区别辨析disclose、expose、uncover与reveal

disclose、expose、uncover与reveal都表示“揭露、暴露”之意。

disclose : 侧重指揭露或泄露鲜为人知或保密的事。

  • Neither side would disclose details of the transaction.
    双方均不肯披露交易细节。
  • The police have disclosed that two officers are under internal investigation.
    警方公布说有两名警察正在接受内部调查。

expose : 多指揭露丑闻、坏人坏事或各种阴谋。也可指某物暴露在外。

  • The review exposed widespread corruption in the police force.
    这篇评论文章揭露了警察部队盛行的腐败现象。
  • The newspaper story exposed him as (= showed that he was) a liar.
    报纸上的这篇报道揭发他是个骗子。

uncover : 主要指移去遮盖物,让东西显露出来。也可指揭露阴谋、秘密等。

  • Uncover the pan and let the soup simmer.
    揭开锅盖,让汤再慢火煨一下。
  • The investigation uncovered evidence of a large-scale illegal trade in wild birds.
    调查发现了大规模非法交易野生鸟类的证据。

reveal : 多指揭露一直隐藏或隐秘的东西,或启示超乎常人领导能力的真理。

  • After the fire, it was revealed that North Carolina officials had never inspected the factory.
    大火过后人们发现北卡罗来纳州的官员从没对这家工厂进行过检查。