美語訓(xùn)練班115

A: 歡迎大家來到這期的美語訓(xùn)練班! 我是楊琳!

B: 我是Mike! 楊琳，來告訴大家今天都要學(xué)什么!

A: 好的! 今天，我們要一起看看美國老板鼓勵(lì)員工的方式，告訴你怎么說陷入困境，還要來看看如何說越界!

B: Performance evaluations are very common in American companies. Basically, your supervisor gives an evaluation of your work performance every three months. Most of the time, they just want to see whether you perform your job well.

A: Aren't your nervous that your first evaluation is coming up Mike? I can put in a good word for you if you buy me lunch today....

B: As if I need it.

A: 呵呵，好了，不開玩笑了! 咱們趕快開始今天的課程吧! 先來進(jìn)入第一個(gè)單元...

B: learn a word!

Learn A Word 1794 replica

今天我們要學(xué)的詞是replica. Replica is spelled r-e-p-l-i-c-a, replica. Replica 是復(fù)制品的意思。Lego built a life-sized replica of an X-Wing Fighter, the iconic spaceship from the Return of the Jedi. 樂高公司搭建了一個(gè)跟星球大戰(zhàn)6杰迪歸來里的經(jīng)典飛機(jī)X-Wing 一樣大小的復(fù)制品。A scaled replica of the Titanic will be put on display. 一個(gè)泰坦尼克號的復(fù)制模型將向民眾公開展覽。瑞士手表生產(chǎn)行業(yè)說，The replica watch market costs them billions of dollars each year. 假冒偽劣的復(fù)制名表市場每年都會給他們造成數(shù)以十億美元計(jì)的損失。今天我們學(xué)習(xí)的詞是 replica, replica, replica...

B: So you just got back from your vacation to Las Vegas 楊琳。How do you like the city?

A: I heart it! Especially all the different theme hotels... and their buffets! But my favorite is the replica of the Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triumph, they're breath-taking.

B: Yeah, Las Vegas is a very attractive city to visit. According to TripAdvisor.com, The fountains at the Bellagio Casino are actually the top place people wanted to see when they come to America.

A: You lived there for two years, right?

B: Yep, I really like the city. It's diverse and energetic, but some times...it's a little out of line.... But as we put it: what happens in Vegas ends up on Facebook.

A: 哈哈，對! 你正好提到了我們接下來要教的短語: Out of Line! Let's check it out in today's words and idioms!

Words and Idioms 851 Out of Line

美國習(xí)慣用語第 851講

這個(gè)周末我去參加一個(gè)派對，其中一個(gè)客人顯然是喝多了，居然去騷擾另一位客人的太太。 那位太太一氣之下甩了他一巴掌。我看是活該。

這個(gè)人的行為可以說是:

M: Out of line. Line is spelled l-i-n-e. Out-of-line. Out of line.

Out of line 這個(gè)習(xí)慣用語由三個(gè)很簡單的英文詞組成。Out ，外面;line，線，界限;那么Out of line很容易理解，就是超越了界限。說一個(gè)人 Out of line，就是行為不檢點(diǎn)。比如我上次碰到的那個(gè)醉酒的男子，騷擾別人的妻子。

M:He shouldn't have been acting like that; he was OUT OF LINE.

下面我們再舉個(gè)例子，有一位父親在足球場的行為超越了界限而遭到其他父母的非議:

M: Some parents don't know how to behave. At my son's football game, one player's dad ran onto the field and started screaming at the referee about a call he didn't agree with. He was so OUT OF LINE. I don't blame the officials for banning him from the stands for the rest of the season. What he did was unacceptable.

有的父母就是不懂得控制自己的行為。在我兒子的足球比賽上，有一個(gè)球員的父親覺得裁判的判決不公平，所以就沖到足球場上，對著裁判大喊大叫。后來球隊(duì)決定禁止他在本賽季觀看比賽。他的行為讓人無法容忍。

其實(shí)很多父母都會這樣，看孩子比賽太投入了，常常就會做出一些缺乏理智的舉動，明明是大人，行為卻幼稚得像小孩子。

小孩也應(yīng)該有大人正確引導(dǎo)，才不會行為出軌。有一天我走在路上，一只籃球滾到我腳邊。有個(gè)孩子命令我說"把籃球給我扔過來"，我提醒他要加上一個(gè)"請"字，可是他既沒有道歉，也沒說"請"，自己把籃球撿起來轉(zhuǎn)身就跑了。 這種行為在我看來就是OUT OF LINE。

很多學(xué)生大學(xué)畢業(yè)要申請工作，走入社會。申請工作要面試，考官可以問你哪些問題，哪些問題又會OUT OF LINE呢?

M: What can a potential employer ask you? It's fair enough for an interviewer to inquire about your job history and education. Yet questions about your age, religion and political views are way OUT OF LINE. You never have to answer them. Not only are they inappropriate, but they are also illegal.

你未來的雇主可以問你哪些問題呢? 面試官有權(quán)詢問有關(guān)你的工作經(jīng)歷和教育程度方面的問題。但是如果他問你的年齡、宗教信仰和政治立場，那就大大超越界限了。這種問題不僅不恰當(dāng)，而且不合法。

注意剛才這個(gè)人說

M: Way out of line.

這里的 WAY 就是非?；蛘吆車?yán)重的意思。

我們還可以在 out of line 前面用動詞 GET; 和STEP; 表示超越了界限。

M:Get out of line; step out of line.

例如:

M:If that unruly father STEPS OUT OF LINE next season, he might never be allowed to watch another football game.

這次美國習(xí)慣用語就到此結(jié)束了。以后我想到更精彩的習(xí)慣用語一定和大家分享。

M: Until next time.

下次節(jié)目再見。

M: This has been Words and Idioms.

A: True. Never talk about religion, sexual orientation, or politics in the work place. You may cross the line and get yourself in trouble.

B: Exactly. You don't want that kind of record on your performance evaluation. Once your reputation is ruined, you can never get it back.

A: 沒錯(cuò)! 今天的business etiquette里，部門經(jīng)理就要來找手下談?wù)勊哪甓戎衅诠ぷ鞅憩F(xiàn)!

B: Let's check it out!

禮節(jié)美語Performance Evaluation I

部門經(jīng)理 Fay 找手下 Steve 來，討論他的年度中期工作表現(xiàn)。

Fay: Hi there, Steve....grab a seat.

Steve: Hi, Fay. How are you this morning?

F: Very well, thanks. Great weather we've been having.

S: I know! Makes me want to sneak away from work and go hiking!

F: Yeah...hiking would be great right about now! Ok...let's get down to the task at hand...your bi-annual performance evaluation.

Steve 的上司 Fay 讓他隨便坐，grab a seat 是非常口語的說法，意思就是請坐。談?wù)轮跋纫岩幌?，Steve 說，最近天氣好，讓他恨不得上班開小差兒，去滑雪 to sneak away from work and go hiking. 寒暄過后，F(xiàn)ay 說，let's get down to the task at hand，咱們開始談?wù)掳?。Fay 找 Steve 來為了每年兩次 bi-annual 的工作表現(xiàn)評定。

S: So how did I do?

F: Well, in many areas you get high marks. You have a lot of creative thoughts and your enthusiasm regarding work projects is very much appreciated.

S: That's good to hear. I enjoy being creative and I'm glad to see you appreciate that. Now what's the bad news?

F: (Chuckle) Well, we all have areas in which we could do better.

S: And what are my areas?

Fay 首先表揚(yáng) Steve，說他很多方面都做得很好，get high marks, 得高分，尤其是他點(diǎn)子多 ，工作熱情高。Steve 問，So what's the bad news? 壞消息呢?意思是缺點(diǎn)呢?Fay 婉轉(zhuǎn)地說，we all have areas in which we could do better. 大家都有可以改進(jìn)的地方。

F: For starters, there is an issue of punctuality. You've been clocking in roughly 20 to 30 minutes late almost every day.

S: But I moved last month and the office is almost 40 miles away from my home now! Sometimes the traffic is really terrible.

F: Yeah, I know. I also live out in the suburbs. Sometimes I'm stuck in traffic for 45 minutes! But, as you know, the company requires all employees to be at work by nine A.M. sharp.

首先是準(zhǔn)點(diǎn)上班的問題，the issue of punctuality. Steve 幾乎每天遲到二、三十分鐘，to clock in 指進(jìn)辦公室的時(shí)間，to clock out 則是指離開辦公室的時(shí)間。Steve 解釋說，這是因?yàn)樗罱峒?，路上堵車。Fay 表示理解，說自己有時(shí)也會 stuck in traffic for 45 minutes.有時(shí)路上會堵45分鐘，可是公司要求員工九點(diǎn)準(zhǔn)時(shí)到辦公室，to be at work by nine A.M. sharp. 這一 點(diǎn)不能含糊。

S: Yeah...I know...but it's really been tough for me lately! Can you possibly make an exception?

F: If it were up to me, I'd love for everyone to come in at noon. But I can't make exceptions; otherwise everyone else will be unhappy. We're a team and we all have to follow the rules.

S: All right. I guess I'm just going to have to wake up an hour earlier.

F: Sounds like a good plan.

Steve 問 Fay 能不能 make an exception 破例，讓他稍微晚點(diǎn)到。Fay 說，如果依她，if it were up to me, 大家中午到都行，但是公司的規(guī)定，大家都要遵守。除了上班遲到，Steve 還有哪些缺點(diǎn)，我們下次繼續(xù)聽。

A: Fay跟Steve談起了他的工作表現(xiàn)，F(xiàn)ay說，Steve有很好的一面，比如說have creative thoughts, 點(diǎn)子多，還有enthusiasm towards work，工作熱情高。但是話峰一轉(zhuǎn)，談到了the issue of punctuality, 準(zhǔn)時(shí)的問題。Steve表示自己搬到了離公司很遠(yuǎn)的地方，能不能make an exception.

B: I think rule No. 1 in work place is to be fair. You can't make an exception for just one person, whatever the reason is. It'll take a long time to get the office morale back.

A: I can say that again. Let's keep listening to Fay and see what else he has to say about Steve!

禮節(jié)美語Performance Evaluation II

部門經(jīng)理 Fay 找手下 Steve 來，討論他的年度中期工作表現(xiàn)，除了上班遲到，Steve 還有哪些缺點(diǎn)呢?

S: OK...what other issues are there with my performance?

F: Well, like I said before, you are very enthusiastic and we appreciate that, but sometimes you can be a bit over-the-top.

S: What do you mean by that?

F: Well, sometimes your co-workers feel that you are too loud, or you tell inappropriate jokes during office hours.

S: Who said that about me? Tell me their name!

Fay 說 Steve 有時(shí)熱情得 over-the-top, 有點(diǎn)過頭，辦公室同事覺得 Steve太吵，而且還開一些不合時(shí)宜的玩笑。Steve 氣得不行，問是誰在背后打他的小報(bào)告。

F: You know I can't do that and I don't think it's important who feels this way. The truth is that maybe you could try to tone down your volume and be more careful of what you say.

S: I think people are too sensitive.

F: That could be true, but we all have to work together so it's probably best not to step on people's toes.

S: OK...I guess I can try to tone it down.

F: Can you handle another criticism?

S: Sure...why not? Bring it on!

Fay 表示，誰說的并不重要，她也不能告訴 Steve，但她建議Steve 還是要 tone down your volume 說話小聲點(diǎn)，Don't step on people's toes. 別踩到別人腳指頭，意思是不要冒犯別人。Fay 問Steve說，Can you handle another criticism? 天啊，還有?

F: I would recommend that you work on following through with projects. You have a lot of good ideas and you start quite a few different projects, but many times you don't follow through. Then all these ideas are just floating around but nothing is really getting done.

S: But I'm really more of an idea person. I come up with concepts and start them, but the legwork is really not my style.

Fay 建議 Steve 做項(xiàng)目要 follow through. 做事有始有終。Steve 好主意雖然多，可是 nothing is really getting done. 沒有什么是真正落實(shí)了的。Steve 說自己就是擅長出點(diǎn)子，I'm more of an idea person. 但是具體跑腿兒、落實(shí)就不是他的風(fēng)格了，the legwork is not my style. legwork 意思是跑腿兒的活，具體工作。Fay 表示，這不利于Steve升職。

F: Honestly Steve, You have a lot of talent, but if you don't complete tasks, you won't get promoted.

S: Well, thanks for the advice. I'll try to work on that.

F: Again, I can't stress enough how grateful we are for all the work you do. Overall, you are a quality employee and we're glad to have you.

S: Thanks for saying that, Fay. I appreciate it.

F: Sure. Thanks for stopping by and we'll do this again in six months.

S: See you then!

Steve 保證，他會努力改正。I'll try to work on that. 談話結(jié)束前，F(xiàn)ay 再次強(qiáng)調(diào)，Steve 是優(yōu)秀員工，a quality employee，公司能有他這樣的員工很高興。We're glad to have you.

A: 原來呢，Steve雖然很善于出點(diǎn)子，但是不善于follow through 做事有始有終, 而且有點(diǎn)不顧別人的感受, step on people's toes, 有時(shí)會冒犯別人。Steve說，legwork is not my style, 不善于做具體工作，但是會從此注意，開始改正。

B: Creative ideas and the ability to follow through, that's the way to get a promotion.

A: 沒錯(cuò)! 哎，Mike,你兩樣都沒有，怎么辦呢?

B: Ugh....

A: (笑) 好了好了不開玩笑了! 工作表現(xiàn)就到這里吧! Now let's go to another learn a word!

Learn A Word 1795 showstopper

今天我們要學(xué)的詞是showstopper. showstopper is s-h-o-w-s-t-o-p-p-e-r, showstopper. Showstopper 意思是精彩的表演，或是吸引人的事物。New York is a city rich in landmarks and showstoppers for visitors to experience. 紐約有各種地標(biāo)和吸引人的景點(diǎn)，給游客提供豐富的體驗(yàn)。音樂喜劇“海上情緣”正在美國的肯尼迪藝術(shù)中心上映。"Anything Goes" is a musical comedy full of showstopper numbers. “海上情緣”里一段段演唱，精彩紛呈。The new 2014 Jaguar F-Type is a true showstopper. 2014年新款捷豹 F-Type 實(shí)在是太吸引眼球了。今天我們學(xué)習(xí)的詞是 showstopper, showstopper, showstopper...

B: Have you watched Pacific Rim? It's a real showstopper! I highly recommend it!

A: Hmm...我不喜歡機(jī)器人打打殺殺的電影，我更喜歡看些輕喜劇什么的! 有一次硬著頭皮跟朋友去看恐怖片，I was so afraid that I couldn't look at the screen, but at the same time I couldn't leave! I was stuck there, it was so painful...

B: Wow...OK. Then you probably should skip the next one. Well, the idiom we are going to teach next means exactly what you just said. Let's check it out!

Words and Idioms 852 PAINT ONESELF INTO A CORNER

美國習(xí)慣用語>第 852 講我表姐最近遇到了一件很為難的事。她準(zhǔn)備兩個(gè)月后結(jié)婚，并答應(yīng)讓自己最要好的朋友做伴娘，可是她忘了，其實(shí)她早就把伴娘的角色缸5c給了自己的親妹妹。我真不知道她要如何才能脫身。用我們今天要學(xué)的習(xí)慣用語來形容她的處境恰如其分，那就是：

M: Paint oneself into a corner. Paint is spelled p-a-i-n-t, and corner; c-o-r-n-e-r. Paint-oneself-into-a-corner. Paint oneself into a corner.

在英語里，Paint 是畫的意思，corner 是角落。TO PAINT ONESELF INTO A CORNER 意思是讓自己陷入困境。我表姐的情況一個(gè)很好的例子，因?yàn)樗寻槟锏闹匾蝿?wù)許給了兩個(gè)人。SHE PAINTED HERSELF INTO A CORNER. 別以為自己為難自己的人只有她一個(gè)。讓我們一起來聽聽下面這個(gè)人的故事。

M: "To make extra money, I took a part-time job. But then one of my co-workers at my full-time job quit and I volunteered to do some of his work. Now I've really PAINTED MYSELF INTO A CORNER. I've taken on too much. It's impossible for me to get everything done!"

這個(gè)人說：為了多賺點(diǎn)錢， 我找了份兼職工作。后來我的一個(gè)同事辭職，我主動提出分擔(dān)他留下來的一部分工作，如今我是自作自受，攬了太多的工作，簡直是分身乏術(shù)。

我也經(jīng)常干這種傻事。比如說，最近公司有個(gè)大項(xiàng)目，時(shí)間很緊，我主動承擔(dān)了下來，誰知負(fù)責(zé)該項(xiàng)目的另外一位同事突然生病，我只好周末加班，一個(gè)人干兩個(gè)人的活。I PAINTED MYSELF INTO A CORNER. 好的，讓我們再來聽聽上面那段話。

M: "To make extra money, I took a part-time job. But then one of my co-workers at my full-time job quit and I volunteered to do some of his work. Now I've really PAINTED MYSELF INTO A CORNER. I've taken on too much. It's impossible for me to get everything done!"

我上周末去看電影，是去年夏天一部大片的續(xù)集。電影里的主人公本來已經(jīng)死了，可以因?yàn)橛捌苜u座，所以制片人決定讓主人公起死回生。讓我們一起聽聽下面這個(gè)娛樂記者的報(bào)道。

M: "How can there be a movie sequel when the main character was killed off? Writers are used to coming up with solutions to impossible situations. They're not about to PAINT THEMSELVES INTO A CORNER. So they'll find ways to miraculously save the hero or explain that his death was only a dream!"

這個(gè)記者說：主人公死了還能拍續(xù)集?不論是多么不可能的事情，編劇們都能找到出路。他們絕不會讓自己陷在里面拔不出來。他們會神奇地找到解救主人公的辦法，或是說他的死其實(shí)是一場惡夢。

讓自己陷入困境是 PAINT ONESELF INTO A CORNER. 如果是別人讓你陷入困境該怎么說呢?那就是要用到動詞 BACK 了， 說 BACK SOMEONE INTO A CORNER. 我朋友的公司最近緊縮開支，通知他，要么同意減少工資，要么就走人。THEY BACKED HIM INTO A CORNER. 再比如，我們社區(qū)委員會主任讓我組織節(jié)日游行，但是給我的經(jīng)費(fèi)又少得可憐。I FEEL LIKE SHE'S BACKING ME INTO A CORNER。好的，我們再來聽一下上面那個(gè)例句。

M: "How can there be a movie sequel when the main character was killed off? Writers are used to coming up with solutions to impossible situations. They're not about to PAINT THEMSELVES INTO A CORNER. So they'll find ways to miraculously save the hero or explain that his death was only a dream!"

好的，這次美國習(xí)慣用語就到此結(jié)束了。我建議大家，每次學(xué)習(xí)一個(gè)新的習(xí)慣用語，都要反復(fù)練習(xí)，這樣真到了用的時(shí)候，才不會 PAINT YOURSELF INTO A CORNER.

M: Until next time.

下次節(jié)目再見。

M: This has been Words and Idioms.

A: You need to give yourself some free time. When I was in graduate school, I painted myself into a corner by attending school, being a TA, and interning at a company. The end result was that I couldn't do any of them well enough.

B:Maybe someone smarter, aka me, could have handled it?

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

B: Tune in next time for American English Mosaic!

A: See you next time!