迷你对话学地道口语第861期:打破僵局,打破沉默

 　　第一， 迷你对话

　　A: How was the party?

　　聚会怎么样？

　　B: It couldn’t get off the ground at the beginning. Everyone lowered their heads without uttering¹ a word.

　　刚开始气氛不活跃，每个人都低着头，一言不发。

　　A: The who broke the ice.

　　那么是谁打破了僵局。

　　B: It was Jonny who told a joke and made us burst out laughing.

　　是Jonny说了个笑话，才逗得大家笑起来。

　　第二， 地道表达

　　break the ice

　　1. 解词释义

　　Break the ice原为航海用于，表示“打破坚冰而为航行开道”，后来比喻为“开个头打破沉默或僵局或冷场”或“抛砖引玉”的意思。

　　2. 拓展例句

　　e.g. The major purpose of his trip was to break the ice, and his itinerary² so far has been packed full.

　　他此行的主要目的是打破僵局，目前的行程已经排满。

　　e.g. His remark not only broke the ice, but aroused³ everyone's interest.

　　他的发言不仅打破了冷场, 而且引起了大家的兴趣。

　　e.g. Finally he managed to break the ice by talking about the movies.

　　最后，他谈论起电影来，从而打破了僵局。

　　e.g. The hostess broke the ice by introducing the strangers to each other.

　　女主人将生客作彼此介绍以打破矜持的气氛。

　　第三， 词海拾贝

　　get off the ground：顺利开始

　　e.g. It will take time and money to get the project to get off the ground.

　　这个规划要得以实施, 需要时间和金钱。

　　e.g. So far, none of his plans have managed to get off the ground.

　　到目前为止, 他的计划还没有一项取得进展。

　　e.g. The negotiation⁴ would never get off the ground.

　　谈判就永远开始不了。

　　burst out laughing ：突然大笑，不禁大笑

　　e.g. Everyone who heard it just burst out laughing when he came out with it.

　　当他说出这句话时，听到的人都大笑起来。

　　e.g. She was so overjoyed that she nearly burst out laughing.

　　她心里乐得纵声大笑。

　　at the beginning：刚开始

　　e.g. I'll sign off. We'll talk at the beginning of the week.

　　好，就说到这儿吧，下周初我们再谈。

　　e.g. He had opposed George's entry right at the beginning.

　　他起初就反对乔治加入。

　　without uttering a word：一言不发地

　　e.g. He walked out and rode off without uttering a word.

　　他一言不发走出去，骑马离开了。

　　e.g. He went away without uttering a word.

　　他不动声色地走了。

　　第四， 语法点拨

　　It was Jonny who told a joke and made us burst out laughing.

　　解析：此句式一个强调句式，结构为It +系动词+被强调的对象+who…，这句话强调的是主语Jonny。

1 uttering   

v.以口发出声音( utter的现在分词 )；说，讲

参考例句：

• Seconds after uttering the fateful words 'this is easy', he crashed. 说了“这很容易”这句预言性的话后几秒钟，他的心脏就停止跳动。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Were they uttering cries of joy, or of warning, or of sorrow? 是欢呼？是惊号？是哀叫？ 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）

2 itinerary   

n.行程表，旅行路线；旅行计划

参考例句：

• The two sides have agreed on the itinerary of the visit.双方商定了访问日程。
• The next place on our itinerary was Silistra.我们行程的下一站是锡利斯特拉。

3 aroused   

v.引起( arouse的过去式和过去分词 )；唤醒；激起性欲；使行动起来

参考例句：

• The rise in train fares has aroused public indignation. 火车票提价激起了公愤。
• It was a debate which aroused fervent ethical arguments. 那是一场引发强烈的伦理道德争论的辩论。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 negotiation   

n.谈判，协商

参考例句：

• They closed the deal in sugar after a week of negotiation.经过一星期的谈判，他们的食糖生意成交了。
• The negotiation dragged on until July.谈判一直拖到7月份。