內容簡介

一位網友想知道形容詞 “complicated、complex” 和 “sophisticated” 之間的區別。它們都可以形容由多個復雜部分構成的事物，但含義并不同。“Complicated” 表示 “繁復的，麻煩的”，帶有負面的意味；“complex” 表示 “構造錯綜復雜的”；“sophisticated” 既可以形容事物，也可以形容人。聽節目中兩位主持人的對話，學習辨析這三個詞的用法。

歡迎你加入并和我們一起討論英語學習的方方面面。請通過微博 “BBC英語教學” 或郵件與我們取得聯系。我們的郵箱地址是 questions.chinaelt@bbc.co.uk

文字稿

（關于臺詞的備注: 請注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. 在本期節目中，我們回答的問題來自一位網友，問題是這樣的：

Question
想問 “complicated、complex” 和 “sophisticated” 有什么區別？求回復，謝謝。

Beth
Thank you for this great question! These are all adjectives but they can be confusing.

Jiaying
的確，形容詞 “complicated、complex” 和 “sophisticated” 的意思相近，所以很容易混淆。

Beth
So, to explain the difference, we're going to hear a dialogue.

Jiaying
大家在聽下面這個對話的同時，想一想對話中的兩個人在做什么事情，遇到了什么問題？

Dialogue
A: This bookcase is so difficult to build! I can't understand the instructions at all. They're so unnecessarily complicated.
B: You're right! I know it has a highly complex design, but these instructions are terrible.
A: Well, it took five hours, but look how beautiful and sophisticated the bookcase is.
B: Especially with all the books on it. It makes the room look so sophisticated!

Jiaying
在剛剛這段對話中，A 和 B 兩人在安裝書架，但他們覺得 “安裝說明書太復雜，讓人看不懂”。

Beth
That's right. So, let's start with looking at the adjective 'complicated'.

Jiaying
在講解 “complicated” 這個詞之前，再聽一遍對話中使用了這個詞的句子。

Dialogue
A: This bookcase is so difficult to build! I can't understand the instructions at all. They're so unnecessarily complicated.

Beth
It sounds like this person isn't happy with these bookcase instructions – they are 'complicated'.

Jiaying
說得沒錯。形容詞 “complicated” 的意思是 “復雜的”，強調 “事物由各種各樣繁瑣、難懂的部分組成，因此令人感到費解的”。有一點很重要：“complicated” 的用法帶有消極的意味，一件 “complicated” 的事物通常是 “因過于復雜而需要重新考慮或規劃的”。

Beth
Exactly. And that's why we often use it with adverbs that show the level or opinion someone has about the 'complicated' thing.

Jiaying
是這樣沒錯。比如，在對話中，我們聽到 A 對 B 說，書架的安裝說明書是 “unnecessarily complicated（無須如此復雜的）”。

Beth
Yes. They were 'unnecessarily complicated'. But we could also use adverbs like 'extremely' or 'particularly'.

Jiaying
另外，形容詞 “complicated” 可以放在名詞前，作定語使用。

Beth
True. We can have a 'complicated relationship' or 'complicated idea'. In the dialogue, they were 'complicated instructions'.

Jiaying
Beth 剛剛說 “complicated relationship（復雜的人際關系）” 和 “complicated idea（復雜的想法）”，還有對話中的 “complicated instructions（復雜的說明書）”。

我們接著來看問題中的第二個詞 “complex”。“Complex” 的意思是 “事物由許多相關的不同部分組成，因此可能會讓人感到費解的”。

Beth
However, while 'complicated' is a negative thing, 'complex' doesn't have to be. Let's listen to the example again.

Dialogue
B: You're right. I know it has a highly complex design, but these instructions are terrible.

Jiaying
這樣看來，對話中提到的書架有 “complex design”，這里 “complex” 其實像是在正面地形容書架的設計是 “錯綜復雜的”。這句話中 “complex” 的用法與 “complicated” 形容說明書 “過于復雜” 的用法不同。

Beth
Yes. Here, the 'complex' design might add to the appearance or use of the bookcase.

Jiaying
沒錯，書架的復雜設計 “complex design” 可能會讓它更美觀或更實用。

下面，我們來講一講形容詞 “sophisticated”。在對話中，A 說道：

Dialogue
A: Well, it took five hours, but look how beautiful and sophisticated the bookcase is.

Beth
'Sophisticated' describes something that's made in a complicated way but with intelligence and great skill.

Jiaying
這里，“sophisticated” 用來形容書架的設計是 “精巧高雅的，有品位的”。

Beth
That's right. And we can use 'sophisticated' as an adjective to describe other nouns, like 'machine' and 'approach'.

Jiaying
其實，我們前面還聽到了對話中的 B 還用 “sophisticated” 一詞描述了兩人所在的房間，再來聽一遍這句話。

Dialogue
B: Especially with all the books on it. It makes the room look so sophisticated!

Jiaying
這里，用 “sophisticated” 來形容事物是 “精致的，彰顯品位的”。

Beth
So, the 'complex' design of the bookcase makes the room look fashionable and fits in with the culture of the time and place.

Jiaying
我們還可以用 “sophisticated” 形容一個人，意思是 “品味高雅的，穿著時尚的”。這個人可能住在裝修精致的房子里，而且通常見多識廣。

Beth
So, remember, 'complicated' means something has lots of parts and is difficult to understand in a negative way.

Jiaying
形容詞 “complicated” 的意思是 “過于復雜的，難懂的”，帶有消極意味。形容詞 “complex” 表示 “構造復雜的”，但它并不一定用來負面地形容一個事物。

Beth
And 'sophisticated' means complicated, but fashionable, and can show great skill.

Jiaying
形容詞 “sophisticated” 用來形容 “高雅的，彰顯品位和高超技藝的”。

好了，謝謝這位網友發來的問題。希望通過對話中的例句和我們的講解，你對這三個近義詞之間的區別有了進一步的理解。

歡迎大家向我們提問。你可以通過我們的微博賬號 “BBC英語教學” 發送你的問題，也可以將問題發送至：questions.chinaelt@bbc.co.uk

Bye, everyone!

Beth
Bye!