第52課:To Be Canned; To Kiss Up To

字號(hào):

今天Michael和李華下了班以后就去逛街。他們邊走邊聊,李華會(huì)學(xué)到兩個(gè)常用語:to be canned和to kiss up to。
    M: Man, it was crazy at work today!
    L:真的?你們辦公室今天發(fā)生什么事啦?
    M: My friend George was late again, so the boss canned him!
    L:你的朋友George今天上班遲到,你們老板對(duì)他怎么了?對(duì)他大喊大叫嗎?
    M: No, it's much worse than that. The boss canned him. In other words, the boss fired him!
    L:什么?你是說George被解雇了。所以To be canned就是被解雇的意思啊?
    M: Yeah, here, "canned" is the past form of "to can," which means "to put something in a can," or slang for "to throw something in the trash can".
    L:噢,這里canned就是把什么東西扔到垃圾桶。可這跟解雇人有什么關(guān)系呢?
    M: Hehheh, when your boss "cans" you, he's getting rid of you. It is like he is throwing you in the trash can.
    L:原來這是一種比喻啊。不過這種說法聽起來挺嚇人的。Michael,你覺得George應(yīng)該被解雇嗎?
    M: To tell the truth, George was not a very good employee. If I were the boss, I would have canned him too.
    L:哎呀,Michael,你這么說你的朋友未免太過份了吧!George又沒做壞事,為什么要解雇他?。?BR>    M: Well, George was often very late to work. This month, he came in late a least four times. The boss warned George many times before he finally canned him.
    L:看來你一點(diǎn)也不同情George。要是我的朋友碰上這種倒霉事,我至少也會(huì)替他難過啊。
    M: Hmph. When George was late, it caused me and the other employees a lot of trouble. No one is really sad that he was canned.
    L:也許你說得沒錯(cuò)。如果每個(gè)人都象George這樣老遲到,那會(huì)給其他人造成多大的麻煩啊。
    M: Well, you are right and wrong. Because George was canned, we all have a lot more work to do right now.
    L:對(duì),希望你們公司會(huì)趕快雇一個(gè)人來接替George的工作。
    M: I'm sure they will.
    L:哎,Michael,你有沒有擔(dān)心過自己有一天會(huì)被老板解雇呢?
    M: Me? Not at all. I'm a good worker, and I kiss up to the boss all the time.
    L:你說你工作表現(xiàn)很好,而且你還經(jīng)常親你的老板。哎呀,Michael,你好惡心哦,你的老板不是男的嗎?
    M: No no no……I said I "kiss up to" my boss. To "kiss up to" someone is to try to be extra friendly to someone so they will treat you well.
    L:那你到底是怎么樣“kiss up to”你的boss呢?
    M: Well, when I want to "kiss up to" the boss, I might bring him coffee, or help him clean the office. I also try to say nice things about him and his family, or tell him he just looks really cool.
    L:噢,現(xiàn)在我懂了。你不用說的那么好聽,“kiss up to”無非就是拍什么人的馬*嘛。哎呀,真沒想到,你還是個(gè)馬*精啊。你不怕同事看不起你啊?
    M: No, not at all. All of the employees kiss up to my boss. Actually, there's nothing wrong with that, because our boss is a really nice guy.
    L:如果你的老板*你說的那么好,或許討好他也沒什么錯(cuò)。
    M: I Guess kissing up to someone can be useful, but not so that everyone hates you.
    L:你說的沒錯(cuò),拍馬*有時(shí)候是挺管用的,不過要是搞得人人都討厭你,那就太不值得了。
    M: Don't worry about me. I don't want the boss to do anything for me, I just don't want to be canned.
    L:其實(shí)我才應(yīng)該向你學(xué)幾招,去討好討好我的老板,也讓他對(duì)我另眼相看。
    今天李華學(xué)會(huì)了兩個(gè)常用語:to be canned和to kiss up to。To be canned在這里就是被解雇的意思,kiss up to是討好某人,拍馬*的意思。