near 和beside可作为近义词用吗？

可以啊!但是它们还是有所区别的:
beside = 在...旁边
near =  接近....（但不一定意味着在旁边，也可能是在上边，下边，....等等）
1. near作形容词。 (1)表示"邻近的,接近的"。如：a near translation接近原文的翻译。(2)也可以表示"亲密的,近亲的"。如：He is my near friend. 他是我最好的朋友。
2. near可以用作介词。 意为："在......附近"或"接近,近"如：There's a bakery near our house. 在我家附近有一个面包店。It is near dinner time. 快到吃饭的时间了。
BESIDE 的用法
Besides, there are very few skilled stone workers left after the war years. =Also, there are very few skilled stone workers that are left after the war years. 此外，战争年代过后，技术熟练的石匠以所剩无几。
句中的besides是副词，作“还有，而且”解，通常置于句首。
例如： it’s too late to go to the concert. Besides, it’s raining. I don’t want to go out now. besides, I’m feeling tired. The task is difficult; besides, time is limited. Besides还可以用作介词，意思是“除…之外”，“还有…”
例如， There are five other room besides these two. Besides the violin, Jack also plays the piano. To learn English, listening is also important besides reading.
不要把besides同beside是介词，作“在……旁边”（next to）解，例如： He is sitting beside the driver. He lives in a town beside a lake.

排，同意说的很有道理