite / nobility / aristocracy / gentry / upper class◆the landed / landowning / minor / lesser nobility / aristocracy / gentry◆to belong to an elite / the nobility / the aristocracy / the gentry / the upper classes■elite /eɪˈliːt, ɪˈliːt/ [countable + singular or plural verb] a group of people in a society or area of activity who are powerful and have a lot of influence, because they are rich and/or educated上层集团；掌权阶层；社会精英◆In these countries, only the elite can afford an education for their children.在这些国家，只有上层人士才供得起子女上学。◆He came from the country's intellectual elite.他属于这个国家的知识界精英。 see also elite ⇨ topadj., elitist ⇨ exclusive■society [uncountable] a group of people in a country or area who are fashionable, rich and powerful上流社会◆She was a poor Irish girl who married into New York society.她本是爱尔兰穷人家的女儿，嫁到了纽约上流社会。◆She moved in high society and had many literary friends.她进入了上流社会，结识了很多文学界的朋友。◆The revelations have outraged polite society.披露的真相激怒了上流社会。◆He was a popular photographer for society weddings.他是个有名气的摄影师，专为上层社会婚礼提供服务。■the nobility [singular + singular or plural verb](in some countries) people of the highest social class, who have special titles such as Duke or Duchess（某些国家的）贵族◆She had some influential supporters, including members of the nobility.她有一些影响力很大的支持者，其中包括贵族成员。 see also noble ⇨ lordnoun, noble ⇨ aristocraticadj.■the aristocracy /ˌærɪˈstɒkrəsi; NAmEˌærɪˈstɑːkrəsi/ [countable + singular or plural verb](in some countries) people of the highest social class, who have special titles such as Duke or Duchess（某些国家的）贵族◆He claimed to be a member of the minor aristocracy(= with a lower title).他自称是有低等爵位的贵族。 see also aristocrat ⇨ lord, aristocratic ⇨ aristocratic■the gentry [plural](used to talk about the past) people belonging to a high social class（旧时的）绅士阶层，上流社会人士◆The influence of the Church and the landed gentry(= those owning a lot of land) at that time cannot be overemphasized.当时教会和乡绅的影响力非常之大。NOTE辨析 Nobility, aristocracy or Gentry?The nobility or the aristocracy are the group of people in some countries, especially in the past, who were born in the highest social class, below royalty. They have special titles such as Duke, Duchess, Count or Earl. They are usually rich and powerful, and often own land. In the past, the gentry were people with a high social class, just below the nobility in rank, who were usually rich and owned land, but did not always have special titles, and were usually powerful at a local level rather than at a national level.在一些国家，the nobility或the aristocracy尤指旧时出身仅在皇族之下的贵族。这些人拥有诸如公爵、女公爵或伯爵等封号，通常有财有势，还常拥有土地。在过去，the gentry指社会地位仅次于贵族的上层人士，这些人通常很富有且拥有土地，但不一定有封号，在当地通常非常有权势，但其影响力未达全国范围。■the ˌupper ˈclass [singular + singular or plural verb] (especially NAmE) ( the ˌupper ˈclasses [plural]) the group of people in a society that are considered to have the highest social status and that have more money and/or power than other people上流社会；上等阶层◆They produced luxury furniture for the middle and upper classes.他们为中上等阶层生产豪华家具。ⓘ The upper class is sometimes used to refer just to the aristocracy, but is often used with a wider meaning, including the gentry and sometimes also business and professional people with enough money to buy the property, education and culture needed to enable them to mix socially with other members of the upper class. * the upper class有时专指贵族，但其含义常比较宽泛，涵盖绅士阶层，有时甚至包括那些有经济实力的商人和专业人士，他们购置房产、接受高等教育和文化熏陶，进而能融入到上流社会中◆Wealthy industrialists joined the upper class by virtue of their newly acquired spending power.富有的实业家凭借他们刚获得的高消费能力步入了上层社会。 see also class ⇨ class4, the middle class ⇨ the middle classnoun, the working class ⇨ the general public, upper class ⇨ aristocratic