余可佳
語言是交際的工具。要交際就離不開“聽”和“說”。在英語中表示“聽”的語匯不多,無非是hear和listen to,因為聽就是耳朵接受聲音信號的一個簡單動作。而“說”就不同了——人們“說”的事情包羅萬象,“說”的場景因時而異,“說”的對象不斷改變,自然“說”法就有所不同。
[表示與說話內(nèi)容有關(guān)的“說”]
1. chat表示“聊天,閑聊”。例如:
The two friends sat in the corner and chatted away to each other about the weather. 兩個朋友坐在角落里很火熱地聊著天氣。
chat sb. up表示“與某人搭訕”。
2. complain表示“抱怨”。例如:
She complained that he had been rude to her. 她抱怨他對她粗魯。
3. explain表示“解釋”。例如:
“Please excuse me,” he calmly explained, “I wanted to know where all my customers had gone last week.” “很對不起,”王鵬心平氣和地解釋道,“上周我想知道我的顧客上哪兒吃飯去了。”
4. suggest表示“建議”。suggest后接已有的事實時,從句的謂語用陳述語氣,此時suggest相當(dāng)于say;suggest后接說話之后要做的動作時,謂語用虛擬語氣。例如:
To prevent this from happening again, John Snow suggested that the source of all water supplies be examined. 為了防止這種情況再度發(fā)生,約翰·斯諾建議所有水源都要經(jīng)過檢測。
[表示語調(diào)和音量的“說”]
1. murmur表示“低語;喃喃細語”。例如:
He turned and murmured something to the professor. 他轉(zhuǎn)過身,小聲對教授說了些什么。
2. shout表示“大聲說”。例如:
“May I ask what you were doing in my restaurant the other day? I thought you were a new customer and now I know that you only came to spy on me and my menu,” she shouted.
3. sigh既可以表示“嘆氣;嘆息”,也可以表示“嘆著氣說;嘆息道”。例如:
Wang Peng was enjoying a second plate of dumplings so he sighed. “Yes,” he added, “and I would miss my dumplings and fatty pork.”
4. whisper表示“耳語,低聲說”。例如:
Mum whispered to us, “Be quiet! Your little sisters sleeping.” 媽媽低聲對我們說:“安靜點!小妹妹在睡覺。”
5. stress表示“強調(diào)”。例如:
The teacher stressed again that the students should not leave out any important details while retelling the story. 老師再次強調(diào)學(xué)生在復(fù)述這個故事時不應(yīng)遺漏任何重要細節(jié)。
6. yell表示“叫喊;大喊;吼叫”。
Another whaler yelled out, “Rush-oo ... rush-oo.” 另一位捕鯨人大聲喊叫:“快走啊……走啊?!?/p>
[與說話時間有關(guān)的“說”]
1. add可以表示“又說;補充說”。例如:
“Yes,” he added, “and I would miss my dumplings and fatty pork.” “同樣,”他又說道,“我還想吃我的餃子和肥肉呢?!?/p>
2. 表示“(曾經(jīng))說過”用put it。例如:
As my husband put it, “my grandparents gave me a deep sense that things would turn out right in the end.” 正如我丈夫所說的那樣:“我祖父母給我一個深刻的感覺,就是事情最后會好起來的。”
3. continue可以表達“繼續(xù)說;接著說”。例如:
“In fact,” he continued, “Id like to congratulate you.”
[與說話場合有關(guān)的“說”]
1. announce表示“通知;宣布”。例如:
He announced that whichever knight could take it out was Britains true king. 他宣布無論哪個騎士,只要他能把它拔出來,他就是大不列顛真正的國王。
2. declare表示“宣布”。例如:
In 1846 the United States declared war on Mexico, and after the war won by the USA, Mexico had to give California to the USA. 1846年美國向墨西哥宣戰(zhàn),美國勝利之后,墨西哥被迫把加利福尼亞割讓給美國。endprint
另外,declare也可以表示“鄭重其事地說”。例如:
She cried out “Tony” and then heard him declare that he didnt want to leave her the next day and that he felt more than just the desire to please her. 她大叫一聲“托尼”,然后聽到托尼一本正經(jīng)地說,明天他不想離開她,而且他并不滿足于僅僅使她開心。
3. talk表示“談話”,在一般情況下,是不及物動詞。常用talk to/with sb. about sth.句型。例如:
She never tires of talking about her clever son. 她不厭其煩地談?wù)撍膬鹤印?/p>
The girls talk too much. 那些女孩子話太多。
另外,talk sb. into (doing) sth.表示“說服某人做某事”, talk sb. out of (doing) sth.表示“說服某人不做某事”。例如:
I didnt want to move abroad but Bill talked me into it. 我本不想移居國外,但是比爾把我說服了。
4. speak有“講話”的意思,不接內(nèi)容或?qū)ο笞髻e語。例如:
I do not understand why my sisters spoke as they did. 我不理解我妹妹為什么像他們那樣講話。
另外,speak表示“持(某種語言)”,與說話的場合無關(guān)。此時speak可接表示語言的名詞作賓語。例如:
The baby is learning to speak French. 嬰兒在學(xué)習(xí)法語。
[與說話方式有關(guān)的“說”]
1. breathe一般表示“呼吸”,但也有“說出”之義。例如:
Dont breathe a word of it. 不要走漏只言片語。
2. giggle表示“咯咯地笑”,也可以表示“咯咯地笑著說”。例如:
“I beg your pardon?” she giggled. “對不起,你說什么?”她咯咯地笑著問。
3. relate表示“敘述;講”。例如:
He related how the accident happened. 他敘述了事故發(fā)生的經(jīng)過。
4. say表示“說”,后接人表示說話的對象時是不及物動詞,需配合介詞to;接內(nèi)容時及物,無論是直接引語還是間接引語。有say sth. to sb.這樣的句型。例如:
“I feel sick with all this fat and heavy food,”she said, “I miss my vegetables and fruit.”
Its hard to say who is right in this matter.
5. tell表示“告訴”。tell可以同時帶人和內(nèi)容作賓語。例如:
The teacher told the children not to talk in class. 老師告訴孩子們上課不要講小話。
此外,argue(爭論), confirm(證實), criticize(批評), protest(抗議), report(報告)和scold(責(zé)罵)等在適當(dāng)?shù)恼Z境下也有“說”的意思。由此可見,英語中有關(guān)“說”的表達方式實在是太多了,在此不可能盡數(shù)錄入,但我們有必要在平日的學(xué)習(xí)中留意它們,適當(dāng)?shù)剡M行歸納,以提高我們的理解能力和表達能力。endprint