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2024.04.18 09:42
第十四部 第三課: eager beaver , grunt work
- Larry 在跟李華講他辦公室裏新來的實習生。今天李華會學到兩個常用語：eager beaver 和 grunt work。
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- A new intern started working in my office today. He sure is an eager beaver, Li Hua!
- Beaver 不是海狸嗎？動物怎能到你辦公室去實習啊？
- No, the new intern isn't an actual beaver! But he works hard and is always busy like a beaver building a dam. He is always eager to do work, so we say he is an "eager beaver.”
- 對了，我現在想起來了。Beaver 不僅是指海狸，有的時候也指工作勤勞的人。而 Eager 呢就是很熱情的意思，所以 "eager beaver” 指的呢就是做事特別努力，特別積極的人。Larry，我看你啊也是個 "eager beaver”，早出晚歸的。
- I am not quite the eager beaver that the new intern is - I've been in the office a while. People are generally eager beavers when they are new to a job and want to impress their bosses.
- 沒錯，一般啊新到一個地方工作的人就會特別的熱情積極，因為他們要讓老闆有個好印象啊。我還記得我剛開始教中文的時候，也特別賣力耶，每天都花好多時間備課呢。
- And would you say you still are an eager beaver when it comes to teaching Chinese?
- 現在啊，不像剛開始那麼賣勁兒了。像你一樣啊，我也不是以前的 eager beaver 了。
- That's OK, Li Hua. While being an eager beaver can be a good thing, someone can also take it too far.
- 勤奮當然是好事啊！居然還會有的人勤奮過頭？這是什麼意思啊？
- Well, the intern in my office is such an eager beaver he wants to do everything! He ends up making my work more complicated.
- 這個實習生什麼都要做，這不是很好嗎，怎麼會給你添麻煩啊？
- Yeah, that's right. He always wants to help, but sometimes I work better on my own.
- 你要是有的時候喜歡自己做，不要別人插手的話，你不能對他說你不需要幫忙嗎？對了，Larry，也許你可以想辦法讓他去做一些你不喜歡做的事呀。
- What a good idea!
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- Thanks to your advice, Li Hua, I've now got the new intern doing some of my grunt work.
- 什麼是 grunt work? Grunt 不是指豬發出那個呼嚕呼嚕的聲音嗎？
- Yes, pigs grunt. And people make grunting sounds, too, when they are working really hard at something like digging ditches.
- 這我知道。人啊在做挖溝之類的工作時也會發出表示疲勞的聲音。Larry, 那 grunt work 是不是就是指繁重的體力勞動啊？
- Not necessarily. Grunt work is basically routine, menial work. There are always some repetitive, boring tasks people working in offices do.
- 我明白了，grunt work 就是簡單的，枯燥乏味的工作。
- Yeah, and grunt work generally doesn't require a lot of knowledge or experience. That’s why I am having the intern do my grunt work.
- 做簡單的工作當然不需要豐富的知識，也不需要很多經驗囉。Larry，說了半天，你究竟是讓這位實習生做什麼啊?
- I am having him reorganize the office files, make new labels for the file folders, filling out forms and typing up letters.
- 你還真讓他幹不少活耶！整理辦公室的文件，並且把它們存檔，還要為文件夾貼新的標簽、填表格、打信件。這些事啊的確是既費事又枯燥的。嗯～你覺得這位實習生該不會在意吧？
- No, I am sure he won't mind doing the grunt work.
- 你怎麼肯定他不在意呢？
- He is such an eager beaver, Li Hua, he will be delighted to do whatever grunt work I give him!
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- 今天李華學到了兩個常用語。一個是 eager beaver, 意思是做事情特別積極、努力的人。李華學到的另一個常用語是，grunt work 意思是簡單枯燥的工作。
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