辦公室里長不大的“孩子”

Alex： Hey， Tim， how was your weekend？

Tim： Hey， Alex！ Man， last weekend was totes amazeballs. On Saturday， I…hey， what’s that noise？

Alex： I don’t know！ It sounds like it’s coming from Ed’s desk.

Tim： It totes is. I think it’s his cell phone ringtone.

Alex： You’ve gotta be kidding me！ Why on earth would you choose that horrible sound for your ringtone？

Tim： ①Beats me. ②Anyway， to each their own. If Ed wants his phone to sound like a herd of dying cattle， then who am I to say anything？

Alex： You certainly do have a right to say something about it！

Tim： What’re you talking about？

Alex： What you do in your own time is up to you， but in the office， we have to maintain a professional atmosphere.

Tim： Did you seriously just say “maintain a professional atmosphere？” You sound just like the boss！

Alex： Well， that’s because the boss is right！ A professional atmosphere is important. That kind of ringtone disturbs everyone in the whole office.

Tim： ③Yeah， I can see how a sound like that could totes get me off track.

Alex： Tim， you’re never on track to begin with. Anyway， what if a client heard that ringtone？ ④No one is going to take him seriously if he doesn’t shape up his image.

Tim： Geez， that’s pretty harsh. Anyway， I’m totes glad I don’t have that kind of image problem. ⑤I totes just let it flow， you know. I’m all-natural， all-me， and I think the boss digs it.

Alex： ⑥Actually， I know for a fact that the boss doesn’t “dig it.”

Tim： What？ Why are you talking that crazy talk？

Alex： Yesterday， I heard her say that if you say “totes” one more time in a meeting， she’s “totes” going to show you the door.

Tim： Ouch！ ⑦That hits me right in the feels！

Alex： Don’t take it personally. As your friend， I really should tell you that you need to clean up your vocabulary. You talk like a 15 year-old kid.

Tim： You can’t hate on the 1）lingo！ I grew up talking like this， and I won’t change who I am just for some job. Besides， my lingo is totes adorbs， and everybody knows it.

Alex： Wrong. ⑧Your unprofessional manner is holding you back.

Tim： Well， that’s just who I am.

Alex： You don’t have to think about it that way. You don’t have to change who you are， but you do have to learn a new set of skills.

Tim： I don’t know. Using all that “formal” language makes me feel 2）fake.

Alex： Well， that’s just part of growing up. You don’t have to give up your “lingo，” though. For some younger clients， maybe you can use all that 3）slang. But for older or more formal clients， it’s best to communicate in a way that they can accept.

Tim： You mean that I don’t have to change myself？ All I have to do is just learn a new style？

Alex： That’s totes what I mean！

Tim： Hey， I see what you did there！

亞歷克斯：嘿，蒂姆，你上周末過得怎樣？

蒂姆：嘿，亞歷克斯！哥們兒，上周末無敵精彩了。上周六，我……嘿，什么聲音那么吵？

亞歷克斯：我不知道！聽起來像是從艾德的辦公桌傳出來的。

蒂姆：絕對是。我想是他的手機鈴聲。亞歷克斯：你在跟我開玩笑吧！誰會選這么可怕的聲音作為手機鈴聲？

蒂姆：這難倒我了。不管怎樣，各人有各人的癖好。如果艾德想他的手機鈴聲聽起來像一群要死的牛在叫，那么，我能說什么呢？

亞歷克斯：你當然有權利說點什么！

蒂姆：你在說什么？

亞歷克斯：你在私人時間做什么事取決于你，但是在辦公室，我們必須保持一種職業氛圍。

蒂姆：你剛才真的是在說 “要保持一種職業氛圍”嗎？你聽起來像是老板！亞歷克斯：好吧，這是因為老板是對的！職業氛圍很重要。那種類型的鈴聲打擾了辦公室的每一個人。

蒂姆：嗯，我能感受到那樣的鈴聲會徹底讓我脫軌。

亞歷克斯：蒂姆，你從來就沒有走上正軌！不管怎樣，如果客戶聽到了那個鈴聲怎么辦呢？如果一個人不改善自己的形象，沒人會認真地對待他。

蒂姆：天啊，這太苛刻了。總之，我很高興我不會有那種形象的問題。你知道的，我總是順其自然。自然不做作，堅持真我，我想老板喜歡這一點。

亞歷克斯：事實上，我知道老板不“稀飯”這一點。

蒂姆：什么？你為什么說這些胡話？

亞歷克斯：昨天，我聽到她說如果你在會議上再說“無敵”一次，她肯定無敵地把你趕出去。

蒂姆：哎呦！這讓我受傷了！

亞歷克斯：別在意。作為你的朋友，我真的應該告訴你，你需要修正自己的用詞。你說起話來就像一個15歲的孩子！

蒂姆：你們不能夠討厭這些口頭禪！我從小到大都這樣說話，而且我不會因為工作而改變原本的自己。此外，我的口頭禪很容易理解，人人都能聽懂。

亞歷克斯：錯了。你非專業的行為正阻礙著你的發展。

蒂姆：好吧，這就是我。

亞歷克斯：你不需要那樣想。你不需要改變自己，但是你確實需要學習一套新的技能。

蒂姆：我不知道。用那些正式的語言讓我覺得很假。

亞歷克斯：嗯，這是成長的一部分。但是你不需要丟掉你的口頭禪。對一些年輕一點的客戶，也許你可以用那些俚語。但是對于年長的或者更正式的客戶，你最好用他們能接受的方式來交流。

蒂姆：你的意思是我不需要改變自己？我所要做的只是學習一種新的方式？

亞歷克斯：這就是我無敵想要說的！

蒂姆：嘿，我知道你在學我說話！CS

Smart Sentences

① Beats me. 這難倒我了。

beat sb.： perplex or baffle sb.（難倒某人，使某人不解）。例如：

It beats me how he was able to finish college in two and a half years.

我真不明白他是如何做到用兩年半的時間讀完大學的。

② Anyway， to each their own. 不管怎樣，各人有各人的癖好。

to each his own： sth. is obviously right for sb.， although others can’t understand why（各人有各人的癖好）。例如：—Geez， look at that. How can someone put all these colors on one dress？

天啊，看看那邊。怎么會有人把這些顏色堆在一條裙子上？—Well， to each his own， but I’d never do that.

這個嘛，各人有各人的癖好，不過我絕對不會那么做的。

③ Yeah， I can see how a sound like that could totes get me off track. 嗯，我能感受到那樣的鈴聲會徹底讓我脫軌。

get sb. off track： lead sb. away from what is correct or true（偏離正道，離題）。例如：

A question from the audience got the speaker off track for 20 minutes.

聽眾的一個問題讓講話者離題二十分鐘之久。

④ No one is going to take him seriously if he doesn’t shape up his image. 如果一個人不改善自己的形象，沒人會認真地對待他。

shape up： improve， reform（改變，進步）。例如：

I guess I’d better shape up if I want to stay on the team.

我認為，如果我想留在這個團隊的話，我最好有更好的表現。

⑤ I totes just let it flow， you know. 你知道的，我總是順其自然。

let it flow： let sth. develop in its own course without interference（順其自然）。例如：

Sometimes， letting it flow may not be the best option if the argument will obviously go off track.

有的時候，如果爭論明顯要往偏的方向發展，那順其自然也未必是最好的選擇。

⑥ Actually， I know for a fact that the boss doesn’t “dig it.” 事實上，我知道老板不喜歡這一點。

dig it： like that very much（非常喜歡某事）。例如：

We went to see Leo Dicaprio’s new movie last night. I can’t believe I actually did dig it， ’cuz I usually don’t like the guy.我們昨晚去看李奧·迪卡普里奧的新電影，沒想到，我很喜歡，因為我平常不喜歡這個演員。

⑦That hits me right in the feels！ 這讓我受傷了！

hit sb. right in the feels： sb. feels his/her feelings have been hurt（某人覺得自己的感情受到了傷害）。例如：

Mr. Blackstone’s comments on my tardiness hit me right in the feels. I had a car accident！

布萊斯通先生批評我遲到的話，讓我太受傷了。我可是出了車禍??！

⑧ Your unprofessional manner is holding you back. 你非專業的行為正阻礙著你的發展。

hold sb. back： prevent sb. from doing sth.（阻止某人做某事）。例如：

The board’s indecisiveness has been holding the company back these past few years.

董事會優柔寡斷，在近幾年阻礙了公司的發展。