1. C 意外遭遇；事故　 an unexpected happening, often harmful
2. C U 意外，偶然的事　sth that happens unexpectedly and is not planned in advance

　avoid an ～　避免事故
　bring about an ～　造成事故
　cause an ～　酿成事故
　create an ～　造成事故
　cut down ～s　减少事故
　expose an ～　遭遇灾祸
　fear an ～　害怕事故
　guard against ～　防止事故
　have an ～　发生事故；遭到意外
　meet with an ～　遇到不测
　plan an ～　策划事故
　prevent an ～　防止事故
　protect against ～s　预防不测
　provide against ～　预防不测
　reduce ～s　减少事故
　witness an ～　目击意外事件
　awful ～　可怕的事故
　bad ～　横祸
　dreadful ～　可怕的事故
　fatal ～　毁灭性的事故
　fearful ～　可怕的事故
　frightful ～　可怕的事故
　happy ～　巧事
　hit-and-run ～　肇事司机已逃逸的事故
　horrible ～　可怕的事故
　industrial ～　工业事故
　inevitable ～　不可避免的事故
　injury-producing ～　造成伤害的事故
　major ～　重大事故
　mere ～　偶然的事故
　minor ～　小事故
　nasty ～　严重的事故
　near ～　险些发生的事故
　sad ～　可悲的事故
　serious ～　严重的事故
　shocking ～　骇人听闻的事故
　slight ～　小事件
　terrible ～　可怕的事故
　tragic ～　悲惨的事故
　trivial ～　轻微的事故
　unavoidable ～　不可避免的事故
　unforeseen ～　意外的事故
　unfortunate ～　不幸的事故
　unlucky ～　不幸的事故
　aeroplane ～　飞机事故
　airplane ～　飞机事故
　automobile ～　汽车事故
　car ～　车祸；汽车事故
　climbing ～　登山意外事件
　fire ～　火灾
　hunting ～　狩猎事故
　motorcar ～　汽车事故
　railroad ～　铁路事故
　railway ～　铁路事故
　riding ～　骑马意外事件
　road ～　交通事故
　traffic ～　交通事故
　train ～　火车事故
　～ error　偶然误差
　～ frequency　意外事故频率
　～ insurance　伤害保险
　～ prevention　安全措施；事故预防
　～ probability　事故的可能性；偶然概率
　～ rate　事故率
　～ risk　事故险
　against ～　预防事故
　by ～　偶然地
　by ～ of　因…的机会
　by no ～　决非偶然；并非出于偶然
　in an ～　由于事故；遭遇事故
　to an ～　由于事故；出于偶然
　with ～　意外；偶然
　without ～　安全地
　a chapter of ～s　一连串的不测事件
　a series of ～s　一连串的意外
　cause of the ～　造成事故的原因
　report of an ～　事故报道
　scene of the ～　事故的现场
　the number of traffic ～s　交通事故的数量
　versions of the ～　对事故的看法
　victim of a severe ～　严重事故的受害者
　victims of street ～s　交通事故的受害者
　～ beyond control　不可抗拒的灾害
　～ of birth　出生的偶然性
　～ of fate　命运的偶然性
　～ of history　历史的偶然性
　～ of the ground　地表皱褶，地面不平
　～ on duty　工作事故
　～ on the railway　铁路事故
　～ to　某人〔物〕出了意外
　～ to the machinery　机械故障

　What accident has happened?　出了什么事故?
　An accident happened and many lives were lost.　一场意外事故发生了，许多人丧生。
　An accident happened, but we have no particulars yet.　一场事故发生了，但我们还不知道详情。
　The accident happened at 3p.m.　事故发生于下午3 点钟。
　The accident happened in my sight.　这个意外事件发生在我的眼前。
　The accident was caused by ice on the road.　事故是由路面结冰引起的。
　Accidents will happen in the best regulated families.　家规再严，丑事难免。
　An accident has befallen him.　一场不测的事已降临到他头上。
　A series of lucky accidents led the explorer to his discovery.　这位探险家的发现是由于一连串的侥幸。
　A slight accident has upset all my plans.　一起小事故把我的计划完全打乱了。
　Train accidents have been greatly reduced over the past few years.　过去几年火车事故大为减少。
　Factory accidents are quite common; people aren't always careful.　工厂事故屡见不鲜，人们并不总是小心翼翼。
　She was twenty when an accident brought her to the notice of the great author.　在她20岁时，一次偶然的机会使她受到这位伟大作家的关注。
　There have been many traffic accidents this year.　今年发生了多起交通事故。
　There have been fewer traffic accidents lately.　近来交通事故少了。
　The airliner had an accident in the heavy fog.　客机在大雾中失事了。
　The train had an accident and many passengers were injured.　火车出了事故，许多旅客受了伤。
　I'm afraid I had an accident in the kitchen and broke all the glasses.　对不起，我在厨房里闯了个祸，把玻璃杯全打碎了。
　Such carelessness is liable to cause an accident.　如此粗心大意容易造成事故。
　The train driver's stupidity caused this terrible accident.　火车司机的愚蠢造成了这起可怕的事故。
　The emergency action taken prevented a fatal accident.　所采取的紧急措施避免了一场惨祸。
　Who'd take on some other bloke's little accident? 　谁会愿意接受别的男人种下的小野种呢?
　An ageing nuclear reactor is an accident waiting to happen.　老化的核反应堆早晚会出事故。
　That was quite an accident.　那完全是个偶然事件。
　The discovery was a happy accident.　这项发现是个巧合。
　Their early arrival was just an accident.　他们早到仅仅是偶然而已。
　To be honest, my second pregnancy was an accident.　老实说，我第二次怀孕是个意外。
　Your meeting me was a mere accident.　你我相遇纯属偶然。
　His death was more than a mere accident; evil men deliberately planned it.　他的死绝非仅仅偶然事故所致，而是坏人有意策划的。
　I didn't break it on purpose, Mum, it was an accident!　我不是故意打破它的，妈妈，这全是意外！
　I didn't mean to break it —it was an accident.　我不是故意打碎它的——这是个意外。
　When he has recovered from astonishment, he thought this is a lucky accident.　他惊异的心情稍定之后，觉得这是一件想不到的好事。
　Don't make such a fuss; it was an accident.　别这么大惊小怪的，那只是个小失误。
　He swears it was an accident.　他发誓说这是个意外。
　Take out accident insurance before you go on your trip.　你去旅行前要办理好意外保险。
　I was busy filling in forms about the accident.　我正忙着填写有关事故的表格。
　Something must be provided against accident.　须防备些，以防不测。
　He couldn't leave the house because he had a broken leg from an accident.　他的一条腿在一次事故中致残，现在出不了家门。
　His blindness is the result of an accident.　他的失明是一次事故造成的。
　In consequence of his accident he fell ill.　他因为这意外事件而病倒了。
　I have kept a reserve fund in case of an accident.　我已储蓄了准备金以防意外。
　That was mere a matter of accident.　那仅仅是碰巧。
　They had a hearty laugh over the accident.　他们为了这件巧事而大笑。
　He owes his success to a mere accident.　他的成功出于偶然。
　Her Spanish is an accident of living with a Spanish family for a year.　她的西班牙语是因为跟一个西班牙家庭住了一年偶然学得的。
　There has been an accident to the children.　孩子们出事了。
　Owing to an accident to the machine, one workshop was closed down.　由于机器发生了事故，一个车间停产了。
　There was an accident with the little boy.　那个小男孩遭到不幸。
　His absence was due to the accident that the letter asking him to come had gone astray.　发给他的邀请信投寄有误，所以他没出席。
　It was a lucky accident that we saw each other.　你我相遇，幸运之至。
　It was really a very lucky accident that I met your brother at the cinema.　我在电影院遇到你的哥哥，真是幸运。
　It is no accident that every letter we send is delayed.　我们寄的每封信都延误了，这绝非偶然。
　It is no accident used for saying that something was planned, perhaps for dishonest reasons.　这绝不是偶然；这是策划好的。
　Of course it is no accident that these events took place.　当然，这些事件的发生绝非偶然。

 ♣ by accident
　偶然地　without any intention or planning
　〔说明〕 by accident的反义形式是purposely或on purpose.
　I did it by accident.　我偶然做了这件事。
　The other day I met her by accident.　前几天我偶然遇到了她。
　Columbus discovered America by accident.　哥伦布偶然发现了美洲。
　Fleming discovered penicillin by accident in 1928.　弗莱明在1928年偶然发现了青霉素。
　He found the wallet purely by accident.　他捡到这个钱包完全是碰巧。
　Helen got into acting purely by accident.　海伦当演员完全出于偶然。
　They fell in love by accident.　他们偶然堕入爱河。
　I read of it quite by accident in the latest edition of the Global.　我是偶然在最近一期《环球》杂志上看到它的。
　I have heard by accident that he will go to New York next week.　我偶然听说他下周要去纽约。
　She found the jewel by accident.　她意外地发现了这件珠宝。
　He made this mistake by accident.　他偶然犯了这个错误。
　My friend came to an untimely end by accident.　我的朋友遭不测而早逝。
　I cut my foot by accident.　我意外弄破了自己的脚。
　The boy cut his finger by accident.　那男孩意外地割破了手指。
　The gun went off by accident.　枪意外地走火了。
　My arm was put out by accident.　我的胳臂意外脱了臼。
　Quite by accident, she came up with a brilliantly simple solution.　在纯属偶然的情况下，她想出了一个绝妙的简便办法。
　I met her by a happy accident.　我偶然遇见她，真叫我高兴。
 ♣ by accident of
　因…的机会，由于…方面的运气　by chance
　By accident of birth he was rich.　他碰巧出生在富裕人家。
 ♣ in an accident
　由于事故；遭遇事故　because of an accident; meet with an accident
　She has been quiet since her husband was killed in an accident a year ago.　自从她丈夫一年前在一次车祸中死去以后，她一直沉默寡言。
　The locomotive was damaged in an accident on the railway.　这火车头在铁路事故中被损坏。
　He has been in a motor accident.　他乘坐的车子发生了意外。
　The little girl's parents were killed in a traffic accident.　那小女孩的双亲在一次交通事故中丧生。
　He died in a train accident when I was only seven.　他死于火车事故时我才7岁。
　Her mother was hurt in an automobile accident.　她妈妈在一次车祸中受伤。
　Twenty people were killed in the railway accident.　在那次火车事故中有20人丧生。
　Several persons were injured in this traffic accident.　几个人在这次交通事故中受伤。
　Seven men were killed in a serious mining accident yesterday.　有7人在昨天的重大矿难事故中丧生。
 ♣ meet with an accident
　遇到意外事故　run across an accident
　He met with an accident on his way to school.　他在上学的路上遇到一件意外的事。
　My friend met with an accident while horse riding.　我的朋友在骑马时遭遇意外事故。
　He had met with an accident on the way. That was why he was late.　他在路上遇到了意外，所以他迟到了。
 ♣ without accident
　安全地　safely
　He has driven for two thousand hours without accident.　他已安全行车2000个小时。
　We got back without accident.　我们平安归来。
　The night passed without accident.　那一夜平安无事地过去了。
　They came back without accident.　他们回来了，没有出什么意外。

 ♣ accident, incident, event
　这组名词的共同意思是“事件”，其区别是：
1. accident是偶然发生的；incident是附属于偶发事件的；而event则不一定是偶然的。
2. accident在没有happy, lucky这类词修饰时，多指不幸事件；而incident和event则不一定是不幸的。
3. incident指日常小事或不太重要的事件；而accident则多指涉及人命的大事，但不用于政治事件。试比较下面两句：

　如果把accident和incident连用，这种差异就更明显了。例如：
　Accidents are becoming incidents on this railway.　这条铁路上事故已成家常便饭。
　须注意的是incident有时也指大事，但多指在政治上、军事上、外交上可能导致争端或战争的事件。例如：
　It was a frontier incident.　这是一次边境事件。
4. event也可指日常小事，但主要指重要的事件（国家的、社会的、边界的等）。例如：This is one of the chief events of this year.这是本年度大事之一。

　accident　有时可用于委婉说法。例如：
　She had an accident.　她未婚先孕。

　［同义词］ bit of bad luck, casualty, collision, crash, misadventure, mischance, piece of misfortune, smash-up, wreck
　［反义词］ calculation, design, intent, intention, plan, purpose
　[词源] <拉丁语 accidens（突然降临的事）