mindmap root((例子)) instance applies to any individual person, act, or thing that may be offered to illustrate or explain, or prove or disprove a general statement: an ~ of history repeating itself. case applies to an instance that directs attention to a real or assumed occurrence or situation that is to be considered, studied, or dealt with: a ~ of mistaken identity. illustration applies to an instance offered as a means of clarifying or illuminating a general statement: an ~ of Murphy's law. （墨菲定律Murphy's law: 事情往往会向你所想到的不好的方向发展，只要存在这个可能性。If there are two or more ways to do something, and one of those ways can result in a catastrophe, then someone will do it. 假如一片涂有果酱的面包掉到地毯上，常常是带果酱的一面落在地毯上） example applies to a typical, representative, or illustrative instance or case: a typical ~ of bureaucratic waste. sample implies a random part or unit taken as representative of the larger whole to which it belongs: show us a ~ of your work. specimen applies to any example or sample of a whole or to an example or sample carefully selected to illustrate important or typical qualities: one of the finest ~s of the jeweler's art.