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a scattering of + [plural noun]
scattering 作名词时常用 a scattering of 表示“零星的……”，强调数量少且分散。
A scattering of tourists wandered around the old town.
零星几个游客在老城里闲逛。
散落的少量；零星散布的东西
先理解核心含义，再看它在真实句子里的用法。
散落的少量；零星散布的东西
A small quantity of things spread loosely or at random.
A scattering of tourists wandered around the old town.
零星几个游客在老城里闲逛。
少量物体(随机)散布
A small quantity of something being dispersed (at random points).
投给非主要或未列出候选人的总票数
The total number of votes awarded to nonmajor or unlisted candidates.
波束或粒子束因碰撞或类似相互作用而分散的过程
The process whereby a beam of waves or particles is dispersed by collisions or similar interactions.
There was a scattering of old houses on the hillside.
山坡上零星散布着一些老房子。
The scattering of light by particles in the atmosphere creates a blue sky.
大气中粒子对光的散射形成了蓝色的天空。
A scattering of applause followed his speech.
他的演讲之后响起了稀疏的掌声。
scattering 作名词时常用 a scattering of 表示“零星的……”，强调数量少且分散。
A scattering of tourists wandered around the old town.
零星几个游客在老城里闲逛。
此义项为物理学用语，指波或粒子因碰撞等相互作用而分散的现象。
The scattering of sunlight by the atmosphere makes the sky appear blue.
大气层对阳光的散射使天空看起来是蓝色的。
Not this
There was scattering of students in the hall.
Use this
There was a scattering of students in the hall.
scattering 作名词表示“零星的少量”时，用于 a scattering of 结构，必须带不定冠词 a；中文没有冠词概念，学习者容易漏掉 a，补上 a 才符合英语可数名词单数的用法。
Not this
The toys are scattering on the carpet.
Use this
The toys are scattered on the carpet.
表达“散落在某处”的静止状态应用过去分词 scattered 作形容词；scattering 是现在分词，表示“正在散开”的动态动作。中文的“散落”既可指状态也可指动作，导致误用，换成 scattered 才能表达“被散放在地毯上”的状态。
Focus on the distinctions below. Other candidates are kept compact until a reliable usage note is available.
零零星星的；稀稀落落的
There was a scattering of old houses along the road.
沿路零零星星地散落着几座老房子。
零星选票；非主要候选人所得票数
The independent candidate received only a scattering of votes.
那位独立候选人只获得了零星选票。
散射截面
The scattering cross section describes how strongly a particle is deflected by a target.
散射截面描述粒子被靶偏转的强度。
弹性散射
In elastic scattering, the total kinetic energy of the colliding particles is conserved.
在弹性散射中，碰撞粒子的总动能守恒。
光散射
Light scattering by cloud droplets causes the white appearance of clouds.
云滴对光的散射使云呈现白色。
Use scattering naturally, then get feedback on meaning, tone, grammar, and phrasing.
Revisit a common error or keep this word in your review list.
联想：把一把米粒随手撒出去，米粒零散地落在各处——这些少量、分散的东西就是 scattering。
语域：mixed 常见场景：describing small objects spread over an area、physics (wave/particle scattering)、election vote counts scattering 作名词时，日常描述“零散少量”通常为中性语气；在物理和选举统计等专业场合则比较常见于正式或技术性表达。需根据具体语境判断。
表示'少量'时可数，常见于a scattering of；表示'散射'时不可数。
Dictionary facts from ECDICT, WIKTIONARY, WORDNET.