这三个介词的用法既有相同之处,也有不同之处。分述如下:
1. 表示在周围,三者常可互换。如:
They sat about [round, around] the fire. 他们围火而坐。
注:在现代英语中,about 用于这种情况已不多见。
2. 表示到处,三者常可互换。如:
He travelled about [round, around] the world. 他周游了全世界。
3. 用在数字之前表示大约,一般用 about 或 around。如:
It costs about [around] ten dollars. 它大约要花 10 美元。
There are about [around] 30 bookstores in the city. 这座城里大约有 30 家书店。
注:在英国英语中,在表示时间的词组里也可用 round。如:
He arrived about [round, around] 5 oclock. 他是大约5点钟到的。
Ill be back about [round, around] lunch time. 我午饭前后回来。
4. 表示把某物分给一群人中的每一个时,可用 round 或 around,而不用 about。如:
Will you hand round [around] the papers? 请你把考卷分发一下,好吗?
但是通常不说:Will you hand about the papers?
Hopes high on income reform
Tickets for 9 yuan offered on new Hebei air route
Xi offers support to overseas Chinese
Obama informed of Merkel surveillance
Ancient Chinese built Forbidden City with stones dragged on ice
Breast cancer on the rise in China
Leadership charts path
Tragedy leads to calls for school safety
Yili looks to Italy for better milk
Beijing-Tokyo ties 'unlikely to recover soon'
Spain seeks time zone change
Premier seeks talks over dispute
17 accused of making and selling fake drugs
30,000 turn out in Beijing Marathon
Europe monitors phones, Internet
He follows his heart with his feet
Museums look to innovation for future
Lang Lang takes on UN Messenger of Peace role
India launches exploratory spacecraft to red planet
Hukou reform expected to be a gradual process
Weatherman with vision dies, age 98
Chongqing finds opportunity selling motorcycles
US debt ceiling crisis continues
Toronto mayor admits he smoked crack
Report shows jump in Chinese students going to the US
Market for English courses surges
Chinese arts travel the world
Rare rice stages a comeback in North China
Women, lean in
Far horizons beckon as agencies eye Chinese