英语学习

(be) characterized by : 特点是

(be) defined by : 由…规定/定义的；特点是

(be) divided by：被…分开；除以

(be) balanced by : 由…平衡；相抵

(be) measured by : 由…来衡量

例句：

Mozart’s music is characterized by its naivety and clarity. 莫扎特的音乐特色是纯朴与清澈。

Some imagine that the coming work-free world will be defined by inequality. 一些人认为未来无需工作的世界是不平等的。（=特点是“不平等”）

The country is divided by religious quarrels. 那个国家因宗教争论而发生分裂。

6 divided by 2 equals 3. 6除以2等于3。

His lack of experience was balanced by a willingness to learn. 他的好学弥补了他经验的不足。（此处弥补=相抵）

Beauty can not be measured by any absolute standard. 美是不可能用任何标准来衡量的。

真题：

上下文提示：这篇文章探讨了一个人们无须工作的未来社会前景。文章在开篇点出主题，即几个世纪以来，人们一直在思考技术不断代替人力、未来人类也许没有工作的局面。一些人认为，这将导致社会的不平等，即少数富人掌握所有资源，而大众则会在穷困的荒漠中挣扎求生。

紧接就是着下一句?

A different and not mutually exclusive prediction holds that the future will be a wasteland of a different sort, one by purposelessness: Without jobs to give their lives meaning, people will simply become lazy and depressed.

    A. characterized       B. divided     
    C. balanced               D. measured

解析：本题应选第一个选项，本题的关键在于读懂原文，我们一起来看一下译文?

A different and not mutually exclusive prediction holds that the future will be a wasteland of a different sort, one characterized by purposelessness: Without jobs to give their lives meaning, people will simply become lazy and depressed.

一种（与上述观点）不同但是并不相互排斥的预测表明，未来将成为另一种荒漠，这一荒漠的特征是“漫无目的”：人们因没有工作而感到生活失去意义，变得懒惰消沉。

可见，此处只能填characterized以表示这一荒漠的特征是漫无目的。其他选项都不符合这里的上下文语义。