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柯帕斯英语简明惯用法词典: ability
■ability /ə'bɪlɪti/ n.
1.表示抽象意义的“能力”，为不可数名词。如：
He is a man of
ability. 他是位有能力的人。
He is behind the
others in ability. 他在能力上比别人差。
Taxation should be based on ability to pay. 征税应该以支付能力为基础。
Ability to talk distinguishes human beings from the
lower animals. 用语言交谈的能力使人类有别于低等动物。
Level of education is actually quite a poor indicator
of ability to run a business well. 教育程度实际上不能表明经营企业的能力。
若表示不同种类的能力，则可以用复数。如：
listening,
speaking, reading and writing abilities 听说读写能力
Men and women
have similar abilities and needs. 男人和女人的能力和需要是相似的。
侧重指智慧、天资、天分等方面的意义时，可数或不可数均可能，有时还可用复数形式。如：
The girl has a
great musical ability 这女孩很有音乐天才。
Everyone admired
his abilities. 大家都敬佩他的才能。
2.表示有能力做某事或具有做某事的能力等，其后通常要接不定式。如：
He has the
ability to speak English fluently. 他能流利地说英语。
The ability to be
clearly heard is extremely important for newsreaders. 声音宏亮清晰对新闻广播员来说极为重要。
The ability to keep calm is one of her many strengths. 能够保持冷静是她的多项长处之一。
The job requires poise and an ability to deal with
people. 做这份工作要有自信，而且要善于与人交往。
Computer literacy is becoming as essential as the ability to drive a car. 会用电脑与会开车一样将成为一种必备的技能。
The main determinant of economic success is our
ability to control inflation. 经济方面的成就主要取决于我们控制通货膨胀的能力。
This ability to adapt to a changing environment
increases a species’ chances of survival. 这种适应不断变化的环境的能力增加了一个物种生存的机会。
按英语习惯，ability一般不接of
doing sth，虽然偶尔可见此类用法，但不算普遍（建议初学者谨用)。如：
I admire his
ability of doing the work quickly. 我羡慕他工作做得快。
另外，有时后接in doing sth。如：
She has great ability
in teaching English 她很有教英语的能力。
3. able的反义词是unable，但ability的反义词不是unability(此词在英语中不存在)，而是inability。inability和disability是由ability分别加否定前缀in-和dis-构成的，但两者意思不同，前者表示“无能力”“无才能”，后者表示“失去能力”“伤残”“残疾”。
(1) inability用例：
He was frustrated
by his inability to wave down a taxi. 连一辆出租车都打不到，他很沮丧。
They were worried
about their son’s inability to make friends. 他们为儿子不善交友而发愁。
The book’s
weakness is the author’s inability to sustain an argument. 该书的缺点在于作者未能把论证展开。
(2) disability用例：
The athletes have
overcome a physical disability to reach the top of their sport. 这些运动员克服身体残疾攀上职业巅峰。
Although he was
blind, he triumphed over his disability to become an MP. 他虽然双目失明，但仍能战胜残疾，当上议员。
