內容簡介
名詞 “ability”、“skill” 和 “trick” 的意思都是 “技能”，但它們的用法不完全相同。比如，“語言技能” 是 “language skills”，但 “與生俱來或通常無法後天習得的能力” 是 “natural ability”，“妙招” 則是 “clever tricks”。本期節目通過一段談論個人寫作能力的例文，逐一講解這三個近義詞之間的主要區別。
文字稿
（關於臺詞的備註: 請註意這不是廣播節目的逐字稿件。本文稿可能沒有體現錄制、編輯過程中對節目做出的改變。）
Beth
Hello and welcome to Question and Answer of the Week. I’m Beth.
Jiaying
And I’m Jiaying. 本期節目的問題是這樣的：
Question
我們會碰到 “ability、skill、trick” 三個單詞都表示 “技巧，能力” 的情況，那麼它們有什麼區別呢？
Jiaying
謝謝你的提問！名詞 “ability”、“skill” 和 “trick” 的意思都是 “技能”，所以很容易被混淆。
Beth
Indeed. So, to explain the difference, we’re going to hear someone speaking about writing essays.
Jiaying
為瞭幫助大傢區分這三個名詞之間的區別，請聽一段話，邊聽邊思考這個問題：說話人覺得自己擅長寫作文嗎？
Monologue
You’re so good at writing essays. I don’t have the skills, but that’s why my teacher is sending me to a study skills class. You seem to have a natural ability. Do you know any tricks that could help me write better?
（你作文寫得很好。我的寫作能力不怎麼好，這也正是我的老師要送我去參加一個學習技巧班的原因。你似乎有天生的寫作能力。你有可以幫助我提高寫作能力的訣竅嗎？）
Beth
So, let’s start with looking at the difference between the nouns ‘ability’ and ‘skill’ as they are very similar.
Jiaying
先來講一講含義和用法最相近的兩個詞 —— “ability” 和 “skill” 之間的區別。在講解之前，再聽一遍這句話。
Example
I don’t have the skills, but that’s why my teacher is sending me to a study skills class. You seem to have a natural ability.
Beth
It sounds like this person doesn’t think they are good at writing essays because they don’t have natural ability. ‘Ability’ is often something that you can naturally do, so it can be difficult to learn and to teach.
Jiaying
沒錯，我們前面提出的問題的答案是：說話人覺得自己不擅長寫作文。這裡，他用到瞭名詞 “skill” 和 “ability”。其中，名詞 “ability” 的意思是 “能力”，它往往強調 “天生的才能”。
Beth
It’s much easier to teach a ‘skill’ than an ‘ability’. You can get better at a skill by practising and then improving over time.
Jiaying
我們通常需要通過積累經驗和訓練來培養 “skills（技能）”，但很難這樣培養 “ability”。這也是為什麼說話人被送去參加瞭 “study skills class（學習技巧班）” 的原因。請聽兩個使用瞭名詞 “skill” 的例句。
Examples
A lot of technical skills are needed for this job.
（做這份工作需要擁有很多專業的技術技能。）
He seems to lack basic conversational skills. It’s hard to chat to him.
（他似乎缺乏基本的會話技巧。和他聊天很費勁。）
Jiaying
另外，名詞 “ability” 所指的 “才能，能力” 是強是弱比較難以衡量。通常我們說一個人要麼有要麼沒有某種 “ability”。來聽兩個使用瞭名詞 “ability” 的例句。
Examples
I have no doubt about your ability to do well in this competition.
（我確信你有能力在這場比賽中取得好成績。）
Being able to write down language is an ability unique to humans.
（能夠將語言書寫成文字是人類獨有的能力。）
Jiaying
下面，我們來講名詞 “trick”。先來再聽一遍這個使用瞭名詞 “trick” 的句子。
Example
Do you know any tricks that could help me write better?
Beth
A trick can be a quick and effective way of doing something.
Jiaying
是的，名詞 “trick” 指 “技巧”，也就是 “能幫你快速有效地做一件事情的訣竅、秘訣”。在上面聽到的這個句子中，說話人詢問對話中的另一方有沒有一些 “tricks（妙招，訣竅）” 可以幫助他提高寫作能力。Do you have any tricks for our listeners to help them improve their essay writing, Beth?
Beth
I do! If you use different sentence lengths, it will make your essays sound more interesting. Can you share any tricks, Jiaying?
Jiaying
I like to use a thesaurus to look for synonyms. Then I’m not repeating the same words!
Beth
That is a good trick! Now, let’s summarise.
Jiaying
總結一下：名詞 “ability” 多指 “天生就擁有的才能，能力”，這種 “能力” 通常很難通過積累經驗和訓練而習得；而名詞 “skill” 則指 “可以後天學來的技能”；名詞 “trick” 指 “秘訣，訣竅，技巧”。
Beth
Remember, if you have a question about the English language you’d like to ask us, please send us an email. Our email address is: questions.
Jiaying
你也可以通過微博向我們提問。我們的微博賬號是 “AYYBLOG英語教學”。Bye, everyone.
Beth
Bye!
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