我们都知道在英语没有语境的情况下，很多近义词的意思基本上一致，几乎无法分清相互之间的区别，比如今天给大家带来的award, reward, prize这一组词。

　　1. Award

　　An award is a prize or certificate that a person is given for doing something well.

　　例句：

　　She presented a bravery award to schoolgirl Caroline Tucker. 

　　她向女学生卡罗琳·塔克颁发了英勇奖状。

　　Sue and John were especially thrilled with this award. 

　　休和约翰对于获得这个奖项感到兴奋不已。

　　She went to New York to receive the award in person. 

　　她亲自前往纽约领奖。

　　2. Reward

　　A reward is something that you are given, for example because you have behaved well, worked hard, or provided a service to the community.

　　例句：

　　A bonus of up to 5 per cent can be added to a pupil's final exam marks as a reward for good spelling, punctuation and grammar.

　　小学生期末考试的分数最多可以加5分，作为对其拼写、标点和语法正确的奖励。

　　He was given the job as a reward for running a successful leadership bid. 

　　因为成功组织了领导职位竞选活动，他得到了这份工作。

　　另外，reward还可以是“报答；回报；酬谢”，即

　　The rewards of something are the benefits that you receive as a result of doing or having that thing.

　　通常指因做了某一件事或提供了某种服务而应得到报酬或酬谢，其后一般以人或人的行为作宾语。后跟with用来说明以何物作为报酬。

　　例句：

　　The company is only just starting to reap the rewards of long-term investments.

　　这家公司才刚刚开始收获长期投资的回报。

　　Potentially high financial rewards are attached to senior hospital posts. 

　　当上医院的高级职员就有可能享受丰厚的经济报酬。

　　They rewarded the winners with gifts of fruits and flowers.

　　他们奖给优胜者一些水果和鲜花。

　　3. Prize

　　A prize is money or something valuable that is given to someone who has the best results in a competition or game, or as a reward for doing good work.

　　例句：

　　The boys competed with each other for the prize.

　　那些男孩子为赢得奖品而互相竞争。

　　You must claim your prize by telephoning our claims line.

　　您必须通过拨打我们的领奖电话来领取奖品。

　　He won first prize at the Leeds Piano Competition.

　　他在利兹国际钢琴比赛中荣获一等奖。