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puzzle
Joined: 17 Oct 2005
Posts: 198
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 Posted: Fri Oct 26, 2012 12:18 am Post subject: fail, decline |
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Dear teachers,
Can you tell me the differences between "fail" & "decline" when referring to health? We can say "His began to fail/decline", then can we say " His mental abilities began to fail"?
Thank you very much! |
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puzzle
Joined: 17 Oct 2005
Posts: 198
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| Posted: Fri Oct 26, 2012 2:18 am Post subject: |
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such as in the following exercise:
According to scientists, our mental abilities begin to _____ from the age of 27 after reaching the highest level at 22.
A. differ B. shrink C. fail D. decline
The answer given is "D", why is "C" not right?
Thank you very much! |
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2006
Joined: 27 Nov 2006
Posts: 610
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| Posted: Fri Oct 26, 2012 7:39 pm Post subject: |
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| puzzle wrote: |
such as in the following exercise:
According to scientists, our mental abilities begin to _____ from the age of 27 after reaching the highest level at 22.
A. differ B. shrink C. fail D. decline
The answer given is "D", why is "C" not right?
Thank you very much! |
probably because "fail" is too strong a word to use at that point |
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IanT
Joined: 13 Sep 2012
Posts: 340
Location: Spain
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| Posted: Sat Oct 27, 2012 6:48 am Post subject: |
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Yes. decline is gradual and often natural, whereas fail suggests that something stops functioning, sometimes completely, in a "something is wrong" sort of way.
Hope helps,
Ian
_________________
All my answers refer to British English.
www.EnglishSwearing.com - How to use all the bad words! ... and ... www.throdworld.com - Silly verses to make you happy.
You decide the price for both! |
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