BBC英语六分钟-每天坚持口语Asking the right questions

AskingtherightquestionsBBC英语六分钟练起来（2023.03.13）TranscriptNote:Thisisnotaword-for-wordtranscriptNeil

Helloandwelcometo6MinuteEnglish.I'mNeil…Alice

…andI'mAlice.NowNeil,I'mabigfanofchatshows,asyouknow.Butwhatdoyouthinkmakesagoodinterview?Neil

Ilikeitwhentheinterviewerasksaquestionthat

catches

theguest

offguard.Youknow–tosurprisethemsothey'reembarrassedanddon'tknowwhattosay.Alice

That'snotverynice!Neil

Iknow.Butit'sgreatTV.That'swhatchatshowsareallabout,isn'tit?Alice

Well,Idon'tagree,Neil!A

chatshow,bytheway,isaTVorradioprogrammewherea

host

–thepersonwhopresentstheshow–talkstoguestcelebritiesaboutvarioustopics.Andwhatmakesagoodinterviewisthesubjectoftoday'sshow.Neil

Sowhat'sagoodinterviewtechnique,Alice?Alice

Well,asking

openquestions

–questionsthecelebritiescan'teasilyrespondtowithashortanswer.Openquestionsgivethemthechancetotalkandpossiblyrevealsomejuicydetailsaboutthemselves!Neil

Juicydetails

meansinformationyoufindinterestingbecauseit'sexcitingorshocking.Alice

Yes.Solet'stestyourinterviewingskills,Neil.Askmesomething–seeifyoucangetsomejuicydetails.Neil

OK…Hmm…Howmuchdoyouweigh?Alice

HowmuchdoIweigh?Neil

Yeah.Alice

Howmuchdo

you

weigh?Look,that'sa

closedquestion

–you'regoingtogetashortanswerandnojuicydetails!Andmoreimportantly,Neil,it'sarudequestion!Neil

OK–badchoice.Sorry.Butyourreactionwasjuicy–yougotpretty

hotunderthecollar–andthatmeansembarrassedorangry!I'lltrytothinkofabetterquestiontoaskyoubeforetheendoftheshow.Alice

Alrightthen.Now,sinceyouaren'tgoodat

asking

questions,perhapsyoucan

answer

oneinstead.Whodevelopedamethodofquestioningaroundtwoandahalfthousandyearsagothataimstodiscoverhiddentruths?Wasit…

a)Hippocrates?

b)Socrates?

Orc)Aristotle?Neil

Well,Idon'tknowmuchaboutancienthistorysoI'mgoingtoguessc)Aristotle.Alice

Well,we'llfindoutifyoupickedtherightanswerlateron–butnowlet'slistentoLarryKingtalkingaboutthesecretofhissuccessfulcareerasaTVchatshowhost.Canyouspotawordthatmeanstogetorproduce?INSERT

LarryKing,TVchatshowhost,US

Ifyouaskgoodquestionsandyouelicitthoughtfulanswersthenyoulearnmoreabouttheperson.Iftheinterview'shard–ifIbeginbysaying,'Whydidyoudothat?'I'dmakeyoudefensive.Thatmaybethrillingtelevision,butyoudon'tlearnalot.IlearnedthatthemoreIdrewback,askedgoodquestions,listenedtotheanswers,caredabouttheguest…youmakethecameradisappear.Neil

ThewordLarryKingusedis…

elicit.Alice

Right.And

you

elicitedadefensivereactionfrommewhenyouaskedanotverythoughtfulquestionaboutmyweight.

Defensive

meansprotectingyourselffromcriticismorattack.Neil

OK,Iwouldn'tmakeagoodchatshowhostthen.Alice

You'rerightthere.Sogoodinterviewers

drawback

–ormoveaway–frombeingthecentreofattention.They'regoodlistenersandcareabouttheirguests.Soundfamiliar?Neil

Areyousuggestingthatyou'reagoodinterviewer?Alice

Yup.Neil

OK,well,sowhyaren'tyouatopchatshowhost,hmm?WhatdoesLarrymeanwhenhesaysyouhaveto

makethecameradisappear?Alice

Itmeanstomaketheconversationreal–asifyouwerechattingwithafriend–ratherthanperformingtoaTVaudience.Butlet'shearmorefromLarryKingonthesecretofhissuccess.INSERT

LarryKing,TVchatshowhost,US

Idon'twanta'no'.Idon'twanta'yes'.Iwanta'why'.Soinotherwords,Iwanttobealittlekindofdumb.MyfriendHerbiesaidthesecretofmysuccessisbeingdumb.'Whatdoyoumeanbythat?'Neil

Soyouhavetoask

dumb

–orstupid–questionstomakeagreatchatshowhost!Iknewit!Alice

Maybethere'shopeforyouyet,Neil.Neil

Charming.Alice

Lovely.OK,here'stheanswertotoday'squizquestion.Iasked:Whodevelopedamethodofquestioningaroundtwoandahalfthousandyearsagothataimstodiscoverhiddentruths?Wasit…a)Hippocrates?b)Socrates?Orc)Aristotle?Neil

AndIsaidc)Aristotle.Alice

No,itwasb)Socrates.AllthreewerefamousGreekphilosophersbutSocrateswastheonewhoangeredlotsofimportantpeoplebyhis

probing

–orinvestigative–questions–andthistechniqueiscalledSocraticDialogue.Socrateslivedfrom469to399BCandheinfluencedphilosophysomuchthatallpreviousthinkershavecometobeknownasPre-Socratic.Despitethishedeclared"AllIknowisthatIknownothing".Neil

Verynoble.OK,afinalquestionforyou,Alice.Whatmakesyouhappy?Alice

Workingwithsuchafantasticco-presenter,Neil.Neil

That'snice!I'membarrassednow.Alice

Canyoutellusthewordsweheardtoday?Neil

Ofcourse!

catchsomebodyoffguard

chatshow

host

openquestions

juicydetails

closedquestion

hotunderthecollar

elicit

defensive

drawback

makethecameradisappear

dumb

probingAlice

Well,that'stheendoftoday's6MinuteEnglish.Pleasejoinusagainsoon.Neil

Yes,doindeed!Both

Bye.

Vocabularycatchsomebodyoffguard

tosurprisesomeoneinawaythatoftenmakesthemconfusedorembarrassedchatshow

aTVorradioprogrammewherecelebritiestalktotheirhostaboutvarioustopicshost

apersonwhopresentsaTVorradioshowandtalkstoguestcelebritiesopenquestions

questionsthatcan'tbeansweredwithashortanswerforexampleacoupleorwordsoryesorno;theyoftenbeginwith'wh'(why,what,whoetc)juicydetails

informationyoufindinterestingbecauseit'sexcitingorshocking

closedquestion

aquestionwherethechoiceofanswersislimitedforexampletoyesorno,oraspecificpieceofinformationhotunderthecollar

angryorembarrassedelicit

getorproducesomething,forexample,areactiondefensive

protectingyourselffromcriticismorattackdrawback

moveawaymakethecameradisappear

makesomethingrealorauthenticdumb

stupidprobing

investigativeTranscript（双语版）Neil:Helloandwelcometo6MinuteEnglish.I’mNeil…

大家好，欢迎收听英语六分钟。我是尼尔……

Alice:…andI’mAlice.NowNeil,I’mabigfanofchatshows,asyouknow.Butwhatdoyouthinkmakesagoodinterview?

……我是艾丽斯。尼尔，你知道我是访谈类节目的忠实粉丝。但是你觉得什么样的采访才算成功呢？

Neil:Ilikeitwhentheinterviewerasksaquestionthatcatchestheguestoffguard.Youknow–tosurprisethemsothey’reembarrassedanddon’tknowwhattosay.

我喜欢看到主持人对嘉宾提的问题出其不备。你懂的，就是让他们窘迫不知说什么。

Alice:That’snotverynice!

这可不是很友好！

Neil:Iknow.Butit’sgreatTV.That’swhatchatshowsareallabout,isn’tit?

我知道。但这样才是好的电视节目。访谈节目不就是应该这样吗？

Alice:Well,Idon’tagree,Neil!Achatshow,bytheway,isaTVorradioprogrammewhereahost–thepersonwhopresentstheshow–talkstoguestcelebritiesaboutvarioustopics.Andwhatmakesagoodinterviewisthesubjectoftoday’sshow.

啊，我不同意，尼尔！顺便说一下，访谈节目是一种电视或广播节目，节目中主持人，也就是主持这个节目的人，与名人嘉宾谈论不同的话题。我们今天节目的主题是如何做好一次采访。

Neil:Sowhat’sagoodinterviewtechnique,Alice?

那么好的采访技巧是什么，艾丽斯？

Alice:Well,askingopenquestions–questionsthecelebritiescan’teasilyrespondtowithashortanswer.Openquestionsgivethemthechancetotalkandpossiblyrevealsomejuicydetailsaboutthemselves!

提问开放性的问题，也就是让名人无法用三言两语回答的问题。开放性的问题给了他们畅所欲言的机会，还有可能使他们透露一些有料的细节。Neil:Juicydetailsmeansinformationyoufindinterestingbecauseit’sexcitingorshocking.

有料的细节是指一些令人兴奋或震惊的有趣信息。

Alice:Yes.Solet’stestyourinterviewingskills,Neil.Askmesomething–seeifyoucangetsomejuicydetails.

是的。那么，尼尔，让我来测试一下你的采访技巧。对我提问，看你能不能得到一些有料的细节。

Neil:OK…Hmm…Howmuchdoyouweigh?

好吧……嗯……你体重多少？

Alice:HowmuchdoIweigh?

我的体重？

Neil:Yeah.

对。

Alice:Howmuchdoyouweigh?Look,that’saclosedquestion–you’regoingtogetashortanswerandnojuicydetails!Andmoreimportantly,Neil,it’sarudequestion!

你的体重是多少？你看，这就是个封闭式问题，你得到的会是个很简短的回答，也不会有什么有料的信息！更重要的是，尼尔，这是一个无礼的问题！

Neil:OK–badchoice.Sorry.Butyourreactionwasjuicy–yougotprettyhotunderthecollar–andthatmeansembarrassedorangry!I’lltrytothinkofabetterquestiontoaskyoubeforetheendoftheshow.

好吧，我问错问题了，对不起。但是你的反应很有料，你变得很激动，也就是说你很尴尬或很生气！节目结束前我会想出一个更好的问题问你。

Alice:Alrightthen.Now,sinceyouaren’tgoodataskingquestions,perhapsyoucanansweroneinstead.Whodevelopedamethodofquestioningaroundtwoandahalfthousandyearsagothataimstodiscoverhiddentruths?Wasita)Hippocrates?b)Socrates?Orc)Aristotle?

好吧，既然你不善长提问，那你就回答一个问题吧。大约两千五百年前谁发明了一种通过提问来寻找真理的方法？a)希波克拉底?b)苏格拉底?还是c)亚里士多德?

Neil:Well,Idon’tknowmuchaboutancienthistorysoI’mgoingtoguessc)Aristotle.

我对古代史了解不多，所以我只能猜c)亚里士多德。

Alice:Well,we’llfindoutifyoupickedtherightanswerlateron–butnowlet’slistentoLarryKingtalkingaboutthesecretofhissuccessfulcareerasaTVchatshowhost.Canyouspotawordthatmeanstogetorproduce?

我们稍后再看你是否选对了。现在我们来听听拉里·金讲述他成为成功的电视访谈节目主持人的秘诀。你能听出一个表示“得到”的词吗？

Ifyouaskgoodquestionsandyouelicitthoughtfulanswersthenyoulearnmoreabouttheperson.Iftheinterview’shard–ifIbeginbysaying,‘Whydidyoudothat?’I’dmakeyoudefensive.Thatmaybethrillingtelevision,butyoudon’tlearnalot.IlearnedthatthemoreIdrewback,askedgoodquestions,listenedtotheanswers,caredabouttheguest…youmakethecameradisappear.

如果你问的问题很好，你就能得到充满思考的回答，你就可以多了解这个人一些。如果采访进行地很困难，如果我上来就问“你为什么这么做？”，你会产生一种防备心理。这样或许会收到不错的电视效果，但是你了解不到很多东西。我学到，如果我有所保留，问好的问题，聆听答案，关心嘉宾，嘉宾就会更容易忘掉自己坐在镜头前面。

Neil:ThewordLarryKingusedis…elicit.

拉里·金用的那个单词是“elicit”。

Alice:Right.Andyouelicitedadefensivereactionfrommewhenyouaskedanotverythoughtfulquestionaboutmyweight.Defensivemeansprotectingyourselffromcriticismorattack.

是的。当你问了一个关于我体重的欠考虑的问题时，你得到的是我的一种防御反应。防御是指保护自己免收批评或攻击。

Alice:OK,Iwouldn’tmakeagoodchatshowhostthen.

好吧，那我成不了一位好的访谈节目主持人。

Alice:You’rerightthere.Sogoodinterviewersdrawback–ormoveaway–frombeingthecentreofattention.They’regoodlistenersandcareabouttheirguests.Soundfamiliar?

你说的没错。所以优秀的采访者会有所保留，或者说他们故意避免成为关注的重点。他们都是好的聆听者，关心他们的嘉宾。是不是觉得很熟悉？

Neil:Areyousuggestingthatyou’reagoodinterviewer?

你是在暗示你是一个好的采访者吗？

Alice:Yup.

是的。

Neil:OK,well,sowhyaren’tyouatopchatshowhost?WhatdoesLarrymeanwhenhesaysyouhavetomakethecameradisappear?

那你为什么不是著名的访谈节目主持人呢？拉里说你必须要让摄像机消失，是什么意思？

Alice:Itmeanstomaketheconversationreal–asifyouwerechattingwithafriend–ratherthanperformingtoaTVaudience.Butlet’shearmorefromLarryKingonthesecretofhissuccess.

他的意思是使谈话更真实，就像是和朋友聊天一样，而不是在给电视观众表演。让我们进一步了解一下拉里·金成功的秘诀。

Idon’twanta‘no’.Idon’twanta‘yes’.Iwanta‘why’.Soinotherwords,Iwanttobealittlekindofdumb.MyfriendHerbiesaidthesecretofmysuccessisbeingdumb.‘Whatdoyoumeanbythat?’

我想听到的回答不是“不”，也不是“是”，而是“为什么”。换句话说，我想傻一点。我的朋友赫比说我成功的秘诀就是装傻。“这是什么意思？”

Neil:Soyouhavetoaskdumb–orstupid–questionstomakeagreatchatshowhost!Iknewit!

所以你必须问一些傻问题，这样才能主持好访谈节目！我就知道是这样！

Alice:Maybethere’shopeforyouyet,Neil.

也许你还有希望，尼尔。

Neil:Charming.

有意思。

Alice:Lovely.OK,here’stheanswertotoday’squizquestion.Iasked:Whodevelopedamethodofquestioningaroundtwoandahalfthousandyearsagothataimstodiscoverhiddentruths?Wasita)Hippocrates?b)Socrates?Orc)Aristotle?

很有趣。好了，我们来揭晓今天问题的答案。我问你的问题是：大约两千五百年前谁发明了一种通过提问来寻找真理的方法？是a)希波克拉底?b)苏格拉底?还是c)亚里士多德?

Neil:AndIsaidc)Aristotle.

我选的是c)亚里士多德。

Alice:No