流行口語 第177課
时间:2019-01-15 作者:英语课 分类:美国之音《流行美语》
Larry 在告诉李华这个星期他办公室发生的一场争论.今天李华会学到两个常用语: to have a beef with someone 和 hit pay dirt。
LL: The boss still wants to fire Jim because they had a beef over the last sales report.
LH: 你们老板要开除 Jim,因为他们有什么? A beef?你是说他们为了一些牛肉在吵架啊?
LL: No (laughing), not beef as in the beef that you eat. To have a beef with someone means to have a disagreement. The boss and Jim had a disagreement over the sales report.
LH: 哦哈哈!原来 have a beef with someone 就是和某人有争执.这啊和我们吃的牛肉一点关系也没有.疑?那你老板为什么会和 Jim 吵架呢?
LL: Well, the boss felt that Jim had done a really bad job of preparing the report and Jim felt that the boss did not give him enough time to do the report properly.
LH: 哦~,老板觉得 Jim 写的报告太差,而 Jim 觉得老板没给他足够的时间,所以两人就这么吵起来啦? Jim had a beef with the boss.我说得对吗?
LL: Yep. Now, the boss is making everyone else miserable 1 because of his beef with Jim.
LH: 他是和 Jim 闹不开心,这跟其它人有什么关系呢?
LL: He's just been in a really bad mood and he's being tough on everyone. It's not fair. His beef is with Jim, not the rest of the people in the office.
LH: 他不高兴就对办公室里每个人都特别厉害.这是很不公平吔.他是跟 Jim 吵架,又不是和全办公室吵架。
LL: Exactly. I'm worried that the situation will go too far and there will be major problems in our office.
LH: 你怕情况这样发展下去办公室会出大问题啊?你们为什么不让 Jim 向老板道个歉.这不就完了吗?
LL: I don't think he'll do that.
LH: 他不会道歉?哎呀~,你劝劝他嘛.关键啊在他身上,道了歉紧张气氛就化解啦,对大家啊都有好处吔。
LL: It's worth a try. Maybe Jim will be willing to sacrifice his own interests and resolve 2 his beef with the boss.
…………………………………………………………….
LL: Hey, Li Hua, you really hit pay dirt with that suggestion you made. Jim apologized to the boss and everybody is happy now.
LH: Jim跟你们老板道歉啦?那太好啦!不过, Larry,你说 hit pay dirt 是什么意思啊,我..我听不懂吔!
LL: To hit pay dirt means that you found something that turned out to be profitable 3 or beneficial.
LH: To hit pay dirt 就是发现了很有好处的东西.所以你刚才的意思是我的建议啊非常有用.不过,这三个词 hit, pay, 和 dirt 合在一起好怪喔.这个说法是从哪里来的啊?
LL: When miners 4 would dig for gold, they would say that they had hit pay dirt when they found dirt that contained gold.
LH: 哦~,原来是采金矿的工人,他们在挖到含黄金的矿石的时候,他们就会说 hit pay dirt,这样一解释我就懂啦。
LL: They sometimes say "strike pay dirt". Anyway, LI Hua, I also hit pay dirt today.
LH: 你今天也挖到宝啦?怎么说啊?
LL: I got a good job offer after I graduate.
LH: 你已经找到毕业后的工作啦!那太好了!是哪家公司要雇你呢?
LL: Actually, the office I'm working in offered me the job.
LH: 真的啊?就是你现在打工的这家公司?不过你真的想在那儿工作吗?
LL: At first, I wasn't that interested, but when they told me what my salary would be, I realized that I'd really hit pay dirt.
LH: 哇喔~,太棒了,你很快啊就能把你的破车卖了,买一辆高级车, a nice set of wheels.我们一块儿出去庆祝庆祝吧!
今天李华学到了两个常用语.第一个是: to have a beef with someone,这就是“和某人吵架,关系紧张”的意思.另外一个常用语是: to hit pay dirt,或者说 to strike pay dirt,这是指“发现了有价值的东西”。
- It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他,这是可耻的。
- Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。
- It's up to him to resolve this problem.这个问题应由他来解决。
- This did not shake his resolve.这事并未动摇他的决心。
- That business became profitable last year.那项生意去年变得很赚钱。
- The convention business is very profitable for the hotel industry.承办会议业务能给旅馆业带来很高的利润。