Brushing Up at the Office

在辦公室刷牙

陳豪在北京的ABC美國公司工作。他遇到美國同事Amy。

(Office ambience)

A: Hi Chen Hao, how are you today?

C: 還不錯，你呢？

A: I'm fine, just taking a quick break.

C: 我剛才看到一件怪事。

A: What?

C: 我在走廊上遇到Todd, 他正拿著牙刷和牙膏往洗手間走。

A: He does it often, several times a day, I think. What struck you as odd?

C: 上班時間刷牙，還那么明目張膽的，你不覺得奇怪嗎？

A: I have wondered why he doesn't carry his toothbrush in a small travel case or his pocket.

C: 上班時間刷牙，讓我覺得很奇怪。

A: I actually applaud the idea and wish that more people did it. I keep a toothbrush and toothpaste in my desk all the time so I can brush after meals and breaks.

C: 牙醫告訴我，一天早晚刷兩次牙就行了。

A: That's enough if your only goal is good dental care and the prevention of problems. Brushing on the job has a different purpose.

C: 除了保護牙齒，刷牙還有其他目的？一會兒吃飯時你一定要告訴我！

A: Sure. I'll see you at the China Café.

中午吃飯時。

C: Amy, 上班時刷牙還有其他目的嗎？

A: It's important for the simple reason that bad breath is offensive. Sometimes we don't realize when our mouth odor is unpleasant.

C: 噢，原來是為了防止口臭。別人真能聞到嗎？

A: I had a colleague once who lost his job because of his bad breath. His clients were continually offended and several asked his boss to tell him.

C: 老板有沒有找你那位同事談話呢？

A: The boss was not eager to have that kind of conversation with an employee, but he knew that it was his responsibility.

C: 那還是談了。那談話沒有效果嗎？

A: When the complaints kept coming, my colleague was asked to resign.

C: 去刷牙太麻煩了，我嚼口香糖行不行呢？

A: That might help freshen your breath, but it is far from professional.

C: 那薄荷糖呢？

A: Breath mints don't turn people off, but they also don't do the job as well as brushing.

C: 那我用漱口水？

A: Same thing. Mouthwash is harsh and can make you smell as if you are covering up something.

C: 可我也不能一天到晚老是刷牙啊！

A: You don't have to be obsessive about it. Just pay attention to the foods you eat during the day. The garlic in our lunch is definitely going to be obvious to other people when we get back to the office.

C: 那吃完午飯刷一遍牙，就足夠了吧？

A: You've started drinking a lot of coffee. Coffee leaves an odor that can be a real turn-off.