bright、clever、wise、brilliant、intelligent、ingenious、smart与shrewd这些形容词均含有“聪明的”之意。
bright : 口语常用词,多指年轻人,尤指小孩思路敏捷,理解力强,机灵等。
- They were bright children, always asking questions.
这些孩子很聪明,总爱问问题。 - She was enthusiastic and full of bright ideas and suggestions.
她很有热情,满脑子好主意和建议。
clever : 强调头脑灵活,接受新事物快,有智有谋,但不一定暗示全面妥当地考虑问题。
- Judy has never been very clever, but she tries hard.
朱迪向来不是很聪明,可是她很用功。
wise : 侧重不是一般的聪明伶俐,而是有远见,有智慧,能明智地处理问题。
- I think you made a wise choice.
我认为你作了一个明智的选择。 - "I never drink more than three glasses of wine." "How wise."
“我喝葡萄酒从未超过3杯。”“你真明智。” - Looking at the weather, I think we made a wise decision not to go to the coast this weekend.
看看天气,我觉得我们决定这周末不去海边是很明智的。
brilliant : 指人的才华出众,思路敏捷,常令人赞叹不已。
- Her mother was a brilliant scientist.
她母亲是一位才华横溢的科学家。 - He gave a brilliant performance.
他的表演非常出色。
intelligent : 正式用词,指在理解新的、抽象东西或处理解决问题时,智力超过一般常人。
- a highly intelligent young man
聪颖过人的年轻人 - Helen had a few intelligent things to say on the subject.
对于这个主题,海伦有一些颇有见地的想法要说。
ingenious : 指思路敏捷,并暗示有创造与发明的才能和技巧。
- 那个近视但手巧的男孩可以用最普通的材料制作出最棒的雕塑。
The myopic but ingenious boy can make the most remarkable sculptures from the most ordinary materials. - 那位缺乏天资的女演员很善于找借口。
The actress destitute of talent is very ingenious when it comes to finding excuses.
(拓展学习:小词详解 | ingenious)
smart : 普通用词,与bright和clever的意思很相近,但更强调机灵。
- Maddy's teacher says she's one of the smartest kids in the class.
玛蒂的老师说,她是班上最聪明的孩子之一。 - Why don't you fix it if you're so smart?
你既然那么聪明,为什么不把它修好?
(拓展学习:熟词僻义 | Smart 除了聪明,还能夸人什么?)
shrewd : 指精明老练,有头脑,善于判断,把握有利机会。
- He was shrewd enough not to take the job when there was the possibility of getting a better one a few months later.
他很聪明没有接受那份工作,因为几个月后他有可能会得到更好的工作。