這些字「差一字，就差一千里」 --轉錄

1. after-thought 與 second thought

after-thought 是指不是原來計畫的（not originally planned）；但是 second thought 是表示再考慮，也許還會改變主意（think it over; may change mind）。
例句：
(1) The manager said that the new product was an after thought.
（經理說那新產品不是原來計畫內的事。）
(2) Let me have a second thought.（讓我再考慮一下。）

至於 second opinion，意思是「另外意見」。
例句：He would like to have a second opinion from another laywer.（他要聽聽另一位律師的意見。 ）

2. block out 與 black out

block out 意思是草擬大綱或訂出某種計畫，drew up的意思。
例句：Her boss prefers her to block out her annua plan.（老闆要她訂出年度計劃。）

black out指停電（power off）
例句：There was a black out in our office yesterday.（昨天辦公室停電。）（當名詞用）

3. call someone names 與 call one's name

call someone names是指「罵人」或「侮辱」，有一點像中文講指名道姓一樣；注意，names用複數；call someone's name是指「呼喊某人的名字」，call 後面是用名詞或代名詞的所有格（即his, your, our 等），而且 name 不加s。
例句：
(1) He called her（bad）names. 他罵她。（bad也可省略，寫成 name-calling 時，name 用單數）
(2) I called his name in the supermarket.（我在超市叫他的名字）或：I called him by his name.

4. economic和economical

economic意為"經濟上的、與經濟有關的"；economical意為"節約的、節省的"。例句：
(1) The present economic situation in Italy is serious.（目前義大利的經濟狀況很不樂觀。）
(2) I have to be economical because I don't have much money. 我要節省一點，因為我錢不多。