agent
agent — 名詞
1. someone employed to handle business matters for another person or company — for
代理人
替他人處理業務並收取佣金的人
someone employed to handle business matters for another person or company — for example, booking a singer's tour, selling a house, or arranging insurance — usually in return for a fee or commission.
Farouk called her travel agent to change the date of her flight to Tokyo.
Farouk 打電話給旅行社的業務員，更改了飛往東京的航班日期。
common collocation: travel agent
The Patel family hired a real estate agent to help them sell their old apartment.
Patel 一家請了一位房仲，幫他們把舊公寓賣掉。
common collocation: real estate agent
Ravi works as an insurance agent and visits clients across the city every week.
Ravi 是一名保險業務員，每週都會在城裡到處拜訪客戶。
All payments must be made through our authorised agent in Taipei.
所有款項都必須透過我們在台北的授權代理人支付。
Mateo's father is the local agent for a German car company.
Mateo 的爸爸是某家德國車廠在當地的代理商。
- representative
broader; covers anyone who speaks for another, not only in business deals
- broker
specifically arranges deals between two parties (insurance broker, stockbroker)
- dealer
buys and sells goods on their own account, not on commission
文法句型
agent for + organization/person
agent of + company
用法筆記
Often appears in a fixed compound that names the field — travel agent, estate agent, insurance agent, shipping agent. Distinguish from sense 2, which is restricted to managing artists, writers, and athletes.
常見錯誤
2. a person who finds work, signs contracts, and arranges publishing deals on behal
經紀人
替演員、作家、運動員談合約的人
a person who finds work, signs contracts, and arranges publishing deals on behalf of an entertainer, athlete, or author, usually in return for a percentage of the client's earnings.
The young actress signed with a Hollywood agent two months after her first film.
那位年輕女演員在拍完第一部電影兩個月後，就和一位好萊塢經紀人簽了約。
pattern: sign with + agent
Noa phoned his literary agent to discuss the contract for his new novel.
Noa 打電話給他的文學經紀人，討論他新小說的合約。
compound: literary agent
Most professional footballers in Europe rely on an agent to negotiate their salaries.
歐洲大多數職業足球員都靠經紀人替他們談薪水。
Her agent takes fifteen percent of every concert fee she earns.
她的經紀人會從她每場演唱會的酬勞中抽走百分之十五。
- manager
in music and sport, takes a wider role in shaping the client's career, not just finding work
- representative
neutral and broader; an agent is a specific kind of representative
文法句型
someone's agent
literary/sports agent
用法筆記
Subject is almost always a person in entertainment, publishing, or sport. The word 'agent' alone in this context is enough — speakers do not need to add 'talent' or 'literary' if the context is clear.
常見錯誤
3. a person who collects information in secret for a government, intelligence servi
特務；情報員
替政府或情報機構祕密蒐集資訊的人
a person who collects information in secret for a government, intelligence service, or other organisation, often while pretending to be someone else.
During the war, British agents were dropped into France to gather information.
戰爭期間，英國特務被空投到法國去蒐集情報。
passive: be dropped/sent in
The novel follows a young CIA agent working undercover in Moscow.
這本小說講的是一位年輕的中情局特務在莫斯科從事臥底工作。
compound: CIA/FBI agent
Two enemy agents were arrested at the border with stolen documents.
兩名敵方情報員在邊境被逮捕，身上還帶著被偷的文件。
Hannah always wanted to be a secret agent, just like the heroes in spy films.
Hannah 一直想當特務，就像諜報片裡的英雄一樣。
The defector confessed that he had been an agent for a foreign government for ten years.
這名叛逃者承認，自己已經替某個外國政府當了十年的情報員。
文法句型
secret/undercover agent
agent for + country/agency
用法筆記
Frequently appears in fixed compounds: 'secret agent', 'double agent', 'undercover agent', 'CIA agent', 'FBI agent'. In American English, 'agent' on its own can also mean a federal officer (e.g. 'an FBI agent investigated the case').
常見錯誤
4. a substance, force, or thing that brings about a particular result or change — f
製劑；媒介
能造成某種變化或效果的物質或力量
a substance, force, or thing that brings about a particular result or change — for example, a chemical that cleans surfaces, a microbe that causes disease, or a powerful idea that transforms a society.
Bleach is a strong cleaning agent and should never be mixed with other chemicals.
漂白水是強效的清潔劑，絕對不能跟其他化學品混在一起。
compound: cleaning agent
Scientists identified the virus as the agent responsible for the outbreak in the village.
科學家確認那種病毒就是造成村莊疫情爆發的病原。
pattern: agent responsible for + result
Many people believe that education is the most powerful agent of social change.
許多人相信，教育是推動社會變革最強而有力的媒介。
The factory uses a special drying agent to remove moisture from the packaged food.
工廠使用一種特殊的乾燥劑，把包裝食品裡的水分去除。
Salt has long been used as a preserving agent for meat and fish.
鹽長久以來一直被當作保存肉類和魚類的防腐劑。
文法句型
a + adjective + agent (cleaning agent, infectious agent)
agent of + change/destruction
用法筆記
Almost always appears with a modifier that names what the substance does: cleaning, drying, bleaching, oxidising, infectious, biological, chemical. The phrase 'agent of change' is a near-fixed metaphor in social and political writing.
常見錯誤
5. a piece of software, usually powered by artificial intelligence, that can carry
AI 代理
能自行執行任務的人工智慧軟體程式
a piece of software, usually powered by artificial intelligence, that can carry out tasks on its own — such as searching the web, booking tickets, or making decisions — without a person guiding each step.
The new AI agent can read your emails and book meetings for you automatically.
新的 AI 代理程式可以讀你的電子郵件，並且自動幫你安排會議。
compound: AI agent
Engineers at the start-up built a software agent that monitors prices on hundreds of websites.
這家新創公司的工程師打造了一個軟體代理，會監看上百個網站的價格。
compound: software agent
Many companies now use agents to handle simple customer questions before a human takes over.
現在許多公司都用代理程式先處理簡單的客戶問題，再交給真人接手。
The agent learned from each conversation and gradually improved its replies.
這個代理程式從每一次對話中學習，回覆也逐漸變得更好。
文法句型
AI/software agent
agent + verb (decides, performs, books)
用法筆記
Often shortened to just 'agent' in tech writing (e.g. 'an agent that books your travel'). Distinguish from sense 1: a travel agent is a human, while an AI travel agent is a computer program. Context normally makes the difference clear.