au·di·ence /ˈɔdiən(t)s, ˈɑ-/
 聽眾,觀眾,讀者;謁見,接見;傾聽,聽取


 Au·di·ence n.
 1. The act of hearing; attention to sounds.
    Thou, therefore, give due audience, and attend.   --Milton.
 2. Admittance to a hearing; a formal interview, esp. with a sovereign or the head of a government, for conference or the transaction of business.
 According to the fair play of the world,
 Let me have audience: I am sent to speak.   --Shak.
 3. An auditory; an assembly of hearers. Also applied by authors to their readers.
    Fit audience find, though few.   --Milton.
    He drew his audience upward to the sky.   --Dryden.
 Court of audience, or Audience court Eng., a court long since disused, belonging to the Archbishop of Canterbury; also, one belonging to the Archbishop of York. --Mozley & W.
 In general (or open) audience, publicly.
 To give audience, to listen; to admit to an interview.

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 audience
      n 1: a gathering of spectators or listeners at a (usually public)
           performance; "the audience applauded"; "someone in the
           audience began to cough"
      2: the part of the general public interested in a source of
         information or entertainment; "every artist needs an
         audience"; "the broadcast reached an audience of millions"
      3: an opportunity to state your case and be heard; "they
         condemned him without a hearing"; "he saw that he had lost
         his audience" [syn: hearing]
      4: a conference (usually with someone important); "he had a
         consultation with the judge"; "he requested an audience
         with the king" [syn: consultation, interview]