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VOA流行美语 Unit 74: SLACK OFF / PEON

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VOA流行美语 Unit 74: SLACK OFF / PEON


今天Michael提前下班,在路上碰到李华。李华会学到两个常用语: to slack off和peon。

L: 嘿, Michael, 你今天怎么这么早就下班啦?

M: Well, this is the holiday season, so everyone at work is slacking off. No one minds if I leave early.

L: 你说是因为过节,早下班没人会介意,而且办公室里每个人都在slacking off? 那是做什么呀?

M: (Chuckles) I said everyone is "slacking off". "To slack off" means just the opposite of "being busy". "To slack off" means "to not work hard".

L: 噢,to slack off的意思和"努力工作"刚好相反。我懂了,你是说,因为过节,所以同事们都比较放松-- Everyone at work is slacking off. 可是,Michael, 你自作主张提前下班,是不是有一点太slack off了呢?

M: Oh, I certainly don't worry about it, because I noticed even my boss is slacking off. He left even earlier than I did.

L: 你们公司老板比你走得还早,看来,他比你更加slack off。说得也是,马上就要新年了,连我也觉得挺懒散,什么事都不想做。

M: That's Ok. You're on vacation. You have very good reasons to be slacking off.

L: 虽然说是放假,可是我本来打算利用假期多读些英文书,我要是这么懒散,恐怕连一本书也读不完了。

M: I wish it were holiday all the time, so I could always slack off.

L: 什么?你想每天都放假,那你就可以老这么轻松的了?嘿,Michael,我们中文里常说:"一张一驰"。Slack off一段时间以后,你就应该努力工作啦!

M: Hmm. Maybe you are right. Sometimes after slacking off during a holiday or vacation, we do feel refreshed and ready to get back to work again.

L: 也是啊,适当放松一下,工作起来会更带劲儿。新年快到了,我确实应该slack off for a couple of days, 可是如果slack off的时间太长了,我心里就会觉得不安。

******

L: 哎,Michael, 你提早下班,万一公司有什么要紧事,你不担心同事会找你吗?

M: Oh, don't worry about that. I am not that important, I'm just a peon where I work.

L: 你是什么?a peon? 那是什么呀?

M: I said I am a Peon. The word "peon" originally meant someone who did manual labor in order to pay off a debt. These days, though, people use "peon" to refer to an unimportant person at work who performs a simple task.

L: 噢,peon这个词原来是指"为了还债而做苦工的人",现在呢,大家用peon这个词来指那些在公司里做简单工作,地位比较低的雇员。Oh, come on Michael, 你怎么能说自己在公司不重要呢?

M: No, I'm just a peon at my workplace. Anyone could do my job.

L: 嗯,要是谁都能做你的工作,那恐怕是一个peon了。中文系的李教授常常对我们说,你要不好好干,好多人都等着这个位子呢。看来,我才是一个真正的peon呢。

M: Well, maybe you are easy to replace. But that's no reason for you to feel like a peon.

L: 你说得对,我不应该自己觉得我做的工作不重要,而且,想想看,我们大学校长或是你们公司老板恐怕当年也做过好一段时间的peon呢!

今天李华学到了两个常用语,一个是: to slack off, 意思是"松懈,懒散"。另一个是peon, 指"在工作单位做简单工作的人",也就是所谓的"小土豆"。

重点单词   查看全部解释    
slack [slæk]

想一想再看

n. 松弛的部分,松散,淡季,中止
adj.

联想记忆
manual ['mænjuəl]

想一想再看

adj. 手工的,体力的
n. 手册,指南,键

联想记忆
replace [ri(:)'pleis]

想一想再看

vt. 取代,更换,将物品放回原处

 


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