The use of the verbs See, Look, Watch, Hear and Listen is very specific in most cases and are not normally interchangeable as is the case in other languages. It is therefore important to understand the basis of the use of each of these verbs.
動詞See, Look, Watch, Hear 和 Listen的使用在大多數情況下是固定的，也不像其它語言中可替代性那麼強。所以理解 這些詞的基礎使用就非常重要了。
See vs. Look vs. Watch
See is a verb of perception, it is a sense. It is automatic and doesn't require a decision to use this sense. It is associated with things that we can't avoid.
See是一個感知動詞，它是一種感官（即人體感受客觀事物刺激的器官(眼、耳、鼻、舌、身)或其所具有的功能）。它是自動發生的，不需要下決定來使用這種感官。它與我們不能避免的情形相關聯。
Look and Watch are action verbs that require a decision for you to use them. They never happen automatically.
Look和Watch是行為動詞，需要作出決定才能look/watch。他們絕不會自動的發生。
Look is used to suggest a direction for your eyes. Usually we use this verb when the things we look at doesn't move.
Look用來對你的目光建議一個方向。通常，當我們看某些不會動的事物時，使用這個動詞。
Look - camera, prices, mirror, sky. Look後接相機，價格，鏡子，天空。
- Look at this picture.
- I like to look at the stars at night.
Watch is when we talk about concentrating on something, like a movie or sports. Using watch suggests there is a movement involved, so you can use that for TV or movies.
Watch在我們說起要聚焦於某事物時，像電影或體育運動。使用watch暗示包含有動作，所以我們在說起電視或電影時會使用它。
Watch - a movie, a TV program, a football match. Watch後接一場電影，一個電視節目，一場足球賽事。
- I like to sit on the verandah and watch people walk by.
- I watch Friends everyday on TV.
Hear vs. Listen
Hear is another of our senses and so accordingly it is automatic. It does not require a conscious decision.
Hear是另一種形式的感官，所以相應的它是自動發生的。它不需要意識上的決定。
Hear - a noise, a voice, an explosion. Hear後接噪聲，聲音，爆炸。
- You could hear the explosion from the next suburb.
- Do you hear voices in the night?
Listen is an action verb and you need to make a decision to do it. You can choose if you listen to something or not. For example you can hear somebody talking but you need to listen to them to understand what they are saying.
Listen是一個行為動詞，你需要下決定後才能去listen.你能選擇是否去聽。比如，你可以『hear』某人說話，但你需要去『listen』才能理解其含義。
Listen - music, a speech. Listen後接音樂，演講。
- I can't listen to anything else you want to say. I'm so tired.
- I didn't want to listen to the President's speech but I didn't have a choice.
編者按：當然你也可以說listen to the voice, 但幾乎沒人去說listen to the noise, 因為去聽噪音幾乎是沒什麼意義的，所以不會有人用心去聽。而hear the noise則不一樣，這裡的hear是被動的接收，沒有選擇的。
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