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Survival Skills 崭露「头」角，且看今朝

 

课文朗读

 

课文讲解

 

繁體中文譯本 

 

Isabel is pacing the kitchen floor, while Ted, her husband, washed dishes:  伊莎贝尔在厨房里踱来踱去，先生泰德则在洗盘子：

 

T: Wound up about your first day at work tomorrow?

明天第一天上班，紧不紧张啊？

 

I: Just a little! My preinterview jitters were nothing compared to this.

一点点而已！跟这个比起来，我面试前的紧张根本不算什么。

 

T: Well, the first day is a toughie, and the office is in a different location to where you interviewed, isn’t it?

嗯，第一天是很难熬的，而且办公室跟你之前面试的地方不一样，对不对？

 

I: Yep, but I did a trial run of my commute today, and I timed it so I won’t be late tomorrow.

是啊，但我今天先探了一下路，也算了一下时间以免明天迟到。

 

T: Nor early.

也别早到。

 

I: Huh? That doesn’t jibe with my understanding of new-employee protocol.

啥？那跟我对新员工守则的了解有出入。

 

T: Showing up early might inconvenience your supervisor; she’d have to put aside what she’s doing to see to you.

提早到可能会对你的上司造成不便；她必须放下手边的工作来招呼你。

 

I: Oh. Timing is everything, it seems – speaking of which, I’ll be off around six; I’ll swing by your office and take you out for a celebratory meal!

喔。看来时间点得掌握好才行──说到这个，我六点左右下班；我会转去你办公室那里，带你去吃一顿庆祝大餐。

 

T: Sorry to turn you down, but (a) you don’t want to leave as soon as the clock strikes six, and (b) you should leave your schedule open.

抱歉我得拒绝你，因为一、你不会想六点一到就走人，二、你该把行程空出来。

 

I: Think I’ll be fatigued from being inundated with work?

你认为我会被工作压得喘不过气？

 

T: No, but you could be bombarded with invitations from coworkers who want to get to know you better.

不，但你可能会被一堆邀约轰炸──会有同事想进一步认识你。

 

I: You’re right – can you get your own dinner, this week?

你说对了──你可以自己弄晚餐吗，就这礼拜？

 

T: It’ll be a piece of cake!

小事一桩。

 

Vocabulary

单词发音

 

pace [pes] v. 踱步，慢慢地走

wound [waʊnd] up  紧张[担忧; 激动]的

jitter [ˋdʒɪtɚ] n.（复数）（极度的）紧张不安；恐慌

toughie [ˋtʌfɪ] n. 难题

trial run 试行; 试验; 试车; 试航

commute [kəˋmjut] n.【口】通勤

jibe [dʒaɪb] v.【美】【口】相一致，符合[（+with）]

protocol [ˋprotə͵kɑl] n. 礼节﹐礼仪

inconvenience [͵ɪnkənˋvinjəns] v. 给……造成不便；麻烦，打扰

supervisor [͵supɚˋvaɪzɚ] n. 监督人；管理人；指导者

swing by 【美﹐非正式】〔常指为某目的〕短时探访; 顺便过访 to visit a place briefly

turn down 拒绝(某人或其请求、忠告等)

fatigued [fəˋtigd] adj. 疲乏的

inundate [ˋɪnʌn͵det] v. 收到太多而应接不暇; 泛滥, 淹没, 使充满

bombard [bɑmˋbɑrd] v. 炮击；轰炸

 

 

Sentence of the Day

Time is of the essence.

时间是至关重要的。

 

of the essence  非常重要的; 不可缺少的

 

 

 

课文朗读

 

课文讲解 

 

Isabel returns home from dinner with her coworkers and tells Ted, who is washing dishes, about her first day work:  伊莎贝尔跟同事们吃完饭后回到家，向正在洗盘子的泰德说她第一天的工作情形：

 

I: It wasn’t that brutal; aside from reading some companyliterature and filling out forms, I had nothing to do!

没那么惨耶；除了读一读公司数据、填一填表格以外，没什么事好做！

 

T: Professionals aren’t expected to do much the first day; they’re just supposed to learn the ropes.

一般不会指望专业人员在第一天做太多事，只要熟悉一下环境就可以了。

 

I: The ropes, no problem; it’s the names, I’m worried about: I met about thirty people today!

熟悉环境没什么大不了；我担心的是那些名字：我今天遇到的人大概有三十个吧。

 

T: I hope you didn’t approach them yourself.

希望你没有主动接近他们。

 

I: Of course not! I wouldn’t want to appear cocky, would I?

当然没有！我不想让自己看起来很臭屁，对不对？

 

T: Attagirl! Did you write down their names?

好姑娘。你写下他们的名字了吗？

 

I: No, juggling a steno pad and pen while trying to shake hands could’ve proved awkward.

没，一边想和人握手一边拿笔记本和笔手忙脚乱地抄，会搞得我尴尬万分。

 

T: Not as awkward as it’ll be next time you meet those nameless souls! What else happened?

不会比你下次遇到那些无名氏的场面更尴尬！还发生了什么事？

 

I: I was surprised by my job title: I thought I’d be an associate manager, but it turns out I’m an assistant, instead; so I talked to my boss.

我的职称吓了我一跳：我以为我会是副理，结果却是个助理；所以我去跟老板谈了。

 

T: Good for you: misunderstandings should be cleared up right at the start.

那很好啊：误会该在一开始的时候就澄清。

 

I: Speaking of clearing up, I notice you’ve only washed one small plate and a fork—what did you get yourself for dinner?

说到澄清，我注意到你只洗了一个小盘子和叉子──你晚餐吃什么？

 

T: Erm…I told you yesterday – it was a piece of cake!

嗯……我昨天告诉过你啦：就一块蛋糕嘛！

 

（编者按：a piece of cake为「一块蛋糕」及「小事一桩」的双关语。）

 

－by Stacy Howe

 

Vocabulary

单词发音

 

brutal [ˋbrut!] adj. 严酷的，苛刻的

literature [ˋlɪtərətʃɚ] n.【口】印刷品

fill out 填写(表格、申请书等)

learn the ropes  掌握要领, 学会秘诀 to understand how to do a particular job or activity

cocky [ˋkɑkɪ] adj. 骄傲的；太过自信的

attagirl [ˋætəgɝl] int. 感叹词【美俚】好啊（表示赞许、鼓励或钦佩等，是That's the girl! 的转化）Informalused to show encouragement or approval to a girl or woman

juggle [ˋdʒʌg!] v. 耍（球，盘等）；耍弄

steno [ˋstɛno] n. 速记；速记法

awkward [ˋɔkwɚd] adj. 笨拙的

soul [sol] n. 人

associate [əˋsoʃɪɪt] adj. 副的

clear up 澄清

 

 

Sentence of the Day

What’s cooking?

发生甚么事了?

 

cook [kʊk] v.【口】发生