“talk of”是英语中常见的短语,核心含义围绕“提及、谈论”展开,具体用法和含义可分为以下几类:
表示“提到某事物/人”或“围绕某话题展开讨论”,侧重“提及”(可能是简短的、非正式的),而非深入分析。
后面可接名词/代词:
We talked of our favorite books over coffee.(我们边喝咖啡边谈论最喜欢的书。)
She often talks of her grandparents.(她常谈及她的祖父母。)
后面可接动名词(doing):
He talks of buying a house in the suburbs.(他谈及要在郊区买房子。)
Are you talking of quitting your job?(你在说要辞职吗?)
表示某事物/人成为“众人关注、谈论的焦点”,是固定表达。
The singer’s wedding was the talk of the town.(这位歌手的婚礼是全城热议的话题。)
His new invention is the talk of the office.(他的新发明是办公室里的热门谈资。)
字面是“说到魔鬼,魔鬼就来”,对应中文“说曹操曹操到”,用于刚提到某人,某人就出现的场景。
A: Have you seen Tom lately?(你最近见过汤姆吗?)
B: Talk of the devil! There he is.(说曹操曹操到!他来了。)
talk of:侧重“提及、说到”(简短、一带而过);
talk about:侧重“详细讨论、谈论”(深入、具体)。
例:
We talked of the accident briefly.(我们简要提及了那次事故。)
We talked about the accident for hours.(我们详细讨论了那次事故,聊了好几个小时。)
talk of the past:谈论过去
talk of future plans:谈及未来计划
Much is talked of the new policy.(大家常谈及这项新政策。)(被动用法)
综上,“talk of”的核心是“提及/谈论某事物”,根据语境可延伸为“热门话题”或习语用法,使用时注意与“talk about”的细微差异即可。