先看下面一道高考题:

　　Would you slow down a bit, please? I can’t you.

　　A. keep up with

　　B. put up with

　　C. make up to D. hold on to

　　语境中考查短语动词的词义辨析是高考英语的一个热点。keep up with意为“赶上、跟上”;put up with意为“忍受、容忍”;make up to意为“接近、巴结”;hold on to意为“坚持、抓住不放”。根据题意,可知正确答案为A。

　　keep是一个比较活用的动词,应从下述几点掌握其主要用法。

　　一、keep意为“保持;保留;保守”

　　Will you keep these books for me while I am away? 我离开期间请你替我保管好这些书好吗?

　　Please tell me whether your watch keeps good time? 请告诉我你的表走得准吗?

　　二、keep意为“履行(诺言等);遵守(惯例等)”

　　As anyone knows, the Chinese people always keep their word. 大家知道,中国人民说话是算数的。

　　The old man has kept regular hours since he was young. 这位老人从年轻时起生活作息一直很有规律。

　　三、keep意为“赡养;饲养”

　　Does he earn enough money to keep his family? 他的收入能够维持他的家庭生活吗?

　　It is really difficult for her to keep so many pigs alone. 她一个人饲养这么多头猪,真难。

　　四、意为“使(人或物)保持在某一

　　状态”

　　I didn’t know what kept him running after that. 我不知道是什么东西使他不停地追逐它。

　　If your hands are cold, keep them in your pocket. 如果你的手觉得冷,把它们放到你的口袋里。

　　五、keep也可作连系动词,意为“保持某一状态”

　　I hope all of you will keep fit. 愿大家保持健康。

　　Keep silent as soon as the teacher comes into the classroom. 教师一进教室,请保持安静。

　　六、keep构成的常用短语动词

　　1. keep up与 keep up with

　　keep up 意为“维持、继续”; keep up with 意为“跟上”。

　　If the weather will only keep up, I’ll go for an outing.如果天气能保持晴朗,我将外出游玩。

　　You must work hard, or you won’t keep up with your classmates. 你要努力学习,要不然就跟不上你的同学了。

　　2. keep on doing sth.; keep sb. doing sth.与 keep sb. from doing sth.

　　keep on doing sth.意为“继续做某事”; keep sb. doing sth. 意为“让某人一直做某事”; keep sb. from doing sth. 意为“阻止某人做某事”。

　　We kept on working in the fields in spite of the rain. 尽管下雨,我们还是坚持在地里劳动。

　　We must keep them from getting to know our plans. 我们必须防止他们知道我们的计划。

　　七、 常与keep搭配的名词

　　keep one’s balance 保持平衡; keep house 料理家务; keep sth. in mind 记住某事; keep one’s mind on sth.专心于某事; keep a diary 记日记; keep a promise 遵守诺言; keep goal 守球门; keep hold of握住; keep a shop 经营商店。

　　(文/杨时务；英语辅导报高三版2003-2004学年第7期；版权归英语辅导报社所有，独家网络合作伙伴新浪教育，未经许可，不得以任何形式进行转载。)