Larry 在告诉李华这个星期他办公室发生的一场争论．今天李华会学到两个常用语： to have a beef with someone 和 hit pay dirt。
LL: The boss still wants to fire Jim because they had a beef over the last sales report.
LH: 你们老板要开除 Jim，因为他们有什么？ A beef？你是说他们为了一些牛肉在吵架啊？
LL: No (laughing), not beef as in the beef that you eat. To have a beef with someone means to have a disagreement. The boss and Jim had a disagreement over the sales report.
LH: 哦哈哈！原来 have a beef with someone 就是和某人有争执．这啊和我们吃的牛肉一点关系也没有．疑？那你老板为什么会和 Jim 吵架呢？
LL: Well, the boss felt that Jim had done a really bad job of preparing the report and Jim felt that the boss did not give him enough time to do the report properly.
LH: 哦～，老板觉得 Jim 写的报告太差，而 Jim 觉得老板没给他足够的时间，所以两人就这么吵起来啦？ Jim had a beef with the boss．我说得对吗？
LL: Yep. Now, the boss is making everyone else miserable because of his beef with Jim.
LH: 他是和 Jim 闹不开心，这跟其它人有什么关系呢？
LL: He's just been in a really bad mood and he's being tough on everyone. It's not fair. His beef is with Jim, not the rest of the people in the office.
LH: 他不高兴就对办公室里每个人都特别厉害．这是很不公平吔．他是跟 Jim 吵架，又不是和全办公室吵架。
LL: Exactly. I'm worried that the situation will go too far and there will be major problems in our office.
LH: 你怕情况这样发展下去办公室会出大问题啊？你们为什么不让 Jim 向老板道个歉．这不就完了吗？
LL: I don't think he'll do that.
LH: 他不会道歉？哎呀～，你劝劝他嘛．关键啊在他身上，道了歉紧张气氛就化解啦，对大家啊都有好处吔。
LL: It's worth a try. Maybe Jim will be willing to sacrifice his own interests and resolve his beef with the boss.
…………………………………………………………….
LL: Hey, Li Hua, you really hit pay dirt with that suggestion you made. Jim apologized to the boss and everybody is happy now.
LH: Jim跟你们老板道歉啦？那太好啦！不过， Larry，你说 hit pay dirt 是什么意思啊，我..我听不懂吔！
LL: To hit pay dirt means that you found something that turned out to be profitable or beneficial.
LH: To hit pay dirt 就是发现了很有好处的东西．所以你刚才的意思是我的建议啊非常有用．不过，这三个词 hit, pay, 和 dirt 合在一起好怪喔．这个说法是从哪里来的啊？
LL: When miners would dig for gold, they would say that they had hit pay dirt when they found dirt that contained gold.
LH: 哦～，原来是采金矿的工人，他们在挖到含黄金的矿石的时候，他们就会说 hit pay dirt，这样一解释我就懂啦。
LL: They sometimes say "strike pay dirt". Anyway, LI Hua, I also hit pay dirt today.
LH: 你今天也挖到宝啦？怎么说啊？
LL: I got a good job offer after I graduate.
LH: 你已经找到毕业后的工作啦！那太好了！是哪家公司要雇你呢？
LL: Actually, the office I'm working in offered me the job.
LH: 真的啊？就是你现在打工的这家公司？不过你真的想在那儿工作吗？
LL: At first, I wasn't that interested, but when they told me what my salary would be, I realized that I'd really hit pay dirt.
LH: 哇喔～，太棒了，你很快啊就能把你的破车卖了，买一辆高级车， a nice set of wheels．我们一块儿出去庆祝庆祝吧！
今天李华学到了两个常用语．第一个是： to have a beef with someone，这就是“和某人吵架，关系紧张”的意思．另外一个常用语是： to hit pay dirt，或者说 to strike pay dirt，这是指“发现了有价值的东西”。
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