persuade / convince 易混淆字
persuade 是說服別人「去做」某件事，convince 是讓別人「相信」某件事。
105 學測｜綜合測驗
To persuade the boy to return home, Bill and Sam had to tell him that his father was taking him bear-hunting.
為了說服男孩回家，Bill 和 Sam 只好告訴他，他爸爸要帶他去獵熊。（說服男孩回家）
- had to V：「只好…」
- bear-hunting：「獵熊」
110 學測｜綜合測驗
After heated debates and discussions, the government was finally persuaded to consider another similarly effective method: giving the pigeons birth control.
經過激烈的辯論和討論，政府終於被說服考慮另一種同樣有效的方法：給鴿子避孕。（說服政府考慮另一個方法）
- heated debates：「激烈的辯論」
- birth control：「避孕」，冒號後面是方法的內容
106 學測｜閱讀測驗
However, a man known as Mestre Bimba devoted a great deal of time and effort to convincing the Brazilian authorities that Capoeira has great cultural value and should become an official fighting style.
然而，一位名叫 Mestre Bimba 的人投入大量時間和心力，說服巴西當局 Capoeira 具有極高的文化價值，應該成為正式的格鬥風格。（讓當局相信）
- a man known as…：「一位被稱為…的人」
- devote A to B：「把 A 投入 B」
- a great deal of…：「大量的…」
- authorities：「當局」，複數
怎麼判斷
- persuade 是「說服」，要對方去做某件事，用 persuade someone to + 動詞。例：She persuaded me to go.（她說服我去）
- convince 是「使相信」，要對方相信某件事，常用 convince someone that …。例：She convinced me that I should go.（她讓我相信我該去）
- persuade 常強調使人採取行動，convince 常強調使人相信；不過 convince someone to V 也很常見。
自我檢測
105 學測｜綜合測驗
1. To ＿＿＿＿ the boy to return home, Bill and Sam had to tell him that his father was taking him bear-hunting.