speak
1.下面各句里的say和said不可改作speak和spoke：
- He used to say that he liked short stories.
- He did not say how he had done it.
- He refused to say where he lived.
- I wonder what he said to you this morning.
- 'I shall be glad to see her' he said.
- After a little time he said 'Quite so.'
第六句改作After a little time he spoke, saying 'Quite so.' 也可以。
2.下面三句里都有of或about：
- When I last saw him, he spoke of（或about）his plans for the future.
- In his last letter he spoke of（或about）his plans for the future.
- His last letter spoke of（或about）his plans for the future.
speak of是“提到”，指口头的“提到”和在文字里的“提到”都可以。speak about也是“提到”，比speak of说得详细些。
3.下面两句意思不同：
- He does not speak English. （他不会讲英语。）
- He does not speak in English. （1.他不用英语说话。2.他不用英语演说。）
问某人“能讲某种语言吗？”通常说Do you speak...? 比较少说Can you speak...?
4.可以说He spoke words of wisdom和She spoke words of praise等。但不可说He spoke no word，该说He said nothing。
5.speak up和speak out都可能有两个意思：（1）“清楚和响亮地说”，如Speak up（或out）-We can't hear。（2）“大胆地说”，如Speak out（或up）-don't be afraid。在第一个意思里speak up比speak out普通，在第二个意思里speak out比speak up普通。
6.Am I speaking to Mr Collins? 直译作“我正在和Collins先生讲话吗？”，就是“你就是Collins先生吗？”与Have I the honour of speaking to Mr Collins? 意思相同。
7.(This is) John Clifford speaking用于打电话，直译作“（这是）John Clifford在讲话”，就是说“我是John Clifford”。
8.We must let him speak for himself（我们必须让他为自己说话）可能有四个含意：（1）“我们不该代他说话。”（2）“我们不该预料他说什么。”（3）“我们必须让他发表他个人的（与众不同的）意见。”（4）“（即使我们不让他谈起其他事）我们该让他谈起关于他自己的事。”
9.We're not on speaking terms是“我们现在互相不交谈（暂时不和好）。”有时也说We're not speaking。
