礼节美语 Business Etiquette 078

陈豪在北京的ABC美国公司工作。他到办公室去找美国同事Amy 。

(Office ambience)

CH：Hi Amy. 几天不见，来看看你。

A: That's nice of you. I'm fine.

CH: 你有几分钟的时间吗？

A: Certainly. Have a seat, please.

CH: 你要不要口香糖？

A: Thank you, Chen Hao, but I don't believe so.

CH: 这是一种新口味。我今天早上去买咖啡的时候顺便买的。

A: I personally don't like chewing gum.

CH: 真的吗? 为什么呢？

A: Chewing gum is a personal preference. Where and when you chew it is NOT. I see too many people chewing gum at inappropriate times and places.

CH: 嚼口香糖还有规定的时间和地点吗？我不太明白你的意思。

A: I'll be happy to explain what I mean later. Right now I have to prepare for a meeting.

CH: 那我们下班后一起走？

A: OK. I'll meet you at the exit at 5:30.

******

两人下班后一起去地铁站。

CH: Amy, 你上午说嚼口香糖还有规矩？

A: Yes. If you like to chew gum, that is your business, but chewing gum does not belong in the workplace.

CH: 为什么不？

A: It is totally unprofessional anywhere in the business environment.

CH: 我在电脑前面工作的时候最喜欢嚼口香糖。这样可以让我放松。

A: I understand, but what if the boss walks up at that moment and starts a conversation with you?

CH: 那我就装作嘴里没有口香糖。

A: Why would you hide it if you think its okay?

CH: 我想老板看见我嚼口香糖，心里一定不高兴。

A: See. You already know that chewing gum is not a good idea in certain professional situations.

CH: 可我还是不明白为什么我独自工作的时候就不能嚼口香糖。

A: You never know who will walk up to your desk or call you on the phone. If you are caught smacking¹, it could affect your current job or the career move you had planned for.

CH: 影响前程？你说得太严重了吧？

A: I don't think so. Chewing gum is a leisure activity at best. At its worst, it can make you look sloppy² and incompetent³.

CH: 我知道你说的有道理，可我还是觉得独自工作的时候可以嚼口香糖。

A: Well good luck. If it gets to be a habit, consider this. One day you will have gum in your mouth when you walk into a meeting. I've seen it happen.

CH: 有过先例？那结果呢？

A: The poor fellow who forgot about his gum got stuck. Every time someone asked him a question, he tried to hide his gum in his cheek. Finally he decided⁴ to swallow it.

CH: 我也听说过这件事，后来成了全公司的笑料。我以后一定注意，在办公室里绝不再嚼口香糖。

 

1 smacking   

活泼的，发出响声的，精力充沛的

参考例句：

• He gave both of the children a good smacking. 他把两个孩子都狠揍了一顿。
• She inclined her cheek,and John gave it a smacking kiss. 她把头低下，约翰在她的脸上响亮的一吻。

2 sloppy   

adj.邋遢的，不整洁的

参考例句：

• If you do such sloppy work again,I promise I'll fail you.要是下次作业你再马马虎虎，我话说在头里，可要给你打不及格了。
• Mother constantly picked at him for being sloppy.母亲不断地批评他懒散。

3 incompetent   

adj.无能力的，不能胜任的

参考例句：

• He is utterly incompetent at his job.他完全不能胜任他的工作。
• He is incompetent at working with his hands.他动手能力不行。

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。