4.possible与likely的异同
请看下面几个摘自国内英语考试辅导用书的句子：
1.Nowadays everything strange is nothing strange.That is to say,any unexpected thing is<span class="underline">possible</span>to happen.
2.Students who identify with an opportunity and seize it instantly are more<span class="underline">probable</span>to succeed.
3.In addition,exercises are also important to mental health,which is<span class="underline">possible</span>to make people happy and energetic.
这些都是典型的错误使用possible（probable）的例子，此类错误经常出现在学生的写作当中。
这两个词的异同大致如下：
（1）意义不同。
从意义上讲，likely的同义词是probable，比possible表示的可能性大得多：
…even though clinical and laboratory data suggest that some recovery is not only possible but likely.
（2）都可接从句，如：
1.It seemed unlikely that her option would be picked up.
2.It is highly possible that man will have to turn to other sources of energy.
3.…it is unlikely that we shall ever get to know very much about them.
4.It is possible that upon such an occasion a battle ensued,with the sharks being driven away or killed.
（3）都可充当表语，如：
1.Under such circumstances,an early victory over Saddam seems impossible（unlikely）.
2.…often allowing them to live independently when otherwise this would not be possible.
3.In case of road accident,casualties are quite likely.
（4）接不定式时用法不同
某些情况下，likely不能与possible替换，主要是语法上的要求，这两个词属于不同类型的形容词。sb.（sth.）is likely to do sth.是固定的用法，而且要求不定式是完整的结构：或是不及物动词，或是及物动词带宾语，或是被动形式。而sb.is possible to do中do必须是及物的，用主动形式，绝不能自带宾语。这正是容易出错的地方。
请根据上述规则判断下列句子中哪些是错误使用这两个词的：
1.Who is most likely to win the Oscar award for the best actress?
2.A cease-fire agreement is possible to sign between these two warring countries.
3.These issues are likely to be addressed properly.
4.In this case,they will likely file a suit against him.
5.The match is likely to end in a draw.
6.She is possible to arrive on time.
7.This accident is likely to prevent.
8.The car is possible to be repaired.
9.If you take my advice,you will be possible to do a good job of it.
10.The increasing population makes it unlikely for us to live a comparatively decent and well-off life.
有问题的是后5个句子。理由是：第6句中arrive是不及物动词；第7句的prevent应该用被动形式；第8句中repair应该是主动形式；而第9句中的do自带宾语了；第10句应该使用make it impossible。
有些同学可能感觉到上述某种表达方式有问题，但不明白为什么，原因是没发现规律。
（5）涉及比较级或最高级时，几乎总是用likely（unlikely），如：
1.Many educators feel that as students gain confidence in themselves and their abilities,they are less likely to cheat.
2.Studies show that the more comfortable patients feel with a caregiver,the more likely they are to reveal key medical facts and to follow medical instructions.
3.Which high school students are most likely to graduate from college?
4.The more factors in the equation,the less likely it is that their paths will coincide in an orderly way.
5.Replies show that compared with other Americans,journalists are more likely to live in upscale neighborhoods,have maids,own Mercedeses,and trade stocks,and they’re less likely to go to church,do volunteer work,or put down roots in a community.（2001年考研试题）
6.Among patients admitted to the hospital for a heart attack,women were far less likely than men to get angiography in which blood vessels are injected with dye so that blockages are visible on an X-ray,or angioplasty to clear blockages,a study found.
此外，likely用于概率方面的比较。表达“……几率是……几倍或几分之几”时，用likely：
1.Women were about twice as likely as men to die within a month of a heart attack,the study said.（概率是男性的一倍）
2.Children who were breastfed are twice less likely to get cancer in childhood.（吃母乳的儿童患癌的概率是非母乳喂养的儿童的1/3）
3.Married men are three times as likely to suffer obesity while married women are twice as likely to have weight problems.
4.Biologically women are twice more likely to become infected with HIV through unprotected heterosexual intercourse than men.In many countries women are less likely to be able to negotiate condom use and are more likely to be subjected to non-consensual sex.（由于……，妇女感染艾滋病的概率是男性的3倍）
2005年1月统考题汉译英部分有“……等大城市从地球上消失的可能性将是20年前的10倍”。可以用likely翻译：
Large cities…are ten times as likely to disappear from the earth as they were twenty years ago.
表示“增加……的可能性”时常用chance和possibility，也可用odds或prospect，如：
1.A good letter of application can increase your chance of admission to a better school.
2.…and cooling and increase the prospect of exposure to temperatures that are too hot in summer and too cold in winter.
3.Risk factors for stroke in the absence of an infarct did not increase the odds of dementia,which was quantitatively related to the number but not the size….
4.Aspirin is an NSAID medicine but it does not increase the chance of a heart attack.
5.Research suggests that hiring a lawyer increase the possibility of settling the case in lesser time.
6.As she is not rich,the chances that she will ever be able to afford such purchases are remote….
也可以用chance或prospect等词翻译“……等大城市从地球上消失的可能性将是20年前的10倍”：
The chance of large cities…disappearing from the earth will increase tenfold,compared to 20 years ago.
2005年1月统考题英译汉部分有although counseling and medication can increase the odds that a smoker quits permanently…，此句中odds的含义是“可能性”。
（6）it is…for somebody to do…句式里用（im）possible，如：
1.It was impossible for him to gather together the hundred pesos,so he was able to send the farmer only a little more than half.
2.In 95%of towns and cities it is impossible to walk without having your actions recorded on videotape or observed from hidden control rooms.
3.…it is impossible to land a flying saucer without its being smashed by one.
（7）通常用make it possible for sb.to do或make possible sth.，但可以用make it likely that….
1.The Internet makes possible the development of various technologies.
2.The drought made it impossible for local farmers to achieve a bumper harvest.
3.The vigorous training makes it likely that no other team can match ours in tactics and skills.