近来，最近(recently;not long ago)：What have you been doing～? 你近来一直在做什么? I haven't been to the theater much～. 我最近不常到戏院去看戏。It's only～that the matter has become known. 此事最近才为人知晓。I saw him as～as yesterday. 我昨天还见到他了。

【辨异】lately与not long ago和recently所指的行为都发生在最近的过去。lately 通常用于疑问句和否定句，在肯定句中通常与 only、much 和 a lot 连用。句中的动词须用现在完成时(见上面的例句)。not long ago(不久前)仅用于肯定陈述句，与过去时动词连用，如：He got married not long ago.(他不久前结婚了。)recently(最近)用得最广，可用于各种句式，可同过去时和现在完成时动词连用，如：The bank recently opened a branch in Beijing.(这家银行最近在北京开了一家支行。)Historians have begun to investigate the question only recently.(历史学家们最近才开始调查这个问题。)