These words all mean to be formed from the things or people mentioned, or to be the parts that form sth. 以上各词均表示由某些人或事物组成、构成某事物。

• consist of sb/sth to be formed from the people, things or activities mentioned 指由人、事物或活动组成、构成：◆Their diet consists largely of vegetables. 他们的日常饮食以蔬菜为主。
• comprise (rather formal) to be formed from the things or people mentioned 指由…组成、构成：◆The collection comprises 327 paintings. 这组收藏有 327 幅画。 NOTE Comprise can also be used to refer to the parts or members of sth. * comprise 亦可指组成、构成：◆Older people comprise a large proportion of those living in poverty. 在那些生活贫困的人中，老年人占很大的比例。However, this is less frequent. 不过这种用法不常见。
• make up sth (rather informal) to be the parts or people that form sth 指组成、构成：◆Women make up 56% of the student numbers. 女生占学生人数的 56%。
• constitute (formal) to be the parts or people that form sth 指组成、构成：◆People under the age of 40 constitute the majority of the labour force. * 40 岁以下的人占劳动力的大多数。
• be composed of sb/sth (rather formal) to be formed from the things or people mentioned 指由…组成、构成：◆Around 15% of our diet is composed of protein. 我们的饮食中大约 15% 是蛋白质。

which word? 词语辨析

Consist of sb/sth is the most general of these words and the only one that can be used for activities with the -ing form of a verb. * consist of 是这组词中最通用、也是唯一可与动词 -ing 形式连用、表示包含…活动的词：◆My work at that time just consisted of typing letters. 我那时的工作就是打印信件。The other main difference is between those verbs that take the whole as the subject and the parts as the object 另一主要区别在于有些词是将整体作为主语，部分作为宾语：◆The group consists of/comprises/is made up of/is composed of ten people. 这个小组由十个人组成。and those that take the parts as the subject and the whole as the object. 另一些词则是将部分作为主语，整体作为宾语：◆Ten people make up/constitute/comprise the group. 这个小组由十个人组成。It is not correct to use 'comprises of' or 'is composed by/from'. 用 comprise of 或 is composed by/from 均不正确。