rare 与 scarce

尽管形容词 rare 与 scarce 表达的意思相近，但两者通常不可互换使用。以下，我将分别解释这两个单词的原始意义， ¹并举例说明其典型用法。

rare：现存数量很少；难得见到或遇到；不常。

1. The red-headed trogan is a rare species of bird.
2. Solar flares of such great size are extremely rare events.
3. It is rare to find audio recordings of such high quality from that time.

scarce：现有数量不足。

4. The influenza vaccine is scarce in rural areas.
5. However, because water became extremely scarce, the population rapidly decreased.
6. Funding for this type of research has become scarce.

在上述例句中，将其中一个形容词换成另一个形容词可能会使整句话的意思大相径庭。

¹必须要注意的是，这两个单词各自具有其它不太常用的意思。