【问】 I was surprised to see that I was to have a companion during my trip. I had expected
 A. being lonely. B. to be lonely.
 C. being alone. D. to be alone(Nelson，400A).
 正确答案为D(to be alone)。我不明白为什么不能选B(to be lonely.)。
 【答】 从词义上说，alone强调“(身体上的)孤单一人”、“独自一人”，有时候也可能表示“孤独”的感情。上面的试题中的alone是讲孤单一人，无伴侣，而并不是讲孤独的感受。
 1. It was dreadful to find oneself alone in such a place. (PEG)
 发现自己独自在这样一个地方，真是太可怕了。
 2. In the large public gardens in Germany there are special paths for children and “alone ladies”.
 在德国的大公园里有专供儿童和“单身妇女”行走的小径。
 3.She prefers to live alone.(《韦氏词典》，电子版)
 她宁愿单独一个人生活。
 lonely则除了指出与其他人隔离这一事实之外，还强调渴望伴侣的那种孤单寂寞的感情：
 1. He felt almost intolerably lonely. (Greene)
 他感到一种几乎是难以忍受的孤独。
 2. At heart，I'm a lonely man________ yes，a lonely man. (Priestley)
 在内心里，我是一个孤独的人——是的，一个孤独的人。
 3. Robinson Crusoe spent many lonely days on the desert island before the man Friday appeared.(《韦氏字典》，电子版)
 在那个名叫星期五的男人出现以前鲁滨逊·克鲁索在那个荒岛上度过了许多寂寞的日子。
 下面的例句可以很好地辨析这两个词的区别：
 The few people on the streets were alone and seemed lonely.
 街上那几个人孤零零的，显得很寂寞。
 请做下面的英语试题：
 1. Living here at the top of the mountain with no one else near you must be very_____.A. sole B. alone
 C. only D. lonely(Nelson，250C)
 2. Alfred Adams has not____.
 A. lived lonelinessly in times pervious B. never before lived sole
 C. ever lived alone before D. before lived without the company of hisfriends(TOEFL，83. 1)
 此外，alone还可以用作副词，搁在名词或代词的后面，作“只有”、“仅仅”解：
 1.He alone can do it.
 只有他能做这件事。
 2. Certain diseases of the brain are suffered by human beings alone.
 A. on their own B. singly
 C. without help D. only(TOEFL)
 某些大脑疾病只有人类才会患上。