Good health is a family's most valued possession. A. noticeable B. useful C. costly D. precious(TOEFL)
正确答案为(D)。但我认为(C)costly也同样正确。不知你以为然否？
WNDS将costly, expensive, valuable与precious列为一组同义词。costly主要用于指真正很值钱的东西，通常含有稀少、珍贵、奢侈等意义。在这个意义上它最接近于expensive：
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The house is too costly for us to buy. (FWF) 这所房子太贵,我们买不起。
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I took a costly jewel from my neck. (WNDS) 我从脖子上取下一条珍贵的项链。
有时用于表示“代价昂贵的”，即涉及到大量的金钱、时间、精力、重大的损失或牺牲等：
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the costliest war in our history(LDCE) 我国历史上一次代价最高的战争
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That route will be too costly in time. 这条路线将是太费时间的。
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The general's decision to invade was a costly mistake. (FWF) 将军关于入侵的决定是一个代价昂贵的错误。
precious 用于指具有金钱价值的东西时,通常意味着该物品是同一类中最稀有、最昂贵的(the rarest and most costly)。有时 precious 可用于指其价值几乎不能用金钱衡量的人或物:
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Salt is nearly as precious as gold in many places. (Collins) 在许多地方食盐几乎跟金子一样珍贵。
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She owned many precious antiques. (FWF) 她拥有许多珍贵的古物。
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Your friendship is most precious to me. (LDCE) 你的友谊对于我是极其珍贵的。
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Her children are very precious to her. (ALD) 她的孩子们对她是非常珍贵的。
由此可以看出,在上面的试题中选 D (precious) 显然比选 C(costly) 更贴切。请做下面的考题:
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Needlepoint has always been an elegant and costly form of embroidery. A. expensive B. popular C. beautiful D. complicated
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Collections of opals and quartz are featured at the City Museum's annual exhibition of precious stones. A. coins B. loot C. gems D. shells