accident， incident 辨析

【辨析】accident常指不幸的、预料不到的、突发性的意外事件。如车祸、灾难等。还常与by连用，组成by accident词语，作“机会、偶尔”解。

【类似】come across, happen to do ,chance to do 和by chance

【例】He had met with an accident on the way. This is why he was late for the meeting. 他在路上遇到了交通事故，所以他开会迟到了。

The other day I came across an interesting accident. 几天前，我碰到一件意外事情。

She happened/chanced to be there when we arrived. 我们到时，她正好在那里。

It was by pure chance that we met. 我们相见纯属巧合。

Incident指不重要的小事或引起公众注意的事件；也指事变、战争等。

【例】My father told me of an incident that took place on his first day at school.  父亲告诉我他开学头一天发生的一件事。

Don't be troubled with the incident. 别因那件小事而烦恼。

May 4th Movement was an important incident in the Chinese history. “五四”运动在中国历史上一件重大的事件。