【问】 People greatly differ______ their views of life.

A.from B. in C. at D.to(日本高考英语试题，81)

试题要求选B(in)，我不明白这里为什么不能选A(from)。differ from不是最常见的搭配吗?

【答】 differ in与differ from的意义和用法是完全不同的。differ from用于表示前项不同于后项(A differs from B——A不同于B)，而differ in表示两项以上的主语或复数主语在……方面不同(N₁+N₂…)differ in...)，请分析下面的实例：

1. Modern cars differ from the early ones in many ways. (EED)

现代汽车在许多方面与早期汽车不同。

2. She and her sister differ in eye colour. (LDPV)

她跟她姐姐眼睛的颜色不同。

当需要表示“A与B在……方面不同”时，就要采用differ from... in的格式

1. Russian differs from English in having a distinct alphabet and many inflected forms.(ODCLE)

俄语与英语不同，它有一套独特的字母和许多屈折形式。

2. She differs from her sister in the colour of her eyes. (LDPV)

她眼睛的颜色跟姐姐不同。

请做下面的英语试题：

Montessori preschools differ than public elementary schools in that the activities focus onthe child's individual abilities and interests rather than academic ones. (TOEFL，90. 10)