take action; do something 行动;做某事 they urged Washington to act. 他们敦促华盛顿采取行动。 [with infinitive]governments must act to reduce pollution. 各国政府必须采取行动减少污染。 ■(act on)take action according to or in the light of 根据(或按照)…采取行动 I shall certainly act on his suggestion. 我当然会按照他的建议行动。 ■(act for)take action in order to bring about 为…而行动 one's ability to act for community change. 某人为社会变化采取行动的能力。 ■(act for/on behalf of)represent (someone) on a contractual, legal, or paid basis 代理 he chose a solicitor to act for him. 他挑选了个律师作他的代理。 ■(act from/out of)be motivated by 出于…而做 you acted from greed. 你这么做是出于贪婪。
[with adverbial]behave in the way specified 行为,行动 they challenged a man who was seen acting suspiciously. 他们盘问了个被认为行为可疑的男人。 he acts as if he owned the place. 他的举止行为就好像他是那个地方的主人。 ■(act as/like)behave in the manner of 以…方式行动 try to act like civilized adults. 要像文明的成人那样行为处事。
(act as)fulfil the function or serve the purpose of 充当,担任 they need volunteers to act as foster-parents. 他们需要志愿者来充当养父母。 ■have the effect of 起…作用 a five-year sentence will act as a deterrent. 五年监禁将起到威慑作用。
take effect; have a particular effect 起作用;见效 bacteria act on proteins and sugar. 细菌对蛋白质和糖作用。
perform a fictional role in a play, film, or television (在戏剧、电影或电视里)扮演角色 she acted in her first professional role at the age of six. 她六岁时扮演了第一个正式角色。 ■[with obj.]perform (a part or role) 扮演(角色) he acted the role of the dragon. 他扮演龙的角色。 doctors do not always act out the role of doctor. 医生不一定总是起到医生的作用。 ■[with complement]behave so as to appear to be; pretend to be 作出…的样子,假装 I acted dumb at first. 我开始时有意沉默。 ■[with obj.](act something out)perform a narrative as if it were a play 表演,将(故事)表演出来 encouraging pupils to act out the stories. 鼓励学生们将故事表演出来。 ■[with obj.](act something out)(Psychoanalysis)express repressed emotion or impulses in overt behaviour as a defensive substitute for conscious recall, typical of some behavioural disorders (心理分析)行为表现
noun
a thing done; a deed 行为 a criminal act. 犯罪行为。 the act of writing down one's thoughts. 写下某人的想法的举动。 an act of heroism. 英雄主义行为。 ■(Acts 或 Acts of the Apostles)a New Testament book immediately following the Gospels and relating the history of the early Church (《圣经•新约》中紧接着福音书,与早期教会历史有关的)《使徒行传》
[in sing.]a pretence 假装 she was putting on an act and laughing a lot. 她装腔作势地笑了又笑。 ■[with adj. or noun modifier]a particular type of behaviour or routine 某种行为(或常规、惯例) he did his Sir Galahad act. 他干了一件加拉哈德爵士式的高尚事。
(Law)a written ordinance of Parliament, Congress, etc. (律)(议会、国会等的书面)法令,条例 the 1989 Children's Act. 1989年的儿童法。 ■a document attesting a legal transaction 判决书 ■(常作 acts)(dated)the recorded decisions or proceedings of a committee or an academic body (旧)(委员会或学术团体的)决定记录,会议记录,公报,学报
a main division of a play, ballet, or opera (戏剧、芭蕾舞剧或歌剧的)幕 ■a set performance 表演 her one-woman poetry act. 她的女独诗朗诵。 ■a performing group 演出团体 an act called the Apple Blossom Sisters. 苹果花姐妹剧团。
常用词组 act of God
an instance of uncontrollable natural forces in operation (often used in insurance claims) [常用于保险索赔]不可抗力
act of grace
a privilege or concession that cannot be claimed as a right 恩典,大赦令
catch someone in the act
(一般作 be caught in the act)surprise someone in the process of doing something wrong 当场抓住(或发现)某人做坏事 the thieves were caught in the act. 窃贼们被当场抓住。
clean up one's act
behave in a more acceptable manner 改进举止
get one's act together
(informal)galvanize oneself into organizing one's life or affairs effectively (非正式)(使自己的生活处事)有头绪;有条有理地行事
get (或 be) in on the act
(informal)become or be involved in a particular activity, in order to gain profit or advantage (非正式)(为获得利益或有利条件而)加入(或参与)(活动),插一手
a hard (或 tough) act to follow
an achievement or performance which sets a standard regarded as being hard for others to measure up to 难以取得的成就(或成绩)
in the act of
in the process of 在…过程中 they photographed him in the act of reading other people's mail. 他们拍下了他私看他人信件的行为过程。
派生 actability noun actable adjective 语源
late Middle English : from Latin actus 'event, thing done', act- 'done', from the verb agere, reinforced by the French noun acte
继承用法 act up
(of a thing) fail to function properly (某物)运转不正常 the plane's engine was acting up. 飞机引擎运转不正常。 ■(of a person) misbehave (人)行为不端
(of a person) take over or be promoted to a more senior position, typically on a temporary basis