agency
agency — 名詞
1. a private company that arranges things on behalf of customers, such as travel, j
仲介公司
替客戶處理特定事務的私人公司
a private company that arranges things on behalf of customers, such as travel, jobs, advertising, or houses to rent — for example, a travel agency books flights and hotels for you.
Xander found her summer internship through a small recruitment agency in Taipei.
Xander 透過台北一家小型人力仲介公司找到了暑期實習。
collocation: recruitment agency
The travel agency on Zhongxiao Road booked our flights and hotel in Osaka.
忠孝路上那家旅行社幫我們訂了到大阪的機票和飯店。
collocation: travel agency
Renata runs a small advertising agency that designs posters for local restaurants.
Renata 經營一家小型廣告公司，專門替當地餐廳設計海報。
The estate agency showed us six apartments before we chose one near the park.
那家房屋仲介帶我們看了六間公寓，最後我們挑了公園附近那一間。
Mateo hired a modeling agency to find young actors for the new shampoo commercial.
Mateo 找了一家模特兒經紀公司，幫新洗髮精廣告物色年輕演員。
文法句型
a/an + agency
agency + for + noun
用法筆記
Almost always preceded by a modifier that names the service (travel, recruitment, advertising, estate, modeling). Bare 'an agency' without context is rare.
常見錯誤
2. an official department set up by a government to carry out a specific public tas
政府機關；署
政府為特定公共任務設立的部門
an official department set up by a government to carry out a specific public task, such as protecting the environment, collecting taxes, or running spy operations.
The Environmental Protection Agency fined the factory for dumping waste into the river.
環境保護署因為工廠把廢水倒進河裡而開罰。
proper-noun pattern: [Topic] + Agency
Three federal agencies are investigating the bank for hiding money from foreign clients.
三個聯邦機關正在調查那家銀行替外國客戶藏錢的事。
plural: federal agencies
Omar works for a government agency that helps farmers during drought years.
Omar 在一個政府機關上班，專門在乾旱年協助農民。
The new law gives the agency power to inspect any restaurant without warning.
新法給了該機關不需事先通知就能稽查任何餐廳的權力。
Several intelligence agencies in Europe shared photos of the suspect with the police.
歐洲幾個情報機關把嫌犯的照片提供給警方。
- department
usually a unit within a ministry; broader scope
- bureau
common in American government names (e.g. FBI)
- authority
stresses official power to regulate
文法句型
proper noun + Agency
government agency
用法筆記
Distinguish from sense 1: a government agency is funded by the state and serves the public; a business agency (sense 1) is private and serves paying clients. In proper names, capitalised: 'the Central Intelligence Agency'.
常見錯誤
3. the power someone has to make their own decisions and shape their own life — for
自主權
自己決定行動、掌控生活的能力
the power someone has to make their own decisions and shape their own life — for example, a child who is allowed to pick their own clothes is gaining agency.
After the accident, Mateo worked hard to recover his sense of agency over daily tasks.
車禍之後，Mateo 努力重新找回對日常事務的自主感。
collocation: sense of agency
The novel shows how the village women slowly gained agency in family decisions.
這部小說描寫村裡的女性如何慢慢取得家庭事務上的決定權。
gain agency in + noun
Dr. Diego argues that giving teenagers more agency helps them grow into confident adults.
田中醫師認為，給青少年多一點自主空間，能幫助他們長成有自信的大人。
The new manager wanted his team to feel real agency, not just follow orders.
新主管希望團隊真正擁有自主權，而不是只聽命行事。
Strict boarding-school rules left the children with little agency over their own time.
寄宿學校嚴格的規定讓孩子幾乎無法支配自己的時間。
- autonomy
near-synonym; stresses freedom from outside control
- independence
broader; can also mean financial or political
- self-determination
more formal; often used about groups or peoples
- powerlessness
complete lack of control over one's situation
- helplessness
feeling unable to act or change things
文法句型
a sense of agency
personal/human agency
用法筆記
Uncountable in this sense — never 'an agency' or 'agencies'. Common in academic, social-science, and self-help writing. Frequent collocates: 'sense of', 'human', 'personal', 'gain', 'have', 'lack', 'over'.
常見錯誤
4. the means by which something happens, named with the phrase 'through the agency
藉由；經由
促成某事發生的中介媒介
the means by which something happens, named with the phrase 'through the agency of' to point at the person or thing that brought the result about.
The peace deal was reached through the agency of a respected Norwegian diplomat.
這項和平協議是透過一位德高望重的挪威外交官促成的。
fixed phrase: through the agency of
Seeds travel from island to island through the agency of seabirds and ocean currents.
種子靠海鳥和洋流，在一座座島嶼之間傳播。
agency of + natural force
The stolen paintings were returned by the agency of an anonymous art dealer.
失竊的畫作經由一位匿名藝術商之手歸還。
Through the agency of social media, small protests in one town spread across the country.
藉由社群媒體之力，小鎮上零星的抗議很快在全國各地蔓延。
- instrumentality
very formal; same idea, even rarer
- means
much more common in everyday English
- intervention
stresses an active step, often to help or stop something
文法句型
through the agency of + noun
by the agency of + noun
用法筆記
Almost only seen inside the fixed phrase 'through/by the agency of …'. Formal and slightly old-fashioned; in everyday writing, prefer 'through' or 'with the help of'.