earnest、serious、grave、severe、solemn与sober均有“严肃的”之意。
earnest : 指严肃、认真，含诚恳和热情意味。
- He was a very earnest young man.
他是个非常认真的年轻人。 - Despite her earnest efforts, she could not find a job.
尽管她已尽心竭力，但是仍然找不到工作。
serious : 指具有关键、严肃或严重意义的事情。
- Please don't laugh - I'm being serious.
请不要笑——我是认真的。 - He was wearing a very serious expression and I knew something was wrong.
他一脸严肃，我就知道出问题了。 - On the surface it's a very funny novel but it does have a more serious underlying theme.
表面上看，这是一部非常滑稽的小说，但它确实有更为深刻的主题。
grave : 侧重严肃和尊严，需要认真思考，含令人担忧意味。
- a grave situation
严峻的形势 - He looked very grave as he entered the room.
他进屋时表情非常严肃。
severe : 指面孔的严肃，法律的严厉，伤病的严重。着重严厉性，无丝毫温情。
- The headteacher spoke in a severe voice.
校长说话的口吻很严厉。 - The president is currently facing severe criticism.
总统目前正遭到严厉的批评。 - There are severe penalties for failing to declare all your income to the Inland Revenue.
未向税务机关申报个人全部收入会受到严厉的处罚。
solemn : 指人表情或场景气氛严肃，侧重威严名印象深刻。
- a solemn face/voice
严肃的脸／声音 - solemn music
严肃音乐 - Everyone looked very solemn.
大家看上去都很严肃。
sober : 侧重因控制或抑制自己的感情而表现出的庄重。
- In fact the whole wedding was a sober affair - no dancing, just people standing around in groups chatting politely.
事实上，整场婚礼气氛很严肃——没有人跳舞，人们只是聚在一起礼貌地交谈。 - Anthony was in a very sober mood - I scarcely heard him laugh all night.
安东尼表现得十分严肃——我整个晚上很少听他笑过。
