
这三个动词都含“保存”、“保留”的意思。
preserve 主要指为防止损害、变质等而保存,使不受破坏,能长久保存下去。
1) The ancient Egyptians knew of means to preserve dead bodies from decay. 古埃及人懂得如何保存尸体以防腐烂。
2)The local government decided to preserve the historical building as a museum. 地方决定将这栋有历史意义的大楼作为博物馆保存下来。
3) Red light is less irritating to the eye and helps to preserve our night vision. 红色光线较不会刺激眼睛,有助于保持我们夜视能力。
4) We must endeavor to preserve the best of our moral values for our children and grandchildren. 为了我们的孩子和孙子后代,我们必须努力去保护最好的道德价值观念。
5)To preserve a friend, three things are required: to honor him when present, praise him when absent, and assist him in his necessities. 维持友谊需要做到三点:当面尊尊重他;背后赞扬他;需要时帮助他。
conserve 强调对有价值的东西珍惜,合理使用,常用于保护资源和野生动,或指节约使用资源
1) Effective measures must urgently be taken to conserve these endangered species of wild animals. 必须采取有效措施保护这些濒临灭绝的野生动物物种。
2)Efforts to conserve the environment sometimes clash with the advancement of technology.
致力保护环境有时和发展技术相矛盾。
3) There is an urgent need to educate people to conserve every drop of water, since our water resource is very limited. 目前迫切需要教育民众节约每一滴水,因为我们的水资源十分有限。
4)Conserve energy by using the efficient light bulbs, which comsume about one-third of the energy of normal bulbs and last 10 times as long. 使用这些节能灯泡能节约能源,它们的耗电量仅是普通灯泡的三分之一,使用寿命是普通灯泡的10倍。
reserve 指事先预留下来以备后用。也可用于“预订”房间、票、座位等。
1)Don’t take the seats in the first three rows, which are reseved for guests. 前三排座位不要坐人,是留给客人坐的。
2) Every month a fixed amount of money should be reserved so that we can fall back on it in case of emergence. 每月要留出一定金额的钱,万一出现紧急情况,我们能依靠这笔钱。
3)I have reserved a flight on October 16 to New York for you. 我已为你订好了10月16到纽约的航班。
4) Sorry, sir, that table is reserved. You wouldn’t mind if we arrange another for you, would you? 对不起,先生,那张桌子已经被预定了。我们为另一张桌子,你不会介意吧?
