recede into the background退回不起眼的位置

把「精確」提升成生死標準，一句話劃定了證據該有的分量。

testimony that could ... should be ...

強調責任與證據標準時用；日常閒聊裡這麼講會顯得過於鄭重。

A claim that costs a life should be airtight. ／ Nothing this serious should rest on a guess.

正式

electric chair 重讀，should be that accurate 一句壓穩收尾。

Evidence that could ruin a career should be that solid. 可能毀掉一個人職業生涯的證據，就該那麼紮實。

把老頭的處境說成一句墓誌銘式的感慨，不煽情卻最扎心。

that's a very sad thing - to be ...

為小人物說話、點破處境時用；正式發言裡也能用，語氣要緩。

It is a sad fate to count for nothing. ／ No life should pass unnoticed.

literary

Gentlemen 後停頓，to be nothing 放慢，幾乎一字一頓。

That's a sad thing - to be forgotten so soon. 這麼快就被遺忘，是件可悲的事。

用一句家常的經驗，把「說過就等於做過」的推論當場拆掉。

We say it every day. That doesn't mean ...

反駁以口頭話當證據時用；對長輩講理也能這麼講，語氣很平。

People say that all the time without meaning it. ／ A figure of speech is not a threat.

中性

every day 稍停，That doesn't mean 起頭輕，really 重讀。

We joke like that every day; it doesn't mean anything. 我們天天這麼開玩笑，並不代表什麼。

把撒謊動機說成一種被聽見的渴望，同情和洞察同時擊中。

A man like this needs to be ..., to be ...

分析別人行為動機時能用；對當事人別這麼說，會顯得居高臨下。

Someone like him just wants to be heard. ／ He needs attention more than he needs the truth.

literary

quoted 與 listened to 並列重讀，語氣放慢。

A kid like this needs to be praised, to be noticed. 這樣的孩子需要被誇，需要被看見。