/spi:k ||; spik/verb (
past tense spoke /spəʊk
||; spok/
past participle spoken /ˈspəʊkən
||; ˈspokən/)
1 [I] speak (to sb) (about sb/sth);speak (of sth) to talk or say things 说话;谈话: I'd like to speak to the manager, please. 我想跟经理谈谈。Could you speak more slowly? 你可以说得慢一点吗?I was so angry I could hardly speak. 我气得说不出话来。 ☞ Speak and talk have almost the same meaning but we use talk more informally, to show that two or more people are having a conversation, and speak to show that only one person is saying something, especially in a formal situation I'd like to speak to the manager, please. We talked all night. The head teacher spoke to the class about university courses. speak和talk差不多同义﹐但talk用于非正式场合﹐表示两个或以上人交谈﹐speak则表示一个人说话﹐尤指在正式的场合﹕I'd like to speak to the manager, please. 我想跟经理谈谈。We talked all night.我们谈了一整夜。The head teacher spoke to the class about university courses.校长向全班学生介绍大学课程。
2 [T] (not used in the continuous tenses 不用于进行时) to know and be able to use a language 会,懂(某种语言): Does anyone here speak German? 这里有人会说德语吗?She speaks (in) Greek to her parents. 她跟父母说希腊语。a French-speaking guide 说法语的导游
3 [I] speak (on/about sth) to make a speech to a group of people 演说;演讲;讲话
4 [I] (informal 非正式)be speaking (to sb) to be friendly with sb again after an argument (争吵过后)和好
be on speaking terms (with sb) to be friendly with sb again after an argument (争吵过后)和好:
Thankfully they are back on speaking terms again. 谢天谢地,他们又和好如初了。 so to speak used when you are describing sth in a way that sounds strange (用于形容不寻常的事物)可以说:
She turned green, so to speak, after watching a television programme about the environment. 她看过一个有关自然环境的电视节目后,可以说是变成了环保分子。 speak for itself to be very clear so that no other explanation is needed 不言而喻:
The statistics speak for themselves. 这些统计数字不言自明。 speak/talk of the devil→
DEVILspeak your mind to say exactly what you think, even though you might offend sb 直言不讳
speak for sb to express the thoughts or opinions of sb else 代某人发言
speak out (against sth) to say publicly that you think sth is bad or wrong 公开反对(某事物)
speak up to speak louder 提高嗓子说话