These words all mean to produce or reflect light. 以上各词均含发光、反光之义。

• shine to produce or reflect light, especially brightly 指发光、反光、照耀：◆The sun was shining and the sky was blue. 阳光灿烂，天空一片蓝。
• gleam to shine with a clear bright or pale light, especially a reflected light 指闪烁、隐约闪光、微光反射：◆Moonlight gleamed on the water. 月光照在水面上泛起粼粼波光。
• glow (often of sth hot or warm) to produce a dull steady light 常指热的物体发出微弱而稳定的光：◆The end of his cigarette glowed red. 他的烟头发着微弱的红光。
• sparkle to shine brightly with small flashes of light 指闪烁、闪耀：◆The diamonds sparkled in the light. 钻石在灯光下闪闪发亮。
• glisten (of sth wet) to shine 指湿物闪光、闪亮：◆The road glistened wet after the rain. 雨后的道路润泽闪亮。
• shimmer to shine with a soft light that seems to shake slightly 指发出微弱的闪光、闪烁：◆Everything seemed to shimmer in the heat. 在高温下所有的东西都好像在闪光。
• glitter to shine brightly with small flashes of reflected light 指闪亮、闪耀：◆The ceiling of the cathedral glittered with gold. 大教堂的天花板金光闪闪。

sparkle or glitter? 用 sparkle 还是 glitter？

There is very little difference in meaning between these two words. Glitter can sometimes suggest a lack of depth, but this is more frequent in the figurative use of glitter as a noun. 以上两词在意义上几乎没有差别。glitter 有时暗指缺乏深度，但这较常在 glitter 作名词时作比喻义时用：◆the superficial glitter of show business 表面上光彩迷人的演艺业 Sparkle is also often used to talk about light reflected off a surface, but things that produce light can also sparkle. * sparkle 亦常用以指物体表面反光，但物体发出亮光也可用 sparkle：◆Stars sparkled in the sky. 星星在天空中闪烁。

• twinkle to shine with a light that changes rapidly from bright to faint to bright again 指一明一暗地闪耀、闪烁：◆Stars twinkled in the sky. 星星在天空中闪烁。
• glint to give small bright flashes of reflected light 指微微闪光、闪亮、反光：◆The blade of the knife glinted in the darkness. 刀刃在黑暗中亮了亮。

Patterns

• to shine/gleam/sparkle/glisten/shimmer/glitter/glint on sth
• to shine/gleam/glow/sparkle/glisten/shimmer/glitter/twinkle/glint with sth
• to shine/gleam/sparkle/glisten/shimmer/glitter/glint in the sunlight
• to shine/gleam/glisten/shimmer/glitter/glint in the moonlight
• the stars shine/sparkle/glitter/twinkle
• sb's eyes shine/gleam/glow/sparkle/glisten/glitter/twinkle/glint
• to shine/gleam/glow/glitter brightly
• to shine/gleam/glow/shimmer softly