点击浏览视频：the thing is
这个 Katherine 的发音我个人非常喜欢，语速适中，发音清晰，表达流畅。为了更好的帮助大家，我把部分值得注意的表达用黄底标示。
建议：大家练习听力时，先盲听一遍，再看英文字幕，第三次看中文字幕，第四遍看这个文稿，最后再盲听二次。我相信这么6次下来你一定可以自己说出来。各位加油！
Number one is: the thing is, the thing is, the thing is. We use this all the time. And what it means is， the issue is, the problem is.
第一件事是：“the thing is, the thing is, the thing is”。我们一直在使用这个短语。它的意思是问题在于，问题是。
In British culture, we really, really don't like to say when there's a problem, or we don't really like to say no. Either we're kind of terrified of confrontation and sort of causing a fuss or offending someone, so there's so much you need to learn about how to behave here. It's just, I mean, I have many more videos. Let's just say that.
在英国文化中，我们真的非常不喜欢说出问题，或者我们不喜欢说不。我们或许有点害怕对抗，或者想避免引起麻烦或冒犯别人，所以你需要学习如何在这里行为。我是说，我还有很多其他的视频，就这样吧。
So, to give you some examples of how to use "the thing is," we can say, "The flat is so beautiful, the thing is, the traffic sound coming from the road really puts me off." So here, you're saying the flat is really nice, maybe you're looking at a flat, you're wanting to rent it or buy it, and you're saying the flat is lovely, but the traffic sounds， coming from the road is kind of a negative and it's kind of making you not like the flat as much. It's not a very direct way to express this; it's a typically British way to express this.
因此，为了给你一些如何使用“the thing is”的例子，我们可以说：“这套公寓非常漂亮，问题是，来自道路的交通声音真的让我不喜欢它。（ 很有意思的表达，直接翻译"推开我”，和中文差不多嘛，就是让人产生距离感，不喜欢 ） 所以在这里，你说的是这套公寓非常好，也许你正在看一套公寓，想要租或买它，你说这套公寓很可爱，但是来自道路的交通声音有点负面，这让你不太喜欢这套公寓。这不是一种非常直接的表达方式，这是一种典型的英国表达方式。
We also use it to soften the blow or reduce the impact or the effect of saying something negative to someone, maybe something that is quite offensive or a bit difficult for them to hear. For example, when a manager is addressing his employee about a situation, an issue, something that's wrong, he could say, "You're doing really well in this job, the thing is, a few colleagues have noticed you've been late a few times this month."
我们还使用它来缓和或减轻对某人说出负面话语的影响或效果，也许是某些令人不快或有点难以听到的话语。例如，当经理向员工讲解某种情况、问题或错误时，他可以说：“你在这份工作中做得非常好，问题是，有几个同事注意到你这个月迟到了几次。”
So, this is a good way to bring up a problem with that employee that will not automatically offend them. It will give them time to process the information so that they don't immediately get offended and look red in the face, etc. So, it's a really good way to soften the blow of that kind of criticism.
因此，这是一种良好的方式，可以向员工提出问题，而不会自动冒犯他们。这将给他们时间来处理信息，以便他们不会立即感到冒犯并变得脸红等。因此，这是一种真正缓和那种批评的方式。
Another example of softening the blow is just saying no to someone in that something just isn't possible or isn't logical or isn't rational, and you want to say no in the best way. For example, "The thing is, Karen, we just can't afford to have 6 swimming pools in the garden. We just can't afford it."
缓和打击的另一个例子就是拒绝某人，因为某些事情不可能或不合逻辑或不合理，你想以最好的方式说不。例如，“问题是，Karen，我们不能在花园里建6个游泳池。我们负担不起。”
So, that example is a bit silly, but you know what I mean. It's about saying no, it's about softening the blow. That's another expression you've learned today. "To soften the blow" means to reduce the impact or the effect of something negative.
因此，那个例子有点傻，但你知道我的意思。这是关于说不，关于缓和打击。这是你今天学到的另一个表达方式。“缓和打击”的意思是减少负面影响或效果。