The country is in bad economical state. (国家经济状况不佳。)这里用 economical 对吗?
economical 是指“节约的，不浪费的，节俭的”（not wasteful；money-saving）。例如，economical management（节俭经营），economical living（节俭的生活），an economical housewife（节俭的家庭主妇），economical method（节约的方法），economical person（节俭的人）：
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The engine is fairly economical of fuel. 这台发动机相当省油。
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He is economical of his time. 他很节约时间。
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The young housewife cannot be too economical if she is to help her husband in his career.
年轻的家庭主妇如果想支持丈夫事业的话，无论怎么节俭都是不会过分的。
而 economic 则是指“经济(上)的”“与经济学有关的”(connected with the science of economics)、“与贸易、商业、生产、财产分配等有关的”，例如 economic problems(经济问题)，economic state(经济状况)，economic situation(经济形势)，economic system(经济制度)，economic basis(经济基础)。
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His family moved to a smaller house for economic reasons. 他家因经济上的原因搬进了一所较小的房子里去住了。
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Their country is faced with many economic problems. 他们国家面临许多经济问题。
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Social evils were fundamentally caused by economic inequality. 社会上的种种罪恶基本上是由于经济上的不平等引起的。
应当指出,economic与economical的副词都是economically。因此economically可用于表达以上两个不同的意义。
有了上面的理解,做下面的题就没有困难了:
- Mrs. John Moclain is always economical.
A. very dear B. costly C. inexpensive D. thrifty(TOEFL)
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From the point of view of economical gain, specification has its own limitation. (TOEFL)
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The economics difficulties of the country will not diminish unless inexpensive fertilizers can be widely distributed. (TOEFL, 全国六级, 93.6-59)
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Although not an economist himself, Dr. Smith has long been a severe critic of the government's ____ policies.
A. economical B. economy C. economic D. economics(全国六级,93.6-59)