Qualifying Phrases 转折短语
Recently I came cross an article about film critics. It's very interesting. But the phrase 'That said' at the beginning of a sentence in this article annoyed me. What does it actually mean?
Tao Shu, China
This week Li and William answer a useful question about the phrase 'that said'. This is used to highlight a change or contrast in the speaker's attitude towards something. Look at this dialogue:
A: Do you like Madonna?
B: Yes I do. That said, I've never bought any of her albums.
Now look at this dialogue, which you will hear in the programme. What other phrases can you see that have a similar function to 'that said'? Find out if you're right by listening to the programme.
Doctor: Would you say you have a healthy lifestyle?
Patient: Well I don't know. I don't smoke or drink. But on the other hand I don't really get much exercise, so...
When was the last time you weighed yourself?
Doctor: When was the last time you weighed yourself?
Patient: Um, I can't really remember.
Doctor: OK, well according to the chart you're not technically overweight. That said, I don't think it would do any harm to try and get a bit more exercise. Try cycling to work in the morning instead of taking the bus. Or you might think about joining a gym.
Patient: Right.
Doctor: Having said that, don't push yourself too hard to begin with. Do lots of warm-up exercises before you start.
Patient: Ok.
Doctor: How about diet? Do you eat lots of red meat?
Patient: Yeah I do eat meat with most of my meals actually, yeah.
Doctor: Right, well you want to think about that. Try eating fish once a week and perhaps give the bacon sandwiches a miss at lunchtime!
Patient: Yep.
Doctor: Then again, a small amount of red meat can be good for you, since it contains a lot of protein, although it's probably better to grill rather than fry it.
Patient: Ok, so I need to cut down on red meat and get more exercise basically.
Doctor: Yes, that would be my advice. But saying that, you seem to be relatively fit and healthy.
If you have a question for our team, send it to us at questions.chinaelt@bbc.co.uk and we might answer it on this programme.
Glossary 词汇
contrast 对比
attitude 态度
function 作用
according to 根据
don't push yourself too hard 不要太强迫自己
warm-up exercises 暖身练习
diet 饮食
protein 蛋白
cut down on 减少
