礼节美语 Business Etiquette 048 Obscenity in the Office

陈豪在北京的ABC美国公司工作，今天他开完会出来，刚好遇到美国同事Amy.

(Office ambience)

C：Hi Amy, 你有时间吗？

A：Sure. Come into my office and tell me what's on your mind.

C：刚才开会的时候，我们的老板Mr. Jones对年终报表上的数字大发雷霆，说财会部门没有好好追查公司的欠款。

A：I can understand why Mr. Jones was upset. What did he say?

C：他说的不少词我都没听懂，后来Todd告诉我，这些都是American obscenities, 是不是就是英语里的脏话啊？

A：That's right. Obscenities are not nice words. They are curse¹ words. When some people get mad, they resort² to using bad language to express their anger.

C：在办公室里骂人可不怎么样，结果弄得大家特别不自在，低着头都不说话，特别是不敢看那个挨骂的人。

A：Swearing, which is another word for cursing³, is never effective. It only makes the person who is cursing look badly and is awkward⁴ for everyone else.

C：我们下午还要开会，希望Mr. Jones能冷静下来。

******

陈豪下午在走廊上又遇到Amy。

A：How did it go this afternoon at your meeting?

C：Mr. Jones不仅冷静了下来，而且还跟我们所有人道歉。他承认自己上午开会时非常失态。

A：What did he say?

C：他说自己这么做很不得体，冒犯了大家。

A：Did he say anything else?

C：说啦。他说，在任何情况下，所以他也不准备为自己的错误提出什么辩解。

A：Cursing has become all too common these days. So much so that some people think nothing of it.

They don't realize the negative effect it can have on their careers or business relationships.

C：那如果不是骂人，能用这些字眼吗？我上次去看球，那些球迷都是满嘴脏话，也没人介意。

A：No, it is never appropriate to curse in public. You have no idea of the effect you'll have on others. Besides you can't predict who may be present and will recognize you later as the foul-mouthed person at the baseball game.

C：如果别人当着我的面说脏字，我该怎么办呢？是表现得无所谓，还是表现得受了冒犯呢？

A：If you are around total strangers whom you are not likely to see again, ignore them and move on. If you are with co-workers, suggest that you are willing to meet with them and discuss issues with them, but not when they use obscene⁵ language.

C：我可以让他们消了气再来找我。

A：That's a good idea.

 

1 curse   

n.祸因，祸根；诅咒，咒骂；骂人话

参考例句：

• His wealth proved a curse to him.他的财富成了祸根。
• The rabbits are a curse in this part of the country.兔子在这一带农村是一种祸害。

2 resort   

n.凭借，手段，常去之地，胜地；vi.求助，诉诸，采取（某种手段等），常去

参考例句：

• He couldn't have passed the exam without resort to cheating.他要不是靠作弊是通不过这次考试的。
• Beidaihe is noted for its summer resort.北戴河以避暑胜地而著称。

3 cursing   

n.诅咒；咒骂

参考例句：

• "I'm cursing the swine,'said Ah Fu. 阿福道：“我骂猪猡。”
• "The swine is cursing me,'said Li. 李先生道：“猪猡骂我。”

4 awkward   

adj.笨拙的，尴尬的，使用不便的，难处理的

参考例句：

• John is so shy and awkward that everyone notices him.约翰如此害羞狼狈，以至于大家都注意到了他。
• I was the only man among the guests and felt rather awkward.作为客人中的唯一男性，我有些窘迫。

5 obscene   

adj.（指思想、书籍等）猥亵的，淫秽的，下流的

参考例句：

• They have cut the obscene passages from the film to show it on television.他们已把影片中的淫秽镜头剪去以便在电视上播映。
• He continued to use obscene language and also to make threats.他仍然不住口地说些污言秽语，而且还进行了威胁。