idea、concept、conception、thought、notion与impression这些名词均有“思想、观点、观念”之意。
idea : 最普通常用词，几乎适用于任何方面的思维活动。
- I’ve had an idea – why don’t we go to the coast?
我有个主意——我们为什么不去海滨呢？ - “Let’s go swimming.” “That’s a good idea!”
“我们去游泳吧。”“好主意！” - If you have any ideas for what I could buy Jack, let me know.
我给杰克买什么东西好，如果你有什么主意请告诉我。 - That’s when I first had the idea of starting (= planned to start) my own business.
那是我首次有了自己创业的想法。 - I like the idea of living in the countryside but I’m not sure I’d like the reality.
我觉得住在乡村的想法很好，但我不肯定是否喜欢这样一种现实。 - She’s full of bright (= good) ideas.
她满脑子好点子。 - It was Kate’s idea to hire bikes.
租自行车是凯特的主意。 - It’s not a good idea to drive for hours without a rest.
连续开车几个小时都不休息不是个好主意。
concept : 指从众多实例中通过概括、归纳而形成的对事物本质、全貌及其内部联系的概念或看法。
- The concept of free speech is unknown to them.
他们没有言论自由的概念。 - It is very difficult to define the concept of beauty.
很难给美这个概念下一个定义。 - I failed to grasp the film’s central concept.
我没理解这部电影的中心思想。 - Kleenbrite is a whole new concept in toothpaste!
Kleenbrite 是牙膏生产领域的一个全新概念！
conception : 通常指个人或一些人所持有的具体概念或念头，也可指概念的形成过程，含一定的想象和感情色彩意味。
- People from different cultures have different conceptions of the world.
不同文化背景的人对世界持有不同的看法。 - She has a conception of people as being basically good.
她认为人性本善。 - I thought the book’s writing was dreadful, and its conception (= the ideas on which it was based) even worse.
我认为这本书写得很差，其构思更是糟糕。 - He has absolutely no conception of how a successful business should run.
他根本就不知道成功的企业应当如何经营。
thought : 指以推理、思考等智力活动为基础的心理思维活动及其结果。
- Ask me again tomorrow. I’ll have to give it some thought.
明天再问我吧，我还得考虑一下。 - She doesn’t give any thought to her appearance.
她根本不注意自己的仪表。 - Let me have your thoughts on that report by Friday.
星期五或之前告诉我你对那份报告的看法吧。 - Spare a thought for (= think about) all those without shelter on a cold night like this.
想想那些在这样的寒夜无处栖身的人们。 - He’s the author of a book on the history of European thought.
他写过一本有关欧洲思想史的书。 - You sent her a card? That was a kind thought.
你给她送了贺卡？你想得很周到。
notion : 指的是一种模糊的，变化的莫测的想法，无可靠的基础，未经深思熟虑的观点。
- The show’s director rejects the notion that seeing violence on television has a harmful effect on children.
节目制片人们并不认为看到电视上的暴力场景会对孩子们造成不良影响。 - I have only a vague notion of what she does for a living.
我不太清楚她靠什么谋生。
impression : 指外部刺激在思想中所产生的印象。
- I didn’t get much of an impression of the place because it was dark when we drove through it.
我对这地方印象不深，因为我们开车驶过时天已经黑了。 - What was your impression of Charlotte’s husband?
你对夏洛特的丈夫印象如何？ - I don’t tend to trust first impressions (= the opinion you form when you meet someone or see something for the first time).
我不怎么相信第一印象。 - When I first met him I got/had the impression that he was a shy sort of person.
初次见到他时，我觉得他属于那种害羞的人。
#词汇辨析