kind、sort、type、class、classification、category、species与variety这些名词均有“种、类、类型”之意。
kind : 指性质相同，而且特征很相似，足以归为一类的人或东西。
- Today’s vehicles use two kinds of fuel – petrol and diesel.
当今的交通工具使用两种燃料——汽油和柴油。 - What kind of (a) job are you looking for?
你在找什么样的工作？ - I just don’t have that kind of money (= I don’t have so much money).
我确实没有那么多钱。 - The cupboard contained all kinds of strange things.
橱柜里有各种各样稀奇古怪的东西。 - Her travel company was the first of its kind (= of others that are similar).
她的旅游公司是同类中的首家。
sort : 普通用词，文体较kind随便，指对人或对事物进行的大概分类，有时含贬义。
- We both like the same sort of music.
我们俩喜欢同一类音乐。 - I’m going to have a salad of some sort.
我想吃一些色拉。 - What sort of shoes will I need?
我需要什么样的鞋子呢？ - We saw all sorts (= many types) of animals in the park.
我们在公园里看见了各种各样的动物。 - Many sorts of bacteria are resistant to penicillin.
有很多种细菌能抵抗青霉素。 - This sort of camera is very expensive.
这种照相机很贵。 - Plants of this sort need shady conditions.
这种植物需要在阴凉的环境下生长。
type : 指客观界限比较清楚，有相同本质特点的同类事物，或指大致相似的同类事物。
- There were so many different types of bread that I didn’t know which to buy.
面包种类繁多，我不知该买哪一种。 - What type of clothes does she wear?
她穿什么类型的衣服？ - It was dark so I didn’t notice what type of car it was.
天太黑，我没有注意到是什么车型。 - He’s the type of man you could take home to your mother.
他是那种你可以带回家见母亲的男人。 - He’s very attractive, if you like the blond, athletic type.
假如你喜欢白肤金发、爱好运动那一类型的话，他算是很有魅力的。 - They sell dried flowers and baskets and that type of thing.
他们卖干花、花篮之类的东西。 - We have a range of moisturizers for all different skin types.
我们有一系列适合各种肤质的润肤品。 - She was young and she was wearing student-type clothes, so I assumed she was studying here.
她年龄不大，穿得又像学生，所以我还以为她在这儿上学。 - He took me to a bar full of actor types trying to get noticed.
他带我去了一个酒吧，那里到处是演员一类的人，希望能引起他们的注意。
class : 正式用词，指门类、种类或优劣等级；用于指动植物的分类时，表示“纲”。
- Whenever I travel by train, I always travel first class.
我每次乘火车旅行都坐头等车厢。 - first/second class mail
一类／二类邮件 - a business/economy class ticket
商务舱／经济舱的机票 - When it comes to mathematics, he’s in a different class to his peers.
说到数学，他和他的同龄人不在一个级别上。
classification : 指根据已经确定的类型对某一实物作鉴别和归类。
- a style of music that defies classification (= is like no other)
独特的音乐风格 - Its tariffs cater for four basic classifications of customer.
它的价目表适合4个基本类别的顾客。
category : 书面用词，特指有确切定义的群体。
- There are three categories of accommodation – standard, executive, and deluxe.
有3种住宿标准——标准房、公务房和豪华房。 - Students over 25 fall into a different category .
25岁以上的学生属另一类。 - The results can be divided into three main categories .
结果可分为三大类。
species : 书面用词，单复数同形。指生物分类上的种。
- Mountain gorillas are an endangered species.
山地大猩猩属于濒危物种。 - Over a hundred species of insect are found in this area.
这一地区有上百种昆虫。
variety : 强调有各自的特点，形式不同，品质不同的种类。
- The article was about the different varieties of Spanish spoken in South America.
这篇文章讲的是南美洲西班牙语的各种变种。 - This variety of rose is especially hardy and drought-resistant.
这种玫瑰特别耐寒及耐旱。 - Our supermarket stocks apples in several different varieties.
我们超市有几个不同品种的苹果。
#词汇辨析