recede into the background退回不起眼的位置

把「精确」提升成生死标准，一句话划定了证据该有的分量。

testimony that could ... should be ...

强调责任与证据标准时用；日常闲聊里这么讲会显得过于郑重。

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

正式

electric chair 重读，should be that accurate 一句压稳收尾。

Evidence that could ruin a career should be that solid. 可能毁掉一个人职业生涯的证据，就该那么扎实。

把老头的处境说成一句墓志铭式的感慨，不煽情却最扎心。

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

为小人物说话、点破处境时用；正式发言里也能用，语气要缓。

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

literary

Gentlemen 后停顿，to be nothing 放慢，几乎一字一顿。

That's a sad thing - to be forgotten so soon. 这么快就被遗忘，是件可悲的事。

用一句家常的经验，把「说过就等于做过」的推论当场拆掉。

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

反驳以口头话当证据时用；对长辈讲理也能这么讲，语气很平。

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 起头轻，really 重读。

We joke like that every day; it doesn't mean anything. 我们天天这么开玩笑，并不代表什么。

把撒谎动机说成一种被听见的渴望，同情和洞察同时击中。

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

分析别人行为动机时能用；对当事人别这么说，会显得居高临下。

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

literary

quoted 与 listened to 并列重读，语气放慢。

A kid like this needs to be praised, to be noticed. 这样的孩子需要被夸，需要被看见。