1. about : a little more or a little less than a number, amount, distance, or time

例：

It should cost about $1500. （應(yīng)該花了 $1500 左右。）

The church is about a mile away. （教堂離這里大約 1 英里。）

It's been about five years since I've seen Linda. （我大約 5 年沒見琳達(dá)了。）

The chance of men being born colorblind is about 1 in 12. （男性有先天性色盲的幾率大約是 1/12 。）

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2. approximately : a little more or a little less than a number, amount, distance, or time

備注： ''approximately'' is a little more formal than ''about'' and is used especially in written English （ ''approximately'' 比 ''about'' 正式，并且 ''approximately'' 常用于書面語中。）

例：

Approximately 30% of the community is Polish. （這里住的人大約 30% 是波蘭人。）

Each disk stores approximately 144 pages of text. （每張盤大約可存 144 頁文檔。）

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3. roughly : approximately - used especially when you are trying to give someone a general idea of the number or amount

備注： In everyday English, people usually say ''rough'' rather than ''approximate'' （日?？谡Z中， ''rough/roughly'' 比 ''approximate/approximately'' 更常用），如：

Can you give me a rough idea of how much it would cost? （你幫我大約估一下，這能值多少錢。）

例：

A new kitchen would cost roughly $6,000. （重新弄一下廚房大約要花 $6,000 。）

The man was roughly my own age. （這人跟我差不多年紀(jì)。）

The two countries are roughly the same size. （這兩個國家國土面積差不多大。）

There were roughly 50 people there. （那里大約有 50 人。）

Yes, that's roughly the right answer. （嗯，這個很接近正確答案了。）

As long as you know roughly how to do it, that's fine. （你大致知道怎么做那就可以了。）

Roughly how many miles do you travel a year? （每年你大概走多遠(yuǎn)？）

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4. around : about a number or time - used when you are guessing

例：

I'll be there around 5 o'clock. （我大約 5 點到那兒。）

The BBC broadcasts around 2,000 radio dramas every year. （ BBC 每年大約播 2000 個廣播劇。）

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5. or so :

3 days/a minute/fifteen people etc. or so : approximately 3 days, a minute etc., or perhaps even more

備注： ''or so'' 是非正式的用法。

例：

The baby usually sleeps for an hour or so after breakfast. （吃完早飯后，孩子一般會睡一個小時左右。）

He suggested that I take a week or so off work. （他建議我休息一個星期左右。）

There must be thirty people or so in the class. （班上學(xué)生大約 30 人。）

The journey takes an hour or so. （這次旅程大約要花一小時。）

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6. or more : used after a number or amount, when the total may be a lot more

例：

The commercial can cost ￡60,000 or more. （這支廣告可能要花 ￡60,000 ，甚至更多。） ?

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7. odd :

a hundred/forty/thirty etc. odd : use this after numbers in tens, hundreds, or thousands

備注： "odd" 常用于口語中，用在整十整百的數(shù)字后面。

例：

"How old do you think he is?'' "Oh, I don't know. Seventy odd.'' （ - 你覺得他幾歲了？ ? - 不知道， 70 多吧。）

It's been 30 odd years since I last saw him. （我有 30 多年沒見過他了。）

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8. give or take :

give or take a few miles/a couple of minutes/a pound etc. : use this when saying approximately what a number or amount is, when it may be a few miles more or less, a few minutes more or less etc.

備注： "give or take" 常用于口語中。

例：

The village is about fifty miles north of here, give or take a few miles. （從這兒往北走約 50 英里就到了該村。）

The movie lasted three hours, give or take a few minutes either way. （這部影片大約 3 個小時。）

"How long will the meeting last?" "A couple of hours, give or take." （ - 這個會要開多久？ - 大約兩個小時吧。）

（下轉(zhuǎn) 第二部分 ）