美語(yǔ)訓(xùn)練班079

A: 歡迎大家來(lái)到這期的美語(yǔ)訓(xùn)練班! 我是楊琳!

B: 我是Mike! 楊琳，來(lái)告訴大家今天都要學(xué)什么?

A: 沒(méi)問(wèn)題! 今天，我們要聊聊隨大流，看看美國(guó)辦公室的著裝標(biāo)準(zhǔn)，還要告訴你怎么說(shuō)能說(shuō)會(huì)道!

B: Oh you mean good at negotiating? Dear audience, you don't have to look anywhere else...

A: 哈哈，就你? 你不是才問(wèn)我怎么跟領(lǐng)導(dǎo)談漲工資嗎?

B: Hey! Don't give out my secret!

A: 好了好了不開(kāi)玩笑了! 我們言歸正傳，趕快來(lái)進(jìn)入第一個(gè)單元，learn a word!

Learn A Word 1599 donor

今天我們要學(xué)的詞是 donor. Donor is spelled d-o-n-o-r, donor. Donor 是捐贈(zèng)者的意思。Mitt Romney's campaign offered some supporters the opportunity to fly with the candidate on his charter plane as a donor prize. 羅姆尼競(jìng)選團(tuán)隊(duì)說(shuō)，某些支持者可以乘坐羅姆尼的專機(jī)，做為對(duì)競(jìng)選捐贈(zèng)者的獎(jiǎng)勵(lì)。在美國(guó)，More than 100 million Americans are registered organ donors, but it's not enough to keep up with the demand. 注冊(cè)登記的器官捐贈(zèng)者有一億多人，但還是供不應(yīng)求。Sixteen states offer tax incentives to organ donors, but a recent study found that these sweeteners aren't working. 美國(guó)有16個(gè)州對(duì)器官捐贈(zèng)者提供稅收方面的優(yōu)惠，但是最近有研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，這些鼓勵(lì)機(jī)制沒(méi)有作用。好的，今天我們學(xué)習(xí)的詞是 donor, donor, donor....

A: 哇! 美國(guó)總統(tǒng)候選人為了競(jìng)選，真是不惜血本呀! I would totally want to ride in Romney's charter plane!

B: That's for sure! But you've got to be a major donor for that to happen!

A: Yeah...I will leave that task for rich folks. 不過(guò)話說(shuō)回來(lái)，你的漲工資任務(wù)進(jìn)行的怎么樣了?

B: Oh that...I mean, I think I should ask, but I don't think I'm the most persuasive guy here....I always hesitate before I go into Sasha's office...

A: 哈哈，我就知道! 今天我特地挑了一集美語(yǔ)怎么說(shuō)來(lái)教教你怎么變得能說(shuō)會(huì)道! 趕快來(lái)聽(tīng)吧!

How to say it in American English

Jessica在北京學(xué)漢語(yǔ)，她的中國(guó)朋友要是遇到了不知道用美語(yǔ)怎么說(shuō)的詞，就會(huì)來(lái)請(qǐng)教她。今天是瓊燕要問(wèn)的：能說(shuō)會(huì)道。

Jessica: Hi, Qiong Yan! I heard there was a riot in your office...

QY: Riot? 哈哈，沒(méi)那么嚴(yán)重，其實(shí)就是我們這些小白領(lǐng)一塊兒找經(jīng)理談判，要求漲工資!

Jessica: And did you get the raise?

QY: Yes! I didn't expect management to give in,不過(guò)我們的談判代表是一個(gè)特別能說(shuō)會(huì)道的人，我估計(jì)，經(jīng)理是被他侃暈啦! 哈哈! 對(duì)了，在美語(yǔ)中要怎么形容一個(gè)人能說(shuō)會(huì)道呢?

Jessica: You can say someone has a silver tongue, or someone is silver-tongued. It means a person can clearly and effectively express himself and convince other people.

QY: I see. So, thanks to my silver-tongued co-worker, we got the raise!

Jessica: Congratulations!

QY: 其實(shí)，仔細(xì)想想，這次也不全是因?yàn)檫@個(gè)同事能說(shuō)會(huì)道。經(jīng)理以前老說(shuō)大家工作努力，應(yīng)該漲工資，可都是光說(shuō)不練! 所以他這次也自覺(jué)理虧!

Jessica: So he'd been paying lip service to you!

QY: Pay lip service? Lip 不是嘴唇么?我知道了，pay lip service 就是用空話安撫別人，對(duì)么?

Jessica: That's right. Managers at your company must have said how much they appreciated all your hard work, but if they're really impressed by what you've done, they should have given you a raise already! Their insincere appreciation is lip service.

QY: 沒(méi)錯(cuò)! 以前經(jīng)理還老說(shuō)公司財(cái)政緊張，所以大家都應(yīng)該支持公司，暫時(shí)不要漲工資，可我聽(tīng)說(shuō)，他自己的工資漲得可帶勁了!

Jessica: Ah! This is a textbook example of "talk the talk, but not walk the walk." 說(shuō)一套，做一套。

QY: 真氣人，If they talk the talk, they should walk the walk! 怎么能搞雙重標(biāo)準(zhǔn)呢?

Jessica: Well, I'm just happy you guys got what you wanted. You should be proud of yourselves!

QY: 今天我們學(xué)了，形容一個(gè)人能說(shuō)會(huì)道，用silver tongue; 說(shuō)空話是pay lip service; 說(shuō)一套，做一套是talk the talk, but not walk the walk.

B: Yeah. I have this friend back home who works in the banking industry. One time he got a speeding ticket from the policeman, but ended up selling the policeman a saving account at his bank! Now THAT is a silver-tongued dude.

A: 阿，真是! 我覺(jué)得那些在銀行里工作的人都是這樣! 個(gè)個(gè)能把死的說(shuō)成活的! Isn't this how the financial crisis started?

B: Exactly! Plus, since the banking industry is very profitable, a lot of people were trying to follow suit and get rich.

A: 哈哈，也沒(méi)那么夸張吧! 不過(guò)呢，你剛才提到了一個(gè)很好的詞兒，follow suit! 咱們來(lái)聽(tīng)聽(tīng)今天的words and idioms, 學(xué)學(xué)這個(gè)習(xí)慣用語(yǔ)怎么用!

Words and Idioms 989

美國(guó)習(xí)慣用語(yǔ)第 989講。我是楊琳。

M：我是Steve Baragona.

今天中午我忽然想吃麥當(dāng)勞，由于很久沒(méi)去，我看到他們的菜單時(shí)有些吃驚。我印象里的麥當(dāng)勞都是些不健康的快餐，漢堡，薯?xiàng)l什么的，但是現(xiàn)在，菜單里多了全麥麥片，水果片，沙拉等等選擇。這種改變可以用一個(gè)習(xí)慣用語(yǔ)來(lái)形容，那就是:

M: Follow suit. Follow is spelled f-o-l-l-o-w, and suit; s-u-i-t, suit. Follow suit.

大家都知道，follow是跟隨的意思，而suit，可以指撲克牌四種花色里的任意一種，兩個(gè)詞連起來(lái) follow suit，跟著出同樣的花色，引伸為“效仿，跟著做”。就像上面的例子里，隨著人們健康意識(shí)的提高，越來(lái)越多的餐廳紛紛推出健康的低卡路里菜單，連麥當(dāng)勞都沒(méi)落下。All the restaurants started to offer healthy food items. McDonald felt they needed to FOLLOW SUIT. 在下面例子里，我們要講講casual Friday的來(lái)歷，讓我們一起來(lái)聽(tīng)一聽(tīng):

M: "Who wants to have to wear formal business clothes every day? For many employees, Friday is when you can dress casually. You might even be allowed to wear jeans. It seems the trend began in California in the late 1990s. Before long, workplaces throughout the U.S. copied the practice. Other countries have been FOLLOWING SUIT ever since. "

[這段話是說(shuō): 誰(shuí)想每天都穿正裝上班呢? 對(duì)很多人來(lái)說(shuō)，星期五就是能穿便裝的日子，或許你還能穿牛仔褲呢!這個(gè)潮流似乎是90年代末從加利福尼亞州興起的。不久，美國(guó)各地的公司都開(kāi)始實(shí)行這種做法，其他國(guó)家也紛紛效仿。]

這個(gè)Casual Friday就是星期五便裝日! 誰(shuí)都不希望每天西服革履的。由于燃油價(jià)格上漲，美國(guó)的西南航空公司最近宣布，往返機(jī)票價(jià)格上漲4到10美元。業(yè)內(nèi)觀察人士說(shuō)，其他航空公司很可能會(huì)follow suit 跟著漲價(jià)。好的，我們?cè)賮?lái)聽(tīng)聽(tīng)剛才那段話:

M: "Who wants to have to wear formal business clothes every day? For many employees, Friday is when you can dress casually. You might even be allowed to wear jeans. It seems the trend began in California in the late 1990s. Before long, workplaces throughout the U.S. copied the practice. Other countries have been FOLLOWING SUIT ever since. "

人身攻擊在美國(guó)社會(huì)是一件絕對(duì)不被接受的事情。在下面的例子里，咱們要去看看一個(gè)廣播主持人中傷別人之后，給他自己帶來(lái)了什么樣的后果:

M: "The radio entertainer made a habit of making rude comments. Perhaps that's why his talk show was so popular. But when he insulted a woman repeatedly on the air, people from across the country complained loudly. Before long, one of his advertisers withdrew its support. Then another FOLLOWED SUIT. Soon the majority had done the same, leaving the show with few sponsors. "

[這段話是說(shuō)：這名廣播節(jié)目主持人一貫以言辭犀利著稱，也許這就是為什么他的談話節(jié)目那么受歡迎。不過(guò)當(dāng)他多次在節(jié)目中對(duì)一名女士出口不遜后，很多地方的聽(tīng)眾都表示不滿。沒(méi)過(guò)多久，他的一個(gè)廣告商就不再支持他了，隨后，另一個(gè)也撤走了對(duì)節(jié)目的贊助。很快，大多數(shù)廣告商都選擇退出，整個(gè)節(jié)目沒(méi)剩幾個(gè)贊助人了。]

不久前，美國(guó)著名體育頻道ESPN就解雇了一名員工，原因就是他使用了侮辱性的語(yǔ)言來(lái)形容冉冉升起的亞裔籃球明星林書(shū)豪。這確實(shí)說(shuō)明，言論自由是要在有框架內(nèi)的自由，并不是毫無(wú)限制的隨便亂說(shuō)。好的，讓我們?cè)賮?lái)聽(tīng)聽(tīng)剛才那段話:

M: "The radio entertainer made a habit of making rude comments. Perhaps that's why his talk show was so popular. But when he insulted a woman repeatedly on the air, people from across the country complained loudly. Before long, one of his advertisers withdrew its support. Then another FOLLOWED SUIT. Soon the majority had done the same, leaving the show with few sponsors. "

今天我們學(xué)習(xí)的習(xí)慣用語(yǔ)是follow suit, 意思是效仿，照做。

A: 原來(lái)，casual Friday是在加州興起的! 加州人民的風(fēng)格確實(shí)很隨性! 我原來(lái)就在加州上學(xué)，記得畢業(yè)的時(shí)候，校長(zhǎng)穿著 flip flop，人字拖就來(lái)給我們頒學(xué)位了! 這也許就是加州風(fēng)吧!

B: Haha, that definitely sounds like it! I guess in public schools there's usually no strict dress code. But things change when you come into the workplace!

A: Exactly! 特別是DC! 一上地鐵一片黑藍(lán)灰! 每個(gè)人都穿西裝!

B: Yeah, we are lucky that we don't have to wear business formal in our office! In today's business etiquette, the management team is talking about proper dress code in the company, let's go and take a look!

禮節(jié)美語(yǔ)Dress Code I

公司高層開(kāi)會(huì)，老板 Frank 建議，規(guī)定著裝標(biāo)準(zhǔn)，不能太隨便。

Frank: Good morning everyone. Thanks for being on time.

Gary & Penny: Good morning, Frank.

F: We've got a whole bunch of topics to go over today, but let's start with a simple one: our company's dress code.

G: We have a dress code?

F: Well...if we didn't have one before, I'm instituting one, starting now.

P: What exactly does this mean?

公司老板 Frank 說(shuō)，首先討論著裝要求，dress code。Gary 覺(jué)得奇怪，不知道公司什么時(shí)候有了 dress code. Frank表示，以前沒(méi)有沒(méi)關(guān)系，I'm instituting one starting now. 就從現(xiàn)在開(kāi)始定。

F: I've become concerned that we are getting a bit too casual. I was walking through the office the other day and some people were wearing shorts and T-shirts! I don't think that is appropriate office wear.

P: It's true. Our standards have been going down. It used to be that we wore casual clothes only on Fridays, but these days it seems we do it almost everyday.

Frank 原來(lái)是看到員工穿得太隨便，a bit too casual. T恤衫，短褲，什么都有，不合適上班穿。Penny 承認(rèn)，著裝標(biāo)準(zhǔn)是有些下降，原來(lái)只有星期五不用穿得太正式，也就是常說(shuō)的 Casual Friday, 可如今大家每天都穿得很隨便。

G: But Frank, don't you think maybe this isn't such a big issue? I mean, why does it matter what we are wearing? I think productivity is more important!

F: Actually, I agree with you, Gary. Productivity is the most important thing. But I think what we wear is linked to productivity.

P: In what way are they linked?

F: Police officers wear uniforms, right? It's a symbol to both them and the public that they are serious about what they do.

Gary覺(jué)得，穿著并不重要，重要的是工作效率，productivity. Frank 卻認(rèn)為，穿著跟效率之間也有密切聯(lián)系。比如警察穿制服，就是一個(gè)象征，a symbol, 告訴自己，也告訴大眾，他們覺(jué)得自己的工作很重要。

G: You're the boss, Frank, so of course it's your call...but I have to say, I'm not so keen on this idea. I think neckties cut off blood circulation. I'm much more in favor of a relaxed workplace environment.

F: And for some companies a relaxed atmosphere might work. At Google they let you bring your dog to work! But we are a serious financial company with an image to uphold.

Frank 的工作態(tài)度論并沒(méi)有說(shuō)服Gray. 他說(shuō)，you're the boss. It's your call. 你是老板，你說(shuō)了算，但我還是主張有一個(gè)輕松的工作環(huán)境 I'm in favor of a relaxed workplace environment. Frank 看來(lái)已經(jīng)拿定主意，說(shuō)輕松的工作環(huán)境適合某些公司，但他們是一家嚴(yán)謹(jǐn)?shù)慕鹑诠?，with an image to uphold. 要保持公司形象。新的 dress code 是什么呢?我們下次繼續(xù)聽(tīng)。

A: 原來(lái)，公司經(jīng)理Frank覺(jué)得公司的dress code 著裝標(biāo)準(zhǔn)太過(guò)隨意，a bit too casual. 作為一家嚴(yán)謹(jǐn)?shù)慕鹑诠荆瑃hey have an image to uphold,要保持公司形象，而且他認(rèn)為 what we wear is linked to productivity, 穿著與效率有密切關(guān)系。What do you think, Mike?

B: I definitely agree with this manager, that's why I dress up for work everyday. I feel like when you are in business casual, you feel more like you are working. While in a T-shirt, you just feel you are chilling.

A: Yeah, I guess what you wear IS linked to productivity for certain people. 像我這種自制力這么強(qiáng)的人，穿什么都效率高嘛!

B: Riiiighhttttt. But seriously, almost everyone judges by what they see on the outside.

A: Yep, beauty is skin deep, but first impressions do make a difference. 我們接著來(lái)聽(tīng)聽(tīng)老板Frank能不能說(shuō)服大家吧!

禮節(jié)美語(yǔ)Dress Code II

公司高層開(kāi)會(huì)，老板 Frank建議，嚴(yán)格員工的著裝標(biāo)準(zhǔn)，穿得不能太隨便。公司主管 Penny 說(shuō)，

P: I'm inclined to agree with Frank. You know that old saying: "Don't judge a book by its cover?" Well, almost everyone DOES judge by what they see on the outside. I think we do need to present a more professional image.

F: Some of the ladies may also have to tone down their attire as well. Clothes that are too revealing are not appropriate either.

G: What exactly is acceptable and what is not?

俗話說(shuō)，Don't judge a book by its cover. 人不可貌相，可實(shí)際上，Penny 表示，幾乎所有人都難免以貌取人 judge by what they see on the outside, 因此公司需要樹(shù)立專業(yè)形象。Frank又說(shuō)，女員工穿著也要 tone down 收斂，不能過(guò)于暴露，revealing, r-e-v-e-a-l-i-n-g, revealing 是暴露的意思。 那到底什么樣兒才符合要求呢?

F: Well, for the men it's pretty simple. They should wear a button-down shirt with a collar and preferably a tie as well. Jeans are not acceptable.

P: For the women I'd say professional looking skirts or dresses that go down to at least the knee are acceptable. And blouses or shirts should not show too much skin.

F: And of course, no sandals or flip-flops. Shorts are NEVER acceptable.

P: Do you think members of the board should try to dress especially well?

F: Yes I do. We are representatives of the company and we need to be a good example. I'd say the men should try to wear a full business suit when possible.

男人簡(jiǎn)單，無(wú)非是襯衫領(lǐng)帶，不穿牛仔。女人則要穿職業(yè)女裝，裙子過(guò)膝，上衣不能太露，一個(gè)字，professional looking 看上去要職業(yè)化。此外，涼鞋、拖鞋和短褲是萬(wàn)萬(wàn)不能穿的。Frank 還說(shuō)，理事會(huì)成員代表公司，要以身作則，穿得更正式。

G: Can we still have "Casual Fridays?"

F: (Chuckle) Sure, Gary...let's keep that tradition. But "casual" can't be too casual. I'd say jeans are OK on Fridays, but no T-shirts. Polo shirts or short-sleeved sports shirts are OK.

G: So I guess we are going to need to send out a memo with these new guidelines. Some people aren't going to be very happy about this.

F: Well, we in management can lead by example.

P: Actually, I kind of enjoy getting dressed up! It's fun!

G: And I guess I'll get used to the new rules. I do look pretty good in a suit.

F& P: (chuckle)

Frank 同意保留星期五隨意著裝的傳統(tǒng)，但不能太過(guò)份，牛仔褲可以穿，帶領(lǐng)子的馬球衫 Polo shirts 和短袖襯衣可以穿，但是沒(méi)領(lǐng)子的T恤衫還是不行。Gary 最后無(wú)可奈何地說(shuō)，I guess I'll get used to the new rules. 我想我會(huì)慢慢習(xí)慣新規(guī)矩的。

A: 老板Frank說(shuō)，男士應(yīng)當(dāng)穿 a button-down shirt with a collar and preferably a tie，襯衫領(lǐng)帶，女士應(yīng)當(dāng)穿dresses that go down to at least the knee，及膝裙，總之一個(gè)字, professional looking, 看起來(lái)要職業(yè)化。

B: See, Yanglin, you should be taking some notes from the episode and start to dress up for work!

A: I repeat: for really smart people, it doesn't matter what they wear, it's all about the brain. Thank you.

B: I think someone may be getting a little too self confident!

A: 哈哈，開(kāi)玩笑開(kāi)玩笑! 節(jié)目最后，我們?cè)賮?lái)學(xué)個(gè)詞，一起來(lái)聽(tīng)吧!

Learn A Word 1601 undocumented

今天我們要學(xué)的詞是 undocumented. Undocumented is spelled u-n-d-o-c-u-m-e-n-t-e-d, undocumented. Undocumented 形容詞，沒(méi)有合法證件的。Mitt Romney riled Latino voters early this year when he said "self-deportation" is the best way to deal with the millions of undocumented immigrants in the U.S. 羅姆尼今天年初時(shí)說(shuō)，自我驅(qū)逐時(shí)解決美國(guó)數(shù)以百萬(wàn)計(jì)非法移民的最好辦法，這種說(shuō)法激怒了拉美裔選民。與此同時(shí)，奧巴馬六月宣布新政策。Under President Obama's new policy, undocumented students can avoid deportation if they meet certain requirements. 根據(jù)奧巴馬的新政策，沒(méi)有合法身份的在校學(xué)生只要符合特定條件，就可以避免被驅(qū)逐出境的命運(yùn)。好的，今天我們學(xué)習(xí)的詞是 undocumented, undocumented, undocumented....

B: Woops...Yanglin, you are not undocumented immigrant, are you?

A: Yes, I am. Woops, now you know my deepest secret, which means I can't let you live...

B: Woops....

A: 哈哈， 好了同學(xué)們，這次節(jié)目時(shí)間就到這里了。