英语词汇实用小百科 外企工作中的常用英语

 

XH: Hello, welcome to RoundTable's Word of the Week. This week we are talking about some commonly used workplace idioms, especially in the US, right?

John: Yeah, most definitely in the US. It's funny because when we are coming up with this list, at first I was like what exactly I'm looking for, and then I found a whole bunch, I said “oh, yeah, all right, these words and phrases are used all the day and time.” So we're just going to go in a bit of random¹ order, but keep up and you're gotta learn a lot today. The first one is “green light”, basically it just means to approve a project.

XH: green light就是允许为一件事情开绿灯。

John: Right, “The director wants to green light your scented² wallpaper idea.” The next one is one of my favorites, and you can use it outside the workplace. It's called “brownie points”: to curry³ favor or get favor with someone, especially a boss. For example, “He earned brownie points by getting the boss's coffee.”

XH: Brownie是一种小甜点，但是brownie points的意思就是得到加分，印象分。

John: Climb the ladder or climb the corporate⁴ ladder: to advance in one's career through promotions⁵. “Earning brownie points is one way to climb the ladder.”

XH: Climb the ladder也经常用，指事业上进步、得到晋升的意思。

John: “Team player” is pretty obvious: A committed employee who works well with other colleagues. “A team player often sees his proposals green lighted.”

XH：Team player就是有团队精神的人。

John: A “yes man”: an employee who always agrees with the boss. “He was a yes man, a team player and a chaser of brownie points.”

XH：Yes man也很形象，指唯唯诺诺的人、应声虫。

John: Then next one is “touch base”. Actually, my mother was a manager pretty much her entire career, and whenever I went to office with her, or she had to take a call at home, she would always use this phrase “touch base” or “touch base with someone”. It took me a long time to figure out. But basically, it's just to confer about the progress of a project. So just to talk about the progress of what is currently being worked on.

XH：Touch base就是碰个头，把事情进展知会给大家、互通情况。

John: For example, “Let's touch base tomorrow about the flea⁶ spray account.” Moving on to “crunch⁷ time”: When a project needs completed quickly. “It's crunch time – we need to touch base as soon as possible.”

XH：Crunch Time就是关键时刻。

John: Right. And then “plug or plug a product”: To promote or market a product. “I was on TV this morning to plug our new flea spray.” And actually you know shen we have guests on Round Table, one of the reasons we have them on sometimes, is so they can plug something they are doing.

XH：Plug有推广、销售的意思。

John: Cash cow: The product that generates the most revenue for a company. “This scented wallpaper will be the company's cash cow.”

XH：会挤出钱来的奶牛，叫做Cash cow，中文就是摇钱树的意思。

John: Then “On the ball”, “to stay on the ball” or “keep the ball rolling” is another one that is seen quite often outside the office, but is used especially in the office, meaning to ensure that a project is progressing efficiently⁸ and on time. So you have to “Keep the ball rolling on our green lighted projects.”

XH：Keep the ball rolling就是要继续做某件事情，某个项目。

John: Down to the wire: Said of something whose outcome or completion takes you to always the deadline. So you are working on a project and it will due on Monday at 9 o'clock. You are working at weekend. 8:55 on Monday you finish it. It called “come down to the wire”.

XH: When something is down to the wire, that means 这件事情已经到了最后关头，最后期限了。

John: “Glass ceiling” is used quite often when we talk about women and minorities, so the perceived struggle of women and minorities to achieve promotions. “She knew it would be hard to break through the glass ceiling and climb the corporate ladder.”

XH: 玻璃屋顶，也就是隐形的升职障碍”。

John: Pull the plug: To terminate a project or account. “He pulled the plug on the flea spray before we even got to plug it.”

XH: Pull the plug是把插头拔掉，指终止业务或项目。

John: Belt-tightening: To reduce expenses. “After we lost our cash cow, the HR department tightened⁹ its belt.”

XH:就是“勒紧裤腰带”的意思。

John: Work out the kinks: To revise, edit or otherwise improve a flawed product or service. “If you don't work out the kinks, they're going to pull the plug.”

XH: Kinks有扭曲、打结的意思。Work out kinks指解决问题。

John: Pull your weight: To share in the workload¹⁰. “Since we've tightened our belts, everybody has to pull his weight.”

XH: Pull your weight指尽力的意思。

John: Axed: To be terminated; synonymous with being fired. “The yes man was axed when he came down with lockjaw.”

XH: Axed被砍掉被开除的意思。

John: Now, we are axed. That all the time we have for this week's RoundTable's Word of the Week.

1 random   

adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动

参考例句：

• The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。

2 scented   

adj.有香味的；洒香水的；有气味的v.嗅到(scent的过去分词)

参考例句：

• I let my lungs fill with the scented air. 我呼吸着芬芳的空气。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The police dog scented about till he found the trail. 警犬嗅来嗅去，终于找到了踪迹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 curry   

n.咖哩粉，咖哩饭菜；v.用咖哩粉调味，用马栉梳，制革

参考例句：

• Rice makes an excellent complement to a curry dish.有咖喱的菜配米饭最棒。
• Add a teaspoonful of curry powder.加一茶匙咖喱粉。

4 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

5 promotions   

促进( promotion的名词复数 )； 提升； 推广； 宣传

参考例句：

• All services or promotions must have an appeal and wide application. 所有服务或促销工作都必须具有吸引力和广泛的适用性。
• He promptly directed the highest promotions and decorations for General MacArthur. 他授予麦克阿瑟将军以最高的官阶和勋奖。

6 flea   

n.跳蚤

参考例句：

• I'll put a flea in his ear if he bothers me once more.如果他再来打扰的话，我就要对他不客气了。
• Hunter has an interest in prowling around a flea market.亨特对逛跳蚤市场很感兴趣。

7 crunch   

n.关键时刻；艰难局面；v.发出碎裂声

参考例句：

• If it comes to the crunch they'll support us.关键时刻他们是会支持我们的。
• People who crunch nuts at the movies can be very annoying.看电影时嘎吱作声地嚼干果的人会使人十分讨厌。

8 efficiently   

adv.高效率地，有能力地

参考例句：

• The worker oils the machine to operate it more efficiently.工人给机器上油以使机器运转更有效。
• Local authorities have to learn to allocate resources efficiently.地方政府必须学会有效地分配资源。

9 tightened   

收紧( tighten的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）变紧； （使）绷紧； 加紧

参考例句：

• The rope holding the boat suddenly tightened and broke. 系船的绳子突然绷断了。
• His index finger tightened on the trigger but then relaxed again. 他的食指扣住扳机，然后又松开了。

10 workload   

n.作业量，工作量

参考例句：

• An assistant one day a week would ease my workload.每周有一天配一个助手就会减轻我的工作负担。
• He's always grousing about the workload.他总是抱怨工作量大。