cause · 语义深度解析

核心

原因；事业；导致——既是名词（原因/事业），也是动词（导致）

cause 有三个高频用法：① 名词「原因」：the cause of sth.（…的原因：the cause of the accident = 事故原因）；② 名词「事业，目标」：a good cause（有意义的事业：donate to a good cause = 为一项有意义的事业捐款；the cause of justice = 正义事业）；③ 动词「导致」：cause sth. / cause sb. to do（导致某事/使某人做：cause damage = 造成损害；cause concern = 引发关切）。关键搭配：root cause（根本原因：the root cause of poverty = 贫困的根本原因）；cause and effect（因果：a cause-and-effect relationship = 因果关系）；without cause（无缘无故地：fired without cause = 无故被解雇）；have cause to do（有理由做：have cause for concern = 有理由担心）。

释义

1

n.原因，起因

Investigators are still trying to determine the cause of the fire that destroyed the warehouse overnight.

调查人员仍在努力确定一夜之间烧毁仓库的火灾原因。

2

n.事业，目标（值得为之奋斗的）

She dedicated thirty years of her life to the cause of gender equality in the workplace.

她将三十年的生命奉献给了职场性别平等的事业。

3

v.导致，引起

Prolonged exposure to high noise levels can cause permanent hearing loss, particularly among workers in heavy industry.

长期暴露于高噪音水平可能导致永久性听力损失，尤其是重工业工人。

语感

the cause of（…的原因）；root cause（根本原因）；a good cause（有意义的事业）；cause damage / cause concern（造成损害/引发关切）

原因，起因（名词）事业，目标（名词）导致，引起（动词）

高频搭配：the cause of sth.（原因：the cause of climate change = 气候变化的原因）；root cause（根本原因：address the root cause = 解决根本原因）；underlying cause（根本/深层原因：the underlying cause of the problem = 问题的深层原因）；cause of death（死因：the leading cause of death = 主要死因）；a good / just cause（正义/有意义的事业）；in the cause of sth.（为了…的事业：die in the cause of freedom = 为自由事业而死）；cause damage / harm（造成损害）；cause concern / alarm / controversy（引发关切/警报/争议）；cause sb. to do sth.（使某人做：the accident caused him to reconsider = 事故使他重新考虑）；have cause for concern（有理由担心）；without cause（无缘无故）。

陷阱

⚠️the cause of（…的原因）vs. the reason for（…的理由）——客观成因 vs. 主观解释

Scientists have identified the main cause of antibiotic resistance as the overuse of antibiotics in both human medicine and livestock farming.

✗

cause of = reason for（两者完全一样）

✓

cause（起因，强调客观因果关系：the cause of the disease = 疾病的起因，是科学上的因果链）；reason（理由，强调主观解释或动机：the reason for his decision = 他决定的理由）；此句是科学因果关系，用 cause 正确；× the reason for antibiotic resistance（说法奇怪，resistance 不需要被「解释」，而是有「成因」）

科学家已将抗生素耐药性的主要成因确定为在人类医学和畜牧业中抗生素的过度使用。（cause = 客观因果；reason = 主观理由）

⚠️cause sb. to do（动词用法）vs. × cause sb. do / × cause sb. doing

✗

The sudden announcement caused many investors withdrawing their funds from the stock market within hours.

这一突然公告使许多投资者在数小时内从股市撤资。（× cause sb. doing → ✓ cause sb. to do）

cause sb. to do（使某人做）是正确结构，cause 后接宾语 + 不定式（to do）；× cause sb. doing（× withdrawing）不是标准结构；× cause sb. do 也错误；固定：cause + 宾语 + to do = cause many investors to withdraw（使许多投资者撤资）

✓

The sudden announcement caused many investors to withdraw their funds from the stock market within hours.

这一突然公告使许多投资者在数小时内从股市撤资。

近义辨析

cause vs trigger

cause cause（导致，引发：cause damage = 造成损害；cause concern = 引发关切；中性，可用于任何结果） trigger trigger（触发，引爆：trigger a reaction = 引发反应；trigger alarm = 触发警报；比 cause 更强调「触发点/导火索」，通常用于连锁反应的起点）

Poor drainage systems caused widespread flooding in low-lying areas after the prolonged period of heavy rainfall.

在持续大雨之后，排水系统不完善导致低洼地区发生大范围洪涝。

A single spark from faulty electrical wiring triggered a fire that rapidly spread through the entire building.

一根故障电线冒出的一点火花触发了一场迅速蔓延整栋建筑的大火。

写作加分

✨ 加分词

替换：lead tobring aboutmake happen

社会问题议论文环境保护话题经济政策话题

普通

Poverty can lead to many other social problems.

贫困可以导致许多其他社会问题。

加分 ✨

Poverty is rarely an isolated condition; it causes — and is in turn reinforced by — reduced access to education, poor health outcomes, and limited social mobility, creating a cycle that is difficult to break.

贫困很少是一个孤立的状态；它导致——并反过来被强化——受教育机会减少、健康结果不佳和社会流动性有限，形成难以打破的恶性循环。

为什么更好：causes...and is in turn reinforced by 展示双向因果；三项并列（reduced access/poor health/limited mobility）展示多维影响；creating a cycle 引入循环逻辑

常用搭配

the cause of sth.…的原因（客观成因）

root / underlying cause根本 / 深层原因

a good / just cause有意义 / 正义的事业

cause damage / harm / concern造成损害 / 伤害 / 引发关切

cause sb. to do sth.使某人做某事（× cause sb. doing）

have cause for concern有理由担心

词根

cause = 「推动产生某事的力量」→ 名词：cause of = 推动产生的原因；good cause = 值得推动的事业；动词：cause = 推动产生 = 导致；cause sb. to do = 推动某人做

考考你

Q1对错判断

判断下面句子里的用法是否正确：

The investigation revealed that a manufacturing defect had caused the brakes to fail, resulting in the collision.

cause + 宾语 + to do（cause the brakes to fail）结构正确；resulting in the collision = 分词短语，表示结果，语法正确

Q2义项辨析

下面四个句子中，cause 的含义与其他三个最不同的是：

A

Stress is a leading cause of cardiovascular disease in middle-aged adults.

B

She volunteered every weekend to raise money for a cause she deeply believed in.

C

Deforestation is one of the primary causes of habitat loss for endangered species.

D

Industrial pollution is the underlying cause of the decline in fish populations in the river.

B 中 cause = 事业，目标（名词，值得为之奋斗的事业）；A、C、D 中 cause = 原因，起因（名词，因果关系中的原因）

Q3近义选词

选择最恰当的词填空：

A technical glitch in the automated trading system ___ a cascade of sell orders that briefly sent markets into freefall.

Acaused

Btriggered

✓ 自动交易系统的一个技术故障触发了一连串卖出指令，使市场短暂陷入自由落体式下跌。

triggered（触发）强调「导火索触发连锁反应」，cascade of sell orders（连锁抛售）体现连锁性；trigger 比 cause 更能表达「一点触发大规模连锁」的语感；caused 也可用，但 triggered 在金融市场/连锁事件语境中更准确

接着学

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