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一、may well
may well 主要用于加強(qiáng)推測(cè)的語(yǔ)氣，表示具有較大的可能性。如：
It may well be true. 那很可能是真的。
What you say may well be true. 你說(shuō)的很可能是事實(shí)。
Her grandpa may well be over eighty. 她的祖父可能已有80多歲了。
That may well have been their intention. 這很可能是他們的意圖。
【注】may well 中的 may 也可換成 might 或 could，但語(yǔ)氣更不確定。如：
He might well lose his job. 他多半會(huì)丟了那份工作。
He might [could] well find that the course is too difficult. 他很可能覺(jué)得這門(mén)課太難。
請(qǐng)看一道考題：
Liza ______ well not want to go on the trip—she hates traveling.
A. will B. can C. must D. may
分析：may 和 might 后接副詞 well 加強(qiáng)語(yǔ)氣，意為“很可能”，故選 D。
二、may as well
may as well 主要用于表示提議或勸告，意為“不妨”。如：
I may as well start at once. 我還不妨馬上就動(dòng)身。
If that is the case, I may as well try. 既然如此，我不妨試一試。
Now that you have come you may as well stay. 既然你來(lái)了，你就留下。
【注】其中的 may 也可換成 might，但語(yǔ)氣更不確定。如：
He may [might] as well come with me. 他還不妨跟我一起來(lái)。
It’s not very far, so we may [might] as well go on foot. 那地方不太遠(yuǎn)，所以我們還是走著去吧。
請(qǐng)看一道考題：
You are here, so you _______ as well give me a hand.
A. can B. should C. need D. may
分析：may [might] as well 用于表示提議，意為“不妨”，故選 D。句意為：你們既然在這兒，不妨就幫我一下。
三、一點(diǎn)提醒
當(dāng)表示提議或勸告時(shí)，may as well 與 might as well 意思相同，但是 might as well 還可將一種不愉快的情況同另一種不愉快的情況作比較，含有抱怨的意味，通常譯為“還不如”，此時(shí)不能用 may as well。如：
This holiday isn’t much fun; we might as well be back home. 這個(gè)假日過(guò)得真沒(méi)意思，我們還不如待在家里。
“What a slow bus this is!” “Yes, we might just as well walk.” “這輛公共汽車(chē)開(kāi)得多慢啊!”“是呀，我們還不如走著去。”
You never listen—I might as well talk to a brick wall. 你一點(diǎn)也不聽(tīng)——我還不如跟墻壁說(shuō)話呢。
The buses are so expensive these days, so you might as well get a taxi. 最近公共汽車(chē)車(chē)費(fèi)很貴，還不如坐出租車(chē)去。
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