1. affect vs. effect

样子长得像，意思略像，但常用词性不一样

affect: to do something that produces an effect or change in something or in someone's situation（多用作动词）

effect: the way in which an event, action, or person changes someone or something（多用作名词）

例句：This disease affects the central nervous system, but we don’t have any medicine that can have an effect on it.

（这种疾病会影响到中枢神经系统，但是我们并没有药品能对它起作用）

2. fellow vs. follow

这两个单词貌合神离，关键是有一个已经过时不常用了（old-fashioned）

fellow: people that you work with, study with, or who are in the same situation as you（伙伴的意思，但属于过时单词）

follow: to go, walk, drive etc behind or after someone else（跟随的意思，比较常用）

例句：My little fellow is following me.

（我的“小伙伴”正跟着我走）

3. sharp vs. shape

一个有点危险，一个可能不那么危险，但也可以变得危险……

sharp: having a very thin edge or point that can cut things easily（锋利的意思）

shape: the form that something has, for example round, square, triangular etc（形状的意思）

例句：Be careful, the broken glass in the shape of triangle is very sharp.

（小心，三角形状的碎玻璃很锋利）

4. contract vs. contact

看着多了一个字母，意思差远了，contact这个词华生昨天才说过

contract: an official agreement between two or more people, stating what each will do（合同的意思）

contact: communication with a person, organization, country etc, or to write to or telephone someone（联系的意思）

例句：If you want to agree this contract, just contact me.

（如果你同意签署这个合同，打电话联系我就行）

5. contend vs. content

前缀（prefix）一样都是con，不过意思总归是不同的

contend: to compete against someone in order to gain something（争夺，奋斗的意思）

content: the things that are inside a box, bag, room（内容，目录的意思）

例句：The content of this book is three kingdoms were contending for power.

（这本书的内容就是三个国家争权夺利）

6. accent vs. ascent

容易看花眼，但是意思也很容易区别

accent: the way someone pronounces the words of a language, showing which country or which part of a country they come from（口音的意思）

ascent: the act of climbing something or moving upwards（攀登，升高的意思，名词）

例句：A man said “three” with a Chinese accent, however, the elevator didn’t begin its ascent.

（一个人用中国口音说了“3”这个词，然而电梯并没有开始上升）

7. principal vs. principle

这两个词不仅看起来像，念起来更像，但意思不同要区别清楚

principal: most important, or the most important person in a school, college, business or organization（最主要的，负责人的意思）

principle: a moral rule or belief about what is right and wrong, that influences how you behave（原则的意思）

例句：As a school principal, it's against John’s principles to accept gifts from students’ parents.

（作为一个校长，从学生家长那里收受礼物是违反John的原则的）

8. adapt vs. adopt

他们俩看起来像，读音略有不同，比较容易读错

adapt: to gradually change your behaviour and attitudes in order to be successful in a new situation（改变，适配的意思）

adopt: to take someone else's child into your home and legally become its parent（多用作收养的意思）

例句：Anne is an orphan, fortunately he is adopted by a rich family. But he needs to adapt to the new luxurious life.

（Anne是一个孤儿，幸运的是他被一个富裕的家庭收养了。但是他得适应阔绰的新生活）