Help with some sentences

Hello,

Can someone explain the meaning of these sentences for me? Came across them while doing some online study questions.

1. あの人は、なにかをさせられる より人にさせるほうが得意なんですよ。

No idea what this could possibly mean. I understand the saserareru form, but in this context, I am clueless. Also, the kanji for得意 and 特別 are slightly different. Not sure if they can be used interchangeably or not?

2. それで、彼女から、ちかごろ便りはあったのかい ?

The かい after の is what confused me. Does the sentence mean "recently, I've been relying on him?"

3. 風景がわたしたちの前をゆっくりと通りすぎていった.

I believe 背景 and 風景 share the same meaning. The scenery passed by us so slowly? 過ぎて means a lot of something, and ゆっくり means slow. But why the と appears after it, I don't know.

Hope to get some help.
Thanks in advance, guys! :D

1. あの人は、なにかを”させられる” より人に “させる”ほうが得意なんですよ。
“saserareru” = be made to do something
“ saseru” = make (someone) do something
If you are familiar with that form, please have a look at the verb forms carefully.

- That person is better at making someone do things (for them) rather than being made (by someone) to do something.

得意 and 特別 are two different words.
The first one means “(being) good (at doing something)” in this context. Also means “proud” as well.
“tokubetsu” means “special.

2. それで、彼女から、ちかごろ便りはあったのかい ?
“tayori ga/wa aru” means “to hear from (someone).”
So this means:
- So/by the way, have you heard from her lately?
This “…kai?” ending is like “…ka?” in a somewhat familiar, informal/conversational tone.
The “no” is as in the “… no/n desu” construction.

3. 風景がわたしたちの前をゆっくりと通りすぎていった.
背景 = background, backdrop (to something)
風景 = landscape, scenery

- The scenery slowly passed in front of us.
Maybe this “we” were traveling in a train or something?
This “sugite” comes from the verb “sugiru/sugimasu,” to pass. Not the one meaning “excessive.”

ゆっくり and　ゆっくりと mean just about the same.

「1. あの人は、なにかをさせられる より人にさせるほうが得意なんですよ。
No idea what this could possibly mean. I understand the saserareru form, but in this context, I am clueless. Also, the kanji for得意 and 特別 are slightly different. Not sure if they can be used interchangeably or not? 」

The key point here is the meaning of 得意/tokui. Ordinarily, tokui means "to be good at/skilled," but it can also mean "like/be comfortable with." For example, if you said 「私はあまりクラブが得意じゃない」 it would mean "I don't really like nightclubs" (in the sense of "I don't like the atmosphere at them").

So if you were to say 「あの人はなにかをさせられるのは得意じゃない」, it would mean "That person doesn't like being made to do thing," or, to put it in more natural-sounding English, "That person doesn't like being told what to do."

Extending that out, 「あの人は、なにかをさせられる より人にさせるほうが得意なんですよ。」 would mean
"That person likes making other people do things more than being made to do things by other people." Smoothing the translation out would give us
"That person is happier giving orders than following directions."

While it's a grammatically correct sentence, it's got a very "scripted" sound to it, since it's a wordy yet very accepting way of discussing a negative quality. My first impression is it sounds like something an anime character would say, maybe about a bossy character that viewers are still supposed to like. "Oh, Hanako [the cute tsundere heroine] isn't such a bad, bossy person. It's just that she prefers giving orders to taking them."

As for whether 得意 and 特別 are the same or not, they're totally different. 特別/tokubetsu just means "special."