内容简介

如何区分 “intriguing”、“bewitching”、“tantalising” 和 “captivating”？嗯……这真是个 “intriguing（非常有趣的）” 问题。听本期节目音频，跟主持人 Phil 和步理一起学习以上四个具有 “迷人的，吸引人的” 意思的形容词，以及如何区分它们的细微之处吧。

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（关于台词的备注: 请注意这不是广播节目的逐字稿件。本文稿可能没有体现录制、编辑过程中对节目做出的改变。）

Buli
大家好，欢迎收听 BBC 英语教学的 “你问我答” 节目。I'm Buli.

Phil
And I'm Phil. We have a question from one of our listeners.

Question
Hello! I have a question for you guys: What are the differences between these words – intriguing, bewitching, tantalising, and captivating? Can they be used interchangeably when describing something fantastic?

Buli
这位听众提出了四个含义非常相似的形容词 “intriguing”、“bewitching”、“tantalising” 和 “captivating”，它们都有 “吸引人的” 这层含义。那么在本期节目中，我们就来看看这些词在使用上有哪些细微的不同。

Phil
So, as the question says, all these words are used to describe something fantastic. Let's start by looking at 'intriguing' – we use this for things that are very interesting.

Buli
“Intriguing” 的意思是 “有趣的，吸引人的”。这个词通常用来形容 “因为有些神秘、奇特或与众不同而引人注意的事物”。我们常常用 “intriguing” 来形容 “令人想要进一步了解的东西”。来听一组例句。

Examples
Apparently, she's bought me a present. That's intriguing, I really want to know what it is!
（她好像给我买了一个礼物。这就有意思了，我真的很想知道礼物是什么！）

How intriguing, I didn't know he could write songs. I wonder what they sound like.
（真有意思，我之前并不知道他会写歌。我很好奇这些歌听起来如何。）

Phil
There are some similarities between 'captivating' and 'bewitching' – both adjectives are describing things that catch our attention fully.

Buli
“Captivating” 和 “bewitching” 都可以用来形容 “迷人的，令人着迷的东西”。其中，“captivating” 通常指的是 “某样东西因为十分有趣或吸引人而能够抓住人的注意力”。来听两个例句。

Examples
This football match is absolutely captivating. I can't take my eyes off it for a second!
（这场足球赛实在是太精彩了。我完全无法从比赛上移开我的视线！）

Hearing her speak is captivating! She's so good at telling stories.
（听她说话真令人着迷！她太擅长讲故事了。）

Phil
'Bewitching' is similar, but stronger. If something or someone is bewitching, then you can't think of anything else because it or they are so interesting or beautiful. The literal meaning of 'bewitch' is to put you under a magic spell.

Buli
是的。“Bewitch” 这个词的字面意思是 “施魔法，蛊惑”。那么我们就不难想象，用 “bewitching” 来形容一个事物时，意思是 “令人着魔的，就好像是被施了魔法一般令人着迷”，从而强调某物吸引人得出奇。来听一组例句。

Examples
I can't stop thinking about her bewitching smile.
（我无法停止回想她那令人着魔的微笑。）

The dancer's performance was bewitching.
（这位舞者的表演令人着魔。）

Phil
Finally, we've got 'tantalising'. This adjective describes something that is potentially amazing, but is not available to you, at least not yet.

Buli
是的。“Tantalising” 的意思本身就十分有趣，它指的是 “非常诱人而当下又得不到的东西”。它不但可以用于表达 “某物具有潜在的、十分吸引人的可能性”，也可以用来暗示一种 “求而不得的沮丧”。来听两个例句。

Examples
The smell coming from the restaurant was tantalising. If only we could afford to go!
（这家餐馆飘出来的香味实在太诱人了。要是我们能吃得起就好了！）

I caught a tantalising glimpse of the sea through the trees as we got closer.
（当我们接近时，我从树丛间的缝隙里瞥到了一小片诱人的大海。）

Phil
All these adjectives describe something fantastic. Something intriguing is a bit mysterious, something captivating holds your attention, something bewitching stops you thinking about anything else, while something tantalising is just out of reach.

Buli
本期节目我们学习的四个形容词都可以用来形容吸引人的事物。它们的不同之处在于形容某物 “十分有趣，吸引人” 时，“intriguing” 强调它 “神秘、奇特或与众不同”，“captivating” 强调它 “吸引了你的注意力”，“bewitching” 强调它 “令人着魔，仿佛被施了魔法般迷人”，而 “tantalising” 则强调它 “十分诱人却又得不到”。

Phil
We hope that we've answered your question. If you have a question that you'd like us to answer, you can email us too at questions.chinaelt@bbc.co.uk

Buli
你也可以通过微博向我们提问。我们的微博账号是 “BBC英语教学”。Bye!

Phil
Bye!