这些形容词均含有“聪明的”之意。
bright : 口语常用词，多指年轻人，尤指小孩思路敏捷，理解力强，机灵等。
- They were bright children, always asking questions.
这些孩子很聪明，总爱问问题。 - She was enthusiastic and full of bright ideas and suggestions.
她很有热情，满脑子好主意和建议。
clever : 强调头脑灵活，接受新事物快，有智有谋，但不一定暗示全面妥当地考虑问题。
- Judy has never been very clever, but she tries hard.
朱迪向来不是很聪明，可是她很用功。 - Fiona is very clever at physics.
菲奥纳很擅长物理。 - Charlie has a clever idea/plan for getting us out of our present difficulties.
查利有个妙计可以使我们摆脱现在的困境。
wise : 侧重不是一般的聪明伶俐，而是有远见，有智慧，能明智地处理问题。
- I think you made a wise choice.
我认为你作了一个明智的选择。 - "I never drink more than three glasses of wine." "How wise."
“我喝葡萄酒从未超过3杯。”“你真明智。” - Looking at the weather, I think we made a wise decision not to go to the coast this weekend.
看看天气，我觉得我们决定这周末不去海边是很明智的。 - I think it would be wiser to wait and see how much money you have left before you make any decisions.
我认为弄清楚自己还剩多少钱再作决定要明智一些。 - I never used to save money but now I'm a little older and wiser I can see the point of it.
我以前从不存钱，可现在年纪大了些，也更明智了，于是就能看出其中的意义。 - Was it Thomas More who said that the wise man learns from the experience of others?
是托马斯‧莫尔说过聪明人会吸取别人的经验教训吗？
brilliant : 指人的才华出众，思路敏捷，常令人赞叹不已。
- Her mother was a brilliant scientist.
她母亲是一位才华横溢的科学家。 - He gave a brilliant performance.
他的表演非常出色。 - The idea was quite brilliant.
这个想法太高明了。 - She seemed to have a brilliant career ahead of her (= was likely to be extremely successful).
她似乎前途灿烂。
intelligent : 正式用词，指在理解新的、抽象东西或处理解决问题时，智力超过一般常人。
- a highly intelligent young man
聪颖过人的年轻人 - an intelligent remark
妙语 - Helen had a few intelligent things to say on the subject.
对于这个主题，海伦有一些颇有见地的想法要说。
ingenious : 指思路敏捷，并暗示有创造与发明的才能和技巧。
- an ingenious idea/method/solution
巧妙的主意／方法／解决办法 - Gautier's solution to the puzzle is ingenious.
戈蒂埃破解这道难题的方法很巧妙。 - Johnny is so ingenious - he can make the most remarkable sculptures from the most ordinary materials.
约翰尼真是手巧——他可以用最普通的材料制作出最棒的雕塑。
smart : 普通用词，与bright和clever的意思很相近，但更强调机灵。
- Maddy's teacher says she's one of the smartest kids in the class.
玛蒂的老师说，她是班上最聪明的孩子之一。 - Why don't you fix it if you're so smart?
你既然那么聪明，为什么不把它修好？ - I'm not smart enough to understand computers.
我不够聪明，不懂计算机。 - He's smart enough to know he can't run the business without her.
他够聪明，知道没有她自己管不好这个公司。 - Quitting that job was the smartest move I ever made.
辞掉那份工作是我所作出过的最聪明的举动。
shrewd : 指精明老练，有头脑，善于判断，把握有利机会。
- He was shrewd enough not to take the job when there was the possibility of getting a better one a few months later.
他很聪明没有接受那份工作，因为几个月后他有可能会得到更好的工作。 - She is a shrewd politician who wants to avoid offending the electorate unnecessarily.
她是一个精明的政治家，想避免不必要地得罪选民。 - It was a shrewd move to buy your house just before property prices started to rise.
在房地产价格开始上涨之前购买房子是个明智之举。
