我们讲的英语第160期:Icebreaker 打破僵局

Wang Fei: Hello and welcome to The English We Speak. I'm Wang Fei.
王飞：大家好，欢迎收听地道英语节目。我是王飞。

Rob: And I'm Rob Carter.
罗布：我是罗布·卡特。

Wang Fei: Rob, I'm going on a hot date tomorrow and I'm feeling a bit nervous now. I think I need your help.
王飞：罗布，我明天有个重要的约会，我现在感觉有点紧张。我想我需要你的帮助。

Rob: Hmm. It is a scary thing to do. What you need is some kind of icebreaker.
罗布：嗯。这是件很可怕的事。你需要的是打破僵局。

Wang Fei: An icebreaker? That sounds quite cold!
王飞：icebreaker？听起来好冷啊！

Rob: Don't worry, it's not. But an icebreaker has got something to do with warming up a cold situation. It will make things more relaxed.
罗布：别担心，不是那样的。icebreaker指打破冷场。让事情更轻松。

Wang Fei: An icebreaker is something you can do or some words you can say to make people feel relaxed. So an icebreaker will make things less formal?
王飞：这个词是指你可以做些事情或者说些话来让人们感觉放松。打破僵局会让事情不那么正式吗？

Rob: Yes, that's right. Doing something or saying something at the start will hopefully make your date more relaxed and less tense.
罗布：对，没错。在开始时做些事情或者说些话会让你的约会更轻松，不那么紧张。

Wang Fei: I see. An icebreaker will make people feel more relaxed. Maybe I should sing a song or do a dance?!
王飞：我明白了。打破僵局会让人们感觉更轻松。也许我应该唱首歌或者跳支舞？

Rob: Now that's a bit over the top–why not start with a joke?
罗布：那有点夸张了，为什么不用笑话来打破僵局呢？

Wang Fei: If singing or dancing is a bit over the top, or too much, I will think of a joke then.
王飞：如果唱歌或跳舞会夸张，或是做得太过，那我就讲笑话吧。

Telling a joke is an excellent icebreaker.
讲笑话是打破僵局的绝妙方法。

That party needed an icebreaker to make it less formal!
这场聚会需要打破僵局，不要让气氛那么正式！

Wang Fei: So just now we heard people using icebreaker in their conversation. Rob, does icebreaker literally mean breaking the ice?
王飞：刚才我们听了一些对话中对这个单词的应用。罗布，这个词按字面理解就是打破沉默吗？

Rob: It does. You can do it when you start a new job. Everything feels so formal that it's good to break the ice. We British can be a bit reserved or formal so it's good if someone can break the ice.
罗布：对。你可以在开始新工作时使用这个词。所有事情都太正式了，是时候来打破僵局了。我们英国人有点保守或是恪守陈规，所以如果有人可以活跃气氛的话是不错的。

Wang Fei: Yes, I agree. Sometimes British people can be quite reserved and formal. Rob I'm not good at jokes. Do you have any I can use?
王飞：对，我同意。有时英国人真的很保守和死板。罗布，我真的不擅长讲笑话。你有没有什么笑话可以让我用用？

Rob: Let's have a think. How about telling this one? "With my last girlfriend it was love at first sight–then I took a second look!"
罗布：我们来想想。讲这个怎么样？ “上个女朋友， 本来看第一眼就一见钟情了，但是后来我又看了第二眼！”

Wang Fei: It's a good joke. But honestly, did it work for you?
王飞：这笑话不错。不过说实话，起作用了吗？

Rob: Um... It didn't actually. But it might be good for you!
罗布：嗯……实际上没有。不过也许你可以用到呢！

Wang Fei: Hmm… Actually I think I would rather find a good story on our website as an icebreaker.
王飞：嗯……实际上我宁愿在我们的网站上找个可以活跃气氛的故事。

Rob: Yes. Don't forget our website is a good place to learn some English phrases that might help you break the ice at a party.
罗布：好。别忘了我们的网站可以帮助大家学习英语短语，而且可以帮助你在派对上打破僵局。

Wang Fei: And our website is…
王飞：我们的网址是……

Rob:www.bbclearningenglish.com. Bye bye.
罗布：www.bbclearningenglish.com。再见。

Wang Fei: Bye!
王飞：再见！