相声在天津重新兴起

短语讲解：

1. The optimism and humor of Tianjin residents are played up to the fullest in the teahouse performance.

play up to给…当配角,投…所好
例句：He tried to play up to his best level.
他想打出自己的最佳水平。

2. As the old generation of performers has passed away, the techniques of crosstalk have slowly died as well.

pass away去世
例句：He passed away peacefully.
他安详地去世了。

3. This is why crosstalkers like Yin Xiaosheng have initiated an important practice—bringing crosstalk back to its roots.

bring back使(某人)恢复(某状态)
例句：We must bring him back to health.
我们必须使他恢复健康。

4. If we are to rejuvenate this art form, we have to go back to the face-to-face experience between the performer and the audience and bring crosstalk back to the teahouses.

go back回转, 回顾, 追溯
例句：They went back to the scenes of their childhood.
他们回忆了童年的情景。

5. Their hard work finally paid off around 2005 when teahouse crosstalk performances started getting popular once again.

pay off使得益; 有报偿
例句：John studied hard before the examination, and it paid off.He made an A.
约翰在考试前努力学习, 这没有白费, 他得了个A。

6. In the beginning, we had only five crosstalkers here, but it was really hilarious when we started to tell jokes in each others' faces. Now there are 32 of us, and we are still short of hands from time to time.

short of hands缺少人手
例句：They came to help just when we were short of hands.
正当人手少的时候，他们来了。

7. The crosstalk masters now in their 70s remain engaged in the preservation and promotion of this art form in hopes of passing on their passion for it in the teahouses of Tianjin.

engage in参加; 从事; 忙于
例句：He engaged in a serious study of the problem.
他对这个问题进行了认真的研究。
in hopes of希望
例句：They were in hopes of having a good day for the picnic.
他们希望野餐那天是个好天气。
pass on传递; 传授
例句：The story is passed on from generation to generation in the village.
这故事在村民中世代相传。