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.

当你突然忘记要说什么时，该如何表达。

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.

你是否觉得自己的英语学习陷入瓶颈？

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，我们常常会突然忘记自己要说什么，这是很自然的现象。

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

今天我们将学习：当这种情况发生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互动。

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.

连接。

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.

我很期待

I'm excited to

很高兴回来参加今天的《全神贯注英语》节目，但我对一件事很好奇。

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.

你经常说着说着就忘记自己要说什么吗？

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

这种情况会发生在你身上吗？

Does this happen to you?

越来越频繁了。

More and more.

嗯。

Yeah.

越来越频繁了。

More and more.

哦，不。

Oh, no.

没错。

That's right.

我会突然忘记自己刚才在说什么，或者你懂的，走进另一个房间后就忘了要干嘛。

I'll just forget what I was saying or, you know, you leave a room, go into another room and wait, what was I talking about?

对对。

Yeah yeah.

打开冰箱却忘了为什么要开。

Open the fridge and forget why you went there.

诸如此类的事。

Things like that.

完全正确。

Yes absolutely right.

年纪越大越明显。

The older I get the more.

而且你知道你有很多事情要处理。

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.

所以是的，我不记得年轻时这种情况发生得这么频繁。

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

对，我知道。

Right, I know.

年轻时生活就是更简单，对吧？

Life is just simpler when we're young, right?

然后事情就变得复杂了。

Then it just gets complicated.

所以，这完全是正常现象。

So, it's a totally normal thing.

那么我们今天要聊些什么呢，奥布里？

And so what are we getting into today Aubrey?

是的，这期节目的灵感来自一位学生，他询问当你忘记自己说到哪时该怎么应对。

Yeah, this episode was inspired by a student who's asking what to say when you can't remember what you were saying.

当你思绪中断时，我们希望避免只是停顿或沉默。

When you lose your train of thought, We want to avoid just a pause or silence.

所以这个短语'lose your train of thought'有点习语性质。

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

意思是忘记自己刚才在说什么或想什么，通常是因为分心或被干扰了。

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

我很喜欢这个话题。

I love it.

最近几天我们一直在做非常生活化的英语节目，这些我们重点介绍的地道英语让我惊讶居然还没教过。

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.

所以现在就来补上啦。

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，让你更深入地了解真实英语，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.

坚持听到最后，别错过这部分。

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

但最重要的专业建议是：你必须立即说些话来提示对方，让他们说出能唤起你记忆的内容，对吧？

But 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, Right?

‘唤起记忆’是什么意思，林赛？

What does that mean jog your memory, Lindsey?

这也是个习语。

That's an idiom too.

就是让它重新运转起来。

To get it going again.

对吧？

Right?

就像把它放回原位。

Like put it back in place.

某种程度上像是让它重回正轨。

Like get it back on track in a way.

没错。

Exactly.

帮助你回忆某事。

To help you remember something.

那唤起了我的记忆。

That jogs my memory.

那帮助我想起来了。

That helps me remember.

没错。

Yep.

我同意。

And I agree.

避免停顿。

Avoid the pause.

我们不喜欢——这可能是美国文化的一个建议——但我们不喜欢停顿。

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

在美国我们不喜欢沉默

We don't like silence in American

对，没错。

Right, exactly.

所以通常美国人会直接说出我们今天要教的其中一句话。

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

我们会教你三句话，这些非常适合你说出来，然后让对方提醒你刚才在谈什么。

We're going to 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。

Mhmm.

是的。

Yeah.

所以，这种情况不可避免会发生。

So, inevitably, this is going to happen.

这是人之常情。

It's a very human thing.

我相信我们的听众用母语交流时也会遇到这种情况。

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

今天你将学会如何用英语应对这种情况，因为这不必成为令人尴尬的、破坏对话连接的瞬间。

So today you're going to 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?

你可以在这个

You could maintain the connection in

时刻保持对话连接。

this moment.

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，你可能会错过一些内容。

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'全神贯注学英语'并记得点击关注。

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

正是如此。

Exactly.

好的奥布里，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。

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

这种情况终究会发生。

Inevitably, it will happen.

我们该说什么？

What do we say?

有哪些

What are some

首先，我最常说的是：我刚才在说什么来着？

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

所以当我在说话时突然忘记思路，无论是打电话还是与人交谈，

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.

就直接问：我刚才说到哪了？

Just say, what was I saying?

几乎每次对方都会说：哦，你刚才在聊你的狗

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

对吧？

Right?

这样就能帮我记起话题，然后继续聊下去

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

是啊，有时候确实有用。

Yeah, sometimes it helps.

有时候我还是想不起来。

Sometimes I still can't remember.

比如，关于我的狗说了什么？

Like, what about my dog?

我还是想不起来当时要说什么，但这就是我们会说的，对吧？

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

说得好。

That's a good point.

而且我不确定我们是否讨论过这点。

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

那我来分享一下这种情况我会怎么说。

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

如果还是想不起来，我就会说：哦，那肯定不重要。

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

然后我就直接换个话题，我们聊点别的。

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

好的。

All right.

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.

因为我会说，你帮我记住这个。

Because I'm gonna say like, you help me remember that.

有时候确实会发生这种情况。

Sometimes that does happen.

你知道，这并不能帮助我们回忆起来。

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

我会用个玩笑的方式。

And I'll use kind of a joke.

可以说'那肯定不重要'然后直接转换话题，因为你不想让对话出现长时间停顿或犹豫，比如你正在努力回想'哦，给我一分钟'。

Can be like well must not have been important then 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.

我会想起来的。

I'll think of it.

不。

No.

之后会想起来的。

It'll come up later

或者想不起来。

or not.

是啊。

Yeah.

之后会想起来的。

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联系。

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

没错。

Exactly.

那么，如果你记得的话，我们来个小角色扮演看看效果。

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

好的，有意思。

Okay, fun.

对，我们开始吧。

Yeah, here we go.

好的。

All right.

好的，我们是朋友，正在讨论周末计划。

Okay, we're friends here talking about weekend plans.

我来开头吧。

I'll start us Okay.

我在想我们可以去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，听起来很有意思。

Oh, that sounds fun.

那里也提供食物吗？

Do they serve food too?

是的。

Yes.

应该是小份餐点。

Small plates, I think.

等等，什么

And wait, what

我刚才说什么来着？

was I saying?

你刚才在说屋顶餐厅的食物。

You were talking about the food at the rooftop place.

小份餐点。

Small plates.

对。

Right.

他们还有西班牙小食和超棒的鸡尾酒。

And they have tapas and amazing cocktails.

我们真该去试试。

We should totally check it out.

好吧，刚才那段对话衔接得很自然。

Alright, so that was a nice smooth loop there.

你接上了话题，我们就这样继续了对话。

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

大多数情况下都是这样的，对吧？

And this is most often how it will happen, right?

我真的很喜欢这种连接时刻，因为有些人可能会犹豫要不要问'我刚才说到哪儿了？'

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

这几乎是在测试对方有没有在认真听。

That's almost a test to see if the other person was listening.

至少在美国，这没什么。

At least in The States, That's fine.

这不是什么大事。

It's not a big deal.

不记得的话，我也会觉得那肯定不重要。

Don't remember, then I also would be like, must not have been important.

是啊，有时候确实会这样。

Yeah, and sometimes that happens too.

我是说，即使有人在认真听，你们俩可能都会忘记。

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

你可能会说，等等，刚才说到哪儿了？

You'd be like, Wait, what was it?

因为通常这种情况最常发生在有某种干扰或分心的时候，然后可能过了一小会儿。

Because usually, this most often happens because there's some kind of interruption or distraction and then maybe a little time goes by.

也许你正在照顾孩子或宠物，等到你想起来时就会问：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?

你们可能

You might

都忘记了。

both have forgotten.

或者可能有一辆消防车鸣着警笛经过，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，多么自然。

I love the delivery here, how natural it was.

我问，他们也提供食物吗？

I said, do they serve food too?

你说，对，我想是小盘菜。

You said, yeah, small plates, I think.

等等，我刚才说什么来着？

And wait, what was I saying?

对。

Right.

所以，你以'等等'开头，对吧？

So, you start with wait, right?

等等，我刚才说什么来着？

Wait, what was I saying?

所以，这真的

So, that's really

确实如此，因为如果我直接说'是的，小盘菜'然后停顿，会显得有点突兀。

That's true because it would be a little more abrupt if I'm like, yes, small plates, pause.

我刚才说什么来着？

What was I saying?

我们通常会使用一些过渡性的填充词来衔接。

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

真的很棒的内容。

Really good stuff.

而且我认为这也是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，因为我回答时说的并不是'小盘菜'。

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

我说的是'小盘菜'。

I said small plates.

我用了提问的方式来表达。

I kind of set it in a question format.

你尽可能多地提供信息让我回想起来，比如'哦，你刚才说的是屋顶餐厅的小盘菜，对吧？'

And you gave as much info as you could to get me back You're on like, oh, you were talking about the food at the rooftop place, small plates, right?

确实如此。

It's true.

你是在帮我重新接上对话的线索。

You're trying to help me pick up the thread of the conversation.

所以，你要尽可能详细地告诉我。

So, you're going to give me as many details as you can.

是的，这确实是一种协作。

Yeah, it's really a collaboration.

所以我们需要转变思维，意识到在对话时我们并不是在舞台上表演。

So, we kind of 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启示。

This is probably the takeaway coming early.

奥布里，我们在对话时并不是在舞台上表演，而是在合作。

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

你不这么认为吗？

Don't you think?

我同意。

I agree.

完全同意。

Absolutely.

对吧？

Right?

是的。

Yeah.

如果你在舞台上，可能会茫然地盯着前方思考下一句台词。

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

幸运的是，普通对话时就不会这样。

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

你可以

You can

共同努力试着回忆刚才说到哪儿了。

work together to try and remember where you were.

我总好奇演员会不会遇到这种情况。

I always wonder if that happens to actors.

我是说，这显然是噩梦般的场景，你总不能问观众‘我下一句

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

台词是什么？’

line?

台词。

Line.

不行。

Nope.

这种情况很可能确实会发生。

It probably does happen.

希望不会经常发生。

Hopefully not very often.

确实。

Does.

好吧。

All right.

不过这不是我们唯一能说的。

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

还能

What else could

说什么？

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?

我们再来做一个小角色扮演，假设我们是同事，我正在跟你讲工作中发生的一件事。

So we'll do another little role play coworkers here and I'm telling you about something that happened at work.

那我们开始吧。

So let's start us out.

准备好了吗？

Ready?

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?

我的老板已经一脸不耐烦了，然后，哦，我又把咖啡打翻了。

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

哦，这里有些纸巾。

Oh, here's some napkins.

谢谢。

Thank you.

哦，真抱歉。

Oh, sorry about that.

我刚才说到哪了？

Where was I?

你刚才说当你走进会议室时，你的老板看起来很生气？

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

对。

Right.

所以我走进去后，他毫无预兆地让我做汇报。

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

这就是那种让人分心的情况。

So this is that kind of distraction.

如果你把咖啡洒了，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.

你能记得这里真让人印象深刻，但你可能会说，哦，我不记得了。

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

你刚才在说什么来着？

What were you talking about?

没错。

Exactly.

你可能会说，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'这种说法更常用于你讲了一长串故事的时候。

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

你知道，你正在进入

You know, you're going into

一个故事。

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，那就会像是

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

我刚才说到哪了？

where was I?

那样会有点奇怪

That would be kind of weird

如果我的故事主角是我

if my story was I.

是啊

Yeah.

如果你突然

It'd be weird if you kind

忘记整个故事内容会很奇怪，你在说什么来着？

of forgot the whole story, I What you're talking about?

当你正在讲一个完整故事的时候

When you've been telling a whole story.

对

Yeah.

没错

Yeah.

是啊。

Yeah.

对啊。

Yeah.

我刚才说到哪儿了？更像是要准确回忆我故事中的具体位置。

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

所以这有点不同。

So it is slightly different.

对吧？

Right?

正是。

Exactly.

非常棒。

Really good.

好的。

Okay.

好的。

Alright.

好的，奥布里，我们休息回来了。

Okay, Aubrey, 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.

我们需要知道些什么？

What do we need to know?

是的，我们想分享一下，就像我们之前开始讨论的那样。

Yeah, so we want to share, sort of like what we started talking about there.

这些也凸显了倾听的重要性，对吧？

These do also highlight the importance of listening, right?

你永远不知道什么时候有人会忘记思路，需要你提醒他们上次说了什么。

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，可能会在这里陷入困境，对吧？

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

但你也确实需要这个策略，以防万一，你知道的，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，都无法唤起你的记忆。

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

所以，我们之前举过一个例子，我说过，那件事肯定没那么重要。

So, we had the one example that I said, was, it must not have been that important.

我们还可以再说一个例子。

We have another one we can say.

我们还能说什么呢，林赛？

What else could we say, Lindsey?

你可以说：'没关系，我会想起来的。'

You could say, Never mind, it'll come back to me.

对吧？

Right?

这个例子有点

The one is kind of

自我贬低。

self deprecating.

肯定不是什么重要的事，不管我刚才在说什么。

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

这个说法自我贬低的程度轻一些。

This is a little less self deprecating.

这个不错。

This is good.

这个不错。

This is good.

在这个角色扮演中，我们是朋友，曾经还是室友。

So, in this role play, we are friends and we used to be roommates.

可能是大学室友之类的。

Maybe college roommates or something.

明白吗？

Okay?

是的。

Yes.

好的。

Alright.

那我开始讲吧，我正要告诉你我在杂货店遇到劳森先生的事。

I'll So start us I was telling you about how I ran into Mr.

他当时正在杂货店购物。

Lawson at the grocery store.

我们住在朱尼珀街时他是我们的邻居。

He was our neighbor when we lived on Juniper.

你还记得他吗？

Do you remember him?

有点模糊的印象。

Vaguely.

他不是总戴着那个蝴蝶结领带吗？

Didn't he always wear that bow tie?

是的。

Yes.

就是他。

That's him.

总之，他开始跟我说...抱歉。

Anyway, he started telling me about sorry.

我开始想起我们住在那儿时的其他邻居了。

I started thinking about those other neighbors we had when we lived there.

我刚才说到哪儿了？

Where was I?

关于...哦，算了。

Something about Oh, never mind.

我会想起来的。

It'll come back to me.

你能相信我们已经搬走十五年了？

You believe it's been fifteen years since we moved?

是啊。

Yeah.

所以我显然也不记得了。

So I obviously didn't remember either.

对吧？

Right?

我真的不知道。

I didn't really know.

要么是我没在听，要么就是记不清你具体说了什么。

Either I wasn't listening or I just couldn't remember exactly what you were saying.

对吧？

Right?

是啊。

Yeah.

这真是个关键时刻，给人台阶下，你知道的，我能想到所有我能说的话。

This is such a connection moment to give someone that out to not, you know, and I could think of all the things I could say.

你可能会说，你没在听吗？不记得我说了什么吗？

You'd be like, weren't you I listening Don't you remember what I was saying?

你对我们的谈话不感兴趣吗？

Are you not interested in our conversation?

你可能会变得很刻薄。

You could be really snippeting.

我们还算朋友吗？

Are we even friends?

已经十五年了，但我该质疑一切吗？

It's been fifteen years, but should I question everything?

没错。

Exactly.

但我们反而给对方台阶下，对吧？

But instead we save the other person, right?

就算有风险，我甚至没给你太多时间。

If there was even a hazard, I didn't even give you very long.

你就像，哦，是关于什么的，我正要插话，哦，算了。

You're like, oh, it was something about and I'm just going to jump in with, oh, never mind.

我会想起来的。

It'll come back to me.

是的，我认为这确实是连接与沟通的标志。

Yeah, I think this is really a hallmark of connection and communication.

作为拥有镜像神经元的人类，我们不愿让对方有那种感受，对吧？

Human with our mirror neurons as human beings, we don't want that other person to feel that way, Right?

这很自然。

It's natural.

在某种意义上我们想要拯救他们。

We want to rescue them in a sense.

如果我们在意这段关系，就不希望他们感到尴尬。

If we care about the connection, we don't want them to feel awkward.

我们不想强调这一点。

We don't want to emphasize that.