CONTENTS

Making Social Connections

Expressing Feelings

Expressing Opinions

Rhetorical Questions

Seeking Clarification

Center Address

建立社交关系

表达情感

表达意见

反问句

寻求解释

华尔街英语中心地址

Having got to grips with the basics of English, you are starting to feel confident about making chitchat with foreigners; perhaps it’s with the regular expats in your local bar or with a foreign colleague in your office. The initial small talk goes smoothly, and you are starting to build a good rapport, but then they say something which completely throws you off: “We should hang out some time, when you’re free.” You ask yourself, “Is he asking if I need help hanging my laundry? What on earth is he saying?” You understand the individual words, but the sentence makes little sense to you. Daily casual conversations are packed with phrases that could easily lead to confusion. The words may be basic, but the ways they are used might be completely unfamiliar.

在掌握了一些基础英语之后，在与外籍

人士闲聊时你会感到更有信心；不论是

本地酒吧里偶遇的老外还是工作中的外

籍同事。寒暄的开头一般还挺顺利，你

们之间的关系也逐渐融洽，不过接下来

他们可能会说一些让你一头雾水的话：

“We should hang out some time, when you’re free（等你有空了我们

应该一起出去坐坐）。”你不禁问自

己，“Is he asking if I need help

hanging my laundry（他是在问我

要不要帮忙晾衣服吗）？他到底在说

啥？”句中的每一个词你都明白，可整

句话听起来却让你莫名其妙。日常对话

中总是有很多具有多重含义的词句。可

能都是基础的词汇，但使用的方式却让

人觉得完全陌生。

We aim to help you out in this booklet by teaching you a wide range of popular phrases which may seem confusing when heard for the first time. We will also teach you what to say when you quite simply do not understand.

在本册书中我们会教给你一系列初次听

时会难以理解的常用词句以及当你不明

白对方所表达的意思时要如何应答。

To build and maintain a good social life, it is important to take the initiative in making plans. For people who are new to inviting others out in English and worry that you'll get rejected if you don't word their request in the right way, below are some specific phrases you can use.

要建立并维系良好的社会关系，重要的

一点是要采取主动，设法和朋友以及潜

在的朋友进行社交。对于还不太会用英

语邀请别人出来和那些担心因为措辞不

当而被拒绝的人来说，下面是一些现成

可以使用的例句。

• To give someone a ring

给某人打电话

While giving someone a ring can mean exactly that (presenting a lover with an engagement ring), don’t get too excited if the guy you like says, “I’ll give you a ring over the weekend”. In an everyday conversation, it simply means he’ll call you during the weekend.

尽管giving someone a ring的意思

可以完全理解为——给爱人献上一枚

订婚戒指，但在碰到自己喜欢的人在日

常对话的场合下对你这样说时也别太激

动，“I’ll give you a ring over the weekend”的意思仅仅是他会在周末

给你打电话。

• To hang out

外出消遣

Don’t worry if someone asks, “Do you want to hang out at the bar this evening?”. They aren’t asking you to hang out the washing in a bar! They are just inviting you to relax and spend some time in a bar with them.

如果有人问“Do you want to hang out at the bar this evening（你今

晚想出来到酒吧坐坐吗）”时别担心，

他们不是要让你在酒吧里面把洗的衣物

晾出来！他们只是想邀请你出来放松一

下、到酒吧和他们一起坐坐。

• To hook up

碰头

You normally hear this term used among friends and not in a professional setting: “We arranged to hook up after work”. It normally means to meet or to join. But be careful when you use

Making Social Connections建立社交关系

it, as it could also mean to begin a romantic relationship with someone: “When did you two first hook up?”

平时你会在朋友之间非正式场合的对话

中听到这个词组：“We arranged to hook up after work（我们约好了下

班后碰面）”，表达的意思一般是会面

或加入。但在使用这个词组时要注意，

因为它也可以表示和某人开始一段恋爱

关系的意思，“When did you two first hook up（你们俩什么时候在一起

的）”。

• To catch up

小聚

When you hear people say “Let’s catch up”, the word ‘catch’ might lead you to imagine that they were going to play hide and seek and try to catch each other! Sounds fun, but to catch up actually means to bring each other up to date: “Let’s catch up on all the gossip over a coffee!”

当你听人说“Let’s catch up（让咱

们小聚一下）”时，catch一词或许会

让你联想到他们是想要玩捉迷藏，要抓

住对方！听起来是挺有意思，但catch up实际的意思却是和对方小聚、聊聊

近况，“Let’s catch up on all the gossip over a coffee（咱们喝个咖啡

聊聊所有这些八卦吧）”。

• To chat up

搭讪

Chatting up someone means talking to a person informally in a flirtatious manner: “I’m going to chat up that pretty girl over there.” However, if you want to talk to someone without them getting the wrong idea, especially in a professional environment, make sure you use ‘chat’ instead of ‘chat up’: “I can chat with my mentor about everything!”

Chatting up some的意思是与某人

以轻佻的方式进行非正式交谈，“I’m going to chat up that pretty girl over there（我要去和那边那位漂亮

的小姐姐搭个话）。”不过，如果你想

和某人交谈但又不想他们误会，尤其是

在正式场合下，确保自己使用chat而不

是chat up：“I can chat with my mentor about everything（我可以

和我的导师聊任何事）”。

Lily: Hi Lucy, how have you been?

嗨Lucy，你近来怎么样啊？

Lucy: Hello Lily! I’m okay, thanks! I haven’t seen you since Christmas, we must hook up soon!

你好啊Lily！我挺好，谢啦！自从圣诞节

我就没见过你，咱们得尽快碰一面啊！

Lily: What are you doing Friday night?

你周五晚上做什么？

Lucy: Nothing planned yet. What are you thinking?

还没计划呢，你有什么想法？

Lily: I thought we could hang out in that new bar downtown.

还没计划呢，你有什么想法？

Lucy: Sounds good. Have you been there yet?

听起来不错，你去过那吗？

Lily: Yes, I went there last week with Julie and Amanda, and the bartender was trying to chat up Julie! He offered us some free drinks too!

嗯，我上周和Julie还有Amanda去了，那

的调酒师试图和Julie搭讪呢！他还给了

我们一些免费的饮料！

or cheerful. For example, when your friend is laughing and joking his way down the rain drenched street – while you are having an angry battle against the wind with your umbrella – you may blurt out at him “How can you be so upbeat in this horrible weather?”

尽管“upbeat”这个词是由“beat”和“up”组成，但它表达的可完全不是

“被痛扁”的意思！“upbeat”一词

常用于音乐，不过可以用来形容一个人

乐观或开心。例如，当你在风雨中拿着

伞与狂风斗争时，朋友却走在满是雨水

的街上开着玩笑，你就可以不假思索地

对他说“在这种恶劣的天气下你怎么能

这么乐观呢？”

• To be chuffed

开心满足

This is a popular slang term in British English which means that you are very pleased about something. Perhaps after receiving your exam results, you might say, “I’m absolutely chuffed. I passed all my exams with flying colours!” The word ‘chuffed’ looks very similar to the word ‘cuffed’ which means to put handcuffs on.

这是英式英语中一个常用的俚语，意

思是你对某事非常满意。在得知自己

Lucy: Wow, how fun! We must catch up on all the gossip over a cocktail!

哇，太好玩了！我们一定得出去喝一杯

鸡尾酒聊聊这些八卦！

Lily: Definitely.

必须的。

Lucy: Can we confirm on Thursday? I’ll give you a ring then.

咱们能周四确定吗？我会给你打电话。

Lily: Sure.

当然。

You may already know how to express the majority of your daily emotions in English; however, chances are that when you are talking to your foreign friends, they will at times express their feelings in completely unfamiliar ways. Below are some popular expressions which you may come across.

你或许已经掌握了该如何用英语表达大

多数日常生活中的情绪；不过，也有可

能在你与外籍朋友聊天时，他们偶尔会

用一些你完全陌生的方式来表达情感。

下面是一些你可能会遇到的常见习惯用

语。

• To feel upbeat

感到乐观

Although “upbeat” is made up of the words ‘beat’ and ‘up’, it certainly doesn’t mean that you’ve been beaten up! The word “upbeat” is often used in reference to music, but it also means that you are optimistic

Expressing Feelings表达情感

的考试结果后，你可能会说，“我简

直太满足了。我以出色的成绩通过了

所有考试！”“chuffed”这个词与

“cuffed”很像，后者的意思是戴上手

铐。

• To be easy

随便

“I’m easy” is something people often say when making plans with friends. For example, imagine you are in a restaurant with a friend, staring at your untouched dish with a mixture of wonder and dread. You have no idea what it is, but it certainly looks exotic. It is at this point when you think back to when your ‘adventurous’ friend asked you, “Where do you fancy going for dinner tonight?”, and you start to regret replying, “I’m easy, you choose.” Be careful though when using this expression, as sometimes, it doesn’t necessarily have a positive meaning: “She is easy” could mean ‘she is morally loose’ when used in certain contexts.

“I’m easy（我随便）”是人们在和

朋友在做计划时常说的话。比如，想象

自己在一家餐厅，对着还没开动的菜品

既惊奇又有些担心。你不知道吃的是什

么，但它看起来却有点另类。此时你不

• To be beside yourself

忘我/不能自已

The strongest emotions, whether they are joy, distress or shock, can be expressed with this phrase. If you have ever found yourself rifling through every drawer in your house, looking for your passport just hours before your summer vacation, you could say, “I was beside myself with worry.” Note the difference when we use ‘beside’ independently: “I sat beside you in the theatre” means I sat next to you.

最强烈的情绪，不管是开心、难过还是

惊讶，都可以用这个句子来表达。如果

你曾在暑假来临的几个小时前翻遍家

里的每个抽屉找护照，就可以说，“I was beside myself with worry（我

急得快疯了）”注意当我们单独使用

“beside”时的差异，“I sat beside you in the theatre”意思是我坐在你

旁边。

• To lose it

失去理智/忍不住了

When your colleague is telling you about the rude waiter she had to deal with last night, you might hear the phrase, “Finally, I lost it”. “Lost what?” you might reply, with

禁回想起你那喜欢尝鲜的朋友曾问你，

“今晚你想去哪吃？”，而你已经开始

后悔回答，“我随便，你选吧。”不过

在说这句话时要小心，因为有时它表达

的意思可不怎么好，“She is easy（她

很随便）”在某些语境下表达的意思是

“她道德上比较没底线”。

• To get worked up

激动

You probably have a friend or relative who “gets worked up” (excited, worried or agitated) about the slightest things. The last time the taxes went up, perhaps you said to your agitated father, “You shouldn’t get so worked up about these things”. Don’t confuse ‘worked up’ with ‘overworked’ which means having too much work to do.

可 能 你 也 认 识 一 个 朋 友 或 有 一 位 亲

戚，他/她对非常微不足道的小事也

会“容易激动（兴奋、担忧或焦虑不

安）”。税率上涨之后，或许你会和

你爱激动的父亲说，“对这类事你别

这么激动”。别把“worked up”和

“overworked”混淆，后者的意思是

有太多工作要做。

a bewildered expression on your face. What your friend meant was that she became very angry at the waiter; in this context, ‘I lost it’ doesn’t mean that you misplaced something.

当你的同事和你说起前一天晚上她碰

到的无礼的服务生，你可能会听到，

“Finally, I lost it（终于，我忍不住

了）”。“Lost（丢了）什么？”你

可能满脸困惑地这样回应。而你朋友的

意思其实是她对那个服务生感到非常气

愤；在这种情境下，“I lost it”就不是

丢了东西的意思。

We can see some of these expressions in use in the dialogue below:

我们可以在下面的对话中看到这些表达

方式是如何使用的：

Tina: Sarah! You’ve got to help me!

Sarah！你得帮帮我！

Sarah: Settle down. What are you so worked up about?

别着急。什么事让你这么激动？

Tina: I’ve just got off the phone, and I have a job interview tomorrow morning. It’s my dream job!

我才接到电话，我明天有一个工作面

试。正是我梦想得工作！

Sarah: That’s great! You must be chuffed!

太棒了！你一定开心极了！

Tina: I’m practically beside myself! This is my first interview, and it’s such a great job. I don’t want to blow it.

我简直欣喜若狂了！这是我得第一次

面试，而且这工作又这么棒。我不想

搞 砸。

Sarah: You’ll be fine. I’ll help you prepare. Wait right there, I’m just going to grab a drink from the kitchen. Do you want tea or coffee?

你没问题得。我会帮你准备。先等下，

我正要去从厨房拿点喝的。你想要茶还

是咖啡？

Tina: Whatever, I’m easy. Oh, I hope the interviewer likes me.

啥都行，我不挑。噢，我希望面试官会

喜欢我。

Sarah: They’ll love you. Just be your usual upbeat self, and they’re bound to be charmed by you.

他们会喜欢你得。就像你平时那样乐观

向上就好，他们一定会被你吸引的。

When you are having a conversation or a discussion, you intend to express your point of view, to ask others for their opinion and to either agree or disagree. Below are some terms that can be quite confusing:

在你和别人对话或讨论时，你会试图表

达自己的观点、询问他人的意见并表示

支持或反对。下面是一些可能会让人混

淆的词句：

• I couldn’t agree more

我再同意不过了

At first glance, ‘I couldn’t agree’ seemed negative, but adding the word ‘more’ to the equation, this phrase becomes the highest level of agreeing with someone. The reason for the negative in the phrase is to show how strongly you agree with someone - you agree with them so strongly that it would not be possible for you to agree any more with them: “I couldn’t agree more”.

Expressing Opinions表达意见

打眼一看，“I couldn’t agree”似乎

是否定的，然而在后面加上more一词

后，这句话就成为了表达赞同某人的

最极致的表达。这句话中出现否定的

原因是为了显示你对某人的赞同之情

有多强烈——你都同意到了不可能更

加同意的程度了：“I couldn’t agree more”。

"You think he is a brilliant actor too? I couldn't agree with you more."

“ 你 也 认 为 他 是 一 名 出 色 的 演 员

吗？我简直再同意不过了。”

"I avoid going shopping around the holiday season."

“我避免在放假期间去逛商店。”

"I couldn't agree with you more. It's always so busy."

“我再同意不过了。那时候总是很

多人”

• I don’t disagree

我不是不赞同

When you agree or disagree with someone’s opinion in some way, but you cannot go so far as to say: “I agree” or “I disagree” outright, “I don’t disagree” can be a diplomatic way around it. During negotiations, "I don't disagree"

is a useful way to keep the dialogue going until some kind of agreement can be reached, whereas "I agree” or I disagree" can sometimes be antagonistic.

当 你 在 某 种 你 程 度 上 支 持 或 反 对 某

人 的 意 见 ， 而 你 又 没 法 直 接 说 “ 我

支持”或“我反对”时，“ I don’t disagree（我不是不赞同）”就可以

是一种委婉的表达方式。在谈判协商

过程中，“I don't disagree”是一种

可以保持对话进行直到达成某种共识

的有效表达方式；相反，“我支持”

或 “ 我 反 对 ” 有 时 会 显 得 对 立 性 太

强。

“I don’t disagree that Harry Potter is a great film, but I’m just not a fan.”

“我不是不赞同哈利波特是一部好

电影，只是我个人不太喜欢。”

“I don’t disagree that this is a serious problem, but your current plan to solve it would be counter-productive.”

“ 我 不 是 不 同 意 这 是 个 严 重 的 问

题，但你现在的解决方案会适得其

反的。”

•

•

•

•

• Agree to disagree

求同存异/保留不同意见

Sometimes in a heated discussion between friends, one of them ends up saying, “Let’s agree to disagree!” What do they mean? The phrase carries both positive and negative messages, so do they actually agree or disagree with the other? We use this phrase if the two parties that are debating can't come to any kind of agreement, so they just agree that they may always disagree on this issue.

有时在朋友之间激烈的讨论中，有人

会说：“Let’s agree to disagree（咱们求同存异吧）。”他们想表达

什么呢？这句话传达了肯定和否定两

种信息，那么他们实际上是同意对方

还是不同意呢？我们会在争执双方不

能达成任何共识的情况下用这句话，

也就是双方同意了他们在这个问题上

或许永远不会同意对方的事实。

“We’ve been discussing this issue for so long and I don’t think we can really settle it, let’s just agree to disagree and move on.”

“我们已经在这个问题上讨论了太

久 了 ， 我 觉 得 我 们 没 法 真 正 解 决

它，咱们还是保留各自不同意见然

后继续吧。”

• You can say that again!

你说得很对！

You will hear “You can say that again!” in many conversations. It sounds like a phrase asking someone to repeat what they’ve just said, but in fact, it’s used to express that you agree with what’s been said.

你会在很多对话中听到“You can say that again（你说得好啊）”。听起来

这像是让某人重复他才说过的话，然

而其实，这是用来表达你同意他们说

的内容。

"He is the most boring person I’ve ever met."

“他是我见过的最无趣的人了。”

"You can say that again!"

“你说得对啊！”

•

•

Rhetorical questions appear very often in conversations, you aren’t expected to answer these questions; they are asked in order to make a statement or to point out something for consideration, such as:

反问句会经常出现在对话当中，而这类问句是不需要你来回答的。问这类问题的

目的是为了发表一个观点或者指出某事以供参考，比如：

Have you looked at yourself in the mirror this morning?

今天早上你照镜子了吗？

Where’s my report?

我的报告呢？

What does it matter?

有什么关系呢？

What can she do about her financial situation?

她又能对她的经济状况做什么呢？

What’s the point in trying?

试了又有什么意义呢？

Where did I go wrong?

我哪做错了吗？

Why bother?

何苦费心呢？

Why me?

为什么是我啊？

Who cares?

谁在乎啊？

You look a mess today!

你今天看起来一团糟！

I expected you to deliver the report today!

我还指望你能今天把报告交给我呢！

It doesn’t matter.

没关系。

She can’t do anything. Sadly, her situation is still bad.

她做不了什么。很不幸，她的状况仍

然不好。

I’m depressed, and I don’t want to make an effort.

我很沮丧，我不想努力了。

I don’t understand why I’m having so many difficulties lately.

我不明白为什么最近我遇到了这么多

困难。

I wasted my time and effort on achieving nothing.

我浪费了时间和努力结果什么都没得到。

I’m so unlucky.

我太不幸了。

I’m too lazy to spend time thinking about this.

我根本懒得去想。

To draw attention

To complain about an issue

To complain about an issue

To express a bad mood

QUESTION 问题

QUESTION 问题

QUESTION 问题

QUESTION 问题

MEANING 含义

MEANING 含义

MEANING 含义

MEANING 含义

引起注意：

抱怨某个问题：

抱怨某个问题：

表达糟糕的心情：

Rhetorical Questions 反问句

Where am I going to find a taxi at this hour?

这会儿我得去哪找计程车呢？

Do you think money grows on trees?

你觉得钱是树上结的吗？

I’m not going to find a taxi this late.

这么晚了我找不到计程车了。

It’s not easy to earn money, don’t keep asking me for it.

挣钱不容易，别总是向我要。

Don’t you look pretty tonight?

你今晚难道不美吗？

Haven’t you had enough cakes today?

你今天还没吃够蛋糕吗？

Didn’t I give you that bag?

我没把那个包给你吗？

You look very pretty.

你看起来非常漂亮。

You’ve had too many cakes.

你吃了太多蛋糕了。

I gave you that cool bag.

我给你了那个背包。

To draw attention

QUESTION 问题 MEANING 含义

引起注意：

Negative rhetorical questions are used to suggest that a situation is actually positive.

否定指向的反问句用来说明某种状况其实是肯定的。

If you find yourself in a situation where someone uses slang, says a word or a phrase you don’t know, speaks a little too fast or mumbles, we have a number of polite questions and expressions that you can use to clarify what you heard.

如果你碰到了有人使用了俚语、你不

明白的词句、说得有点快，或是吐字

不清，我们可以用一些礼貌的提问和

表述方式来弄清楚我们听到了什么。

• Sorry? - “Sorry” is usually used to express regret or apology. However, in conversation, you can also say “Sorry?” as a quick & gentle way of asking “What did you just day?”. Make sure to use rising intonation at the end, like you are asking a question.

不好意思？——“Sorry”常用于表

示 懊 悔 或 抱 歉 。 不 过 ， 在 对 话 中 ，

你也可以用“Sorry？”作为一种简

洁、礼貌的方式来询问“你刚刚说什

么 ？ ” 。 确 保 在 末 尾 使 用 上 扬 的 声

调，就像问问题一样。

Seeking Clarification 寻求解释

• What was that? - This is a more polite phrase than a simple ‘What?’

说了什么？—— 这种说法比简单的一

个“What”要更礼貌一些。

• What did you say? - Another polite way to clarify. English speakers tend to combine their words when pronouncing this phrase. The first three words — “What did you” — blend together, and thus the phrase ends up sounding like “Wha-ju say?”.

你说什么？—— 另一种寻求解释的

礼 貌 方 式 。 在 英 语 中 ， 人 们 会 习 惯

在 说 这 句 话 时 把 词 连 读 。 前 三 个 单

词“What did you”混在一起，这

样这个句子听起来就像是“Wha-ju say”。

• Come again? - This is a very casual way of asking someone to repeat what they’ve just said.

再说一次？—— 这是一种非常随意的

让对方重复说过的话的方式。

When you’re in the office, on a conference call, or dealing with people in a formal or professional setting, there are several ways to ask:

当你在办公室、打会议电话，或在正

式、职业的场合和人打交道时，也有

几种询问的方式：

• Pardon? - This is effectively the same as saying “Sorry?”, but using a more formal register. Make sure to use rising intonation at the end, so it sounds like a question.

请再说一次？—— 这和说“Sorry”的

作用一样，但用于更加正式的场合。

确 保 在 词 尾 使 用 升 调 ， 像 问 问 题 一

样。

• I beg your pardon? – This has the same meaning, but the extra words make it a bit more formal.

能请您再说一次吗？—— 这句话的含

义一样，但多出的词会让它显得更加

正式一点。

• Could you say that again, please? – A straightforward way to clarify. Including “please” at the end adds an element of politeness.

请问您能再说一次吗？—— 澄清内

容 的 直 截 了 当 的 方 式 。 在 句 尾 使 用

“please”增加了礼貌的元素。

• I didn’t quite catch that. Could you please repeat? - Here, the verb “catch” is used in a figurative sense meaning “understand”.

我没太听清楚。能请你重复吗？——

在 这 ， 用 比 喻 的 方 式 使 用 了 动 词

“catch”来表达“understand（理

解）”的意思。

• Could you give me an example? – If you simply don’t understand what someone is trying to say, you can ask him or her to provide an example.

您能给我个例子吗？—— 如果你就是

不明白对方在表达什么，你可以让他

或她举一个例子。