| 例句 |
little adj.
⇨ slight (every little detail.) ⇨ small (a little girl) slight adjective ➡ See also the entry for ⇨ minor 另见minor条slight ♦︎ small ♦︎ modest ♦︎ little ♦︎ marginal ♦︎ minimal ♦︎ negligibleThese words all describe things that are not very important or serious in degree. 这些词均表示不太重要的、不严重的、轻微的。PATTERNS AND COLLOCATIONS 句型和搭配◆a slight / small / modest / little / marginal / minimal change / difference / improvement◆a small / modest / minimal / negligible amount◆a slight / small / little error / mistake / defect / accident / problem◆a slight / small / minimal chance◆a modest / marginal / minimal / negligible effect / impact◆a small / modest / minimal investment / outlay / sum / charge■ slight not very important or serious; small in degree 不太重要的；轻微的；略微的◆I woke up with a slight headache.我醒来时有点头痛。◆The picture was at a slight angle.这幅画稍微有点歪。◆A slight breeze was blowing.微风习习。◆The damage was slight.损坏很轻微。◆She takes offence at the slightest thing (= is very easily offended).她动辄生气。◆There was not the slightest hint of trouble.当时丝毫没有出乱子的迹象。▸ slightly adverb to a small degree; not very or not very much 略微；稍微◆This author takes a slightly different approach.这位作者采用了一种稍微不同的方法。◆It will make the cost slightly higher.这将会使成本略微上升。◆The door was slightly ajar.门打开了一点点。■ small [usually before noun] not very important, serious or difficult 不太重要的；不严重的；不困难的◆I made only a few small changes to the report.我对报告只做了几处小改动。◆Can I ask you a small favour?你能帮我个小忙吗？◆Everything had been planned down to the smallest detail.一切都已做了细致入微的安排。◆It was no small achievement getting her to agree to the deal.能让她同意那笔交易可是个不小的成就。NOTE 辨析 Slight or small?You can use either word to talk about changes or problems. 这两个词都可指变化不大或问题不严重◆a slight / small adjustment / alteration / amendment / change / improvement / reduction / rise / variation略微的调整／改动／修改／变化／改进／降低／上升／变更◆a slight / small mistake / error / defect / flaw / blemish / discrepancy / problem / snag / accident小错误；小差错；小缺点；小瑕疵；小斑点；小差异；小问题；小麻烦；小事故Use slight but not small to talk about medical problems, feelings or things that affect the senses. 谈论疾病、感觉或影响感官的事情时要用slight而不用small◆a slight cold / headache / movement / noise / touch轻微的感冒／头痛／活动／噪音／触摸◆slight discomfort / embarrassment轻微的不安／尴尬Use small but not slight to talk about amounts or numbers. 谈论数量或数目时要用small而不用slight◆a small amount / number / quantity / degree / proportion / minority少量；少数；小量；轻度；小部分；极少数Both words are often used in the superlative, but especially slightest, often in negative sentences. 二者都常用于最高级，特别是slightest，常用在否定句中◆He is, without the slightest doubt, the greatest living novelist.毫无疑问，他是当世最伟大的小说家。◆I did not feel the slightest inclination to hurry.我一点也不着急。 ■ modest / /ˈmɒdɪst; NAmE ˈmɑːdɪst/ not very large, expensive or grand 不太大的；不太贵的；不太显著的◆There has been a modest improvement in the situation.形势有了些许的改善。◆He charged a relatively modest fee.相对来说他的收费不算高。◆She grew up in a modest little house in the suburbs.她是在郊区一所简朴的小房子里长大的。◆The research was carried out on a modest scale.这项研究开展的规模不算太大。ⓘ Modest is used especially to talk about aims and achievements * modest尤用于修饰目标和成就◆a modest aim / achievement / ambition / goal / success不太高的目标；不显著的成就；不太大的抱负；不太高的目标；一般的成功amounts of money that people spend or earn 或修饰花费或赚的钱◆a modest contribution / expenditure / fee / gain / investment / outlay / profit / sum不多的捐款／开支／收费／回报／投资／费用／利润／一笔钱buildings that are not very expensive or grand 或指房子不太贵或不太富丽堂皇◆a modest house / flat / villa简朴的房子／公寓／别墅◆modest premises规模不大的营业场所and the size of sth. 或修饰某物的大小、尺寸◆a modest size / amount / quantity / scale / share / proportion不大的尺码／数额／数量／规模／一份／份额 ▸ modestly adverb ◆modestly priced goods定价不算贵的商品■ little [usually before noun] (rather informal, especially spoken) not very important; not serious 微不足道的；不严重的◆I can't remember every little detail.我不可能记得住每一个微小的细节。◆You'll soon get used to these little difficulties.你很快就会习惯这些小小的不便。◆We had a little adventure yesterday.昨天我们经历了一次小小的冒险。ⓘ Little is often used to talk about problems, events or mysteries that are not very serious or important. * little常指问题、事件或谜团不太严重或不太重要◆a little error / mistake / defect / problem / argument / accident / incident / adventure / mystery / quirk / secret小差错；小错误；小瑕疵；小问题；小争执；小事故；小事件；小冒险；小谜团；小怪癖；小秘密 ■ marginal /ˈmɑːdʒɪnl; NAmE ˈmɑːrdʒɪnl/ (rather formal) only slight 小的；微不足道的；不重要的◆The story will only be of marginal interest to our readers.我们的读者对这则故事不会很感兴趣。◆The difference between the two estimates is marginal.这两种估计差别很小。▸ marginally adverb ◆He's in a new job but he's only marginally better off.他换了新工作，但也多挣不了多少钱。■ minimal /ˈmɪnɪməl/ / very small in size or amount; as small as possible 极小的；极少的；最小的◆The work was carried out at minimal cost.这项工作是以极少的开销完成的。◆The damage to the car was minimal.汽车受到的损坏很小。■ negligible / /ˈneglɪdʒəbl/ / (especially written) so small or unimportant that it is not worth considering 微不足道的；不值一提的◆The cost was negligible.费用不多，无关紧要。◆Tests found only a negligible amount of the chemical in the product.测试发现该产品中这种化学物质的含量很低，不碍事。ⓘ When you use negligible, you mean that an amount of the thing described exists or is present, but that there is not enough of it to have an effect. * negligible表示所描述的事物存在一定的数量，但不足以产生影响。 small adjective small ♦︎ little ♦︎ tiny ♦︎ miniature ♦︎ compact ♦︎ minute ♦︎ microscopicThese words all describe sth that is not large in size, number, degree or amount or not as large as sth else of the same type. 这些词均表示小的、细小的。SYNONYM SCALE 词义标尺 下图显示这些词所表达小的程度| small | ➔ | tiny | ➔ | minute | | little | | | | microscopic | | miniature | | | | | | compact | | | | |
PATTERNS AND COLLOCATIONS 句型和搭配◆a small / little / tiny / miniature house / town / room◆a small / little / tiny / miniature / compact car◆a small / little / tiny / minute / microscopic detail◆a small / little / tiny baby / child◆a small / little boy / girl / man / woman◆small / little / tiny / minute / microscopic particles / organisms / creatures◆a small / little / tiny bit (of sth)◆a small / tiny / minute amount / quantity / trace / fraction◆very / quite / relatively / comparatively small / little / tiny / compact◆extremely / really small / little / tiny◆rather small / little / compact■ small not large in size, number, degree or amount; not as large as other things of the same type （尺寸、数量、程度或同类事物中）小的◆Their apartment's pretty small.他们的公寓相当小。◆That dress is too small for you.那件连衣裙你穿太小。◆They're having a relatively small wedding.他们准备办一个不太隆重的婚礼。◆These shoes are too big. Do you have some in a smaller size?这双鞋太大，有小一号的吗？OPP large , big ⇨ large ■ little [usually before noun] (not usually used in the comparative or superlative 通常不用于比较级或最高级形式) small 小的◆A little boy was standing on the doorstep.一个小男孩站在门前。◆What a cute little baby!多逗人喜爱的小宝宝啊！◆She gave a little laugh.她微微一笑。◆I was a little bit afraid of him.我有点儿怕他。◆Here's a little something (= a small present) for your birthday.这是送给你的生日小礼物。OPP big , large ⇨ large NOTE 辨析 Small or little? Small is the most usual opposite of big or large. Little is often used to show how you feel about sb/sth, especially after other adjectives, such as ugly, nice or cute. It can also be used when you think sb/sth is not important. * small是big或large的最常用的反义词。little常带感情色彩，特别是用在其他形容词后面时更是如此，如ugly、nice或cute。该词也可用于认为某人或某事不重要的情况◆You'll feel a little sting.你会觉得有点儿刺痛。◆What a horrible little man!多么令人讨厌的家伙！The forms littler and littlest are rare; it is more common to use smaller and smallest. * littler和littlest这两种形式都很少见，常用的是smaller和smallest。 ■ tiny / /ˈtaɪni/ / very small in size or amount 极小的；微小的；微量的◆His room is absolutely tiny.他的房间极小。◆She held the tiny baby in her arms.她把那小小的婴儿抱在怀里。◆Only a tiny minority hold such extreme views.只有极少数人持这样极端的观点。◆We come from a tiny little town in up-state New York.我们来自纽约州北部一个丁点儿大的小镇。◆There's only one little tiny problem with the booking.预订仅出了一个极小的问题。OPP huge , enormous ⇨ huge ■ miniature / /ˈmɪnətʃə(r), NAmE also ˈmɪnətʃʊr/ [only before noun] (no comparative or superlative 无比较级和最高级) much smaller than the usual size of other things of the same type 很小的；微型的；小型的◆It belongs to a rare breed of miniature horses.它是一种罕见的小矮马。◆In the centre of the table was a bowl filled with miniature roses.桌子中央有一只碗，碗里插满了小玫瑰花。◆They expect their children to behave like miniature adults.他们希望自己的孩子举止像个小大人。ⓘ Miniature versions of plants or animals are usually deliberately bred to be small. * miniature形容动植物时通常指专门培育出来的微型植物或动物。■ compact /kəmˈpækt/ / small and easy to carry; using or filling only a small amount of space 小型的；袖珍的；紧凑的；体积小的◆a compact camera袖珍照相机◆The kitchen was compact but well-equipped.这间厨房虽然空间小但设备齐全。■ minute /maɪˈnjuːt, NAmE also maɪˈnuːt/ extremely small 极小的；微小的；细微的◆There were minute traces of the drug present in his blood.他的血液中有微量的毒品成分。◆The kitchen on the boat is minute.船上的厨房小极了。■ microscopic /ˌmaɪkrəˈskɒpɪk; NAmE ˌmaɪkrəˈskɑːpɪk/ [usually before noun] extremely small and difficult or impossible to see without a microscope (= an instrument used in scientific study to make very small things look larger) 极小的；微小的；须用显微镜观察的◆It is claimed that the fumes contain microscopic particles of carbon.据称这些烟雾中含有碳的微粒。 |