usual: [14] That which is usual is etymologically that which is commonly ‘used’ or employed, or which commonly obtains. The word was acquired, probably via Old French usual, from late Latin ūsuālis, a derivative of Latin ūsus (source of the English noun use). => use
usual (adj.)
late 14c., from Old French usuel "current, in currency (of money), valid" (13c.) and directly from Late Latin usualis "ordinary," from Latin usus "custom" (see use (v.)). The usual suspects is from a line delivered by Claude Rains (as a French police inspector) in "Casablanca" (1942).
权威例句
1. The first snow came a month earlier than usual.
第一场雪比往年提早了一个月。
2. They have the usual quota of human weaknesses, no doubt.
毫无疑问,他们身上也有人所共有的弱点。
3. Instead of moving at his usual stately pace, he was almost running.
他没像平时那样优雅庄重地走着,而是几乎跑了起来。
4. It is a neighborhood beset by all the usual inner-city problems.
这是个为各种内城常见问题所困扰的社区。
5. It is usual to tip waiters, porters, guides and drivers.
给服务员、行李搬运工、导游和司机小费是惯例。
词语辨析
【usual, common, universal, general, average】
这组词都有“普通”的意思,其区别是:
usual: a.通常的,惯常的,强调"习惯性的,符合规章制度的",是个一般用语。
common: a.常见的,普通的,不足为奇的,有时引申为"平凡的",强调事物的共同性。另外,它还有"公共的,共同的"之意。
• Car accidents are a common occurrence. 交通事故是很普通的事件。
universal: a.普遍的,比general语气更强,有"全然没有例外"的意思。
• Poverty is a universal problem all over the world. 贫困是世界各地普遍存在的问题。
general: a.普通的,一般的,表示涉及到各方面,强调整体性而非个别和例外,该词的反义词为particular。
• In general, the economy is doing well now. 总的来说,现在的经济形式还不错。
average: a.普通的,一般的,它强调的是一般水准或普通水准;通常在有数字出现的情况下,表示"平均的"。
• The average runner can run 2 miles in fifteen minutes. 跑步者15分钟内平均跑两英里。