书城外语玩转幽默英语
11332500000006

第6章 Employer and Employee雇主与雇员

在现今的生活中,有一群人走进了我们的家庭,为我们洗衣做饭,收拾卫生,她们是最光荣的劳动人民--保姆。

A:Be careful not to drop those china dishes.A:小心别把瓷碟子打了。B:Don't worry, madam. If they did fall they are too light to hurt my feet.B:别担心,夫人。如果它们真的掉下来,也不会碰伤我的脚的。

A:Where is that pretty maid who was passing us cocktails a while ago?A:刚才递给我们鸡尾酒的那个漂亮女仆在哪?B:Oh, are you looking for a drink?B:噢,您在找饮料吗?A:No, I'm looking for my husband.A:不,我在找我的丈夫。

A:Brandy,quick!A:白兰地,快!B:What is the matter?B:怎么回事儿?A:Brandy.A:白兰地。B:What is the matter?B:怎么回事儿?A:Ah,now I have recovered from the shock.A:啊,我现在已经从打击中恢复过来了。B:What shock?B:什么打击?A:I broke your best Chinese vase.A:我把您最好的中国花瓶打破了。

A:Did the children behave when you bathed them?A:你给孩子们洗澡时他们规矩吗?B:All but the biggest boy,and how he fights and kicks before I get him in the water.B:都很规矩,除了那个大个儿男孩外,我把他放进水里之前他不停地搏斗,还乱踢。A:Which biggest boy?We have only one boy,Tom,and he's only three years old.A:哪个大个儿男孩?我们只有一个男孩,叫汤姆,他才3岁。B:It is not little Tom,I mean,it is the big boy with glasses and curly hair.B:我说的不是汤姆。是那个带眼镜留着卷发的大个儿男孩。A:God gracious!That's not my boy,that's my husband.A:天哪!那不是我的男孩,是我丈夫。

A:Who is this?A:你是谁?B:This is the maid.B:我是佣人。A:We don't have a maid!A:我们没有请佣人。B:I was just hired this morning by the lady of the house.B:我是今天早晨被女主人雇用的。A:Well, this is her husband. Is she there?A:哦,我是她丈夫,她在家吗?B:Ummm…she's upstairs in the bedroom with someone who I just figured was her husband.B:唔……,她和另一个人在楼上的卧室里,我想那人应该是她丈夫吧。A:Listen, would you like to make$10?A:听我说,你想不想赚10美元?B:What do I have to do?B:我必须干些什么呢?A:I want you to get my gun from my desk in the den and shoot that witch and the jerk she's with.A:我要你从我书房的桌子里拿出我的枪,然后把那女巫婆与跟她在一起的那个混蛋杀了!

1.Babies always cry out.

婴儿总是大喊大叫。

而这里的cry 跟“哭泣”无关。另外,表达“大声喊叫”的字还有“shout” 、“yell”和“scream”。如:

John shouts out loud when the nurse injects him(当护士替约翰打针时,他大声喊叫)。The fans always yell loud at the rock concert(歌迷总是在摇滚演唱中大声喊叫) 。Jenny likes to scream while riding roller coaster(当珍妮在玩云霄飞车的时候,她很喜欢惊声尖叫)。

2.God gracious!

意思是“天哪,啊呀!”表示痛苦、忧伤、愤怒等心情。和God有关表示一种心情的短语有:Good God!(天啊),God bless me.(天啊,啊唷)。

仆人servant

愚蠢的stupid

匆忙地hastily

主人master

厨房kitchen

跳跃leaping

不小心carelessly

干燥的dry

木材wood

点着的alight

燃烧blaze

锅pot

炉子stove

燃烧着的木材the burning

wood

扑灭put out

付钱pay

屠夫butcher

市场market

称weigh

烤肉roast

顾客customer

骨头bone

高明的,英明的brilliant

纤细的slender

手套glove

里克Reik

保护protect

持续下去go on

钻石diamond

从不never

脏的dirty

卫生球mothball

三袋卫生球three packets of mothballs

营业员assistant

惊奇的surprised

到目前为止so far

愚蠢的silly

嗨Hey

屋顶roof

邀请invite

晚餐supper

免费on the house

坐seat

饭店restaurant

侍者,服务员waiter

盘子plate

天哪!gosh

分cent

昨天yesterday

骄傲地proudly

感兴趣的interested

糖果candy

发展develop

褪色,消退fade

亲密intimate

履行(义务)commitment

逐步gradually

唤醒awaken

理想化idealize

激发inspire

一、翻译下列对话:

(一)Mat鞋垫

A:If you're going to work here, young man, one thing you must learn is that we are very keen on cleanliness in this home.Did you wipe your feet on the mat as you came in?

B:Oh, yes, sir.

A:And another thing we are very keen on is truthfulness.There is no mat.

(二)Flowers花朵

A:Mary, who put those hideous flowers on my desk?

B:I did, Mr.Jack.

A:And who told you to do that?

B:Mrs.Jack,Mr.Jack.

A:Don't they look nice?

二、根据所提供词或词组完成下列句子:

return

convenient

reserved

berth

compartment

valid

train

A:I would like to buy two (1)tickets to Zurich for tomorrow morning.

B:I am sorry. All the seats and berths have been(2). How about tomorrow evening?

A:Well, that's all right. I prefer (3)ticket. Is there any available?

B:Train 19, (4)07, berth 23 and 24, departs at 20:00 p.m. in the evening.

A:How along is the journey?

B:Ten hours. It arrives at 6:30 a.m. the next morning. Is that alright?

A:OK. Give me two tickets.

B:Well, would you like a oneway ticket or a (5)one?

A:What's the difference?

B:A round trip ticket saves you about 45% of the fare.

A:That's (6). Give me two tickets for round trip.

B:300 pounds including service fee.

A:Here you are. How long are the tickets(7)?

B:They are valid for three days. You can enjoy a real European train service. Enjoy your journey.

员工是企业不可或缺的一部分,优秀的员工则更受老板青睐。看看员工在工作中的小笑话吧!以免以后自己成为别人的笑柄。

A:Every time I want you,your're engaged on the phone,Miss Kate.A:凯特,每次我要你来,你都在打电话。B:They were business calls, sir.B:先生,它们是生意上的电话。A:Well, don't address my clients as darling in future.A:好吧,以后别把我的当事人称为亲爱的。

A:This house,has both its good points and its bad points. To show you I'm honest, I'm going to tell you about both.The disadvantages are, that there is a chemical plant one block south and a slaughter house a block north.A:这套住宅,既有优点又有缺点。为了向你表示我的诚实,我打算把两方面都向你介绍。缺点是南面一个街区是化工厂,北面一个街区是屠宰场。B:What are the advantages?B:优点是什么?A:The advantage is that you can always tell which way the wind is blowing.A:优点是你总能分辨出风朝哪边刮。

A:Do you wish a position as a proofreader?A:你想要校对员的职务吗?B:Yes,sir.B:是的,先生。A:Do you understand the requirements of A:你明白那种尽责的职务要求吗? that responsible position?B:Perfectly, sir. Whenever you make any mistakes in the paper, just blame them on me, and I'll never say a word.B:完全明白,先生。无论你什么时候在报纸上出错,都把它们归咎于我,我一句话也不说。

A:What does this mean? There's a fly in the bottom of my teacup!A:这是什么意思?我的茶杯里有一只苍蝇!B:How do I know? I'm not a fortuneteller!B:我怎么知道?我又不是算命的!

A:Hey, waiter, this soup tastes like dish water!A:嗨,服务员!这汤尝起来像刷盘子水!B:How do you know?B:你怎么知道的?

A:There's something wrong with these hot dogs.A:这些热狗有点儿不对劲。B:Well, don't tell it to me. I'm only a waiter, not a veterinarian.B:好啦,别告诉我,我不是兽医。

A:Look here, waiter, I just found a collarbutton in my soup.A:服务员,看这儿,我在我的汤里发现了一个领扣。B:Oh, thank you, sir, I have been looking all over for it.B:噢,谢谢你,先生,我一直在到处找它。

A:Look here! How long must I wait for the half portion of duck I ordered?A:喂,注意!我必须等多久才能得到我要的那半只鸭子?B:Till somebody orders the other half. We can't go out and kill half a duck.B:等到有人要另一半。我们无法出去杀死半只鸭子。

A:Waiter, my lobster is without a claw. How is that?A:服务员,我的龙虾少一只螯。这是怎么回事儿?B:Well,sir,they are so fresh that they fight with each other in the kitchen.B:噢,先生,它们太新鲜了以致于在厨房里就打起来了。A:Take this one away, and bring me one of the winners.A:把这只拿走,给我拿一只获胜的来。

A:Listen to me, Jack, I have a confession to make…A:听着,杰克。我有一件事要向你坦白……B:The doctor says you mustn't talk now, relax, my dear fellow.B:医生说你不要讲话,放松点,老朋友。A:But I must tell you everything! It was I who sent those three gangsters to out office and gave them the key to our safe.The money is here…A:可我必须把一切都告诉你。是我让那三个歹徒闯入我们的办公室,是我给了他们保险柜的钥匙。钱都在这儿……B:Don't give it a thought, Sly! I don't mind, I know you must have been broke at the time.Relax now!B:别想它了,史莱!我不怪你。我想你当时一定是身无分文了。A:I have another confession to make…It was I who sold the production secrets of our firm to Tom Son,Ltd…forgive me,Jack,I must have been mad!A:我还有一件事要向你坦白。是我把公司的生产秘密卖给了汤姆父子有限公司……原谅我,杰克,我一定是神志不清了!B:My dear friend, I forgive you! Don't get so excited! The doctor says you should keep calm.B:我的好朋友,我原谅你。别激动!医生说你要冷静。A:But I have a third confession to make…about your wife this time…A:可我最后还有一件事要向你坦白。这一次与你的妻子有关……B:For heaven's sake,stop worrying about that!!! I know everything about you and my wife! We're all square now, my dear old chap…You see,it was I who put the poison in your tea…B:天哪!别操那个心了!!!你和我妻子的事我全知道了!我们现在算是扯平了,老朋友……你看,是我在你的茶里放的毒……

1.My company is in the neighborhood of the post office.

in the neighborhood of是指“大约,左右”的意思,就等于about。它也可以指“在……邻近”。neighborhood本意是指“邻近地区,街坊”。如:

The whole neighborhood is talking about the murder.

(整个街坊都在谈论这起凶杀案)。

2.That is to say…

这里的say并不是指具体某人要讲什么。和say有关的短语:say away(有话就说吧),people say (据说),you don't say (真的吗), you say it (正是如此),Easier said than done(说比做容易)。如:

That is to say, you have to be the best.

那就是说,你必须做到最好。

算术arithmetic

聪明的,精明的smart

老板boss

笨的,愚蠢的dumb

雇员employee

利润profit

产值production

提升promotion

加班overtime

愿望intention

烤猪肉roast pig

我以为I thought

送send

电梯lift

(酒店)大堂lobby

按push

按钮button

讨厌annoy

傲慢arrogance

发明invent

走(进)step

第六层the sixth floor

电梯工operator

大楼building

层story

两次twice

严格的strict

规定rule

莉莉Lyly

餐桌the dinner table

提醒remind

严厉的stern

执行enforce

落下fall

赞美admiration

避难所refuge

容器vessel

价值price

结实的compact

习惯habit

安慰性的soothing

赞扬compliment

同意agree

加入join

家庭企业the family business

工厂factory

房顶,屋顶roof

边沿edge

迷惑的puzzled

顺从的obedient

跳jump

高低平面间相差的距离drop

相信trust

倒下,坠落crash

痛苦地painfully

楼梯stair

使皮肉青肿bruise

这里作“摔痛”讲batter

喘气wind

一、翻译下列对话:

What must I say?

我要说什么?

A:Now, suppose a customer comes in and asks for something we haven't got, don't go saying you haven't got it!

B:So what must I say?

A:Er…well, say you've got something else of a very high quality, you know the sort of thing.

二、根据所提供词或词组完成下列句子:

recommend

list

speciality

advise

spicy

popular

cuisine

delicious

traditional

chopsticks

A:Which kind of (1)do you have?

B:We have Sichuan food, Beijing food and Cantonese dishes. Which do you like best?

A:Well, I want to try the Sichuan food. I heard that it is (2)and hot. Would you (3)some dishes for us?

B:Typical Chinese dinner begins with cold dishes and ends with a soup. This page is the (4)of cold dishes, you can choose from it.

A:I do not like cold dishes. What is your (5)here? Ah, I remember, Mapo Tofu, right?

B:Yes, it is. It is a kind of spicy tofu. How about beef with green peppers? It is (6)among the customers.

A:All right. I like beef. But my sister likes chicken. Is there something (7)with chicken?

B:I (8)you to enjoy this dish, spicy diced chicken with peanuts.

A:Is it particular in cooking?

B:Yes, it is a (9)dish. The chef fries some chillies until they turn reddish brown, and then puts diced chicken breast meat into the pot with other condiments and peanuts.

A:Sounds delicious. I will order it.

B:It is enough for two or three people. Would you like to use (10)or forks and knives, sir?

A:We prefer the chopsticks. And we like to eat noodles as the main cuisine.