词汇是语言表达的基础。大学英语四级考试要求掌握4500词汇量，六级6000，专业八级13000。据统计，20岁左右的美国人平均词汇量大概有42000个。对于英语非母语的作者来说，词汇的积累可谓任重道远。
而论文写作的常用词汇中，偏偏还有一些长得很像、容易混淆的词。因为并非拼写错误，它们还常常能逃过写作软件的拼写检查。快来擦亮眼睛，仔细辨认一下吧！
administer:to manage and organize the affairs of a company, an organization, a country, etc.; to give drugs, medicine, etc. to sb
administrate:尽管某些词典有这一词条，同administer的”管理”之义，专家建议尽量不用。
The dose wasadministeredto the child intravenously.
The Internet opens up new ways ofadministratingthe tax system.
adverse:unfavorable; harmful
averse:strongly disliking; opposed
This drug is known to haveadverseside effects.
He wasaverseto any change.
advise:(verb) to recommend
advice:(noun) recommendation
The ministeradvisedhim to leave as soon as possible.
Take myadviceand stay away from him!
affect:(verb) to influence, to have an impact on
effect:(noun) a result, a consequence; (verb) to bring about, to cause
Nicotine adverselyaffectsthe functioning of the heart and arteries.
The crisis had a negativeeffecton trade.
alternate:happening or following one after the other regularly
alternative:available as another possibility
Throughout the night, peoplealternatebetween passive and active sleep.
New ways to treat arthritis may provide analternativeto painkillers.
all together:all in one place; all at once
altogether:completely; on the whole
Can you put your booksall togetherin this box?
The choice of language isaltogetherdifferent.
artefact:artificial effect, often due to experimental error
artifact:object produced or shaped by human craft
But this does not mean China's economic miracle has been just a statisticalartefact.
They also repair broken religiousartifacts.
bear:(verb) to carry; to put up with
The hills above the valley arebarerock.
The housesbearthe marks of bullet holes.
beside:at the side of, next to
On the tablebesidean empty plate was a pile of books.
We have lots of things in commonbesidesmusic.
borne:(bear的过去分词) carried
She wasbornin the fifties.
It must bebornein mind that the victory is hard-won.
site:a place where something is located
The officials didn’tciteparticular reports.
Thesiteis off-limits to the general public.
classic:an excellent or defining version of something
classical:descriptions of things like the civilizations of ancient Greece and Rome or the orchestral music of the 18thand 19thcenturies
The book is now recognized as aclassic.
He playsclassicalmusic, as well as pop and jazz.
complement:to add to so as to improve; an improving addition
compliment:to praise or express approval; (noun) an admiring remark
The team needs players whocomplementeach other.
You can do no harm by paying a womancompliments.
compose:to combine to form a whole
comprise:to have sb/sth as parts or members (一些保守派学者提倡禁用be comprised of，尽管某些词典承认这种用法)
Protein moleculescomposeall the complex working parts of living cells.
The collectioncomprises327 paintings.
continual:ongoing but with pause or interruption, starting and stopping
Life was acontinualstruggle for them.
Continuousexposure to sound above 80 decibels could be harmful.
discreet:careful not to attract attention
discrete:separate and distinct
You ought to make a fewdiscreetenquiries before you sign anything.
Atoms are made up ofdiscreteparticles.
ensure:to make certain that something will happen
insure:to provide compensation for death or loss
The bookensuredhis success.
The painting isinsuredfor $1 million.
invoke:to mention a person, a theory, an example, etc. to support your opinions or ideas
The musicevokedmemories of her youth.
Sheinvokedseveral eminent scholars to back up her argument.
historic:important in history
historical:connected with the past
The area is of specialhistoricinterest.
You must place these events in theirhistoricalcontext.
more important:(adjective phrase) what is more important
more importantly:(adverbial phrase) in a more important manner
More important, the cancer spread to the liver.
In the assessment, the leak was viewedmore importantlythan it should have been.
nauseated:to feel sick to one’s stomach
nauseous:causing one to become sick
The fumes caused us to becomenauseated.
principal:most important; the head of a school
principle:a fundamental rule or belief
Theprincipalreason for this omission is lack of time.
There are three fundamentalprinciplesof teamwork.
它们是不是都长得很像？就连母语是英语的作者有时都会将这些形近词弄错呢。
积累词汇有很多方法，比如定期阅读研究领域内的前沿热点文章。不过经验告诉我们，科技词汇不止会出现在科技类文章中，广泛地阅读不仅能扩展知识面，更能扩展词汇量。
你能想象下面一段摘自莎士比亚《罗密欧与朱丽叶》的文字中出现了很多科技词汇吗？
“Love is asmokeraised with thefumeof sighs;
Beingpurged, a firesparklingin lovers’ eyes;
Being vex’d, a seanourish’dwith lovers’ tears;
What is it else? A madness mostdiscreet;
Achoking galland apreservingsweet.”
Cigarettesmokecontains hundreds of different chemicals.
Trafficfumesare a major source of air pollution.
Many medicines are available topurgethe intestines.
Poorlynourishedchildren will fail to grow.
Companies try to bediscreetabout their projects to prevent competitors from gaining an advantage.
Pumps in nuclear reactors often have achoketo regulate the water supply.
Gallis a body fluid which is required to digest fat in the human intestine.
Very low temperaturespreservedthe body of the Tyrolean ice-man.
看到了吗？这就是你跟莎士比亚的差别。我指的不是词汇量。
Aliotta M. (2019). Mastering Academic Writing in the Sciences: A Step by Step Guide. Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press.
Alley M. (2018). The Craft of Scientific Writing. 4thed. New York: Springer.
Dreyer B. (2019). Dreyer’s English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style. New York: Random House.
[加拿大]白青云. (2012).生命科学论文写作指南.北京:北京大学出版社.
[英]蒂姆·斯科恩. (2014).科技英语写作指南.北京:科学出版社.
刘徽，科技期刊英文编辑，毕业于中国科学院大学外国语言学及应用语言学专业
