(1) sharp可表示“锐利的,锋利的,尖锐的”,如:a sharp dagger, a sharp needle。用于形容人或视听器官时,表示“聪明的,敏锐的,机警的,伶俐的”。
- Could you lend me your sharp pencil?
你能借给我一支削尖的铅笔吗? - She looked me up and down with her sharp bright eyes.
她用她锐利明亮的眼睛上上下下地打量着我。 - The little boy has a sharp nose. (He has a sharp sense of smell.)
这个小男孩有一只嗅觉敏锐的鼻子。(他有敏锐的嗅觉。) - He is old but has a sharp mind.
他虽年老但头脑依然灵敏。
(2) ①acute意为“剧烈的,敏锐的,深刻的”,多用来形容人的(五官、感觉或智力),常可与sharp换用。
- He is an acute/a sharp child, very quick at figures.
他是一个头脑机灵的孩子,对数字反应很快。 - Cats usually have an acute/a sharp sense of smell.
猫通常有灵敏的嗅觉。 - He felt acute remorse for his wrongdoing.
他对自己的过失深感懊悔。 - He was a great man of uncommonly acute insight.
他是一位有着非同寻常的深刻洞察力的伟人。 - She came into the room hurriedly, with an air of acute anxiety.
她匆匆进了屋,一副深感不安的样子。 - Our daughter's success in the recent examination gave us acute pleasure.
我们女儿在最近这次考试中的成功给了我们极大的喜悦。 - A toothache may cause very acute/sharp pain.
牙痛可造成剧烈的疼痛。 - Angles of less than 90 are called acute angles.
小于90度的角被称为锐角。
②acute还可用于疾病,意为“急性的,严重的”;形容问题、斗争时意思是“严重的,剧烈的”。
- The financial and monetary crisis in the Southeast Asian countries was becoming more acute .
东南亚国家的金融和货币危机正变得越来越严重。
(3) ①keen意为“锋利的,锐利的”,指器物的尖和刃,可与sharp换用。
- I bought a knife with a keen/sharp edge.
我买了一把刀刃锋利的刀子。
②用于人时(感官、洞察力等),表示“敏锐的,锐利的”,可与sharp和acute换用。
- Her hearing is not as keen/sharp/acute as it used to be.
她的听力不如过去敏锐了。 - He was an outstanding leader with keen/sharp/acute vision.
他是一位具有敏锐见解的杰出的领导人。
③keen可用于情绪等,意思是“强烈的,浓厚的”。
- She always had a keen desire for a house of her own.
她一直有一种强烈的愿望想拥有一所自己的房子。
*其他例子还有:take/have a keen interest in sth.(对……有着强烈的兴趣),with keen delight(怀着极大的喜悦),cherish keen sympathies for sb.(对某人怀有强烈的同情心),have a keen sense of humor(具有极强的幽默感)等。
④keen用于斗争、竞赛等,意思是“激烈的”,如:a keen football match(一场激烈的足球赛),keen competition for sth.(激烈的竞争),a keen struggle for power(争夺权力的激烈斗争)等。
⑤keen还可用于其他句型,如:to be keen on sth., to be keen on doing sth.,两句型的意思均为“热衷于、迫切想做某事”。be keen about表达的意思较be keen on含糊一些。有时可用to be keen to do sth.表示“迫切想做某事”。
⑥be keen加that从句,从句中用should加动词原形,多数情况下省略should。
- She is keen that her son (should) marry Jennie.(也可说:She is keen on her son's marrying Jennie.)
她很想让她儿子与珍妮结婚。