[57]Film is a visual medium，presenting in instantaneous images what takes many paragraphs to describe.In this respect it makes prose look primitive.On the oth鄄er hand film is a clumsy vehicle for conveying concepts of analysis：it has to find dramatic substitutes for what novels tell us about motives，feelings，contexts and social meanings.Furthermore，unlike verbal communication，film lacks indica鄄tion of tense.Its images always exist in the present，although it has various de鄄vices for suggesting past and future action.The effects of these differences are profound and far鄄raching.（《研究生考试MBA 全国联考英语必读》）这里作者在表达”手段冶时用了同义词和近同义词medium，vehicle，devices，sub鄄stitutes，而在表达与电影对立的“文字冶时，作者用上义词verbal communication 来指代前文提到的paragraphs，prose，novels。
比较说来，汉语较少使用上、下义词来追求词语变化。除了汉语缺少形合手段，如语法照应等，（在以意合为主和话题突出的语言中，原词复现和指代省略是增进篇章连贯和理解的重要手段），另一原因是汉语上义词和下义词的构成与英语有所不同。英语上义词和下义词一般是由不同语素构成的词，而汉语是用相同的语素或单字构成的，这也影响了词语替换的目的。如：
season spring /summer /autumn /winter季春季/夏季/秋季/冬季tree pine /oak /elm /willow 树松树/橡树/榆树/柳树vehicle van /taxi /bus /ambulance车货车/出租车/公共汽车/救护车
red crimson /scarlet /pink /rose /cherry红深红/猩红/粉红/玫瑰红/樱桃红
singsolo /chorus /round /duet /trio
唱独唱/合唱/轮唱/二重唱/三重唱
shopstationer蒺s /grocery /restaurant /pharmacy店文具店/杂货店/饭店/药店更突出的问题是，汉语中的上义词往往是单音节词，而下义词则是通过这些上义词属加种差的偏正结构方法来构成的多音节词，因此替换就受到结构整齐和韵律组配的限制。而英语的上义词和下义词在词形音节长短区分都不受篇章中相互替换的影响。动词情况也是如此：
lookstare /gaze /peep /peer /glare /glance /blink看斜视/注视/傲视/凝视/呆视/逼视/窥视/扫视laughchortle /chuckle /giggle /guffaw /snicker /sneer /smirk笑大笑/讥笑/傻笑/狂笑/暗笑/冷笑/偷笑walkamble /saunter /stride /stroll /strut /swagger /totter /pace /shuffle /trudge走漫步走/散步/疾步走/拖着脚走/踮脚走/方步走speakwhisper /mumble /exclaim /howl /snap /reiterate /stammer说低声说/含糊说/大声说/吼叫着说/厉声说/反复说/结结巴巴说[58]His heart beating fast，because of the frightened screaming，he stepped carefully off the rock，and went toward a line of trees.He was moving cautiously，for not so long ago he had seen a leopard in just this spot.（A Sunrise on the Veld）
3.3.2.6抽象词
抽象名词的意义一般说来比较笼统，概括性大。正是这个特点它往往能够替代一些具体、复杂的说法。由于英语抽象名词相当发达，抽象表达非常普遍，因此抽象词成为英语词汇变化的主要手段。而汉语的抽象名词不够发达，就很少有这种词汇变化手段。如：
[59]Red鄄light running has always been regarded as a minor wrong，and so it has never been taken seriously.When the violation becomes habitual，however，a great deal more than a traffic problem is involved.人们常把闯红灯看成小错，不当一回事，然而闯红灯一旦形成习惯，则问题远非是违反交通规则。
[60]Why do food prices keep on rising，when there seems to be much more food？Is the abundance only temporary，or has it come to stay？为什么一方面粮价不断上涨，另一方面似乎粮食非常充裕？粮食充裕是不是只是暂时的，或一直如此？
英语有violation 和abundance 抽象名词替代，汉语没有这种高度抽象的名词。Jes鄄person（1949）认为，单个抽象名词往往隐含着一个小句的内容。如下面句中的”toler鄄ance冶意为“people tolerate冶；”fondness冶意为“people are fond of冶，这样就避免了“peo鄄ple冶的重复使用：
[61]Naples is far dirtier，and so are Bombay and countless other cities，but a toler鄄ance for dirt seems to grow where fondness exists.那不勒斯更脏，孟买和其他无数城市同样如此。但是人们似乎越来越能够容忍肮脏，而人们对这些城市的感情依旧。
由于英语单个抽象名词可以包含一个比较复杂的意思，因此它可以替代一个复杂的短语或词组，甚至一个句子。
[62]Encourage your associates to hold a stake in the company.Offer discounted stock，and grant them stock for their retirement.It蒺s the single best thing we ever did.Motivate your partners.Money and ownership alone aren蒺t enough.Con鄄stantly，day by day，think of new and more interesting ways to motivate and challenge your partners.鼓励你的同事与公司同甘苦共命运。给予打折的股票，在他们退休时分给他们股票。这是我们所做过的最好的事情。激励你的合伙人。单靠给钱和给股票是不够的。日复一日都要不断想出新鲜有趣的方式来鼓动你的合伙人，给他们挑战。（《21世纪大学英语》第三册）[63]Somewhere or other -I think it is in the preface to Saint Joan -Bernard Shawremarks that we are more gullible and superstitious today than we were in the Middle Ages，and as an example of modern credulity he cites the widespread be鄄lief that the earth is round.记得在什么地方---我想是在《圣女贞德》序言中---萧伯纳评论说，今天我们比在中世纪时更加轻信，更加迷信。而作为现代人容易轻信的例证，他举出地圆说这一广为传播的信念。（《大学英语》第四册）例[62]ownership 就是指前面的具体说法：offer discounted stock 和grant them stock，例[59]credulity 就是we are more gullible and superstitious today than we were in the Middle Ages 的意思。而汉语只能重复或部分重复用过的词语。