◆ affair; thing; matter; business
◆ as (so) far as; as (so) long as
◇ as（so）far as的意思是“就……而言（所知）”，as (so) far as sth．is concerned是其中一種具體用法，意為“就某事而言”；as (so) long as意為“只要”，引導條件狀語從句。如：
As far as I know, more than 10 million laid-off workers have found their new jobs．
就我所知，一千多萬下崗工人已經(jīng)找到了新的工作。
There is nothing that we can’t do so ／ as long as we keep on trying to do it．
只要我們不斷地努力去做，就沒有什么事干不成。
As far as the tourism of China is concerned, there is a long way to go．
就中國的旅游業(yè)而言，需要做的工作還很多。
◆ asleep／sleeping 二者都是形容詞。asleep僅用作表語，不能作定語，表示“睡著，熟睡”的意思；而sleeping一般只能用作定語，放在名詞前，表示“睡眠中的，休止的”意思。
如：我們不能說：an asleep baby，但可以說：a sleeping baby（一個熟睡的嬰兒）。
再如：He was asleep with his head on his arms．他頭枕著手臂在熟睡。
asleeping dog正在熟睡的狗sleeping car臥車 sleeping bag睡袋
◆ assert，affirm，maintain ◇ assert宣稱、斷言，常指某人主觀自信，堅持己見，有時不顧客觀事實而斷言下結論?！?affirm指以事實為依據(jù)，深信不疑地肯定某種觀點或看法?！?maintain指在相反的證據(jù)或論點面前，重申原來的某種觀點、立場。
A．Despite all the policeman’s questions the suspect ＿＿＿ that he had been at home all evening．
B．It is nonsense to ＿＿＿ that smoking does not damage people’s health．
C．Throughout his prison sentence Dunn has always ＿＿＿ his innocence．
Answers：A. affirmed B. assert C. maintained
◆ as though；even though；though
◇ as though（＝as if），意為“好像；似乎”，引導方式狀語從句或表語從句。如：
He spoke as though（as if）he had been here before．他說話的口氣好像他以前來過這里。
It looks as if（as though）it is going to rain．看起來好像要下雨。
◇ even though（＝even if），意為“即使”，引導讓步狀語從句。though也引導讓步狀語從句，意為“雖然”；even though有退一步設想的意味，與though不同。though引導的句子所說的是事實，even though引導的句子所說的則不一定是事實。例如：
He will not tell the secret even though（even if）he knows it．即使他知道這個秘密，他也不肯說出來。
He will not tell the secret though he knows it．他雖然知道這個秘密，但他不會說出來。
◆ at the beginning；in the beginning ◇ at the beginning 在……初；在……開始的時候。常與of連用。例如： Students usually have a study plan at the beginning of term． 學生們在開學初制定學習計劃。 ◇ in the beginning 相當于at first，表示“起初、開始”時，含“起初是這種情況，而后來卻不是這種情況”之意，不與of連用。例如： In the beginning，some of us took no interest in physics． 起初我們有些人對物理不感興趣。
◆ attack assail assault charge beset
◇ 都含有"攻擊"的意思。
◇ attack 是常用詞, 指"攻擊敵人"或"用言論攻擊他人", 如:
Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941. 德國在1941年開始進攻蘇聯(lián)。
◇ assail 指"猛烈連續(xù)地攻擊", 如:
The enemy plane assailed our defence position. 敵機不斷猛烈地攻擊我們的陣地。
◇ assault 語氣比 assail強, 指"突然猛烈地進攻", 暗示"武力的直接接觸" (如肉搏等), 也有"暴力"的意思, 如：The enemy assaulted us at dawn. 敵人在黎明時向我進攻。
◇ charge 指"沖擊"或"騎兵的突然攻擊", 如:
The cavalry charged to the front. 騎兵猛烈向前線沖擊。
◇ beset 指"圍攻", 即從各個方向攻擊, 如：
In the swamp we were beset by mosquitoes. 在沼澤地里, 我們受到蚊子的圍攻。
◆ at the age of／by the age of ◇at the age of表示“在……歲時”，后面接基數(shù)詞，強調(diào)某一時刻的情況或動作，用于一般過去時，作時間狀語。例如：
At the age of six，he began to learn English．他六歲的時候開始學英語。
She learned to play the piano at the age often．她十歲的時候學彈鋼琴。
◇ by the age of表示“到……歲的時候”、“在……歲以前”，后面接基數(shù)詞，強調(diào)到某一時刻為止的結果，用于過去完成時或將來完成時，作時間狀語。例如：
By the age of sixteen，he had learned to drive a car．到十六歲的時候，他已經(jīng)學會了開小汽車。
You will have learned more than 2000 English words by the age of fourteen．
到你十四歲的時候，你將學會2000多個英語單詞。
◆ at the time; at that time; at one time; at a time
◇ at the time通常用于過去時句子中，指某件事情發(fā)生的“當時”、“那時”。例如：
Many people saw the strange thing happen at the time． 當時，許多人都看到了這件奇怪的事情的發(fā)生。
◇ 有時，at the time的后面可接“of．．．”短語。這時，它表示“在（某事態(tài)）發(fā)生的時候”或“在……的時代”。例如：
Were you in San Francisco at the time of the big earth quake in 1989﹖
1989年舊金山發(fā)生地震時，你在那里嗎？
It happened at the time of King Alfred． 事情發(fā)生在阿爾弗雷德國王時期。
◇ at that time 則通常指前文明確提到的某個時期、時候。通常其后不帶“of．．．”短語。例如：
In the 17th century much corn was grown in Tibet and Sichuan．At that time
(＝At the 17th century) the land along the Changjiang River was becoming very crowded．
◇ at one time＝during a period of time in the past意為“過去有一段時期”，“曾經(jīng)”。例如：
They used to be good friends at one time． 他們曾經(jīng)是好朋友。
◇ at a time則意為“一次”，表示一個時間單位。它常與表示數(shù)量的詞語連用，表示頻率。例如：
Don’t speak all at once．One at a time, please． 不要同時一起說。一次只一個人說。
Take the medicine three times a day and three pieces at a time． 這些藥每天服三次，每次服三粒。
◆ at ．．． speed ／ with ．．． speed
◇ at the speed of或者at ．．． speed，意為“以……的速度”。而當speed被all, lightning, great等修飾時，介詞應用with。我們可用一句口訣來幫助記憶：都（all）以閃電般（lightning）大（great）的速度行駛。如：
Our car was running with all speed on the expressway． 我們的車在高速公路上全速行駛。
The Long March No．2 Rocket sent up the satellite into space at the speed of 11．2 kilometers per second． 長征二號火箭以每秒鐘11．2公里的速度將衛(wèi)星發(fā)射到太空。
◆ as (so) far as; as (so) long as
◇ as（so）far as的意思是“就……而言（所知）”，as (so) far as sth．is concerned是其中一種具體用法，意為“就某事而言”；as (so) long as意為“只要”，引導條件狀語從句。如：
As far as I know, more than 10 million laid-off workers have found their new jobs．
就我所知，一千多萬下崗工人已經(jīng)找到了新的工作。
There is nothing that we can’t do so ／ as long as we keep on trying to do it．
只要我們不斷地努力去做，就沒有什么事干不成。
As far as the tourism of China is concerned, there is a long way to go．
就中國的旅游業(yè)而言，需要做的工作還很多。
◆ asleep／sleeping 二者都是形容詞。asleep僅用作表語，不能作定語，表示“睡著，熟睡”的意思；而sleeping一般只能用作定語，放在名詞前，表示“睡眠中的，休止的”意思。
如：我們不能說：an asleep baby，但可以說：a sleeping baby（一個熟睡的嬰兒）。
再如：He was asleep with his head on his arms．他頭枕著手臂在熟睡。
asleeping dog正在熟睡的狗sleeping car臥車 sleeping bag睡袋
◆ assert，affirm，maintain ◇ assert宣稱、斷言，常指某人主觀自信，堅持己見，有時不顧客觀事實而斷言下結論?！?affirm指以事實為依據(jù)，深信不疑地肯定某種觀點或看法?！?maintain指在相反的證據(jù)或論點面前，重申原來的某種觀點、立場。
A．Despite all the policeman’s questions the suspect ＿＿＿ that he had been at home all evening．
B．It is nonsense to ＿＿＿ that smoking does not damage people’s health．
C．Throughout his prison sentence Dunn has always ＿＿＿ his innocence．
Answers：A. affirmed B. assert C. maintained
◆ as though；even though；though
◇ as though（＝as if），意為“好像；似乎”，引導方式狀語從句或表語從句。如：
He spoke as though（as if）he had been here before．他說話的口氣好像他以前來過這里。
It looks as if（as though）it is going to rain．看起來好像要下雨。
◇ even though（＝even if），意為“即使”，引導讓步狀語從句。though也引導讓步狀語從句，意為“雖然”；even though有退一步設想的意味，與though不同。though引導的句子所說的是事實，even though引導的句子所說的則不一定是事實。例如：
He will not tell the secret even though（even if）he knows it．即使他知道這個秘密，他也不肯說出來。
He will not tell the secret though he knows it．他雖然知道這個秘密，但他不會說出來。
◆ at the beginning；in the beginning ◇ at the beginning 在……初；在……開始的時候。常與of連用。例如： Students usually have a study plan at the beginning of term． 學生們在開學初制定學習計劃。 ◇ in the beginning 相當于at first，表示“起初、開始”時，含“起初是這種情況，而后來卻不是這種情況”之意，不與of連用。例如： In the beginning，some of us took no interest in physics． 起初我們有些人對物理不感興趣。
◆ attack assail assault charge beset
◇ 都含有"攻擊"的意思。
◇ attack 是常用詞, 指"攻擊敵人"或"用言論攻擊他人", 如:
Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941. 德國在1941年開始進攻蘇聯(lián)。
◇ assail 指"猛烈連續(xù)地攻擊", 如:
The enemy plane assailed our defence position. 敵機不斷猛烈地攻擊我們的陣地。
◇ assault 語氣比 assail強, 指"突然猛烈地進攻", 暗示"武力的直接接觸" (如肉搏等), 也有"暴力"的意思, 如：The enemy assaulted us at dawn. 敵人在黎明時向我進攻。
◇ charge 指"沖擊"或"騎兵的突然攻擊", 如:
The cavalry charged to the front. 騎兵猛烈向前線沖擊。
◇ beset 指"圍攻", 即從各個方向攻擊, 如：
In the swamp we were beset by mosquitoes. 在沼澤地里, 我們受到蚊子的圍攻。
◆ at the age of／by the age of ◇at the age of表示“在……歲時”，后面接基數(shù)詞，強調(diào)某一時刻的情況或動作，用于一般過去時，作時間狀語。例如：
At the age of six，he began to learn English．他六歲的時候開始學英語。
She learned to play the piano at the age often．她十歲的時候學彈鋼琴。
◇ by the age of表示“到……歲的時候”、“在……歲以前”，后面接基數(shù)詞，強調(diào)到某一時刻為止的結果，用于過去完成時或將來完成時，作時間狀語。例如：
By the age of sixteen，he had learned to drive a car．到十六歲的時候，他已經(jīng)學會了開小汽車。
You will have learned more than 2000 English words by the age of fourteen．
到你十四歲的時候，你將學會2000多個英語單詞。
◆ at the time; at that time; at one time; at a time
◇ at the time通常用于過去時句子中，指某件事情發(fā)生的“當時”、“那時”。例如：
Many people saw the strange thing happen at the time． 當時，許多人都看到了這件奇怪的事情的發(fā)生。
◇ 有時，at the time的后面可接“of．．．”短語。這時，它表示“在（某事態(tài)）發(fā)生的時候”或“在……的時代”。例如：
Were you in San Francisco at the time of the big earth quake in 1989﹖
1989年舊金山發(fā)生地震時，你在那里嗎？
It happened at the time of King Alfred． 事情發(fā)生在阿爾弗雷德國王時期。
◇ at that time 則通常指前文明確提到的某個時期、時候。通常其后不帶“of．．．”短語。例如：
In the 17th century much corn was grown in Tibet and Sichuan．At that time
(＝At the 17th century) the land along the Changjiang River was becoming very crowded．
◇ at one time＝during a period of time in the past意為“過去有一段時期”，“曾經(jīng)”。例如：
They used to be good friends at one time． 他們曾經(jīng)是好朋友。
◇ at a time則意為“一次”，表示一個時間單位。它常與表示數(shù)量的詞語連用，表示頻率。例如：
Don’t speak all at once．One at a time, please． 不要同時一起說。一次只一個人說。
Take the medicine three times a day and three pieces at a time． 這些藥每天服三次，每次服三粒。
◆ at ．．． speed ／ with ．．． speed
◇ at the speed of或者at ．．． speed，意為“以……的速度”。而當speed被all, lightning, great等修飾時，介詞應用with。我們可用一句口訣來幫助記憶：都（all）以閃電般（lightning）大（great）的速度行駛。如：
Our car was running with all speed on the expressway． 我們的車在高速公路上全速行駛。
The Long March No．2 Rocket sent up the satellite into space at the speed of 11．2 kilometers per second． 長征二號火箭以每秒鐘11．2公里的速度將衛(wèi)星發(fā)射到太空。