AEE 2608：如何用“cascade”一词评论艺术时显得很有见识

欢迎收听《All Ears English》第2608期节目。

This is an All Ears English podcast episode twenty six zero eight.

想知道怎么用‘cascade’这个词点评艺术，显得特别有见识吗？

How to sound smart when you comment on art with the word cascade.

欢迎来到《All Ears English》播客，全球下载量已突破两亿次。

Welcome to the All Ears English podcast downloaded more than 200,000,000 times.

是不是觉得自己的英语进步卡住了？

Are you feeling stuck with your English?

我们会教你如何通过注重交流，而不是追求完美，变得自信又流利。

We'll show you how to become fearless and fluent by focusing on connection, not perfection.

本期节目由两位美国主持人带你轻松学英语：冒险家Lindsey McMahon，和纽约电台女孩Michelle Kaplan，她们分别来自科罗拉多和纽约市。

With your American hosts, Lindsey McMahon, the English adventurer, and Michelle Kaplan, the New York radio girl, coming to you from Colorado and New York City, USA.

想每周收到字幕邮件？赶紧去 allearsenglish.com/subscribe 订阅吧。

And to get your transcripts delivered by email every week, go to allearsenglish.com forward slash subscribe.

要让英语更有个人风格，就得学会聊比喻和字面意思，哪怕你只是去趟博物馆。

Part of showing your personality in English is learning to discuss figurative and literal things, even when you go to a museum.

今天咱们来学学‘cascade’这个词，用它来提升你的表达档次。

Today, learn about the word cascade and how to use it to speak at a high level.

很多学英语的人老盯着语法。

Many English learners focus on grammar.

他们只想让句子没错误。

They want their sentences to be correct.

但流利可不是光靠正确就行的。

But fluency isn't just about correctness.

流利是得说得自然，选对表达，反应快，脑子里不用一句句翻译。

It's about sounding natural, choosing the right phrase, responding quickly without translating every thought in your head.

所以有些人语法懂一堆，聊天时还是觉得别扭。

That's why someone can know a lot of grammar rules and still feel uncomfortable in conversations.

真正的流利，靠的是掌握语感、语气和地道说法。

Real fluency comes from understanding patterns, tone, and natural expressions.

咱们免费的两分钟流利度测试，能帮你找到自己的水平，以及下一步该练啥。

Our free two minute fluency quiz helps you discover your level and what skills will move you forward.

去 allearsenglish.com/fluencyscore 看看。

Go to allearsenglish.com/fluencyscore.

就是 allearsenglish.com/fluencyscore。

That's allearsenglish.com/fluencyscore.

嗨，米歇尔。

Hello, Michelle.

最近怎么样？

How's it going?

嘿，林赛。

Hey, Lindsay.

我挺好的。

I'm good.

林赛，你去过瀑布吗？

Lindsay, have you ever visited a waterfall?

我去过尼亚加拉大瀑布。

I actually have been to Niagara Falls.

我几年前自驾横跨美国时去过尼亚加拉大瀑布，简直太震撼了。

I went to Niagara Falls years on my cross country road trip, and it was incredible.

真的特别雄伟壮观。

It's just like so majestic.

那奔流而下的水，太绝了。

The cascading water.

我的意思是，最让人惊叹的是——

Mean, What it's incredible, about

你呢？

you?

对啊。

Yeah.

没错。

Yeah.

瀑布确实太神奇了。

It definitely Waterfalls are amazing.

我去过尼亚加拉大瀑布，但那时候我还是个小孩子。

I went to Niagara Falls, but when I was like a little, little kid.

对啊。

Yes.

后来我也看过一些小一点的，说不上是瀑布，顶多算小溪流那种。

And then I've seen other, you know, smaller, I wouldn't call them waterfalls, but maybe baby waterfalls.

是啊。

Yeah.

其实世界上有名的瀑布多了去了。

I mean, there's there's famous ones around the world.

我有机会去过伊瓜苏瀑布，

I had a chance to go to Iguazu Falls in

哇，真棒。

Oh, nice.

我记得那瀑布应该是在阿根廷或者巴西，具体我也说不准。

I think technically I don't know if it's in Argentina or Brazil.

严格来说应该是在阿根廷，但我错过了这个机会。

I think it's in Argentina technically, but that I I missed that chance.

还有维多利亚瀑布，好像在非洲南部。

And then there's Victoria Falls, I think in South Africa.

听说这些才是世界上最大的瀑布。

It's supposed to be these are the biggest waterfalls of the world.

对吧？

Right?

真的太壮观了，我的天。

And they're just I mean, man.

世界上有太多值得去看的东西了，米歇尔。

So many things we wanna see in the world, Michelle.

对吧？

Right?

天哪。

Oh my gosh.

没错。

Definitely.

所以，林赛，你提到了‘cascade’这个词。

So, Lindsey, you mentioned this word cascade.

对。

Yes.

是啊。

Yeah.

这其实是个挺高级的词。

This is a really very high level word.

我们收到一个听众关于这个词的问题。

And we have a listener question about this word.

这个问题来自YouTube上的Amelia v w three r f。

This listener question comes to us from Amelia v w three r f from YouTube.

你想念一下吗？

Would you like to read

要不你来念一下这个问题？

the question for us?

好啊。

Yes.

来咯。

Here we go.

所以Amelia说：嘿，大家好。

So Amelia says, hey there.

谢谢你们制作这么棒的节目。

Thank you for your awesome episodes.

既长知识又特别有趣。

They're so educational and entertaining at the same time.

我听All Ears English播客好多年了，这还是我第一次给你们提问题，也许能用在未来的节目里。

I've been a regular All Ears English podcast listener for many years, but this is my first question for you for a future episode perhaps.

谢谢你这么多年来一直听我们的节目。

Well, thank you for being a long time listener.

Amelia，我们真的特别感谢你。

Amelia, we appreciate you so much.

对吧，Michelle？

Right, Michelle?

是的。

Yes.

当然了。

Absolutely.

太谢谢你了。

Thank you so much.

没错。

Yeah.

我平时特别爱读英文书，经常碰到一些新词。

I'm an avid reader in English, and I often encounter many new words.

我最近在一本小说里刚看到‘cascade’这个词。

I just came across the word cascade in a novel.

她读的那本书是川口俊和的《在记忆消逝之前》。

And the novel she was reading was Before Your Memory Fades by Toshikasu Kawaguchi.

她特别推荐这本书。

She recommends it.

不错。

Good.

她说书里那句话是这么写的：

And she says the sentence was written like this.

看似漫长的时光，一瞬间如瀑布般倾泻而下。

What seems like a long stretch of time cascaded down in moments.

我查了字典，发现‘cascade’这个词有好几个意思，用法也挺多样的。

When I look up the word in the dictionary, it seems to have several definitions and can be used in different contexts.

你能讲讲这个词的不同用法吗？顺便也聊聊相关的词和表达？

Could you please explain different usages of the word and maybe go through related words and phrases?

这个词在书面语和口语里常用吗？

And how often is the word used in written and spoken English?

太感谢你花这么多心思了。

Thanks a lot for your effort.

你真是太棒了。

You're amazing.

祝你一切顺利，阿米莉亚。

Best wishes, Amelia.

哦，真好。

Oh, lovely.

谢谢你。

Thank you.

谢谢你，阿米莉亚。

Thank you, Amelia.

我感觉你绝对是位水平很高的听众。

I can tell this is a very high level listener for sure.

对。

Mhmm.

是的

Yep.

对

Yep.

这其实是个很棒的问题，特别适合我们很多B2C1级别的学习者和听众。

And it's a but it's a great question for a lot of our b two c one learners, listeners.

这个词可能是新的，但他们完全能理解。

This may be a new word, but a word that they're ready for.

对吧？

Right?

因为这个词能用来形容生活中很多了不起的事。

Because this word can be used for some amazing things in life.

明白吗？

Okay?

对

Mhmm.

当然了。

Absolutely.

我们马上就开始讲这个。

So we're gonna get into this in just a second.

不过在那之前，先感谢一下我们在 iOS 应用里的用户评价。

But first, we wanna thank our reviewers on our iOS app.

天哪。

Oh my gosh.

对，各位。

Yes, guys.

听播客最好的方式，可能就是用 iOS 应用。

Don't forget that a great way, probably the best way to consume the podcast is over on the iOS app.

感谢 Ralphie seventy six、Kitty Japan、Fatima Aura 和 Know Brightly。

So thank you to Ralphie seventy six, Kitty Japan, Fatima Aura, and Know Brightly.

这些听众都花时间在 iOS 上给我们写了评价。

All of these listeners took the time to go and leave the app a review in iOS.

所以各位，如果你们想找一种不插播广告、更清爽的收听方式，用这个App就再合适不过了。

So, guys, if you are looking for a better way to listen without outside ads and commercials, this would be a great way to do it.

去 allersenglish.com/app 下载App来听吧。

Go over to allersenglish.com/app and listen in the app.

明白了吗？

Alright?

好。

Good.

太棒了。

Excellent.

真的太感谢了。

Thank you so much.

行。

Alright.

对，就是这样。

So, yeah.

所以这个词‘cascade’通常用来形容水快速流下的样子。

So the this word cascade usually describes water falling quickly.

所以对于

So for

比如，水从岩石上倾泻而下，就像瀑布一样。

example, the water cascades down the rocks, like like a waterfall.

对。

Yes.

但在书里，这个说法更有诗意。

But in the book, it's more poetic.

它把时间比作往下流的水。

It's comparing time to falling water.

有点像是说，那些瞬间就像瀑布一样，哗啦啦地流走了。

So it's kinda like saying the moments it's like saying the moments cascaded like water down a waterfall.

是的。

Yeah.

所以归根结底，看起来时间很长，但那些瞬间其实一晃就过去了。

So this ultimately means it seems like a long time, but the moments pass quickly.

这么说你能明白吗？

Does that make sense?

对。

Yeah.

我超爱这个说法。

And I just love this.

今天我们会教大家这个词的字面用法，也会讲它那种更诗意的比喻用法。

We're gonna show you guys how to use this word in a literal meaning today, but also in that more figurative meaning.

因为在C1课程里，我们就会深入这些东西。

Because in the c one course, this is what we get into.

我觉得你到C1水平，就该开始用隐喻、比喻，说点更有诗意的话了，那时候才真有意思，Michelle。

So I think at that c one level, you're ready to start using metaphors, figurative language, speaking kind of more poetically, and that's when things get really interesting, Michelle.

对吧？

Right?

没错。

Definitely.

对。

Yeah.

确实如此。

It's so true.

有意思的是，你经常会看到‘Cascade’这个词在书里这么用，但在日常闲聊里就少多了。

And, you know, what's interesting is you will see Cascade used this way, like, from the book much more in writing than in casual conversation.

是的。

Yes.

这个词整体上挺正式的，不过今天我们就要好好讲讲它该怎么用、在什么场合用。

Overall, it's a pretty fancy word, but we're gonna explain it and when to use it and how to use it today.

这个点说得太对了，Michelle。

That's an important point, Michelle.

我们可不会每天上下班路上都把‘Cascade’挂在嘴边。

We're not going around just using Cascade every day on our daily commute or something.

这个词平时用得不多。

It's not a very commonplace word.

我们可能只在逛博物馆的时候才用它。

We might reserve this for when we're at a museum.

对吧？

Right?

我们观察画作里的色彩时才用，但生活中其实也有很多这样的精彩瞬间。

And we're observing the colors in a painting, but these are cool moments in life.

那咱们就开始吧，朋友们。

So let's get into it, guys.

现在别忘了点关注，这个节目教你怎么用英语真实地表达自己的个性。

Don't forget to hit the follow button right now on the show because we show you on this show how to express your actual personality in English.

我知道很多听众都在为这个发愁，但这就是正确的方法。

And I know that's something a lot of our listeners might be struggling with, but this is the way to do it.

首先，建立连接才是我们最看重的。

First of all, connection is our highest goal.

其次，我们会教你用英语做真实的自己。

Second of all, we show you how to be you in English.

对吧？

Right?

没错。

That's right.

这说法挺顺口的，米歇尔，

It's got a ring to it, Michelle,

是不是？

doesn't it?

用英语做自己。

How to be you in English.

我们教你做自己。

We show you how to be you.

你就做你自己。

You be you.

是的。

Yes.

所以嘛。

So yeah.

所以就这样。

So okay.

cascade这个词的字面意思。

The literal meaning of cascade.

对。

Yes.

就是从上往下流的东西。

Something that flows downward.

比如水、布料、藤蔓、光线，甚至头发。

So water, fabric, vines, light, hair even.

对吧？

Right?

想想长发公主，或者美人鱼那飘逸的长发。

Think of Rapunzel or her cascading hair or a mermaid.

对吧？

Right?

所以啊，这个词平时聊天用不上，更适合写诗、文学创作，或者制造戏剧效果。

So again, not something for daily conversation, more poetic, for artistic writing, or maybe for dramatic effect.

那你觉得，这词用在句子里会是什么感觉，琳赛？

So what how could might that sound, Lindsay?

藤蔓沿着砖墙垂落下来。

The vines cascaded down the brick wall.

我们在描述一座意大利的漂亮别墅。

So we're describing a beautiful villa in Italy.

对吧？

Right?

是的。

Yeah.

对。

Right.

泪水顺着他的脸颊流淌而下。

Or tears cascaded down his cheeks.

没错。

Yes.

你是在描绘电影里一个特别有张力的瞬间。

You're describing a very dramatic moment in a movie.

对吧？

Right?

她那头又长又美的秀发如瀑布般垂落在背后。

Her long, beautiful hair cascaded down her back.

比如你在描述一幅女人的画，或者电影里的某个场景。

Maybe you're describing a painting of a woman, for example, or just a scene in a movie.

这特别有诗意，也特别有戏剧感。

And it's very poetic, very dramatic.

明白吧？

Okay?

对。

Yes.

没错。

Exactly.

阿米莉亚还问我们能不能讲讲相关的词和表达。

And Amelia also asked if we could go through related words and phrases.

所以我们这儿会给你一些更口语、更日常能用的同义词。

So we're going to give you some similar words that are more casual that you can use more in everyday conversation.

不会太诗意，也不会太正式。

And they're not gonna sound too poetic, not gonna sound too formal.

是啊。

Yeah.

更接地气一点。

A little more down to earth.

对吧，米歇尔？

Right, Michelle?

咱们要是想自然点，就不总得用那些特别诗意的表达。

If we wanna be we don't wanna always be that person that's breaking out the super poetic language.

有时候说法会有点不一样。

We might it's just it's a little different.

对吧？

Right?

所以咱们这儿得更实用一点。

So we wanna be a little more practical here.

你懂的。

You know?

没错。

Exactly.

那第一个词是什么，林赛？

So what's the first one, Lindsay?

就是顺流而下。

It is flow down.

这其实只是描述性的。

So this is really just descriptive.

我们来做个角色扮演，让听众们感受一下。

So we'll do a little role play to show our listeners.

好的。

Alright.

瀑布一直这么猛吗？

Is the waterfall always so strong?

是的。

Yeah.

这儿水流特别急，一下就冲下去了。

It flows down really fast here at this point.

对吧？

Right?

所以是这样。

So mhmm.

然后是倾泻而下。

And then there's pour down.

对。

Yeah.

对吧？

Right?

对我来说，'倾泻而下'听起来比'流淌'更有力量感。

So this might be to me, pour down sounds a little bit more forceful than flow.

你觉得呢？

Do you agree?

除非你在哭。

Well, unless you're crying.

对吧？

Right?

你控制不了‘对’这个字。

You can't control Right.

对。

Yeah.

没错。

Yeah.

确实。

Yeah.

但眼泪是自己流出来的。

But it's tears come out.

说得对。

True.

没错，就是这样。

That's true.

眼泪嘛。

The tears.

那就尽情地流吧。

So pour down Yeah.

又来一个。

Is another one.

Lindsay，咱们来演个情景吧。

So, Lindsay, let's do a little role play.

好。

Yeah.

对。

Yeah.

他从自行车上摔下来的时候，发生了什么？

What happened when he fell off his bike?

眼泪立刻就流了下来。

Tears immediately poured down his cheeks.

太让人心疼了。

It was so sad.

米歇尔，你经常哭吗？

Michelle, are you a crier?

你是不是那种特别爱哭的人？

Are you someone that cries a lot?

哎呀，我也是。

Oh, me too.

没以前那么爱哭了。

Not as much as I used to.

我觉得我现在……

I think I've just I'm

对。

Yeah.

最近事情一多，情绪还是压不住，该哭还是得哭。

On a roll with things a little more, but it definitely comes out.

你呢？

What about you?

我一害怕就会哭。

I cry when I get scared, actually.

就是有什么特别吓人的事发生时。

If I if just something really scares me.

有次我坐小班车，差点出事故。

Like, I was almost in an accident in a little shuttle bus.

以前在德克萨斯一个商场的停车场，我赶飞机转机时，真撞过一次。

I was in an accident once in a parking lot of a mall down in Texas during a plane layover, flight layover.

那辆班车被撞了，我当场就嚎啕大哭。

And our shuttle bus got hit, and I definitely started bawling.

天啊，真的吗？

Oh, wow.

挺有意思的。

Interesting.

这事儿挺怪的。

It's a weird thing.

一害怕我就忍不住哭。

Like, fear triggers tears for me.

对。

Yeah.

挺奇怪的。

It's strange.

我也说不清。

I don't know.

这确实挺有意思的。

That is interesting.

那边好像在放炮。

One is firing going on.

我也说不清。

I don't know.

是啊。

Yeah.

对。

Yeah.

正在发生呢。

It's happening.

好。

Alright.

那我们现在先休息一下，待会儿再回来聊聊这个词的比喻义，这其实才是这个词最有趣的部分，米歇尔。

Then we'll take a quick break now, and we'll come back to talk about the figurative meaning, which is really the interesting part of this word, Michelle.

是的。

Yes.

好。

Alright.

我们之前已经讲过cascade的字面意思了。

So we've talked about the literal meaning of cascade.

挺直接的，但现在我们可以用cascade来打比方了。

Pretty straightforward, but now we can use cascade figuratively.

到了C1级别，我们才真正接触到有趣的内容。

And this is at the C1 level we get into really interesting stuff.

对吧？

Right?

是的。

Yeah.

没错。

Yeah.

这样一来，它就引发了一连串的连锁反应。

So in this way, it means it causes a chain reaction.

对吧？

Right?

也就是说，一件事会带动另一件事。

So that means that one thing triggers another.

对。

Yes.

对。

Yes.

我觉得这种用法在商业和写作中更常见。

And I would say that this is used more in business and writing.

比如报告或者新闻文章。

So maybe reports or news articles.

是的。

Mhmm.

没错。

Yeah.

挺有意思的。

Interesting.

所以今天这期节目也学到了一些商业技能。

So we have some business skills coming out of today's episode as well.

对。

Yeah.

对吧？

Right?

比如，一个小错误就引发了连锁问题。

So for example, one small mistake cascaded into bigger problems.

哎呀，这可不妙。

Oh, not good.

确实不妙。

Not good.

是啊。

Mhmm.

或者当停电的时候，整个城市都跟着乱了套。

Or when the power went out, it caused a cascade of events around town.

所以，没错，它触发了一连串的反应。

So, yeah, it triggered something else.

说到这个，我突然想到米歇尔，二月份那会儿——说实话，我之前真没意识到全球经济居然这么紧密相连，直到亲眼看到那些次贷公司出事之后，影响像涟漪一样传遍了全世界。

Well, you know what this makes me think of, Michelle, is the February because we I think we didn't quite know, or I'll speak for myself, I didn't quite know how interconnected the global economy was until I saw the results of what happened, you know, you know, these mortgage companies that were lending subprime mortgages, the ripple effects cascaded out across the world.

对吧？

Right?

没错。

Right.

是啊。

Yeah.

对啊。

Yeah.

确实如此。

It's true.

新闻里那么多事，你根本想不到它们居然会影响其他方面。

There's so many things in the news that happen that you don't realize can affect Yeah.

好多事情都会连锁反应。

So many other things cascade.

对啊。

Yeah.

就像你说的，这种连锁反应。

Like what you said, the ripple effect.

对。

Yeah.

我的意思是，现在我们对这个认识更深了，知道全球经济方方面面都是连在一起的。

I mean, I think now we're a little more wise about this, and we know that everything is kinda interconnected globally with the economy.

但那时候，至少对我来说，我根本没想到这会引发全球这么多经济连锁崩盘。

But I think then it was still sort of I for me at least, I just didn't quite realize that that would trigger so many things around the world in terms of an economic crash.

太离谱了。

Crazy.

对吧？

Right?

没错。

True.

是啊。

Yeah.

没错。

Absolutely.

还有呢？

What else?

咱们再举几个类似的例子。

So let's do some similar words.

第一个是‘滚雪球’或者‘恶性循环’。

So the first one is to snowball or spiral.

好的。

Okay.

对。

Yes.

嗯，好吧。

So let's so oh, okay.

我跟两个人说了这个派对的事，结果就这么越传越开。

I told two people about the party and it just snowballed from there.

意思是，你想象一个雪球，越滚越大，越来越大。

Meaning It's it's you imagine a snowball and you're making a snowball and it gets bigger and bigger and bigger.

对。

Yes.

没错吧？

Right?

它往下滚的时候，会不断裹上新的雪，对吧？

It picks up additional snow, right, as it goes down the hill.

是啊。

Yeah?

对。

Right.

我跟两个人说了派对的事，然后他们每人又告诉了两个人，那两个人又各自告诉了两个人。

So I told two people, but then maybe they told each of them told two people and each of them told people two people.

没错。

Exactly.

我可以回应你说：是啊，我听说大概有五十个人要来。

And I could respond to you and I could say, Yeah, I heard we have about 50 people coming.

这下可迅速扩开了。

That spiraled fast.

‘螺旋’也是同一个意思，只是说它像螺旋一样发展了。

Now spiral is the same idea, just it spiraled.

就是越滚越有势头，这么说吧，指的是能量在累积。

It just became it gathered steam, I guess is what we could say, meaning energy.

对吧？

Right?

没错。

Exactly.

就是这么回事。

Exactly.

所以我特别喜欢这两个说法。

So that's I really like both of those.