Be Bold. 'Break the Mold'!

That is where we get the expression "to break the mold."

這就是我們得到「打破常規」這個表達的由來。

The dictionary publisher Merriam-Webster says to break the mold means you do something in a completely new way.

字典出版商韋氏辭典指出，「打破常規」意味著以完全全新的方式做事。

Those who break the mold usually try to find new ways to deal with a problem.

那些打破常規的人通常會嘗試尋找解決問題的新方法。

They do things differently from what has been done before.

他們做事的方式與以往不同。

They try new methods and do not follow what is usually done.

他們嘗試新方法，不遵循慣例。

We also call these new ways and methods fresh, one of a kind, or novel.

我們也稱這些新方法和方式為新鮮、獨一無二或新穎。

For example, after a toy company lost money for three straight years, the owner tried something completely different.

例如，一家玩具公司連續三年虧損後，老闆嘗試了完全不同的做法。

She asked young children to develop new toys for the company.

她請年幼的孩子為公司開發新玩具。

And it worked, the new toy sold very well, so we say she broke the mold of toy development, by asking children instead of experts to design new toys for the company.

這招奏效了，新玩具銷量非常好，所以我們說她打破了玩具開發的常規，因為她讓孩子們而非專家為公司設計新玩具。

We also use this expression to break the mold to describe a very unusual or admired person.

我們也用「打破常規」這個表達來形容非常不尋常或令人欽佩的人。

Let's look at the story of Barack Obama, the forty fourth president of the United States.

讓我們來看看巴拉克·歐巴馬的故事，他是美國第四十四任總統。

His father was a black man from Kenya, his mother was a white American from the midwestern state of Kansas.

他的父親是來自肯亞的黑人，母親則是來自美國中西部堪薩斯州的白人。

By two thousand and nine, only five black Americans had ever served in the U. S. Senate.

到了二零零九年，只有五位黑人曾擔任過美國參議員。

Yet Obama defeated all other well known candidates to become the first black American president in the country's history.

然而，歐巴馬擊敗了其他所有知名候選人，成為該國歷史上第一位黑人總統。

Even those who did not vote for Obama agreed that he broke the mold.

甚至那些沒有投票給歐巴馬的人也同意他打破了常規。

The expression is usually used to praise someone, but people sometimes use it to describe someone a bit unusual as well.

這個表達通常用於讚揚某人，但人們有時也會用它來描述有點不尋常的人。

Used this way, we might say, "Well, they certainly broke the mold when they made her."

用這種方式，我們可能會說：「嗯，他們在創造她時確實打破了常規。」

And that's the end of this Words in Their Stories.

以上就是本期「詞語故事」的內容。

Do you have a similar expression in your language, or do you have an expression or idiom you would like us to explain?

你的語言中是否有類似的表達？或者你有想讓我們解釋的成語嗎？

Send us an email at learningenglish at voanews. com.

請發送電子郵件至 learningenglish@voanews.com。

Until next time, I'm Anna Matteo.

下次再見，我是安娜·馬特奧。