SPEAK1 to speak2 to speak unclearly3 to speak a language4 to speak a little of a foreign language5 the way someone speaks6 spoken, not written7 the ability to speak8 not able to speakRELATED WORDSto make a speech 发表演说TALKsee alsoLANGUAGESAYTALKTELLVOICE1 to speak 说话speak /spiːk/ [intransitive verb]to produce words with your voice 说话 How old are babies when they learn to speak? 婴儿几岁开始学说话的? Sean didn't speak the whole time we were in the car. 我们在车上时，肖恩一直没有说话。 Don't interrupt me when I'm speaking. 我说话的时候你别插嘴。speak upspeak louder 说大声一些 Can you speak up? -- I can't hear you. 你说大声点好吗？我听不见。talk /tɔːk/ [intransitive verb]to produce words with your voice in order to have a conversation, tell people what you think etc 说话，谈话 You're not supposed to talk in the library. 图书馆里面不可以说话。 Please don't all talk at the same time. 请不要大家一起说。whisper /ˈwɪspəʳ/ [intransitive verb]to speak very quietly, using your breath rather than your voice 悄声说，低语，耳语 We had to whisper because Jill's mother was in the next room. 我们得悄声地说，因为吉尔的妈妈就在隔壁房间。 Why are you two whispering? 你们两个为什么要说悄悄话？2 to speak unclearly 说得不清楚stammer/stutter /ˈstæməʳ, ˈstʌtəʳ/ [intransitive/transitive verb]to speak with difficulty because you cannot stop yourself repeating the first sound in some words, usually several times 结结巴巴地说，口吃 Savio was a shy man who stuttered when he was nervous. 萨维奥是个腼腆的人，他紧张了就会口吃。 ‘I d-d-don't know,’ he stammered. “我不…不…不知道。”他结结巴巴地说。 Most kids who stammer eventually grow out of it. 大多数说话结结巴巴的小孩子长大后最终都会改掉的。stutter/stammer/have a stutter/stammer [singular noun] I used to visit a speech therapist every week because I had a stammer. 我以前有口吃，每个星期都要去看言语治疗师。mumble /ˈmʌmbəl/ [intransitive/transitive verb]to speak quietly and not at all clearly, so that it is difficult for people to understand you 含糊地说话，咕哝 Don't mumble -- I can't hear what you're saying. 别咕咕哝哝的，我听不到你在说什么。 An old man sat on the curb, mumbling and laughing to himself. 有个老人坐在路缘上，一个人咕咕哝哝的，还独自发笑。mumble about He looked embarrassed, and mumbled something about being sorry. 他一脸窘态，含含糊糊地说了一句对不起什么的。slur /slɜːʳ/ [intransitive/transitive verb]to speak unclearly, without separating your words or sounds correctly, usually because you are tired or have been drinking alcohol 含糊不清地说话〔常因疲惫或喝醉酒〕 After just a couple of drinks, she starts to slur. 她喝了没几杯，就开始口齿不清了。slur your words When Lionel is tired he tends to slur his words. 莱昂内尔累了的时候，说话就会含糊不清。slurred [adjective] After many years of boxing, Garcia's speech is slow and slurred. 加西亚打了多年的拳击，说话很慢，含糊不清。lisp /lɪsp/ [intransitive/transitive verb]to speak unclearly because you have difficulty pronouncing "s’ sounds 咬舌，说话口齿不清〔指发s音有困难〕 As a child she used to lisp. 她小时候说话口齿不清。 ‘What time ith it?’ he lisped. “几点了？”他咬舌把s说成了th。lisp [singular noun] Bobbi speaks with a slight lisp. 鲍比说话稍微有点咬舌。3 to speak a language 会说某一种语言speak /spiːk/ [transitive verb not in progressive] Nadia speaks six languages. 纳迪娅会说六种语言。speak French/Japanese/Russian etc Is there anyone here who can speak Arabic? 这儿有谁会说阿拉伯语吗？know /nəʊ/ [transitive verb not in progressive]to be able to speak, read, and understand some of a particular foreign language 通晓，懂，掌握〔某种外国语言〕 I know enough Italian to travel around there. 我懂的意大利语足够去那儿旅游。 Do you know any Polish? 你会波兰语吗fluent /ˈfluːənt/ [adjective]very good at speaking a foreign language, so that you can speak it quickly without stopping and you understand it very well 流利的fluent in English/German/Thai etc Applicants should be fluent in Cantonese. 求职者需要会说流利的广东话。fluent French/Arabic/Japanese etc Ann speaks fluent Italian. 安会说一口流利的意大利语。fluently [adverb] Douglas speaks Hindi fluently. 道格拉斯的印地语说得很流利。bilingual /baɪˈlɪŋgwəl/ [adjective]able to speak two languages very well 能说两种语言的 About 80 percent of the school's students are bilingual. 大约百分之八十的在校学生会说两种语言。multilingual /ˌmʌltɪˈlɪŋgwəl◂/ [adjective]able to speak several languages very well 能说多种语言的 Many people who work at the European Parliament are multilingual. 很多在欧洲议会工作的人都会讲多种语言。multilingualism [uncountable noun] Multilingualism is very common in several parts of Africa. 非洲有几个地方多语现象很普遍。speaker /ˈspiːkəʳ/ [countable noun]someone who can speak a particular language 会讲某种语言的人speaker of English/Russian/Arabic etc Speakers of Cantonese often cannot understand speakers of Mandarin. 会说广东话的人往往听不懂普通话。English/Spanish/Urdu etc speaker The hotel has two English speakers on its staff. 这个宾馆有两名员工会说英语。native speakerlearnt a particular language as their first language as a child 以某种语言为母语的人 All our English teachers are native speakers. 我们所有的英语老师都是以英语为母语的。4 to speak a little of a foreign language 会说一点某种外语get by /ˌget ˈbaɪ/ [intransitive phrasal verb]to speak enough of a language to be able to buy things, ask for help etc 勉强能说几句，〔用某种语言〕应付 He went to Tokyo and within a few weeks knew enough Japanese to get by. 他去了东京没几个星期就能以日语勉强应付了。get by in I've just bought a book called ‘Get By In Portuguese’. 我刚刚买了一本《学说葡萄牙语》。know a few words /ˌnəʊ ə fjuː ˈwɜːʳdz/ [verb phrase not in progressive]to be able to speak a few words of a language 会说几句〔某种语言〕 ‘Do you speak Korean?’ ‘I only know a few words.’ “你会韩语吗”“我只会几句。”know a few words of I used to know a few words of German but I've forgotten them all. 我以前还会说几句德语，可现在全忘了。have a smattering of /hæv ə ˈsmætərɪŋ ɒv/ [verb phrase not in progressive]to be able to speak a small but useful amount of a language 略懂〔某种语言〕 Martin is fluent in French, and also has a smattering of Swedish. 马丁法语很流利，瑞典语也略懂一些。broken /ˈbrəʊkən/ [adjective only before noun]broken English/French etcEnglish, French etc that is spoken slowly and badly by someone who only knows a little of the language 结结巴巴〔不流利〕的英语/法语等 The two students, one Chinese, the other Greek, communicated in broken English. 两个学生，一个是中国人，另一个是希腊人，用结结巴巴的英语沟通。5 the way someone speaks 某人说话的方式pronunciation /prəˌnʌnsiˈeɪʃən/ [singular noun]the way someone says the words and sounds of a language 〔某人的〕发音 Gianni has problems with his grammar but his pronunciation is very good. 詹尼的语法不行，但发音很好。accent /ˈæksəntǁˈæksent/ [countable noun]the way someone speaks a language, which shows which country or which part of a country they come from, and that sometimes shows which social class they come from 口音 Maria speaks Spanish with a Mexican accent. 玛丽亚的西班牙语带有墨西哥口音。 I knew from his accent that he was from the South. 我从他的口音听出他是南方人。 She spoke with a distinctly upper class accent. 她说话带有明显的上流阶层口音。a strong/broad accentan accent that is easy to notice 浓重的口音 Her companion had a broad Australian accent. 她的同伴有很重的澳大利亚口音。 His accent was so strong that I couldn't understand a word he was saying. 他口音这么重，他的话我一句都听不懂。speech /spiːtʃ/ [uncountable noun]the way someone speaks - use this especially when this is affected by illness, drugs etc 说话方式〔尤指受了疾病、药物等的影响〕 His speech was slurred and he was having trouble standing straight. 他说话含糊不清，直立都有困难。speech impedimenta permanent speech problem, which makes it difficult to pronounce particular sounds 言语障碍 Natalie was born with a slight speech impediment. 纳塔莉先天有轻微的言语障碍。6 spoken, not written 口头的，非书面的spoken /ˈspəʊkən/ [adjective usually before noun]spoken language is produced with the voice, not written down 口语的，口头的 This book will help you with both spoken and written English. 本书将帮助你改善口头英语和书面英语。 Idiomatic and spoken phrases tend to differ widely throughout the country. 全国各地的一些习惯用语及口语说法有很大的差异。oral /ˈɔːrəl/ [adjective usually before noun]using spoken rather than written language -- use this especially about tests and exams 口头的〔尤指考试〕 We had a 15-minute oral exam in German. 我们有一个15分钟的德语口试。 Anglo-Saxon stories and poems were part of a largely oral culture. 盎格鲁一撒克逊民族的传说故事和诗歌是一个以口头传播为主的文化的组成部分。verbal /ˈvɜːʳbəl/ [adjective usually before noun]spoken rather than written - use this especially about agreements, warnings, announcements etc that have never been written down and are therefore not always official 口头的〔尤指协议、警告、公告等不是书面的，因而不总是正式的〕 We had a verbal agreement but no written contract. 我们有口头的协定，但没有签书面合同。 Federal authorities gave Alascom verbal approval to begin the project. 联邦当局口头批准阿拉斯加通信公司开始这个项目。by word of mouth /baɪ ˌwɜːʳd əv ˈmaʊθ/ [adverb]if you find something outby word of mouth, you find it out because someone tells you, not because you have seen it advertised, read about it in a newspaper etc 口头上，经口头地〔指从别人那里听来的，而不是从广告上、报纸上等看到的〕 He learned about the job by word of mouth. 他是听人说有这份工作的。 The tribe's history was passed on by word of mouth. 该部落的历史是口头流传下来的。word-of-mouth [adjective only before noun] A word-of-mouth recommendation is probably the best form of advertising. 口头推荐可能是最好的广告方式了。7 the ability to speak 说话的能力speech /spiːtʃ/ [uncountable noun] Only humans are capable of speech. 只有人类才会说话。 The left side of the brain controls speech. 左脑控制语言能力。8 not able to speak 不能说话can't speak /ˌkɑːnt ˈspiːkǁˌkænt-/ [verb phrase]to be unable to speak because you are too ill, weak, frightened etc 〔因病得太重、太虚弱或受到惊吓等〕不能说话 I was so terrified, I couldn't speak. 我害怕得说不出话来。 A lump welled up in his throat and he could not speak. 他喉咙里长了一个肿块，使他说不出话来。lose your voice /ˌluːz jɔːʳ ˈvɔɪs/ [verb phrase]to become unable to speak because of illness, or because you have been using your voice too much 〔因病或用声过度〕嗓子哑了，失声 On the first night of the show, the star of the play lost his voice and couldn't perform. 头一晚表演男主角就失声了，没法演出。mute /mjuːt/ [adjective]unable to speak, especially permanently - use this especially in medical contexts 〔尤指永久地〕哑的，不会说话的〔尤用于医学上〕 A stroke left her mute and unable to use her legs. 一次中风使她失去了说话的能力和双腿的活动能力。dumb /dʌm/ [adjective]permanently unable to speak because of a physical condition - many people now consider this word to be offensive 〔永久地〕哑的，不能说话的〔许多人认为此词有冒犯性〕 According to the story, he was struck dumb made dumb by the gods. 故事里说，他是被神变成哑巴的。 She was born deaf and dumb. 她天生又聋又哑。be at a loss for words/be lost for words /biː ət ə ˌlɒs fəʳ ˈwɜːʳdzǁ-ˌlɔːs-, biː ˌlɒst fəʳ ˈwɜːʳdzǁ-ˌlɔːst-/ [verb phrase]to be unable to say anything because you are very surprised, upset etc 〔因为惊讶、难过等〕说不出话来 Rimes, who is rarely at a loss for words, was overcome with emotion as she received her award. 莱姆斯是一个很少会因为激动而说不出话的人，领奖的时候也难以自持。
