AEE 2522：当你思绪中断时该说什么

这里是《全神贯注英语》播客第2522期。

This is the All Ears English podcast episode twenty five twenty two.

当你思路中断时该说些什么。

What to say when you lose your train of thought.

欢迎收听下载量超过2亿次的《全神贯注英语》播客。

Welcome to the All Ears English podcast downloaded more than 200,000,000 times.

你是否在英语学习中感到停滞不前？

Are you feeling stuck with your English?

我们将向你展示如何通过关注交流而非完美主义，变得自信流利——由你的美国主持人雅思专家奥布里·卡特和英语冒险家林赛·麦克马洪，从美国亚利桑那州和科罗拉多州为你呈现。

We'll show you how to become fearless and fluent by focusing on connection, not perfection with your American host, Aubrey Carter, the IELTS whiz, and Lindsey McMahon, the English adventurer, coming to you from Arizona and Colorado, USA.

每周获取邮件发送的文本稿，请访问allearsenglish.com/subscribe。

And to get your transcripts delivered by email every week, go to allearsenglish.com forward slash subscribe.

在日常对话中，思路中断是自然发生的现象之一。

One of the natural things that happens in everyday conversation is that we lose our train of thought.

今天我们将探讨：当这种情况发生在你身上时该用英语如何表达，以及当对方遇到这种情况时如何帮助维持良好交流。

Today, find out what to say in English when this happens to you and how to help the other person if it happens to them to maintain a great connection.

嘿，奥布里。

Hey, Aubrey.

你今天怎么样？

How are you doing today?

最近如何？

How's it going?

我很好。

I'm great.

你呢，林赛？

How are you, Lindsay?

不错。

Good.

很高兴能回来开启新一周的《全神贯注学英语》，不过有件事我很好奇。

I'm excited to be back for another great week of All Ears English, but I'm curious about something.

好的。

Alright.

说来听听。

Let's hear it.

你经常说着说着就跑题吗？

So do you tend to lose your train of thought often?

你有这种情况吗？

Does this happen to you?

越来越频繁了。

More and more.

是的。

Yes.

对啊。

Yeah.

越来越频繁了。

More and more.

哦，糟糕。

Oh, no.

这可不太好。

That's not good.

我会突然忘记自己刚才在说什么，或者就这样。

I'll just forget what I was saying or Yeah.

你知道的，你离开一个房间，走进另一个房间，然后等着。

You know, you leave a room, go into another room, and wait.

我刚才在说什么来着？

What was I talking about?

是啊。

Yeah.

对。

Yeah.

你呢？

What about you?

打开冰箱却忘了自己为什么要去那里。

Open the fridge and forget why you went there.

诸如此类的事情。

Things like that.

是的。

Yes.

完全正确。

Absolutely.

对吧？

Right?

我年纪越大，这种情况就越多。

The older I get, the more.

没错。

Yes.

而且，你知道的，你要处理的事情太多了。

And, you know, you've got a lot going on.

孩子们到处跑来跑去。

We got kids running around everywhere.

你很忙。

You're busy.

嗯。

Mhmm.

所以，是的，我不记得年轻时这种事经常发生在我身上。

So, yeah, I don't remember this is happening to me as much when I was young.

对。

Right.

我知道。

I know.

年轻时生活就是更简单。

Life is just simpler when we're young.

对吧？

Right?

然后事情就变得复杂了。

Then it just gets complicated.

所以这是完全正常的事情。

So it's a totally normal thing.

那么奥布里，我们今天要讨论什么呢？

And so what are we getting into today, Aubrey?

是的。

Yeah.

这期节目的灵感来自一位学生，他问当你忘记自己刚才在说什么、思路中断时该怎么说。

This episode was inspired by a student who's asking what to say when you can't remember what you were saying, when you lose your train of thought.

对。

Yes.

对吧？

Right?

我们想避免只是停顿或沉默。

We want to avoid just a pause or silence.

所以这个短语'思路中断'有点习语的味道。

So this chunk, lose your train of thought, is kind of idiomatic.

意思是你忘记了自己正在说的话或想法，通常是因为分心或被打断。

It means to forget what you were saying or thinking, usually because you were distracted or maybe interrupted.

我很喜欢。

I love it.

最近几天，我们一直在制作一些非常人性化、地道的英语节目，这些我们重点展示的真实英语让我惊讶竟然还没教过。

And the last couple of days, we've been doing some really human, English episodes, very authentic English that we're highlighting here that I'm surprised we haven't taught yet.

对吧？

Right?

所以现在要发布了。

So it's coming out now.

所以各位，在节目最后我们会推荐另一期精彩内容，让你深入了解真实英语，奥布里。

So guys, at the end of the episode, we'll give you another great episode to check out that would give you another just very real, insight into real English, Aubrey.

是的。

Yes.

绝对没错。

Absolutely.

坚持到最后，这样你就不会错过那个了。

Stay to the end so you don't miss that.

是的。

Yeah.

但这里最重要的专业建议是，你必须立即说些什么，以促使与你交谈的人分享能唤起你记忆的内容。

But the the biggest pro tip right off the top here is it's really important that you say something right away that prompts whoever you were talking to to share something that will jog your memory.

对吧？

Right?

‘jog your memory’是什么意思，Lindsay？

What does that mean jog your memory, Lindsay?

这也是个习语。

That's an idiom too.

让它重新运转起来。

To get it going again.

对吧？

Right?

比如，让它回到原位。

Like, put it back in place.

某种程度上，让它重回正轨。

Like, get it back on track in a way.

没错。

Exactly.

帮助你想起某事。

To help you remember something.

对。

Yeah.

那个或那个让我想起来了。

That or that jogs my memory.

那帮助我回忆起来。

That helps me remember.

是的。

Yep.

我同意。

And I agree.

避免停顿。

Avoid the pause.

我们不喜欢——这可能是一条美国文化建议——我们不喜欢停顿。

We don't like and this might be an American culture piece of advice, but we don't like pauses.

我们不喜欢沉默

We don't like silence in

美国确实如此。

American Exactly.

所以通常，来自美国的人会直接说出我们今天要教的其中一种表达。

So usually, someone from The States will just say one of the things we're going to teach today.

我们将教你三个完美短语，你可以用它们来提醒对方你们刚才在谈论什么。

We're gonna teach three phrases that are perfect for you to say, and then to give the other person that in to just remind you what you were talking about.

嗯哼。

Mhmm.

是的。

Yeah.

所以这不可避免地会发生。

So inevitably, this is gonna happen.

这是人之常情。

It's a very human thing.

我相信我们的听众在用母语时也会遇到这种情况。

I'm sure it happens to our listeners in their native languages.

今天，你将确切知道在英语中该如何应对，因为这不必成为一个尴尬到破坏交流的时刻。

So today, you're gonna know exactly what to do in English because it doesn't have to be this big embarrassing moment where you break the connection.

对吧？

Right?

你可以在这种时刻保持交流的连贯性。

You could maintain the connection in this moment.

没错。

Yes.

没错。

Exactly.

大家一定要记得点击关注哦。

And be sure to hit follow, guys.

我们每周都有很多精彩的节目。

We have so many amazing episodes every week.

如果不关注，你可能会错过其中一些。

If you're not following, you might miss some of them.

所以无论你在哪里收听播客，搜索Allers English并记得点击关注。

So wherever you listen to podcasts, search Allers English and be sure to hit follow.

正是如此。

Exactly.

好的，奥布里。

Alright, Aubrey.

我想我们的听众已经准备好了解遇到这种情况时到底该说什么了。

I think our listeners are ready for what the heck do we say when this happens?

这不可避免会发生。

Inevitably, it will happen.

我们该说什么呢？

What do we say?

有哪些

What are some

事情我们...所以第一个，我最常说的就是，我刚才说到哪了？

things we So the first one, this is what I say most often is just, what was I saying?

所以如果我在说话时突然忘了思路，无论是我在打电话还是和别人交谈。

So if I'm talking and I lose my train of thought, I'm talking to someone whether I'm on the phone or talking to someone else.

我就会直接说，我刚才说到哪了？

I'll just say, what was I saying?

几乎每次对方都会说，哦，你刚才在说你的狗。

And almost always, they're going to just say, oh, you were talking about your dog.

对吧？

Right?

是的。

Yes.

这样能帮我回忆起刚才的话，我可以立刻接上话题。

And it'll help me remember what I was saying, and I'll pick it right back up.

是啊。

Yeah.

有时候确实管用。

Sometimes it helps.

有时候我还是想不起来，比如我的狗怎么了？

Sometimes I still can't remember what I was like, what about my dog?

我依然记不起来，但这就是我们常用的说法。

I can't remember what I was still can't remember, but this is what we say.

对吧？

Right?

这是个很好的观点。

And that's a good point.

我不知道，我觉得我们没在讨论那个。

And I don't know I don't think we're covering that.

所以让我们分享一下遇到这种情况时我会说什么。

So let's share what I say when that happens.

如果它不能让我立刻想起来，我就会说，哦，肯定不重要。

If it doesn't help me immediately remember, I just say, oh, must not have been important.

然后我就换个话题，我们会聊点别的。

And then I just change the subject, and we'll talk about something else.

好吧。

Alright.

所以你打算在角色扮演中这么做吗？

So you're gonna do that in the role play then?

完美。

Perfect.

不。

No.

因为我是说，比如，你可以帮我记起来。

Because I'm just saying, like, you you help me remember that.

有时候确实会发生这种情况。

Sometimes that does happen.

就是我们没能，你知道，那没能帮助我们想起来。

That we don't, you know, that doesn't help us remember.

是的。

Yes.

我会用个玩笑的方式。

And I'll use kind of a joke.

你可以说，好吧，那肯定不重要了。

You can be like, well, must not have been important then.

然后你就直接转换话题，因为你不想出现长时间的停顿或犹豫，比如你试图回想时说着'给我一分钟，我会想起来的'。

And you'll just change because you don't want it to have like a long pause or hesitation where you're trying to think of it and, oh, just give me a minute, I'll think of it.

不。

No.

会打断连接与否。

Breaks connection or not.

是的。

Yeah.

稍后会想起来的。

It'll come up later.

我们继续前进。

We're moving on.

你需要保持对话的势头。

You need to keep the momentum of the conversation going.

这才是目标，因为归根结底是建立连接。

That is the goal because again, it's connection.

正是如此。

So Exactly.

所以我们有个小角色扮演，展示如果你想起来时该怎么处理。

So we have a mini role play of how it could work if you do remember.

好的。

Okay.

有趣。

Fun.

是的。

Yeah.

我们开始吧。

Here we go.

好吧。

Alright.

好的。

Okay.

我们是朋友，正在讨论周末计划。

We're friends here talking about weekend plans.

我来开个头。

I'll start us out.

好的。

Okay.

我在想我们可以试试市中心那家新开的屋顶餐厅。

So I was thinking we could try that new rooftop place downtown.

他们周六有现场音乐表演。

They have live music on Saturdays.

哦，听起来很有趣。

Oh, that sounds fun.

他们也提供食物吗？

Do they serve food too?

是的。

Yes.

小份餐点，我想，等等。

Small plates, I think, and wait.

我刚才说到哪了？

What was I saying?

你刚才在说那家屋顶餐厅的食物。

You were talking about the food at the rooftop place.

小盘菜。

Small plates.

对。

Right.

他们还有西班牙小吃和超棒的鸡尾酒。

And they have tapas and amazing cocktails.

我们真该去试试。

We should totally check it out.

好吧。

Alright.

刚才那个循环过渡得很自然。

So that was a nice smooth loop there.

你接回了话题，然后我们就继续聊下去了。

You picked it back up, and and we just continued the conversation.

是啊。

Yeah.

大多数情况下都是这样发生的。

And this is most often how it will happen.

对吧？

Right?

我特别喜欢这种真正的连接时刻，因为有些人可能会犹豫要不要问'我刚才说到哪了？'

And I love it's this really is such a connection moment because some people might hesitate to say, like, what was I saying?

这几乎就像是在测试对方有没有在认真听。

In case that's almost a test to see if the other person were was listening.

至少在美国，这没什么问题。

At least in The States, that's fine.

这不算什么大事。

It's not a big deal.

如果他们不记得了，那我也会觉得，呃。

If they're like if they don't remember, then I also would be like, ugh.

肯定不是什么重要的事。

Must not have been important.

是啊。

Yeah.

有时候确实也会这样。

And sometimes that happens too.

我是说，即使有人在认真听，你们俩可能真的都会忘记。

I mean, even if someone's paying attention, both of you might actually forget.

对。

Right.

你会说，等等。

You'd be like, wait.

刚才说什么来着？

What was it?

因为通常这种情况发生都是因为被打断了。

Because usually, you this most often happens because there's some kind of interruption Yeah.

或者是分心了，然后可能过了一小会儿。

Or distraction, and then maybe a little time goes by.

也许你正在照顾孩子或宠物，然后等你回过神来，就会想：我刚才在说什么来着？

Maybe you're helping a child or a pet, and then by the time you're like, what was I talking about?

你们俩可能都忘了。

You might both have forgotten.

或者可能有一辆消防车鸣笛经过，迫使你们完全停止谈话。

Or maybe there's a really loud fire engine that drives by, and it forces you to stop talking entirely.

对吧？

Right?

很多事情都可能发生。

A lot of things could happen.

我喜欢这里的表达方式，非常自然。

I love the delivery here, how natural it was.

我问了句：他们也提供食物吗？

I said, do they serve food too?

你说，是的。

You said, yeah.

小盘子，我想。

Small plates, I think.

然后等等。

And wait.

我刚才说什么来着？

What was I saying?

对吧？

Right?

所以你以'等等'开始。

So you start with wait.

对吧？

Right?

等等。

Wait.

嗯。

Mhmm.

我刚才说什么来着？

What was I saying?

所以这真的很不错。

So that's really good.

确实。

True.

因为如果我说'对'，会显得有点突然。

Because it would be a little more abrupt if I'm like, yeah.

小盘子。

Small plates.

停顿。

Pause.

我刚才说什么来着？

What was I saying?

我们通常会使用一些填充词来过渡到话题。

We do kind of Usually have those little filler words to sort of transition into it.

嗯。

Mhmm.

真的很棒。

Really good stuff.

这也是我们听众可以学习的次要内容。

And the way I this is also a secondary thing for our listeners to learn.

这里是协作式的，因为我回答的方式不是直接说'小盘子'。

It is collaborative here because the way I responded with the answer wasn't small plates.

我说的是'小盘子'。

I said small plates.

我用了提问的方式来表达。

I kind of set it in a question format.

是的。

Yeah.

就像你给出的那样

As in you gave as

尽可能多地提供信息让我回到正轨

much info as you could to get me back on track.

你就像在说，哦，你刚才在谈论屋顶餐厅的小盘菜

You're like, oh, you were talking about the food at a at the rooftop place, small plates.

对吧？

Right?

确实如此

It's true.

你在努力帮我接上话题，所以你会尽可能多地提供细节

You're trying to help me pick up the thread of the conversation, so you're going to give me as many details as you can.

是的

Yeah.

这真是一种协作

It's really a collaboration.

所以我们需要转变思维，在对话时不要觉得自己在舞台上表演。

So we kinda need to flip our minds and think we're not on stage when we're in conversation.

这可能是提前得出的重要结论。

This is probably the takeaway coming early.

我们在交谈时并不是在舞台上表演。

We're not on stage when we're in a conversation.

我们是在合作，奥布里。

We're in collaboration, Aubrey.

你不这么认为吗？

Don't you think?

完全同意。

Exact I agree.

绝对正确。

Absolutely.

对吧？

Right?

是的。

Yeah.

如果你在舞台上，你可能只会茫然地盯着前方，努力想下一句台词。

And be if you were on stage, you might just be staring blankly trying to think of your next line.

幸运的是，在普通对话中就不会这样。

Luckily, when you're just having a conversation, that's not the case.

你可以——哦天哪。

You can Oh my gosh.

一起努力回忆刚才说到哪儿了。

Work together to try and remember where you were.

一直好奇演员会不会遇到这种情况。

Always wonder if that happens to actors.

我是说，最糟糕的情况，你显然不能直接问观众：我的下一句台词是什么？

I mean, nightmare scenario, you can't obviously, you can't go to the audience and ask, what's my next line?

没错。

Right.

台词。

Line.

不。

Nope.

这种情况很可能确实会发生。

It probably does happen.

希望经常发生。

Hopefully, very often.

确实。

Does.

好吧。

Alright.

不过这并不是我们唯一能说的。

So that's not the only thing we could say, though.

我们还能说些什么呢？

What else could we say?

还有其他事情。

There was other things.

是的。

Yes.

你的第二个选择是说，我刚才说到哪儿了？

Your second option is to say, where was I?

所以我们再来做一个小角色扮演。

So we'll do another little role play here.

你和我是同事，我在跟你讲工作中发生的一件事。

You and I are coworkers here, and I'm telling you about something that happened at work.

那我们就开始吧。

So let's start us out.

准备好了吗？

Ready?

嗯。

Mhmm.

好的。

Okay.

总之，我开会迟到了，因为电梯每层都停。

So, anyway, I walked into the meeting late because the elevator stopped on every single floor.

我终于进去了，你猜怎么着？

I finally get in, and guess what?

我老板已经一脸不爽了，然后，哎呀，我又把咖啡打翻了。

My boss is already looking annoyed, and then, oh, I just spilled my coffee.

哦，这里有纸巾。

Oh, here's the napkins.

谢谢。

Thank you.

啊，真不好意思。

Oh, sorry about that.

我刚才说到哪了？

Where was I?

你刚才说你的老板走进会议室时看起来很生气？

You were saying your boss looked annoyed when he walked into the meeting?

对。

Right.

所以我走进去，然后他毫无预警地让我做汇报。

So I walk in, and then he asks me to present without any warning.

是啊。

Yeah.

这就是那种让人分心的情况。

So this is that kind of distraction.

如果你打翻了咖啡，清理起来要花点时间。

If you spill coffee, takes a little while to clean it up.

这种情况可能会发生。

That might happen.

你能记得这里很了不起，但你可能会说，哦，我不记得了。

That you that's impressive that you remembered here, but you might say, oh, I don't remember.

你们刚才在谈论什么？

What were you talking about?

没错。

Exactly.

你可以说，'肯定不是什么重要的事'。

And you could say, Must not have been important.

对。

Right.

我觉得'我刚才说到哪儿了'更常用于你已经开始讲一个完整故事的情况。

Where and I feel like where was I is more commonly used when you've gone into a whole story.

你知道，你正在这里讲一个故事。

You know, you're going into a story here.

对吧？

Right?

是啊。

Yeah.

说得好。

Good point.

因为'我刚才在说什么'更像是问最初的话题是什么？

Because what was I talking about is more like, what was the topic in the first place?

而如果你正在讲一个故事，就会说'我讲到哪儿了？'

Whereas if you're in the middle of a story, then it would be like, where was I?

如果故事是'我是谁'那就有点奇怪了。

That would be kind of weird if story was I?

是啊。

Yeah.

如果你把整个故事都忘了，那确实挺奇怪的。

It'd be weird if you kind of forgot the whole story, I guess.

这是在讨论当你讲一个完整故事时的情况。

Talking about when you've been telling a whole story.

对。

Yeah.

是的。

Yeah.

对。

Yeah.

没错。

Yeah.

‘我刚才说到哪儿了’更像是问‘我在故事中的具体进展到哪一步了’？

Where was I is more like exactly where exactly was I in my story?

所以这有些微妙的区别。

So it is slightly different.

对吧？

Right?

正是如此。

Exactly.

非常棒。

Really good.

好的。

Okay.

明白了。

Alright.

好的，奥布里。

Okay, Aubrey.

我们休息回来了。

We are back from break.

我们还有些其他事情要告诉听众。

We do have a few other things to tell our listeners.

我们需要了解什么？

What do we need to know?

是的。

Yeah.

所以我们想分享一下我们之前开始讨论的内容。

So we wanna share sort of like what we started talking about there.

这些也凸显了倾听的重要性。

These do also highlight the importance of listening.

对吧？

Right?

你永远不知道什么时候有人会突然忘记思路，这时你就需要提醒他们刚才说了什么。

You never know when someone will lose their train of thought, and you'll need to remind them what they said last.

所以如果你从不倾听，只顾着想接下来要说什么，就很容易陷入这种尴尬局面。

So if you're never listening, when you're just thinking of what you want to say next, you can sort of get caught out here.

对吧？

Right?

但你也需要准备策略，以防万一他们也不记得了。

But you do also need that strategy in case, you know, they don't remember either.

无论你说什么或他们说什么，都没能唤起你的记忆。

What you say or they say doesn't jog your memory.

嗯哼。

So Mhmm.

我之前提到过一个例子，就是'那肯定不是什么重要的事'，但我们还可以举另一个例子。

We did we had the one example that I said, which was, it must not have been that important, but we have another one we can say.

我们还能怎么说呢，Lindsay？

What else could we say, Lindsay?

你可以说'算了'。

You could say, never mind.

我会想起来的。

It'll come back to me.

对吧？

Right?

这种说法有点自嘲的意味。

The one is kind of self deprecating.

'我刚才说的肯定不是什么重要的事'。

Must not have been that important, whatever I was talking about.

这个说法就没那么自嘲了。

This is a little less self deprecating.