Larry已經開始在一家公司做暑期工作。他正在向李華抱怨工作上的問題。今天李華會學到兩個常用語:swamped和to get axed。
LL: I've only been working there two days and I'm already totally swamped with work! It's unbelievable!
LH: Larry,你說 swamped with work,是不是說你不知道怎么做這份工作?
LL: No, I know how to do the work. It's just that there is too much of it. To be swamped means to have too much work to do.
LH: 噢,我懂了,swamp一般是沼澤地的意思,你說swamped with work就是工作太多,好象陷進了沼澤地一樣,讓你覺得喘不過氣。那他們到底給你什么樣的工作?
LL: It's all relatively simple stuff like filing, typing, copying. It's just that there are piles of it and everyone wants it finished right now.
LH: ??!歸檔、打字、復印都是很簡單的事,可要是辦公室每個人都要你做這些事,每個人都要你馬上給他做,這確實難以對付。Larry,也許你該建議他們再多雇個人來幫你??!
LL: I doubt that. Besides, I don't want them to think I'm lazy. I guess I just have to accept the fact that I'll be swamped with work for the rest of the summer.
LH: 真是的。一個暑假就陷在這些繁瑣的工作里,太沒勁了。我只想在暑假里輕松輕松。
LL: I was hoping to relax a little, too, but it doesn't look as though that's going to happen.
LH: 不過Larry,雖然你白天在公司里工作很忙,可是你晚上回到家可以輕松一下啦,因為你不必像學期當中忙于寫作業(yè)或交報告!
LL: That's true, but I'm so tired by the time I get home from being swamped all day that I don't have the energy to do anything fun.
LH: 這你就跟我不一樣了。我呀,再累也沒有關系,只要一聽到玩,我就精神百倍了。不過,Larry,我真希望能幫你一點忙。
LL: Oh, it's not your fault, Li Hua. I'm sorry for complaining like this.
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LH: 嗨!Larry!你的暑期工作現在怎么樣了!還是很忙嗎?
LL: It's even worse than ever! The management just axed one of the other employees and now they're giving me all of his work!
LH: Ax不是斧頭嗎?你說你公司把那個雇員怎么啦?Axed?不是把他砍了吧?聽起來好嚇人的!
LL: To ax someone is to fire them. The other guy was really unreliable so management decided to ax him.
LH: 噢,我明白了,to ax someone就是把某人開除的意思。你真倒霉。公司把那個不可靠的人開除了,他的工作也就落在你頭上。你們公司有沒有考慮雇用新人來接替他的工作?
LL: I have no idea. In the mean time, I have so much work that I'm running around all day long.
LH: 你真可伶,每天忙得暈頭轉向的。也許你可以問問他們什么時候會雇用一個新人???
LL: I want to ask, but I'm afraid of getting axed, too.
LH: 你不過問問而已嘛!他們?yōu)槭裁匆_除你呢?
LL: Well, I guess they wouldn't fire me, because I've been doing a good job although I'm swamped with work. I just don't want them to think that I'm lazy or that I'm complaining.
LH: 我肯定他們不會開除你。他們也不傻,知道你做很多工作,而且還做得很好。你要不說,他們絕對不會再顧一個人。這樣不是省錢嘛!
LL: I guess you are right. I'm more likely to get axed for messing up rather than telling them I'm overworked.
LH: 沒錯。老老實實地告訴他們你太忙,總比你忙不過來,把事情搞砸了要好。
LL:Li Hua, you're so smart!
今天李華學到兩個常用語。第一個是swamped,是指陷入大量工作,或其他什么事。另一個常用語是to get axed,就是被開除的意思。