礼节美语 Business Etiquette 167 Typhnoon Delays (2)

　　老板Tom的班机因为台风来袭而停飞，从机场打电话给秘书Susan布置工作。
Tom: And if you don't mind, call our factory in China and see if things are OK there. I'm worried about flooding.
S: Sure thing, boss.
T: I'll tell you what, I'll call back in an hour or so and we'll touch base again, good?
S: Absolutely. Good luck and stay safe!
T: Thanks, Susan.
(Hang up phone sound)
Tom让Susan打电话给公司设在中国的工厂，看看那里有没有发水，还说自己一小时后再打电话给Susan, "We'll touch base again," 相互通报一下情况。 To touch base意思是碰头，联络，交换一下最新情况。Susan说sure thing，意思是没问题。
(Phone ringing)
T: Oh, hello Susan. I thought we said we'd wait an hour.
S: I just got off the line with the factory and it's flooding pretty bad down there. They said the water has almost reached half a meter!
T: Darn it! I thought we'd solved the flooding problem. Tell them to get the precision¹ machinery² off the ground floor and see if they can't use sandbags to stop any more water coming in.
结果没到一小时，Susan就心急火燎地打电话给Tom. 原来是Susan刚刚got off the line with the factory，跟工厂联系刚挂上电话，get off the line，是挂电话的意思。Tom担心得一点没错，工厂果然在发水，已经快半米高了。Tom让他们赶紧把precision machinery，精密仪器搬到楼上去，然后用sandbags，沙袋，想办法把水堵在外面。
S: Ok. There are a couple of people from the head office there. I'll ask them to take charge and try to limit the damage as much as possible.
T: The last time it flooded we lost one of our production lines for almost three weeks! We can't afford that again. Tell them to spare no effort to keep the water out of the production area!
S: Will do. What about your flight? Any word?
T: Not yet...oh, wait a second...they are announcing something about my flight...I'll call you right back.
S: Ok.
(Sound of phone hang up)
Susan说，总部head office有几个人正在工厂那边，可以让他们负责to take charge，尽量减少损失。Tom说，上次发水公司就有一条生产线停工将近三个星期，We can't afford that again，我们再也承受不起这样的损失了。所以tell them to spare no effort...，告诉他们想尽一切办法，坚决不能让水进到车间里去。
Susan最后问Tom的班机有没有消息。 Any word? 相当于is there any word on your flight? Word，在这里是消息的意思。Tom说，他们好象正在宣布什么，所以就先挂了电话，Tom的工厂会受到严重损失吗？我们下次继续听。

1 precision   

n.精确，准确；adj.精密的，确切的

参考例句：

• This precision instrument is worth 10,000 yuan.这台精密仪器价值一万元。
• All kinds of precision machine tools are made in this factory.这家工厂制造各种精密机床。

2 machinery   

n.(总称)机械，机器；机构

参考例句：

• Has the machinery been put up ready for the broadcast?广播器材安装完毕了吗？
• Machinery ought to be well maintained all the time.机器应该随时注意维护。