地道英语

Brick by brick 一砖一瓦，一步一步

内容简介

要盖高楼，需要一砖一瓦地垒砌；要做成大事，往往需要从小事做起，一点一滴地积累。英语表达 “brick by brick” 就用来描述 “一步一步地做事”，强调动作仔细、小心。听节目中两位主持人的对话，学习如何在日常生活中使用这个 “地道英语” 表达。

文字稿

（关于台词的备注: 请注意这不是广播节目的逐字稿件。本文稿可能没有体现录制、编辑过程中对节目做出的改变。）

Feifei
大家好，欢迎收听 BBC英语教学的 “地道英语” 节目。I'm Feifei.

Phil
And I'm Phil. We have a phrase which is about building something up or taking it apart carefully – it's 'brick by brick'.

Feifei
单词 “brick” 的意思是 “砖”。“Brick by brick” 这个表达和 “construction（建筑）” 有关吗？ 

Phil
It can be, but actually, we often use it more metaphorically, especially when we can use the verb 'build' in that way. So, for example, my brother is really proud of his business. He built it brick by brick.

Feifei
明白了。虽然表达 “brick by brick” 可以用来指 “一砖一瓦地盖房子”，但在生活中我们更多地用它的引申含义来比喻 “一步一个脚印地做事” —— “build something brick by brick”。So, your brother's job has nothing to do with building, has it?

Phil
No, he's an accountant. It's his company that he built. He grew it carefully and gradually and now it's really successful.

Feifei
So, your brother built his success brick by brick! 他一砖一瓦、一步一步地获得了成功。相反，“take something apart brick by brick” 的意思则是 “一步一步小心地拆掉某物”。

Phil
Yes, that's right. If you take a house apart brick by brick, you're doing it carefully enough that it could be rebuilt somewhere else. Again, it's not just literal – if you're trying to disprove someone, you can take their argument apart brick by brick.

Feifei
That would be when you carefully argue against each of the points someone has made. 所以，“take something apart brick by brick” 的引申含义就是 “一步一步地拆穿”。比如，我们可以 “take someone's argument apart brick by brick（逐一地反驳某人的观点）”。

Phil
Yes, that's right. Listen to these examples.

Examples

It's nice to be recognised with this award. I've spent years building up my career brick by brick.

The historic building was moved brick by brick to the museum.

I thought I was well-prepared, but the professor pulled my argument apart brick by brick. 

Feifei
你正在收听的是 BBC英语教学的 “地道英语” 节目。上面我们介绍了表达 “brick by brick” 的含义和用法。“Brick by brick” 本身的意思是 “一砖一瓦、一步一步仔细小心地做事”。

Phil
As well as the idea of something done carefully and gradually, it often suggests that something is the result of hard work.

Feifei
If someone says that they've built their success brick by brick, they're likely to be proud of the effort that they've made.

Phil
We've come to the end of this episode, but we'll be back soon to help you build your knowledge of English, brick by brick!

Feifei
See you next time!

Phil
Bye!