The english we speak(BBC教學)第160期:Icebreaker 打破僵局
Wang Fei: Hello and welcome to The English We Speak. I'm Wang Fei.
王飛：大家好，歡迎收聽地道英語節目。我是王飛。Rob: And I'm Rob Carter.
羅布：我是羅布·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.
王飛：羅布，我明天有個重要的約會，我現在感覺有點緊張。我想我需要你的幫助。
Rob: Hmm. It is a scary thing to do. What you need is some kind of icebreaker.
羅布：嗯。這是件很可怕的事。你需要的是打破僵局。Wang Fei: An icebreaker? That sounds quite cold!
王飛：icebreaker？聽起來好冷啊！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.
羅布：別擔心，不是那樣的。icebreaker指打破冷場。讓事情更輕鬆。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?
王飛：這個詞是指你可以做些事情或者說些話來讓人們感覺放鬆。打破僵局會讓事情不那麼正式嗎？Rob: Yes, that's right. Doing something or saying something at the start will hopefully make your date more relaxed and less tense.
羅布：對，沒錯。在開始時做些事情或者說些話會讓你的約會更輕鬆，不那麼緊張。Wang Fei: I see. An icebreaker will make people feel more relaxed. Maybe I should sing a song or do a dance?!
王飛：我明白了。打破僵局會讓人們感覺更輕鬆。也許我應該唱首歌或者跳支舞？Rob: Now that's a bit over the top–why not start with a joke?
羅布：那有點誇張了，爲什麼不用笑話來打破僵局呢？Wang Fei: If singing or dancing is a bit over the top, or too much, I will think of a joke then.
王飛：如果唱歌或跳舞會誇張，或是做得太過，那我就講笑話吧。Telling a joke is an excellent icebreaker.
講笑話是打破僵局的絕妙方法。That party needed an icebreaker to make it less formal!
這場聚會需要打破僵局，不要讓氣氛那麼正式！Wang Fei: So just now we heard people using icebreaker in their conversation. Rob, does icebreaker literally mean breaking the ice?
王飛：剛纔我們聽了一些對話中對這個單詞的應用。羅布，這個詞按字面理解就是打破沉默嗎？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.
羅布：對。你可以在開始新工作時使用這個詞。所有事情都太正式了，是時候來打破僵局了。我們英國人有點保守或是恪守陳規，所以如果有人可以活躍氣氛的話是不錯的。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?
王飛：對，我同意。有時英國人真的很保守和死板。羅布，我真的不擅長講笑話。你有沒有什麼笑話可以讓我用用？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!"
羅布：我們來想想。講這個怎麼樣？ “上個女朋友， 本來看第一眼就一見鍾情了，但是後來我又看了第二眼！”Wang Fei: It's a good joke. But honestly, did it work for you?
王飛：這笑話不錯。不過說實話，起作用了嗎？Rob: Um... It didn't actually. But it might be good for you!
羅布：嗯……實際上沒有。不過也許你可以用到呢！Wang Fei: Hmm… Actually I think I would rather find a good story on our website as an icebreaker.
王飛：嗯……實際上我寧願在我們的網站上找個可以活躍氣氛的故事。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.
羅布：好。別忘了我們的網站可以幫助大家學習英語短語，而且可以幫助你在派對上打破僵局。Wang Fei: And our website is…
王飛：我們的網址是……Rob:. Bye bye.
羅布：。再見。Wang Fei: Bye!
王飛：再見！
重點講解：
1. warm up
（使）活躍起來；（使）興奮起來；暖場；
eg. They would always come out and warm up the audience.
他們總是會出來調動觀衆情緒。
eg. The crowd began to warm up.
人羣開始活躍起來。
2. over the top
誇張的；言過其實的；
eg. The special effects are a bit over the top but I enjoyed it.
特效有點誇張，但是我喜歡。
eg. Judy's behaviour was over the top at the party last night.
朱迪在昨晚聚會上的行爲太過分了。
3. break the ice
打破沉默（或僵局）；使氣氛輕鬆；
eg. That sort of approach should go a long way toward breaking the ice.
那種方法對打破僵局會大有幫助。
eg. The major purpose of his trip was to break the ice, and his itinerary so far has been packed full.
他此行的主要目的是打破僵局，目前的行程已經排滿。
4. be good at
擅長的；精通的；能幹的；
eg. She is very good at using her charm to get her way.
她非常善於利用自己的魅力隨心所欲。
eg. You're frightfully good at this sort of thing.
你做這種事特別拿手。
5. at first sight
乍一看；一見之下；初看時；
eg. It promised to be a more difficult undertaking than might appear at first sight.
那項任務可能比乍看之下還要困難。
eg. The young couple fell in love at first sight.
這對年輕人一見鍾情。
