n(1)原(起)因(thing，event，act，person，etc that makes sth happen or leads to a certain result)[C][N(of)]：What was the～of the fire/the accident/ the explosion/the delay/the argument/the misunderstanding/the war/the heart disease? 火灾/事故/爆炸/耽搁/争论/误会/战争/心脏病的起因是什么? the～of the epidemic spreading so quickly 流行病传播这么快的原因;seek the～of cancer寻找癌症的诱因;This man is the～of all the trouble/his mother's nervous breakdown.这个人是所有这一切麻烦/他母亲精神崩溃的祸首。die of natural～s 自然死亡;〖同〗 reason，source;〖反〗effect，result，consequence;

(2)理由(reason for an action)[U][N(for)]：I have no (plenty of/very little)～for anxiety/alarm/complaint.我毫无(完全有/几乎没有)担忧/惊慌/抱怨的理由。I have no(plenty of/very little)～to complain/to treat him so badly. 我毫无(完全有/几乎没有)抱怨/如此虐待他的理由。There is (no)～for anxiety/complaint. (没)有担忧/抱怨的理由。complain/be dismissed without (good)～没有(充分)理由抱怨/被解雇;complain/be dismissed for (good)～有(充分)理由抱怨/被解雇;Years of training gave him every～of confidence.多年的训练给了他自信的充分理由。〖同〗grounds，reason;

(3)事业(idea or goal to which many people are dedicated)[C]：(devote one's life to/die for/fight for/work for)the～of liberty/justice/democracy/world peace(为)自由/正义/民主/世界和平(献身/献身/战斗/工作);in the～of peace在和平事业中;be sympathetic to sb's～同情某人的事业;〖同〗 purpose，object，aim;

(4)诉讼案子(question to be resolved in a court of law)[C]：plead one's～为某人的案子辩护;

→′causative adj作为原因的;′causeless adj无原因(理由)的;′causal adj原因的，因果关系的;cau′sality n 因果关系;

v引起，导致，造成(be the cause of sth;bring about;make sth happen)[T+n，D+n+n，D+n+prep(for/to)，C+n+to-inf]：What～d the accident/the explosion/the flood/the illness/the lung cancer/the death?是什么引起的事故/爆炸/洪水/疾病/肺癌/死亡? What～d the harm/the damage/the confusion/the difficulty/the delay? 是什么造成的伤害/损失/混乱/困难/耽搁? Germs～disease. 细菌引起疾病。～sb trouble/inconvenience/unhappiness/pain/grief/anxiety给某人造成麻烦/不便/不幸/痛苦/悲伤/焦虑;～trouble/concern to sb 给某人造成麻烦/忧虑;～sb to change his mind/plants to die使得某人改变主意/造成植物死亡;～sb to jump back吓了某人一跳;〖同〗 bring about，lead to;〖反〗prevent;

【辨异】 1)cause 与 occasion都可指造成什么的起因。cause 指长时间以来或恒久的状况下产生影响作用的力量;而occasion(偶尔，附带的原因)指提供机会使影响得以明显化或促使影响明显化的事件，如：The cause of the quarrel between the two men was jealousy，but the occasion was the fact that only one man's wages were increased.(那两个人的争吵是出于嫉妒，而其直接原因则是只有一个人涨了工资。)2)cause与reason、ground和motive语义相近，不可混淆。cause 是指事情发生的“原因”，如：the cause of the fire(火灾的起因);reason是人们用于解释某事物的“原因”，如：the reason for one's resignation(某人辞职的原因);两者还都可表示“理由”(说明某一解释人们是可以接受的)，如：have no cause for suspicion/no reason to suspect sb(没有理由怀疑某人);ground(理由，根据)语体色彩较为正式，尤用于法律方面，通常用复数，如：have no good grounds for believing sth(没有充分理由相信某事);motive(动机，目的)表示人们内心中欲做某事的愿望，如：one's motive for doing sth(某人做某事的动机)。3)cause与bring about和make都表示使某结果、事件等发生，但用法不同。cause(引起)与bring about(引起)都可接表示直接结果的宾语，其中bring about语体色彩较正式，原因较间接，如：Films can cause harm.(电影能造成伤害。)Wars bring about a reduction in the birth-rate.(战争引起出生率降低。)cause 还可接双宾语结构，如：cause sb harm(给某人造成危害);cause(导致)与 make(致使)都可用于C+n+(to)-inf结构，表示“导致”、“致使”的意思，此时皆不可变为被动语态，如：Pepper causes people to sneeze/makes people sneeze.(胡椒使人打喷嚏。)make 还可表示“迫使”的意思，这时可变为被动语态，如：They made him leave. He was made to leave.(他们迫使他离开。他被迫离开。)