在本专栏中,我会选择一下简单常见的单词,讲解其地道的用法。这一篇文章讲一下importance/significance这两个词表示重要性时的几种常见地道写法。在作文中如果能正确使用下面这些用法,定会让阅卷老师眼前一亮。
由于这两个词表示重要性时,用法几乎无差别,为了避免过多次重复,文中有些位置会适当省略significance。
1 表示事物的重要性程度
在表示事物重要/不重要时,除了用important/siginificant/unimportant/insignificant这些形容词之外,还可以使用由名词importance/significance构成的介词短语:be of adj importance。这是个非常正式的书面语,其中的adj可以是no/little(不重要的/基本不重要的)、equal(同等重要的)、great/vital/paramount(非常重要的)等等,用来表示事物不同程度的重要性。比如:
①It is of vital importance that students strike a balance between schoolwork and leisure.对学生来说,平衡好学业和休闲非常重要。
②For married women, career aspirations and family commitments are of equal importance(=are equally important), but it is often difficult to reconcile the demands of family and work.对于已婚女性来说,职业抱负和家庭义务同等重要,但是平衡家庭和工作两者的需求往往很难。
2 表示重视
importance这两个词可以与动词attach/place搭配,表示重视:attach importance to sth、place importance on sth。如:Wealthy parents attach more significance to children's education than their worse-off counterparts.有钱的父母相比于经济条件更差的父母来说,更加注重孩子的教育问题。
我们还可以以importance为中心词,将attach...to sth或place..on sth变为后置定语,即the importance (that is) attached to sth或the importance (that) sb attach to sth人们对于某事的重视。对于其他类似的【动词+名词+介词】结构,比如pay attention to,也可以进行这类操作。这样结构的灵活变化,可以让阅卷老师知道我们并不只是在死记硬背套模板,更容易获得高分。造个句:Given the special importance many recruiters place on edcautional background in modern society, students have to climb the educational ladder, obtaining ever-higher levels of credentials and, more alarmingly, taking exam-oriented training classes as early as from primary school.基于当前社会中很多招聘者对于教育背景的特别重视,学生们必须攀登教育阶梯,获得越来越高层次的教育成就,甚至更令人担忧的是,从小学就开始参加各类考试培训班。
1⃣️理解/认识到某事的重要性:grasp/recognise/appreciate+the importance of sth。在作文中提建议的部分,通常可以用到这组搭配,比如:
Workers should appreciate the significance of constantly updating their skills, especially at a time when technological change threatens to disrupt the labour market.工作者们应该认识到不断升级自己技能的重要性,尤其是在一个科技变革可能会扰乱劳动力市场的时代。
2⃣️强调某事的重要性:stress/emphasise/underline the importance of sth。比如:Schools should stress the importance of regular physical exercise.学校应该强调经常进行身体锻炼的重要性。
4 重要性在于
在描述事物的具体重要性时,可以与动词短语lie in(在于)搭配,构成:The importance of sth lies in...。由于lie in是以介词结尾的,因此后面要接名词成分。如果需要接句子,则要写成lie in the fact that...,不能写成lie in that...。因为名词从句的that不能直接放在介词后面,除了considering that/given that/in that这几个固定结构。造句:
The significance of vocational eductaion lies in the fact that it meets the demands of the employment market by equipping students with the skills needed in the workplace.职业教育的意义在于,通过使学生具备职场所需的技能,满足劳动力市场的需求。
5 作为某事的重要性
可以在importance后面加上一个同位语as sth,表示某事作为...的重要性,即:sth's importance as sth。作主语时,可以搭配谓语rise/decline/be on the wane(在不断下降)/be on the rise(在不断上升)等,如:
As the internet is penetrating into every facet of people's lives, its importance as a daily necesssity is on the rise.随着互联网正在进入了人们生活的方方面面,互联网作为日常必需品的重要性也在不断增加。
importance还经常与growing/increasing/declining搭配,表示日益增加/逐渐降低的重要性。造句:
The increasing significance of home- and car-ownership as a prerequisite for marriage has in recent years put a heavy financial burden on many urban youths.有房有车作为结婚必备条件的重要性的逐渐增加近年来给很多城市青年带来了沉重的经济压力。
如果表示某事的重要性增加/降低,除了按照中文语序翻译成the importance of sth grows/rises/declines,也可以写成sth grows/rises/declines in importance。这个结构中的importance也可以换成其他词,通常是抽象名词,比如value/popularity/scale等。造句:
As the population ages and shrinks, intelligent robots are growing in importance and complexity.随着人口的老龄化和缩减,智能机器人的重要性和复杂性正在不断增加。
6 比较两者的重要性
significance这个词还有个否定形式:insignificance不重要。一般用于下面这个短语:pale/fade into insignificance变得不重要。在写作中可以用这个短语来比较利弊。造个句:
The risks surrounding artificial intelligence pale/fade into insignificance when compared with/when set agaisnt the incredible promise it holds.跟人工智能相关的风险与其可能带来的惊人的前景相比不足一提。=The risks surrounding artificial intelligence are overshadowed/eclipsed by(在...面前黯然失色) the incredible promise it holds.
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