immediately、instantly、presently、directly、shortly、soon、at once与right away这些副词或副词词组均有“立刻、马上”之意。
immediately : 指做完一件事后,立即就做另一件事,中间一般没有明显的时间间隔。
- We really ought to leave immediately.
我们真的应该马上就走。 - The purpose of the meeting wasn't immediately obvious.
会议的目的并不明确。
instantly : 指恰恰就在此刻,一秒钟也没耽误。
- Both drivers were killed instantly.
两名司机当即丧生。
presently : 指不久、即将,一种比较过时的说法。
- The room was hot and presently her eyes grew heavy and she began to feel sleepy.
屋子里很热,一会儿她就觉得眼皮发沉昏昏欲睡。
directly和immediately同义,指毫无迟疑。
- Dr Schwarz will be with you directly.
施瓦茨医生很快就到。
shortly和soon同义,指动作发生或完成的速度之快。
- We will shortly be arriving in King's Cross Station.
我们马上就要到国王十字车站了。
soon : 常用词,指行动快,完成速度快。
- She'll soon be here./She'll be here soon.
她很快就到。 - It will soon be impossible for foreigners to enter the country.
不久以后,外国人就不能进入这个国家了。 - The sooner we leave, the sooner we'll get there.
我们出发得越早,到那儿也就越早。 - Soon after agreeing to go, she realized she'd made a mistake.
同意去之后不久,她就意识到自己犯了一个错误。 - How soon (= when) can we sign the contract?
我们什么时候能签订合同? - "When would you like to meet?" "The sooner the better."
“你想什么时候见面?”“越快越好。” - I couldn't get out of that place soon enough.
我恨不得马上离开那个地方。
at once : 口语中常用,语气强烈,指时间紧迫,一刻也不能耽误。
- They all started talking at once.
他们同时开始讲起话来。
right away : 主要用于美国英语,语气稍弱于at once,强调动作迅速。
- You'd better leave right now.
你最好马上离开。