英语播客EnglishPod 346

 A:    And so, I just wanted to check in with you and find
       out where we are with this project.  As you know,
       you’ve  missed  a  fairly  significant  deadline last
       week,  and  this  will  negativity  impact  the  team’s
       ability to move forward with the next stages of this
        project.

 B:     I  know,  I’m  really  sorry  that  I  missed  the  dead-
        line.   But  really,  it  wasn’t  my  fault. You  see,  we
        had  all  of  these  unexpected  technical  problems
       at the last minute, and that I couldn’t get into the
       database and extract the kind of information that I
        needed for the data analyis. You know, if the tech
       guys would have done their job and kept the CRM
       stable, then I wouldn’t have missed my deadline.

 A:    Oh, come on! An excuse like that is tantamount
       to lying.  You’re essentially¹ blaming the tech team
       for your time management issues, rather than ac-
       cepting  responsibility  for  the  fact  that  you  were
        procrastinating² for the past two weeks.
 B:     No,  I’m not trying to pass the buck³ here;  I know
       that  it  was  me  who  is  ultimately  responsible  for
       getting  this  done. But  the  thing  is,  I  could  have
       finished on time if the system hadn’t gone down.
       And you know,  with everything I’ve got going on
        now, I can’t afford to waste time dealing⁴ with tech-
        nical problems. I’ve got a lot on my plate and there
       are only twenty-four hours in a day...

 A:     I’m  not  going  to  accept  this  excuse. You’re  us-
        ing these small technical glitches⁵ as a crutch⁶ and
       trying  to  rationalize  the  fact  that  you’ve  missed
       your deadline. Look, we have standards and I ex-
        pect you to live up to those standards. No more
        phoney excuses.  If you’re in over your head, you
       tell me.  No more missed deadlines.  Now, I want
       that data on my desk by nine am!

1 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

2 procrastinating   

拖延，耽搁( procrastinate的现在分词 )； 拖拉

参考例句：

• Begin while others are procrastinating. Save while others are wasting. 当别人拖延时你开始。当别人浪费时你节约。
• Before adjourning, councillors must stop procrastinating and revisit this controversial issue. 在休会之前，参议员必须停止拖延，重新讨论这个引起争议的问题。

3 buck   

n.雄鹿，雄兔；v.马离地跳跃

参考例句：

• The boy bent curiously to the skeleton of the buck.这个男孩好奇地弯下身去看鹿的骸骨。
• The female deer attracts the buck with high-pitched sounds.雌鹿以尖声吸引雄鹿。

4 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

5 glitches   

n.小过失，差错( glitch的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Manufacturing glitches have limited the factory's output. 生产中的故障影响了该厂的产量。 来自辞典例句
• Another kind of period variation,\"Glitches,\" are seen in several pulsars. 在几个脉冲星中还看到了周期的另一种变化，即“自转突快”现象。 来自辞典例句

6 crutch   

n.T字形拐杖；支持，依靠，精神支柱

参考例句：

• Her religion was a crutch to her when John died.约翰死后，她在精神上依靠宗教信仰支撑住自己。
• He uses his wife as a kind of crutch because of his lack of confidence.他缺乏自信心，总把妻子当作主心骨。