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2024.04.17 07:53
第四部 第七課: to be canned , to kiss up to
- 今天 Michael 和李華下班以後去逛街．他們邊走邊聊，李華會學到兩個常用語：to be canned 和 to kiss up to。
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- Oh! Man, it was crazy at work today!
- 真的啊？你們辦公室今天發生什麼事啦？
- My friend George was late again, so the boss canned him!
- 你的朋友 George，今天上班遲到了；你們老闆對他怎麼啦？對他大喊大叫的嗎？
- No, it's much worse than that. The boss canned him. In other words, the boss fired him!
- 什麼啊？你是說 George 被解雇了啊．所以To be canned 就是被解雇的意思啊？
- Yeah, here, "canned" is the past form of "to can," which means "to put something in a can," or slang for "to throw something in the trash can".
- 哦～，在這裡，canned 就是把什麼東西扔到垃圾桶．可是，這跟解僱人有什麼關係呢？
- Hehheh, when your boss "cans" you, he's getting rid of you. It is like he is throwing you in the trash can.
- 哦～，原來這是一種比喻啊．哎，不過，這種說法啊，聽起來挺嚇人的．Michael, 你覺得 George 應該被解雇嗎？
- Ah, to tell the truth, George was not a very good employee. If I were the boss, I would have canned him too.
- 哎喲，Michael，你這麼說你朋友未免太過份了吧！George 又沒做壞事，為什麼要解雇他啊？
- Well, George was often very late to work. This month, he came in late at least four times. The boss warned him many times before he finally canned him.
- 看來啊，你一點也不同情 George．要是我的朋友碰上這種倒霉事，我至少也會替他難過啊。
- Hmph. When George was late, it caused me and the other employees a lot of trouble. No one is really sad that he was canned.
- 唉！也許啊你說得沒錯．如果每個人都像 George 這樣老是遲到，那會給其他人造成多大麻煩啊。
- Well, you are right and wrong. Because George was canned, we all have a lot more work to do right now.
- 對哎，希望你們公司啊，趕快雇一個人來接替他的工作。
- I'm sure they will.
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- 哎，Michael 啊，你有沒有擔心過自己有一天會被老闆解雇呢？
- Me? Ah! Not at all. I'm a good worker, and I kiss up to the boss all the time.
- 你說你工作表現很好，而且你還經常親你的老闆。哎喲，Michael, 你好噁心哦，你老闆不是男的嗎？
- No no no...I said I "kiss up to" my boss. To "kiss up to" someone is to try to be extra friendly to someone so they will treat you well.
- 那，你到底是怎麼樣 「kiss up to」 你的 boss 呢？
- Well, when I want to "kiss up to" the boss, I might bring him coffee, or help him clean the office. I also try to say nice things about him and his family, or tell him he just looks really cool.
- 哦～，我懂了．你啊，不用說得那麼好聽， 「kiss up to」 無非就是拍什麼人的馬屁嘛．哎喲，真沒想到， Michael ，你還是個馬屁精啊．你不怕你同事看不起你啊？
- No, not at all. All (of) the employees kiss up to my boss. Actually, there's nothing wrong with that, because our boss is a really nice guy.
- 嗯～，如果你的老闆真像你說那麼好，或許討好他也沒什麼錯。
- I Guess kissing up to someone can be useful, but not of everyone else hates you.
- 你說的沒錯，拍馬屁有的時候是挺管用的．不過啊，要是搞得人人都討厭你，那就不值得了。
- Don't worry about me. I don't want the boss to do anything for me, I just don't want to be canned.
- 我啊，還真是應該向你學幾招呢，去討好我的老闆，讓他啊對我另眼相看。
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- 今天李華學會兩個常用語： to be canned 和 kiss up to． to be canned 在這裡就是「被解雇」的意思， kiss up to 是「討好某人、拍馬屁」的意思。
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