短语字面是“从某人的壳里出来”(想象蜗牛/乌龟缩回壳里的状态),比喻义为:从害羞、内向、封闭的状态中走出来,变得开朗、外向或愿意与人交流。
主语:通常指“原本害羞/内向的人”(sb. who was shy/reserved)。
语境:强调“状态的改变”——由“封闭”到“开放”,常涉及触发改变的原因(比如某个事件、环境或人)。
结构:
基本形式:sb. + come out of one's shell(one's需替换为对应物主代词,如his/her/their等);
时态变化:过去式用came out of one's shell,现在完成时用has/have come out of one's shell。
触发事件:After joining the soccer team, Tom finally came out of his shell—he now talks to everyone at practice.(加入足球队后,汤姆终于不再害羞了——他现在训练时会和所有人聊天。)
环境影响:The new teacher’s friendly attitude helped Lily come out of her shell in class.(新老师的友善态度让莉莉在课堂上变得开朗了。)
现在完成时:Since moving to college, I’ve really come out of my shell—I even joined a debate club!(上大学后,我真的变得外向了——我甚至加入了辩论社!)
反义词:be in one's shell(处于害羞/封闭状态),比如:She’s been in her shell since her best friend moved away.(自从好朋友搬走后,她一直很封闭。)
同义表达:open up(敞开心扉;变得开朗),但“come out of one's shell”更强调“从长期内向到外向的转变”,而“open up”更泛(比如对某人倾诉心事)。
这个短语是描述性格转变的常用口语表达,核心是“打破内向的壳,变得外向开朗”,适用于说明某人因特定原因从“害羞封闭”走向“主动社交”的变化。