endowments
endowments — 名詞
1. a large gift of money or valuable property that is given to an institution such
捐款；捐贈基金
提供機構長期收入的捐款或資產
a large gift of money or valuable property that is given to an institution such as a university, hospital, or cultural centre. The institution invests this money and spends the income it produces on its work.
The university used its endowment to build a new wing for chemistry laboratories.
這所大學利用捐款基金為化學實驗室建造了一棟新大樓。
endowment invested in facilities
Dr. Amara set up an endowment for medical research at the teaching hospital in Nairobi.
Amara 博士在奈洛比的教學醫院設立了一筆醫學研究捐款基金。
set up an endowment for [purpose]
Small private colleges often struggle to grow their endowments enough to fund new programmes.
小型私立學院往往難以累積足夠的捐款基金來資助新課程。
The museum's endowment from the Wang family covers the cost of preserving ancient artefacts.
這間博物館來自王家的捐款基金用於支付古文物的保存費用。
Without a large endowment, the community arts centre depends on yearly donations from local businesses.
如果沒有大筆捐款基金，這個社區藝術中心就得仰賴當地企業的年度捐贈。
- donation
any gift of money; an endowment is a specific type of donation meant to be invested for ongoing income rather than spent immediately
- bequest
money or property left in a will; an endowment may come from a bequest or from a living donor
- grant
money given for a specific project or purpose, not necessarily invested to produce income
文法句型
endowment + of + noun
endowment + for + purpose
用法筆記
When referring to the act of giving, this sense is uncountable (The university benefited from generous endowment). When referring to specific funds, it is countable (The college received three separate endowments).
常見錯誤
2. a natural quality, talent, or ability that a person is born with — for example,
天賦；才能
與生俱來的特質或能力
a natural quality, talent, or ability that a person is born with — for example, a gift for music, a sharp intelligence, or a calm and patient nature.
Fatima's intellectual endowments made her the youngest student to win the national science award.
Fatima 的天賦才智使她成為贏得全國科學獎最年輕的學生。
Natural endowments alone do not guarantee a long career in professional sports.
單靠天生才能並不能保證在職業運動中擁有長久的生涯。
natural endowments alone + negative result
The poet Yuki's natural endowments included a sharp eye for detail and a gift for storytelling.
詩人 Yuki 的天賦包括對細節的敏銳觀察力和說故事的才華。
Parents who notice a child's endowments early can help develop those talents at school.
及早注意到孩子天賦的家長，可以在學校幫助發展那些才能。
In her speech, Dean Okafor praised the students' intellectual gifts and their natural endowments.
Okafor 院長在演講中稱讚了學生的才智與天賦。
- gift
more common in everyday speech; 'endowment' is more formal and often suggests broad intellectual or character qualities rather than a specific skill
- talent
focuses on a specific developed ability; 'endowment' emphasises the inborn source of the quality
- attribute
a neutral term for any quality, positive or negative; 'endowment' implies a valuable or admirable quality
文法句型
possessive + endowments
natural endowments
用法筆記
This sense is almost always used in the plural (endowments) or with a possessive determiner (her endowments). It belongs to formal or literary register and is more common in written academic English than in everyday conversation.