be afraid of doing sth 和 to do sth 理解

Sheseldom took the plane. She was afraid of flying.

这里的She wasafraid of flying 可否改成She wasafraid to fly ? 为何？

表示“害怕做某事”或“不敢做某事”，beafraid 之后可接不定式，也可接of doing sth。如：

Shewas afraid to tell [of telling] you. 她害怕对你说。

Sheis afraid to go [of going] out alone late at night. 她非常怕深夜一个人外出。

但若要表示担忧或许会发生某事，则只可以用be afraid of doing而不可以用 be afraid to do。如：

Sheis afraid of lagging behind the others. 她怕落在其他人后面。

Shedidn’t tell him because she was afraid of upsetting him. 她没告诉他，由于怕他不安。

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