Amazon Echo智能助手是功能强大的设备，具有广泛的预定能力，但使用正确的Alexa Skill，助手会变得更加有用。Alexa Skills是第三方应用程序，允许Amazon Echo连接到其他设备并执行其正常范围之外的任务。
Alexa Skills最好的部分是Skills Blueprint，这是一个任何人都(system anyone)可以用来创建自己技能的系统——无需编码经验或知识(experience or knowledge)。这是您需要了解的最佳Amazon Echo 技能。(Amazon Echo Skills)
查找我的手机(My Phone)正是它听起来的样子。您让Alexa拨打您的号码，然后您的电话开始响铃 - 非常适合您在沙发垫之间丢失它或者您不记得将它放在哪里的时候。
“查找我的手机”可以保存多个号码，因此全家人都可以使用。缺点是它无法调高音量，因此如果您的手机处于静音状态，该技能(Skill)将失去部分用途。
你喜欢做饭吗？如果是这样，My Chef Amazon Echo 技能(My Chef Amazon Echo skill)将在厨房中提供巨大帮助。它与 Chefling 应用程序(with the Chefling app)配对，可让您跟踪食谱、添加购物清单，甚至是食物(food expiration)的保质期。
这是一个很棒的应用程序，可以在您用完时将物品添加到您的购物清单中，但My Chef甚至可以在您外出(My Chef)杂货店(grocery store)时提醒您需要的物品。
无论您只是偶尔喝酒还是认为自己是业余调酒师，了解特定鸡尾酒的配方都会让您在享受自己和将其倒入下水道之间有所不同。
调酒师技能(Bartender skill)可让您获得超过 12,000 种鸡尾酒。这是尝试制作您以前从未尝试过的饮料的好方法，但是如果您手头只有一些成分，您可以告诉调酒师您有什么，它会告诉您可以制作什么。
很难抽出时间进行有效的锻炼。你需要的不仅仅是几个俯卧撑来完成工作。值得庆幸的是，7 分钟锻炼技能(Workout skill)将引导您逐步完成每一项锻炼。
Amazon Echo 技能(Amazon Echo skill)中包含的练习经过测试可改善新陈代谢、燃烧脂肪等。虽然它与去健身房不同，但这些锻炼是您可以获得的一些最好的在家锻炼。
在当今繁忙的世界中，晚上很难放松，但不这样做会导致睡眠质量(quality sleep)差。Alexa有这方面的技能。
Sleep and Relaxation Sounds 技能(Sleep and Relaxation Sounds skill)可以播放从雷暴到温和的溪流的所有声音，帮助您将大脑置于最佳睡眠状态。
虽然所有严重的医疗情况都应由专业人员处理，但基本的急救问题可以通过Mayo Clinic Alexa 技能(Mayo Clinic Alexa skill)来回答。它可以告诉您如何处理一直到CPR的划痕，但请记住，此技能仅用于教学目的。
如果出现严重情况，请拨打 911，但在紧要关头，梅奥诊所的技能(Mayo Clinic skill)可能会引导您完成救生程序，这些程序可以帮助受伤的人，直到医护人员到达。
与Mayo Clinic 的技能(Mayo Clinic skill)非常相似，Ask My Buddy不能替代 911，但它可以在紧急情况下提供帮助。Amazon Echo 技能(Amazon Echo skill)会向预先选择的联系人发送通知，让他们知道您需要帮助。此通知可以是文本或电话(phone call)。
如果您跌倒而无法接听电话，“问我的好友”技能(Ask My Buddy skill)可以让某人知道以发送帮助。
如果一直关注 24/7新闻周期(news cycle)的想法让您筋疲力尽，但您仍然想知道发生了什么，那么NPR 每小时新闻摘要(NPR Hourly News Summary)就是您的最佳选择。这是关于当天新闻(’ news)的五分钟简报，每小时更新一次，以保持最新状态。
它将为您提供当天最重要事件的概要。如果您想深入挖掘任何特定的故事，NPR 每小时新闻摘要技能(NPR Hourly News Summary skill)将为您提供一个起点。
这种 Alexa 技能可以帮助将短语(translate phrases)从英语翻译(English)成 37 种其他语言（反之亦然）。无论您是在学习一门新语言，还是需要弄清楚如何即时说些什么，翻译技能(Translated skill)都将提供更多帮助巴斯克语和威尔士语(Basque and Welsh)等晦涩的语言。
如果Alexa说该短语的速度太快而您无法理解，您可以让她更慢地重复，根据需要重复多次，直到您完全掌握为止。翻译技能(Translated skill)是任何语言学家工具箱的重要补充。
当生活似乎有点过于忙碌时，从一天中抽出几分钟集中注意力(center and focus)可以帮助您重新获得控制感。即使您没有时间进行长时间的冥想(meditation session)，引导冥想技能(Guided Meditation skill)仍然可以提供帮助。
会话时长在 3 到 8 分钟之间，有 60 多个可供选择。下次当您对当天的事件感到不知所措时，请花几分钟坐下来，闭上眼睛，专注于呼吸。
有数以万计的Amazon Echo Skills可供选择，但这些是帮助您入门的一些最佳选择。如果这些都不是您正在寻找的，请花一些时间浏览可用的技能(Skills)，直到找到您感兴趣的技能。
你最喜欢的 Alexa 技能是什么？请在下面的评论中告诉我们。(What is your favorite Alexa Skill? Let us know in the comments below. )
10 Amazon Echo Skills You Need to Know
Amazon Echo smаrt assistants are powerful devices with a huge range of predetermined abilities, but with the right Alexa Skill the assistants become even more useful. Alexa Skills are third-party applications that allow the Amazon Echo to connect to other devices and perform tasks outside its normal scope.
The best part about Alexa Skills is the Skills Blueprint, a system anyone can use to create their own skills—no coding experience or knowledge required. Here are the best Amazon Echo Skills you need to know.
Find My Phone is exactly what it sounds like. You ask Alexa to dial your number, and your phone begins ringing—perfect for those times when you lose it in-between the couch cushions or you just can’t remember where you placed it.
Find My Phone can hold multiple numbers, so it’s usable by the entire family. The downside is that it cannot turn your volume up, so if your phone is on silent the Skill loses some of its use.
Do you like to cook? If so, the My Chef Amazon Echo skill will be a tremendous help in the kitchen. It pairs with the Chefling app and lets you track recipes, add shopping lists, and even food expiration dates.
It’s a great app for adding items to your shopping list as you run out, but My Chef can even remind you of the items you need when you are out at the grocery store.
Whether you only drink on occasion or consider yourself an amateur mixologist, knowing the recipes for specific cocktails makes all the difference between enjoying yourself and pouring it down the drain.
The Bartender skill gives you access to more than 12,000 cocktails. It’s a great way to experiment with making a drink you’ve never tried before, but if you only have a few ingredients on hand you can tell Bartender what you have and it will tell you what you can make.
It can be tough to carve out time for an effective workout. You need more than just a few push-ups to get the job done. Thankfully, the 7-Minute Workout skill will walk you through how to do each of these workouts, step-by-step.
The exercises included in the Amazon Echo skill are tested to improve metabolism, burn fat, and much more. While it isn’t the same as going to a gym, these workouts are some of the best at-home exercises you can get.
In today’s busy world, it can be difficult to unwind for the evening, but failing to do so results in poor quality sleep. Alexa has a skill for that.
The Sleep and Relaxation Sounds skill can play everything from thunderstorms to gentle streams, helping to lull your mind into the optimum condition for slumber.
While all serious medical situations should be handled by professionals, basic first aid questions can be answered through the Mayo Clinic Alexa skill. It can tell you how to handle scratches all the way to CPR, but keep in mind that this skill is intended for instructional purposes only.
If a serious situation arises, call 911—but in a pinch, the Mayo Clinic skill may be able to walk you through life-saving procedures that can help someone who is injured until paramedics arrive.
Much like the Mayo Clinic skill, Ask My Buddy is not a substitute for 911, but it can be helpful in an emergency. The Amazon Echo skill will send a notification to a preselected contact and let them know you need help. This notification can be either a text or a phone call.
If you fall and cannot reach your phone, the Ask My Buddy skill can let someone know to send help.
If the idea of staying tuned in all the time to the 24/7 news cycle just exhausts you but you still want to know what’s happening, the NPR Hourly News Summary is just the thing for you. This is a five-minute briefing on the days’ news, updating every hour so that it stays current.
It will give you a rundown of the most important events of the day. If you want to dig deeper into any specific story, the NPR Hourly News Summary skill will give you a place to start.
This Alexa Skill can help translate phrases from English into 37 other languages (and vice-versa.) Whether you’re learning a new language or you need to figure out how to say something on the fly, the Translated skill will help with even more obscure languages like Basque and Welsh.
If Alexa says the phrase too quickly for you to understand, you can ask her to repeat it more slowly, as many times as you need until you fully grasp it. The Translated skill is a great addition to any linguist’s toolbox.
When life seems a bit too hectic, taking just a few minutes out of your day to center and focus can help you regain a sense of control. Even if you don’t have time for a long meditation session, the Guided Meditation skill can still help.
Sessions are between three and eight minutes long and there are more than 60 to choose from. Next time you feel overwhelmed by the events of the day, take a few minutes to sit back, close your eyes, and focus on breathing.
There are tens of thousands of Amazon Echo Skills to choose from, but these are some of the best options to get you started. If none of these are exactly what you are looking for, take some time to browse the available Skills until you find some that interest you.
What is your favorite Alexa Skill? Let us know in the comments below.
