这期文章整理了最近校稿过程中常见的用词错误，并借此机会略加剖析，供大家参考。错误一：further vs. farther
"Further" 和 "farther" 都是形容距离的副词，但在用法上有细微差异。
"Further" 是强调"程度"，例如："We further investigated the difference" 或 "she is further along in her career than he is"；而 "farther" 指的是字面上的"物理距离"，例如："I can throw the ball farther than you can" 或 "the islands farther south have a different climate"。
简言之，"further" 用于抽象程度的隐喻，而 "farther" 用于实际的物理距离。
常见错误二：rough vs. estimation vs. approximate
"Rough"、"estimation" 和 "approximate"都是"大约"的意思。有鉴于期刊论文需精简用词，所以可以省略掉重复意涵的 "rough", 后两者择其一使用即可。例如：
原句：We calculated a rough estimation of the cost of production.
改句：We calculated the estimated/approximate cost of production。
常见错误三：2AM in the morning
"AM" 是拉丁文 "ante meridiem" 的缩写，意指"中午前"，而 "PM" 是拉丁文 "post meridiem" 的缩写，意指"中午后"。因此 "AM" 和 "PM" 后面不必再加 "in the morning"、"afternoon"、"evening" 或 "at night" 等时间状态语句。
常见错误四：manually by hand (manually)
"Manually" 和 "by hand" 是相同概念，都是人工或手工的意思，所以两者可择一使用。例如：
原句：The interview content was then manually inputted by hand to an electronic format.
改句1：The interview content was then manually inputted.
或更精准地
改句2：The interview content was then transcribed in verbatim.（逐字输入）
常见错误五：RAM memory
"RAM" 是 "random-access memory" 的缩写。使用 "RAM memory" 则构成了用词冗赘，因此仅用 "RAM" 即可。
常见错误六：emigrate vs. immigrate vs. migrate
"Emigrate" 和 "immigrate" 都指移民，但区别在于移动的方向不同。
"Emigrate" 是指离开原国籍所在国家，前往另一个国家永久居住。例如："She decided to emigrate from Italy to Canada"。
"Immigrate" 是指进入另一个国家永久居住，着重在最终的永久居住国。例如："She decided to immigrate to Canada from Italy"。
"Migrate" 是指从一个地方移动至另一个地方，通常是出于季节性或临时的原因，并不一定意味着国籍或永久居住地的变化，例如："Birds migrate from north to south during the winter season" 或 "some people migrate from rural areas to cities for job opportunities"。
常见错误七：previously mentioned above
为了精简用词，"previously mentioned above" 可用 "aforementioned" 一字替代。另外，因期刊排版的关系，文字和图表的前后位置或许已经调整，因此建议拿掉 "above"。
常见错误八：lose vs. loose
"Lose" 是动词，表示"丢失某物"或"不成功而输掉"，例如："I don't want to lose my keys again" 或 "the team lost the game yesterday"。
"Loose" 是形容词，意思是"某物松散、松垮"或"没有被牢固地固定到位"，例如："The shirt is too loose for me" 或 "the dog is running loose in the park"。
常见错误九：In spite of the fact that (although)
虽然 "in spite of the fact that" 在日常对话中很常见，但在写作上则显得冗赘，不妨用更简洁的 "although" 或 "despite" 来替代，例如：
原句：In spite of the fact that the results were nonsignificant, the behavior pattern warrants further research.
改句：Although the results were nonsignificant, the behavior pattern warrants further research.
常见错误十：lie vs. lay
"Lay" 是及物动词，需连接宾语，指将某物放置在某位置，例如："She laid the book on the table" 或 "he laid the baby in the crib"。
"Lie" 是不及物动词，不需连接宾语，指躺在某位置，例如："She lies down on the bed to rest" 或 "the cat is lying in the sunbeam"。
值得特别提醒的是，"lay" 的过去式是 "laid"，"lie" 的过去式是 "lay"，一定要注意区分，例如 "she lay down for a nap" 中使用的动词其实是 "lie" 而不是 "lay"。
