Business Etiquette

King 跟同事 Dan 聊天，發(fā)現(xiàn) Dan 心不在焉。King 說，

King: The trip was pretty good except for the flat tire we got on the way home. I was going to change it myself but then...hey Dan, are you even listening to me? Dan?

Dan: Oh sorry, I spaced out there for a second.

K: Who were you looking at? Wait a second...you were looking at Julie!

D: All right, I confess! I'm busted. I have a big crush on Julie.

K: That's wonderful! Julie is a great woman, and you're a great guy! So have you asked her out yet?

D: No. I'm not really sure it's appropriate.

King正在給Dan講自己最近的一次旅行，他們回家路上車胎爆了。We got a flat tire. 正說得高興，King發(fā)現(xiàn)Dan根本沒在聽自己說話。Dan很不好意思，承認(rèn) I spaced out for a second. 我走神了。space out 是走神的意思，形容心不在焉，走神，還可以用 daydream, 所以剛才那句話也可以說 I was daydreaming for a second. King發(fā)現(xiàn)，Dan走神是在看女同事 Julie。 Dan只好承認(rèn)說，I'm busted. I have a big crush on Julie. I'm busted. 意思是我被抓住了，被發(fā)現(xiàn)了，暴露了。他說自己確實(shí)在偷偷喜歡Julie，但又不敢 ask her out 約她出去，不知道這樣做是否合適 appropriate。King 說，

K: I think lots of people meet their "significant other" in the workplace. It's not like she's your boss...go ask her out!

D: I don't know...what if she says "no"?

K: Have you ever heard the old expression: "Nothing ventured, nothing gained?" What if she says "yes"?

D: I've always had a really hard time approaching women. I get tongue-tied and start sweating. I don't want to come across as too aggressive, but I also don't want to appear too passive...It's really hard to get it right!

King說，很多人都是在工作場所遇到自己另一半的，significant other 是伴侶的意思，也可以說是自己的 better half. Dan 害怕被拒絕。King 告訴他說：Nothing ventured, nothing gained. 不去冒險(xiǎn)嘗試，就絕不會(huì)有收獲。Dan 說自己在追女人方面特別不在行，I get tongue-tied and start sweating. 我說話會(huì)結(jié)結(jié)巴巴，直冒冷汗。Dan 還說，既不想顯得太主動(dòng)，也不想顯得太被動(dòng)，It's really hard to get it right. 很難把握好分寸。King 勸他說：

K: If there's one thing I've learned in my life it's that you never lose by trying. You never know unless you try! Getting rejected isn't the end the world!

D: But how do I make the initial approach? Should I try to come up with some clever or witty remarks?

K: There are a lot of guys out there who think they're Casanova, but in my experience, women don't go for cheesy pickup lines. I suggest being sweet, straightforward and sincere.

D: So what should I say?

King說，最糟糕也不過是被拒絕。Getting rejected isn't the end the world! 被拒絕也并非世界末日，沒什么大不了的。Dan問，要不要come up with some clever or witty remark 想出一些俏皮話，King告訴他，約女人出去，直截了當(dāng)些就好，很多男人都以為自己是 Casanova, 卡薩諾瓦是十八世紀(jì)的一個(gè)意大利探險(xiǎn)家和作家，也是一個(gè)風(fēng)流倜儻的情圣，在英語里是大眾情人的代名詞。King 還說，其實(shí)，women don't go for cheesy pickup lines. cheesy is spelled c-h-e-e-s-y, cheesy 意思是俗氣的，肉麻的；pick up lines 是指男人跟女人搭訕時(shí)說的俏皮話。Dan會(huì)鼓起勇氣約 Julie 出去嗎？我們下次繼續(xù)聽。

A: 我喜歡這個(gè)3S策略: sweet, straightforward and sincere! I hope a sweet, straightforward and sincere man would come and ask me out today!

B: 哈哈，你完了，我要去告訴你的男朋友……

A: oops...善解人意的Kat, 等會(huì)我們來討論一下封口費(fèi)的問題吧……

B: Hush money? 可以呀! 好了， 這次節(jié)目時(shí)間就到這里。Tune in next time for American English Mosaic!