区别辨析 think of, think up, dream of/about, dream up 与 make up

(1) think of可作“想起,想出”解,有时与think out(想出)可换用。(另见“think about...”条)

  • Children can always think of/out something interesting to pass the time.
    孩子们总会想出些有趣的事来打发时间。
  • We have got to think of/out a way of doing/to do that work first.
    我们得想个办法先把那活做了。
  • Can you think of a good person to become the next chairman?
    你能想出一个成为下任主席的优秀人物吗?

 (2) think up也指“想出、编出(故事、借口等),可与think of/out换用。

  • How did you think up such a clever way out of our difficulty?
    你是如何想出这么一个摆脱我们困境的聪明方法的?

 (3) dream of/about可表示:

① 梦见。

  • dreamed of my old friend Jim last night.
    昨晚我梦到老朋友吉姆了。

② 梦想,希望。

  • Many people dream of living on an island in the South Seas.
    很多人梦想居住在南海的一个孤岛上。

③ 想象(一般用of)。

  • Scientists now have wonderful drugs of which no one could have dreamed years ago.
    科学家研制出了几年前人们无法想象的药物。

 (4) dream up意为“(设)想出,想到”。

  • Where did you dream up that idea?
    你在哪里想出的那个主意?
  • He can always dream up some convincing reason for not doing anything unpleasant.
    他总能为不做令人不快之事想出某种令人信服的理由。

 (5) make up可作“编造”解。

  • I couldn't remember a fairy story to tell to the children, so I made one up as I went along.
    我脑子里记不起任何的童话故事可以讲给孩子们听,所以我就随走随编了一个。

 (6) 另外,think of和dream of两个短语常与wouldn't一起用(第一人称也可用shouldn't),构成否定句,意为“不能考虑、不能想象做某事”。

  • You needn't tell me not to sell the house, I wouldn't/shouldn't think/dream of such a thing.
    不用你告诉我不要卖掉这房子,我不会考虑这样做的。
  • I wouldn't/shouldn't think of going abroad this year.
    今年我不会考虑出国之事。
  • To him, such dishonest action is not to be thought/dreamed of .
    对他来说,这样的欺诈行为是不可想象的。