ability ◆ actual skill, either mental or physical; native or acquired 实际能力,脑力或者体力上的;指人先天的或学来的各种能力。 例: ...the ability to bear hardship. 吃苦耐劳的能力... Capability ◆ unique fitness for a defined end; sometimes may be used in place of ability, but its use in place of capacity is incorrect 多用于人,针对特定目的的具体能力(常有“胜任”某职务的意思);有时可用来代替ability,但它不能替代capacity ◆ often refers to extremes of ability 通常指你能达到的能力的极限 例: It was, in any case, beyond the capability of one man. 无论如何,一个人是做不到的。 Capacity ◆ potential to develop a skill, usually mental; native, as opposed to acquired 侧重指潜在能力,通常不指体力,多指才智,尤指接受与领悟能力;先天的,不是后天努力能得到的 ◆ a measure of such ability. 衡量某一能力的标准或者尺度;capacity实际上多与数量或容量有关,表示能力的一种度量。通常用在物上,表示某物的容纳等能力 例: vital capacity n. 肺活量 最后, 我们放在句子里对照理解一下 我能写作。 意思就是: I've always been interested in writing, and I took some classes. 我一直对写作很感兴趣,我也上过一些写作课。 我不能写小说。 意思就是: My skill is in poetry, not creating a fictional story. 我很擅长写诗歌,但是我不擅长创作小说。 我能写小说,但是我不想。 意思就是: I don't want to put the mental effort into writing a long story. 我不想把精力花在写一个长篇故事上。 |
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