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地道英语

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Think on your feet 临场反应，随机应变

Episode 260428 / 28 Apr 2026

节目简介

在突发状况面前，反应敏捷的人往往能抢占先机。英语中，表达 “think on your feet” 就生动地描述了这种 “在压力下快速思考并果断决策” 的能力。它传达出一种 “be on your feet（随时待命，蓄势待发）” 的状态，准备随时应对任何挑战。听节目，跟主持人菲菲和 Phil 学习 “think on your feet” 的用法。

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 
Hello and welcome to Authentic Real English, where we explain phrases and expressions used by fluent English speakers so that you can use them too. I'm Feifei.

Phil
And I'm Phil. Feifei, what would you rather be, an eagle or a bear, and why?

Feifei
What?

Phil
Quickly, what's your answer? How do you explain it?

Feifei
Erm, maybe a bear? But what on earth was that, Phil?

Phil
Well, I've just been reading a book about the world's worst job interview questions. And apparently, that's a good one to see how well people think on their feet.

Feifei
Ha ha! Did I get the job? Never mind, maybe we should learn that expression – 'think on your feet'. I'm sitting down, so can you think on your feet, when you're not on your feet? 

Phil
I mean it's a good question. But yes, you can – it's not literal. If you can think on your feet, it means you can think quickly and make a decision when you're under pressure.

Feifei
Yes, I'm not sure about that interview question, but being able to think on your feet is really important in a lot of jobs. It means you can deal with fast-moving, stressful environments.

Phil
Yeah, and it's not just work either. If you want to be good at playing sport or even video games, you often need to think on your feet to beat your opponent.

Phil
Let's hear some other people using 'think on your feet'.

Examples
I really hate when plans change. I'm not great at thinking on my feet.

I lost my whole presentation just before the meeting, so I had to think on my feet and invent the whole thing.

My three-year-old niece asks lots of difficult questions and I always have to think on my feet to answer her. 

Feifei
你正在收听的是 BBC 英语教学制作的 “地道英语” 节目。在本期节目中，我们正在学习表达 “think on your feet” 的用法。“Think on your feet” 的字面意思是 “站着思考”，但它其实生动地描述了 “在突发情况下，能够快速地进行思考并果断采取行动的能力”，就好像 “随时站立待命，准备好行动” 一样。

Phil
Yes, we can also use 'think on the spot' to mean the same – immediately decide what to do. 

Feifei
除了 “think on your feet”，类似的表达还有 “think on the spot”。它们都可以表示 “在突发情况下临场反应，随机应变”。

OK. That's it for this programme, but join us next time to learn more English phrases and expressions.

Phil
Because having a wide vocabulary is really helpful when you need to think on your feet.

Feifei
That's right. Goodbye! 

Phil
Bye!

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