When a speaker's intention is to impress the audience rather than improve the condition of the audience, the speech tends to fall flat.

演讲者如果只想着给听众留下好印象，而不是通过演讲给听众带来的一些实质性的改善，那么只能流于平庸。

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Judging by the polls, such efforts are likely to fall flat.

从民调结果来看，这些做法很可能只是白费力气。

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For the second straight season, the Grizzlies won the Big Sky tournament to earn an NCAA bid only to fall flat in their opener.

WSJ: Syracuse blows past Montana 81-34 in NCAA opener

For the second straight year, the Grizzlies won the Big Sky tournament to earn an NCAA tournament bid only to fall flat in their opener.

WSJ: Syracuse blows past Montana 81-34 in NCAA opener

Judging by the polls, such efforts are likely to fall flat.

ECONOMIST: The presidential race