satisfy、meet与fulfil这些动词均含“满足”之意。
satisfy : 指完全达到预定的条件、要求、标准或期望、心愿等。
- They have 31 flavours of ice cream – enough to satisfy everyone!
他们有31种口味的冰激凌——足以让所有人都满意！ - Come on, satisfy my curiosity (= tell me what I want to know) – what happened last night?
来，满足一下我的好奇心，昨天晚上发生了什么事？
meet : 指最低限度地达到预期的标准，或强调要达到这个标准的困难。
- The workers’ demands for higher pay were not met by the management.
管理层没有满足工人们增加工资的要求。 - We haven’t yet been able to find a house that meets our needs/requirements.
我们还没能找到符合我们需要／要求的房子。 - They will only agree to sign the contract if certain conditions are met.
只有某些条件得到了满足，他们才会同意签合同。 - Do you think we will be able to meet our deadline/target?
你认为我们能如期完成／达到目标吗？
fulfil与satisfy基本同义，但侧重指实现的情况好于一般标准。
- I don’t feel that my present way of life really fulfils me.
我觉得现在的生活无法真正地令我满意。 - I’ve finally found a job in which I can fulfil myself (= completely develop my abilities and interests).
我终于找到了一份能发挥自己才干的工作。
#词汇辨析