speak

1. V-I When you speak, you use your voice in order to say something. 說(shuō)話(huà)

He tried to speak, but for once, his voice had left him. 他試圖說(shuō)話(huà)，但這一次，他已說(shuō)不出聲。

I rang the hotel and spoke to Louie. 我打電話(huà)給賓館，跟路易通了話(huà)。

She cried when she spoke of Oliver. 她提起奧利弗時(shí)哭了。

2. spokenADJ 口頭的[ADJ n]

...a marked decline in the standards of written and spoken English. …書(shū)面和口頭英語(yǔ)標(biāo)準(zhǔn)的明顯下降。

3. V-I When someone speaks to a group of people, they make a speech. 演講; 發(fā)言

When speaking to the seminar Mr. Franklin spoke of his experience, gained on a recent visit to Trinidad. 在研討會(huì)上發(fā)言時(shí)，富蘭克林先生談到了他最近一次在特立尼達(dá)訪問(wèn)時(shí)所獲得的經(jīng)驗(yàn)。

He's determined to speak at the Democratic Convention. 他決心在民主黨大會(huì)上發(fā)言。

4. V-I If you speak for a group of people, you make their views and demands known, or represent them. 為…說(shuō)話(huà); 代表…發(fā)言

He said it was the job of the Church to speak for the underprivileged. 他說(shuō)為弱勢(shì)群體說(shuō)話(huà)是教會(huì)的職責(zé)。

I speak for all 7,000 members of our organization. 我代表我們組織的全體7000名成員發(fā)言。

5. V-T If you speak a foreign language, you know the language and are able to have a conversation in it. 說(shuō) (某種語(yǔ)言)

He doesn't speak English. 他不說(shuō)英語(yǔ)。

6. V-I People sometimes mention something that has been written by saying what the author speaks of. 談及

Throughout the book Liu speaks of the abuse of Party power. 劉在全書(shū)中都談到黨權(quán)的濫用。

7. V-RECIP If two people are not speaking, they no longer talk to each other because they have argued. (吵架之后) 相互說(shuō)話(huà)[with neg]

He is not speaking to his mother because of her friendship with his ex-wife. 他因母親跟其前妻的友誼而不跟母親說(shuō)話(huà)了。

8. V-I If you say that something speaks for itself, you mean that its meaning or quality is so obvious that it does not need explaining or pointing out. (自己) 會(huì)說(shuō)話(huà); (本身) 能說(shuō)明問(wèn)題[no cont]

...the figures speak for themselves – bleak prospects at home and a worsening outlook for exports. …這些數(shù)字本身就能說(shuō)明問(wèn)題–國(guó)內(nèi)暗淡的前景和日益糟糕的出口展望。

9. PHRASE If a person or thing is spoken for or has been spoken for, someone has claimed them or asked for them, so no one else can have them. 已有人認(rèn)領(lǐng)的; 已有人請(qǐng)求過(guò)的

She'd probably drop some comment about her "fiancé" into the conversation so that he'd think she was already spoken for. 她很可能會(huì)在交談中故意提到她的“未婚夫”，這樣他就會(huì)知道她已名花有主了。

10. PHRASE If you speak well of someone or speak highly of someone, you say good things about them. If you speak ill of someone, you criticize them. 說(shuō)某人好話(huà)/壞話(huà)

Both spoke highly of the Russian president. 雙方都高度評(píng)價(jià)了那位俄羅斯總統(tǒng)。

11. PHRASE You use so to speak to draw attention to the fact that you are describing or referring to something in a way that may be amusing or unusual rather than completely accurate. 可以說(shuō)

I ought not to tell you but I will, since you're in the family, so to speak. 我不該告訴你，但我會(huì)告訴你，因?yàn)檎f(shuō)來(lái)你也是這個(gè)家庭的一員。

12. to speak your mind→see mind

13. to speak volumes→see volume