at the point of, in point of, on the point of
这组短语的意思并不完全相同。它们的区别在于：
1.at the point of和on the point of的意思都是“将近…的时候”“即将…的时候”,前者多接名词,后者多接动名词。例如:
The boy hurt in the accident lay at the point of death for weeks, then he got well.事故中受伤的男孩生命垂危达数星期,后来他恢复了健康。
I'm glad you've come.I was on the point of telephoning you, but you've saved me the trouble now.你来了,我真高兴。刚才我正要给你打电话,但现在你让我省事了。
2.in point of意思是“关于”“就…而论”。例如:
In point of that test,I have discussed with him. 关于那个试验,我已经和他讨论了。
3.on the point of比 at the point of表示的时间更迫近。试体会：
The man was at the point of death.
这人快要死了。
The man was on the point of death.
这人就要死了。
point by point, point for point, point to point
这组短语的意思并不相同。它们的区别在于：
1.point by point的意思是“一点一点地”。例如:
The fire burns down point by point.火一点一点地变弱了。
2.point for point的意思是“一点一点地对比”。例如:
Point for point you must choose between the two men.一点一点地对比你必须在这两人中间挑一个。
3.point to point的意思是“从一点到另一点”。例如:
We advanced from point to point.我们从一点走向另一点。
point of view, advice, counsel, opinion, view
这组词(组)共同的意思是“意见”或“建议”。它们的区别在于：
1.point of view指看问题的角度,着眼于对事物的考虑方法,多指别人的观点。例如:
It is wrong to approach a problem from a metaphysical point of view.用形而上学的观点来看待问题是错误的。
2.opinion一般指对事物的看法,包括从纯个人的判断到较权威性的评论。例如:
He always imposes his opinion upon others.他总是把自己的意见强加于人。
The opinion is accepted as true.这个意见被认为是正确的。
Most of my classmates accord in that opinion.我们班大多数同学都是那个意见。
3.counsel是正式用语,多指重要的或具有权威性的意见。例如:
You had better follow his counsel.你最好听从他的忠告。
They refused to listen to the old man's counsel.他们不听老人的劝告。
4.view表示对某事物的特殊看法,特指个人学识与感情影响的意见,常用复数形式。例如:
His views are conservative.他的见解是保守的。
5.advice通常指向某人提出意见或看法,促使对方去做或不做某事以免犯错误,有劝告的意味。例如:
He asked me to give him some advice.他请我给他提些建议。
I accepted his advice in buying a new car.我听了他的话买了辆新车。
She countered that her advice had not been heeded.她反驳说她的建议未被重视。
下面各组中两个句子意思相同：
She pricked herself with the point of a needle.
She pricked herself on the point of a needle.
她被针扎了一下。
The roof seems on the point of falling in.
The roof seems at the point of falling in.
屋顶眼看就要塌下来了。
He made a point of drawing him into the conversation.
He made it a point to draw him into the conversation.
他决意要引导他发言。
point at, point to
这两个短语的意思有所区别：point to的意思是“指向”; 而point at的意思是“指着”,含有某种目的性。以事物作主语时,用point to更常见。例如:
The needle of a compass points to the north.罗盘指向北方。
We must teach our children that it is not polite and ill-bred to point at people.我们必须教育自己的孩子,用手指人是不礼貌的,没教养的。
另外, point at可分开用,即point后直接跟名词或代词作宾语, at表示方向; 而point to不能这样用。例如:
Point the gun at the target.用枪对准靶子。
point, aim, level, train
这组词共同的意思是“对准”“瞄准”,它们之间的区别是:
1.瞄准方法不同:aim指端起枪瞄准; train指把枪放在对准其目标的位置上; level指把枪放在水平位置上瞄准; point则指以某物的一端或尖端对准某一点。例如:
The army trained its cannon on the fort.军队把大炮对准了要塞。
The second sentry leveled his halberd at the parson's breast.第二个警卫把他的戟对准了牧师的胸口。
He pointed his finger at me.他用手指着我。
2.搭配范围不同:aim和train可以表示以镜头对准; 而level和point不能这样用。例如可以说He trained the camera upon the children.它把相机对准孩子们。
3.连用的介词不同:aim与at, for连用; train与on〔upon〕连用; level与at, against 连用; 而point则与at, to连用。
4.使用场合不同:aim for多见于较正式的文体中。
point out, indicate, show
这组词(组)都有“表示”“表明”的意思。它们的区别在于：
1.point out更强调“指出”。例如:
She pointed out that the closing date for making applications had passed.她指出申请的截止日期已经过了。
2.show通常用于一眼就可以看清的东西,多用于有意识的行为。例如:
Does the mark of the wound still show?伤痕还看得出吗?
Tickets, please. Show your tickets.票,请把票拿出来。
3.indicate常用于无意识的行为。例如:
A signpost indicated the right road for us to follow.一个路标给我们指示应走的路。
The state of his clothes indicates clearly that he has been playing football.他的衣服表明他一直在踢足球。
