common
⒈ “共有的,公共的,共同的” 其反义词为“rare”。
The husband is French, the wife German, and the servant Italian, but they have English as a common language.丈夫是法国人，妻子是德国人，仆人是意大利人，但是英语是他们的共同语言。
a common saying (俗话)
a common wish (一个共同的愿望)
common knowledge / sense常识
⒉ “普通的,一般的,常见的,熟悉的”
Pine trees are common in many parts of the world.松树在世界上许多地方都很常见。
He wasn’t a hero but just a common man.他不是英雄而是一般人.
This sort of weather is quite common.这种天气非常常见.
⒊ have …in common“和……有共同之处;共享”
He has nothing in common with his father.他和他父亲无共同之处.
Real friends should have everything in common.真正的朋友应当分享一切.
ordinary
⒈ ordinary 作形容词用，表示“普通的，平常的”。Ordinary 与common基本同义，侧重“平凡的，普通的”，表示“随时可以碰到，不值得惊奇”，其反义词为superior。如：
His parents are ordinary workers.
他的父母是普通工人
He is an ordinary looking person.他是一个相貌平常的人。
She is busy with her ordinary day’s work.她正忙于日常的工作。
They live in an ordinary house.他们住在一所普通的房子里。
We were dressed up for the party but she was still in her ordinary clothes.我们都盛装赴会，而她却依然日常装束。
Her new house is certainly out of the ordinary.她的新居真是不同凡响。
2. 固定短语 out of the ordinary 表示“不寻常的，特殊的”
in the ordinary way表示“就通常情况而言”。如：
In the ordinary way he would have come with us, but he’s not feeling well.在一般情况下他都和我们一起来，只是他现在身体不太好。
注:一件平凡的事 an ordinary/ a common event
一个普通人 an ordinary/ a common person
general
▲general侧重“普遍”之意，表示在大多数人或物中流行并受到关注，不含有“地位低下”之意，其反义词为 specific。如
There is a general election in that country every three years.
在那个国家每三年就有一次普选 / 大选。
I have got the general idea of what he said just now.
我已明白了他刚才所说的大体意思。
usual
▲usual用来指事物，意为“通常的，惯常的”，含有“由于长时间没有变化而形成了一种习惯或制度, 强调习惯性,一贯如此”之意，其反义词为unusual。如
It’s a usual thing with him.这对他来说是平常事。
He arrived later than usual.他到的比平时晚。
It is usual for him to sit up late at night. 他对熬夜已习以为常。
normal
⒈ normal作形容词，意为“正常的、常规的”。如：
Harry seems like a normal boy, but his life is miserable.哈利似乎是一个正常的孩子，但是生活是悲惨的。
The normal temperature of the human body is about 37 degrees centigrade.人体正常的温度大约是摄氏37度。
Weeping is normal response to pain.哭泣是痛苦的正常反应。
The Indian music follows its own normal pattern of notes.印度音乐遵循它自己常规的音乐格调。
⒉ a normal school / university 一所师范学校 / 大学
⒊ Her temperature is above / below normal.她的体温高于 / 低于正常标准。
⒋ normal作名词，仅用单数，意为“通常情况、常态、通常的标准”。如：
They worked long hours for several weeks before everything returned to normal.他们长时间工作了几个星期后一切恢复了正常。
Things have returned to normal.事情已恢复常态。
自我检测
1. My letter, addressed to the wrong number, reached him a month later________.
A. as expected B. than normal C. than usual D. as usual
2. Trees of this kind are so ______ that they can be seen everywhere.
A. common B. usual C. special D. normal
3. As you know, whether the person will be elected president is a matter of ________ interest.
A. general B. common C. ordinary D. mostly
4. He didn’t go into detail on the subject. He just spoke __________.
A. in particular B. in common C. in short D. in general
5. After the earthquake, it took them quite some time to bring the city back to ________.
A. common B. general C. usual D. normal
6. People who commit crimes like that aren’t mentally _________.
A. usual B. general C. normal D. common
答案与解析
1. C。than usual意为“比平常……”。
2. A。common在这里表示“不稀有，到处可见”。
3. A。句意为：那人是否被选为总统是（公众）共同感兴趣的问题。句意暗示着“全体的”的意思。
4. D。句意为：他没有对这个问题进行详谈，只是笼统地讲了一下。In general笼统地；in particular特别，尤其；in common相同，共同；in short总之；简言之。
5. D。normal作名词意为“通常情况、常态”。
6. C。句意为：犯这种罪的人心理不正常。用normal。
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