“endow”主要有“赋予(能力、品质等);捐赠(资金、财产等)”的意思。其用法上,常见搭配有“endow sb. with sth.”(赋予某人某物)、“be endowed with sth.”(被赋予某物)以及在正式语境中表示“捐赠”的用法。
含义:当“endow”表示“赋予”时,强调给予某人某种能力、品质、特征等,使某人具备某种特性。
常见搭配
endow sb. with sth.:这种结构是最常用的,表示主动地将某种特质给予某人。例如:
“Nature has endowed her with a beautiful voice.”(大自然赋予了她一副美妙的嗓音。)这里,大自然是给予者,她(her)是接受者,a beautiful voice(一副美妙的嗓音)是被赋予的东西。
“Education endows people with the ability to think critically.”(教育赋予人们批判性思维的能力。)在这个句子中,education(教育)是给予者,people(人们)是接受者,the ability to think critically(批判性思维的能力)是被赋予的东西。
be endowed with sth.:这是被动语态的结构,表示某人被赋予了某种特质。例如:
“He is endowed with great intelligence.”(他被赋予了极高的智慧。)这里,he(他)是被赋予的对象,great intelligence(极高的智慧)是被赋予的东西。
“This species is endowed with the ability to adapt to various environments.”(这个物种被赋予了适应各种环境的能力。)句中,this species(这个物种)是被赋予的对象,the ability to adapt to various environments(适应各种环境的能力)是被赋予的东西。
含义:在较为正式的语境中,“endow”也可以表示“捐赠”,通常是指将资金、财产等捐赠给某个机构、组织或项目,以支持其运行或发展。
用法示例
“The wealthy businessman endowed the university with a large sum of money.”(这位富有的商人向这所大学捐赠了一大笔钱。)这里,the wealthy businessman(这位富有的商人)是捐赠者,the university(这所大学)是接受捐赠的对象,a large sum of money(一大笔钱)是被捐赠的东西。
“She decided to endow a scholarship in memory of her late father.”(她决定捐赠一笔奖学金以纪念她已故的父亲。)句中,she(她)是捐赠者,a scholarship(一笔奖学金)是被捐赠的东西,in memory of her late father(以纪念她已故的父亲)说明了捐赠的目的。