单词回顾 | 他们都是如何用“norm”和“characterize”造句的？

6月4日的单词是“norm”，非常实用、好用，希望下面的句子能帮助大家更好地体会这个词的用法。

下面是几个句子点评：

1. In a normal society, we should accept the people who behave differently from what you consider to be the norm.

点评：由于前面用了“we”，后面的“you”应该改为“we”或“most people”。

2. In many cities, gridlock has become the norm, not just at rush hours but every day.

点评：“gridlock”用的很好，可以同义替换“traffic jam”和“traffic congestion”。更准确来讲，“every day”应该改为“during all/most hours of the day”，才与前面的“rush hours”形成对应。

3. It has been the norm that I use emoji to end every conversation in WeChat.

点评：“emoji”的复数形式可以是原形也可以在后面加 S。表达在某个平台，比如 Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Wechat 等，一般用“on”。

4. In Chinese feudal society, widows were forbidden to remarry for this was considered as a departure from the norm.

点评：很棒的句子，“a departure from the norm”这一表达很精彩。注意“consider”后面不需要加“as”。

5. Wechat has already become the norm to the point that even the middle-aged people nowadays uses it to chat.

点评：就句义来看，中年人使用微信不太能说明什么吧？想突出它的流行建议这里可以改为老年人或者具体说“50-year-olds”。注意“the middle-aged people”是错误的，要么是“the middle-aged”，要么是“middle-aged people”。另外“uses”应是复数形式。

6月5日的单词是“characterize”，是“characteristic”的动词形式，可以和前面几期的“signature”一起来学。

下面是几个句子点评：

1. Harmless disposal of disposable medical appliance may characterize the future of waste disposal.

点评：“appliance”在句中应该用复数形式“appliances”。

2. AIDS is a fatal disease which is characterized by weakening or even disappearing of the immune system.

点评：“weakening”前面要加“the”；感觉“disappearing”这里用“loss”更好。而且丧失的应该是细胞的免疫力，而不是免疫系统，所以“the immune system”改为“body's cellular immunity”可能更准确一点。

3. This week, test-takers will be taking the Gaokao college-entrance exam, which is used to being characterized by a defining point to a Chinese student. I congratulate those who get a high score. And I hope that those who do not receive high scores remember that there are many paths to happiness, and most of them do not depend on a single exam.

点评：我会这么写这句话：

This week, test takers will be taking Gaokao, China's national college entrance exam, which has long been characterized by being a defining point to high school students. I congratulate some of them on getting a high score. And I hope that those who do not receive high scores remember that there are many paths to happiness, and most of them do not depend on a single exam.

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题图：The Economist Logo. 

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