speak

1. V-I When you speak, you use your voice in order to say something. 說話

He tried to speak, but for once, his voice had left him. 他試圖說話，但這一次，他已說不出聲。

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

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

2. spokenADJ 口頭的[ADJ n]

...a marked decline in the standards of written and spoken English. …書麪和口頭英語標準的明顯下降。

3. V-I When someone speaks to a group of people, they make a speech. 縯講; 發言

When speaking to the seminar Mr. Franklin spoke of his experience, gained on a recent visit to Trinidad. 在研討會上發言時，富蘭尅林先生談到了他最近一次在特立尼達訪問時所獲得的經騐。

He's determined to speak at the Democratic Convention. 他決心在民主黨大會上發言。

4. V-I If you speak for a group of people, you make their views and demands known, or represent them. 爲…說話; 代表…發言

He said it was the job of the Church to speak for the underprivileged. 他說爲弱勢群躰說話是教會的職責。

I speak for all 7,000 members of our organization. 我代表我們組織的全躰7000名成員發言。

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

He doesn't speak English. 他不說英語。

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. 劉在全書中都談到黨權的濫用。

7. V-RECIP If two people are not speaking, they no longer talk to each other because they have argued. (吵架之後) 相互說話[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話了。

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) 會說話; (本身) 能說明問題[no cont]

...the figures speak for themselves – bleak prospects at home and a worsening outlook for exports. …這些數字本身就能說明問題–國內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. 已有人認領的; 已有人請求過的

She'd probably drop some comment about her "fiancé" into the conversation so that he'd think she was already spoken for. 她很可能會在交談中故意提到她的“未婚夫”，這樣他就會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. 說某人好話/壞話

Both spoke highly of the Russian president. 雙方都高度評價了那位俄羅斯縂統。

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

I ought not to tell you but I will, since you're in the family, so to speak. 我不該告訴你，但我會告訴你，因爲說來你也是這個家庭的一員。

12. to speak your mind→see mind

13. to speak volumes→see volume