礼节美语 Business Etiquette 166 Typhnoon Delays (1)

　　老板Tom打电话给秘书Susan.
Tom: (On the phone) Hey Susan, how are things at the office?
S: Oh, hi boss. Things are fine. But...aren't you supposed to be on a plane right now? I booked you on a 9:30 flight out of Hong Kong.
T: Um...Yeah. I should be watching the in-flight movie by now, but all flights are grounded.
S: Grounded? Oh...is it due to that hurricane?
接到老板的电话，Susan很意外，因为She booked him on a 9:30 flight out of Hong Kong，他本应坐九点半的飞机离开香港，book在这里是动词，指定机票。 原来是Tom的飞机停飞了 grounded, g-r-o-u-n-d-e-d, grounded，是停飞 的意思。Susan问是不是因为飓风。
T: Well, in Asia they call them typhoons but yep, that's the reason. Typhoon Marokot has shut down air traffic across the region¹.
S: Wow...that sounds like a nasty² storm. Is it howling outside right now?
T: It's actually not too bad...there is some rain and wind, but we might be in the eye of the storm right now.
S: So what's the plan? When can you get a flight out?
Tom的班机的确是因为天气原因停飞的，Tom说，亚洲习惯叫typhoon, t-y-p-h-o-o-n, typhoon，台风。这场台风让整个地区的空运都陷入了停顿。 Shut down是关闭的意思。Tom说，他们现在可能in the eye of the storm，处于风暴中心。飞机什么时候能起飞呢？
T: The airline says they are cautiously³ optimistic that we will be able to take off in a couple more hours. For now they're asking everyone just to standby and wait for the weather to lift.
S: That sounds frustrating⁴.
T: Yeah, it is. I've been here for four hours now and I am getting a bit frazzled.
航空公司估计，几小时后可以起飞，take off，是飞机起飞的意思。上面那句话里还用到了cautiously optimistic，指谨慎乐观。Tom说，航空公司要大家standby待在那里，随时等通知。Tom已经等了好几个小时，I am getting a bit frazzled. Frazzled is spelled f-r-a-z-z-l-e-d, frazzled，是心力交瘁的意思。
S: Is there anything I can do for you from here?
T: Actually, come to think of it,..can you call Mr. Tang in Singapore and tell him I might not make it to the conference in Berlin tomorrow?
S: Sure.
Tom让Susan给新加坡的唐先生打电话，通知他，自己可能赶不上第二天在柏林的会议了。To make it在这里是做到某事的意思。Tom还要在机场等多长时间呢？我们下次继续听。

1 region   

n.地区，地带，区域；范围，幅度

参考例句：

• The students went to study the geology of that region.学生们去研究那个地区的地质情况。
• It is unusual to see snow in this region.这个地区难得见到雪。

2 nasty   

adj.令人讨厌的，困难的，恶劣的，下流的

参考例句：

• She got a nasty knock on the head when she fell.她跌倒时头部受到严重碰撞。
• When this material burns，it flings off a nasty smell.这种物质燃烧时发出一股难闻的气味。

3 cautiously   

adv.小心地，谨慎地；小心翼翼；翼翼

参考例句：

• She walked cautiously up the drive towards the door. 她小心翼翼地沿着车道向门口走去。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 frustrating   

adj.产生挫折的，使人沮丧的，令人泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的现在分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's frustrating to have to wait so long. 要等这么长时间，真令人懊恼。
• It was a demeaning and ultimately frustrating experience. 那是一次有失颜面并且令人沮丧至极的经历。 来自《简明英汉词典》