Tài liệu Cách dùng tiếng Anh P8 pdf

headquarter


The verb headquarter occurs in both transitive and intransitive senses: The
magazine has headquartered the reporters in a building that houses many
foreign journalists. The European correspondent will headquarter in Paris.
But this verb usage does not sit well with many people, and in an earlier
survey a majority of the Usage Panel found both these examples
unacceptable in formal writing. Although there is a lot of evidence for these
usages, you would do best to use alternative expressions, for example: The
magazine has just assigned him to (or has stationed him in) a building that
houses many foreign journalists. The European correspondent will make
her headquarters in Paris (or will make Paris her headquarters).
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healthy / healthful


Some people like to maintain a distinction between healthy and healthful.
Healthy, they say, should be used to mean “possessing good health,” and
only healthful should mean “conducive to good health.” People who hold
this view are swimming against the tide of history, for healthy has been
used to mean “healthful” since the 16th century. You can find the “healthful”
use of healthy in the works of many distinguished writers, with this example
from John Locke being typical: “Gardening … and working in wood, are fit
and healthy recreations for a man of study or business.” Therefore, both
healthy and healthful are correct in these contexts: a healthy climate, a
healthful climate; a healthful diet, a healthy diet.

historic / historical


Historic and historical have different usages though their senses overlap.
Historic refers to what is important in history: the historic first voyage to the
Moon. It is also used of what is famous or interesting because of its
association with persons or events in history: a historic house. Historical
refers to whatever existed in the past, whether regarded as important or
not: a minor historical character. Historical also refers to anything
concerned with history or the study of the past: a historical novel, historical
discoveries. While these distinctions are useful, don’t be surprised if you
see these words used interchangeably, as in historic times or historical
times
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if or whether

In informal writing, both if and whether are standard for introducing a clause
indicating uncertainty after a verb such as ask, doubt, know, learn, or see:
We shall soon learn whether (or if) it is true. In such contexts, however, the
use of if can sometimes create ambiguities. Depending on the intended
meaning, the sentence Let her know if she is invited might be better
paraphrased as Let her know whether she is invited or If she is invited, let
her know.
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important

Some people object to the use of the phrase more importantly in place of
more important as a means of introducing an assertion, as in More
importantly, there is no one ready to step into the vacuum left by the retiring
senator. But both forms are widely used, and there is no obvious reason for
preferring one or the other
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impracticable / impractical


The adjective impracticable applies to a course of action that is impossible
to carry out or put into practice: Refloating the sunken ship proved to be
impracticable because of its fragility. Impractical can also be used in this
way, but it can also be weaker in sense, suggesting that the course of
action would yield an insufficient return or would have little practical value.
A plan for a new baseball stadium might be rejected as impracticable if the
site was too marshy to permit safe construction, but if the objection were
merely that the site was too remote for patrons to attend games easily, the
plan would better be described as impractical.
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in behalf of / on behalf of


A traditional rule holds that in behalf of and on behalf of have distinct
meanings. Accordingly, you should use in behalf of to mean “for the benefit
of,” as in We raised money in behalf of the earthquake victims. And you
should use on behalf of to mean “as the agent of, on the part of,” as in The

guardian signed the contract on behalf of the child. But as the two
meanings are quite close, the phrases are often used interchangeably,
even by reputable writers.
incredible / incredulous


Incredible means “hard to believe, unbelievable”: His explanation of the
cause of the accident was simply incredible. It is often used more loosely to
mean “astonishing,” as in The new pitcher has an incredible fastball.
Incredulous usually means “skeptical, disbelieving,” as in The incredulous
reporters laughed at the manager’s explanation of how the funds
disappeared. It is sometimes extended to mean “showing disbelief,” as in
an incredulous stare. You may occasionally see incredulous used where
you would expect incredible, as in an incredulous display of rudeness. This
usage is not well established, however, and is widely considered an error.
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individual


You normally use the noun individual to refer to an individual person as
opposed to a larger social group or as distinguished from others by some
special quality: “This is not only a crisis of individuals, but also of a society”
(Raymond Williams). She is a real individual. Since the 19th century,
however, there have been numerous objections to use of the word to refer
simply to “person” where no larger contrast is implied, as in Two individuals
were placed under arrest or The Mayor will make time for any individual
who wants to talk to her. This use of individual is common in official
statements, as the examples imply, and lends a formal tone that you may

find inappropriate for many contexts. Remember that the words person and
people can do the same job perfectly well.
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Infrastructure


The term infrastructure has been around since 1927. It usually refers
collectively to roads, bridges, rail lines, and similar public works that are
required for an industrial economy, or a portion of it, to function. This often
includes telecommunications facilities, such as telephone lines and
microwave towers. The term has had specific application to the permanent
military installations necessary for the defense of a country.
Perhaps because of the word’s technical sound, people now use
infrastructure to refer to any substructure or underlying system. Big
corporations have their own financial infrastructure of smaller businesses,
for example, and political organizations have their infrastructure of groups,
committees, and admirers. This political sense may have originated during
the Vietnam War in use by military intelligence officers, whose task it was
to delineate the structure of the enemy’s shadowy organizations. Today we
hear that conservatism has an infrastructure of think tanks and research
foundations and that terrorist organizations have an infrastructure of people
who are sympathetic to their cause. This extended use referring to people
does not sit well with the Usage Panel, however. Seventy percent found it
unacceptable in the sentence FBI agents fanned out to monitor a small
infrastructure of persons involved with established terrorist organizations
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