Source:www.englishonline.org.cn

You’re listening to British Council’s English Online and I’m Nina.

Today on Language Snacks we take a look at the expression get cold feet.

Let’s listen to the dialogue.

A: Are you ready for the big show tonight? Have you been practising your singing?

B: I'm really nervous! I have to sing all on my own in front of hundreds of people! I don't think I can do it.

A: You have to do it! You've prepared really hard. You can't get cold feet now!

B: No, you're right! I must try to be more confident.

When people have to do something very important, they sometimes become very nervous. If you feel really nervous, you might even think about not doing that important thing at all. In those situations, we say that you get cold feet. Some people feel nervous and unsure like this when they are considering changing their job or moving house. Sometimes, people even get cold feet on their wedding day!

The expression might originate from the army, when soldiers would use their frozen feet as a reason not to go into battle.

我们要上台演讲但却怯场了，这时候你可以用”get cold feet”来形容当时紧张的心情。人们会”get cold feet”的场合还有很多，比如换工作、搬家、甚至是婚礼上。凡是重要的场合，人们都有可能会产生退缩的畏惧心理，就会”get cold feet”。有人说这个表达起源于士兵因为手脚冰凉作为理由而不上战场。这倒是个挺蹩脚但又挺管用的借口。

So, do you ever get cold feet when you need to do a presentation in class?

And that’s it for now – join us again for more Language Snacks.

You’ve been listening to English Online – the podcast for English learners in China.

Exercise

1. If you get cold feet, this means that:

a) you feel very brave about doing something

b) you feel too cold to do something

c) you feel too nervous to do something

2) This expression might have started with:

a) soldiers

b) sailors

Answers

1. c

2. b

（英国使馆文化教育处提供）