禮節美語：BE-248 Art for an Office II

公司主管 James 找到公關部主任 Felicia 商量購置藝術作品，美化工作環境的事。James 說自己偏愛相片，Felicia 表示贊同。

F: I often go to photography exhibitions at the local museum. Sometimes the pictures are of nature—you know—wild animals or sunsets...that kind of thing. But my favorite pictures are of people; sometimes you can catch someone in a private moment and it's a very interesting window into how other people live.

J: Yes, I like to hang out at the museum as well. I'm also a big fan of sculpture. Last time I was in Italy I made a special trip to go see Michelangelo's "David." It's really a very impressive work of art.

F: I'd love to see that! I was in Paris two years ago and I spent half my time there walking around the Louvre Museum...it was amazing.

Felicia 也經常去博物館看攝影展，她最喜歡看人物寫真，It's an interesting window into how other people live. 這是觀察到其他人生活的一扇窗子。James說，他也很喜歡泡博物館。I like to hang out at the museum as well. 除了攝影作品外，James 和 Felicia 兩人也都很喜歡雕塑，他們談到了 Michelangelo's "David" 意大利著名雕塑家米開朗基羅的作品大衛，以及巴黎的 Louvre Museum 盧浮宮。

J: You know...come to think of it, maybe we should buy some art pieces from the local artists to support the local community.

F: I've got an idea! Let's try to find one very beautiful, very impressive large piece of art—or maybe a mural—to put at the entrance of our offices. Then, instead of buying works of art to hang in the various hallways, we can rent the artworks and rotate what we have on display!

J: Felicia...that's a brilliant idea. I think you just solved our dilemma.

F: Thanks, boss!

James忽然想到，他們其實應該購買當地藝術家的作品，也算是為社區做些貢獻。他所說的 come to think of it, 是我忽然想起的意思。Felicia 提議，買一件大的藝術作品，或是 mural 壁畫，放在辦公室大門口，然后可以租藝術品掛在走廊的墻上，這樣一來，還可以隔一段時間換一批。James覺得這個主意好。

J: We'll get one major artwork for our entranceway and maybe commission a couple of sculptures for the outside garden area. Then we will find an art rental company and rotate our pictures on a three-month basis.

F: That way, we will eventually get around to everybody's taste in art, and if some people don't like some of the art...well, they won't have to look at it for long.

J: All right, that's our plan! Let's do it. Thanks again, Felicia.

F: Not at all.

James 還說，we can commission a couple of sculptures. commission is spelled c-o-m-m-i-s-s-i-o-n, commission 動詞，在這里是向藝術家定購作品的意思。James 還說，掛在公司里的藝術作品，可以每三個月換一批，這樣就能滿足員工不同的藝術品味了。

A: Hmm, James這個主意好! 蘿卜青菜各有所愛! 這樣的話每個人都能欣賞到自己喜歡的藝術作品，士氣肯定提高了!

B: What a great boss! My sister's boss is like that- once a month everyone in the company gets to bring their pets to work! Happy employees work harder- it's a great way to increase productivity.

A: Oh wow... 辦公室不是成動物園了，真逗!

B: Yeah it is a pet-friendly company...

A: True true! 你剛才提到了個 詞pet-friendly, 咱們來聽聽這個詞兒的用法吧!

Learn A Word # 1539 friendly

今天我們要學的詞是friendly. Friendly is spelled f-r-i-e-n-d-l-y, friendly. 大家都知道，friendly 是友好的意思，如果把 friendly 加在另外一個名詞后面，意思就是對某人，對某事有利的。比如，eco-friendly 有利環保的，user-friendly 方便用戶使用的，business-friendly 便于企業發展的；再比如，This is my favorite restaurant. It's very family-friendly. 這是我最喜歡的餐館，給帶孩子來吃飯的顧客提供了很多便利。一個加拿大健身房規定，禁止瘦人成為會員。The gym prides itself on creating a "plus-size friendly" environment. 這家健身房專門為“胖友們”提供一個舒心的健身場所，以此為自己的特色。好，今天我們學習的詞是 friendly, friendly, friendly.

B: 楊琳，I have an advice for you.

A: What is it?

B: I think you should become more Kat-friendly, like buying coffee for Kat, bringing cupcakes for Kat, cooking authentic Chinese food for Kat...

A: 同學們，請自動屏蔽Kat! (Kat: 嘿!) 好啦,這次節目時間就到這里。 如果你對我們的節目有什么建議，或者想提什么問題，請發電子郵件到meiyu@voanews.com.

B: Tune in next time for American English Mosaic!

A: See you next time!