Unit8 忙里偷闲聊八卦
这种情景，你该怎么说？
Dialogue 1（实况对话）
A: How was your appraisal with the boss?
A：你对老板评价如何？
B: Oh it was really good. Do you know, he's the nicest boss I've had.
B：非常好。你知道吗，他是我共事过的最亲切的一个老板。
A: Yes, I think he's the most relaxing person in management.
A：是的，我想他是管理层里最放松的一个人。
B: What's more, he said I was the hardest working person in the office.
B：另外，他还说我是办公室里工作最勤恳的人！
A: That's good. Maybe you'll get promoted.
A：那好啊。也许你会得到提升。
B: I hope so. Then I'll be the happiest person in our office!
B：我希望如此。那我将会是办公室里最快乐的了！
Dialogue 2（实况对话）
A: Did you hear about Dennis?
A：你们听说丹尼斯了吗？
B: You mean Dennis from the accounting department?
B：你说的是会计部的丹尼斯吗？
A: I heard his house was torched over the weekend. It was even on the local news. The police were saying it looks like arson.
A：听说他家的房子上周末着火了，还上了当地新闻。警察说可能是蓄意纵火。
B: Yeah, that's basically a no-brainer! But I don't think it was random.
B：对，基本上都不用想，但是我认为这并不意外。
A: What makes you say that?
A：为什么这么说呢？
B: I heard that he was deep in gambling debts. Maybe his creditors got tired of waiting for repayment and wanted to teach him a lesson.
B：听说他欠了一屁股的赌债。可能他的债主等他还钱等烦了，想要给他一个教训。
A: I guess that's possible. But I heard gambling isn't his only addition.
A：有可能，但我听说他不止有赌瘾。
B: Oh, he is a smoker? I thought I was the only one left. But the fire broke out overnight, right? So it couldn't have been caused by careless smoking.
B：哦，他还是个烟鬼吧？我还以为就我一个呢。但是火是三更半夜突然燃起来的，对吧？所以这不可能是抽烟不小心引起的。
A: Hush, hush…Someone is coming!
A：嘘嘘……有人来了！
经典句型你会吗？
谈论老板
1. The boss is a typical exploiter.
老板是个典型的剥削者。
2. My boss is hard to please.
我的老板很难伺候。
3. The girl got hurt by her boss' catty remarks.
老板恶毒的话深深刺伤了女孩。
4. No one can change my boss's negative outlook on life.
没有人能改变我老板消极的人生观。
5. I can't bear my boss's harsh words.
我受不了老板苛刻的言辞。
6. The boss exploited his men.
老板剥削员工。
7. Our boss is a bit of a dictator.
我们的老板有点霸道。
8. What a tight-fisted boss we have!
我们的老板多吝啬！
9. Every time he drunk, he goes into the boss's lousy preaching routine.
每次喝醉，他就开始像老板那样令人讨厌地说教。
10. Our manager's been edgy lately.
我们经理最近情绪急躁。
11. I'm done with my picky boss.
我受不了我的老板，他太挑剔了。
12. Our boss is exaggerating every excuse to dock our pay.
我们的老板用一堆夸张的借口扣我们的薪水。
13. I just wish my boss wouldn't keep hammering away at it.
我真希望我的老板不要一直揪住不放。
14. The boss never cared whether a worker should live or die.
老板从来不顾工人死活。
15. We have a real hard-nosed boss.
我们老板真的很固执。
16. The boss was callous to his employees.
老板对他的雇员冷酷无情。
17. The boss is bad to his workers.
这个老板对他的工人不好。
谈论同事
1. It's said that he got a pay raise.
据说，他加薪了。
2. He seems to be kind and patient.
他看起来很随和、耐心。
3. He is weird.
他真让人琢磨不透。
4. He has a short temper.
他动不动就生气。
5. I can't put up with him any more.
我再也受不了他了。
6. She is not herself today.
她今天有点反常。
7. He's a chain smoker.
他一抽烟就抽个没完。
8. He is always pleasing our boss.
他总是讨好老板。
9. I can't find any good performance indicators in his work.
我没发现他在工作中有任何好的表现。
10. To our great surprise, he's made such an achievement.
他取得这样的成就令我们大为吃惊。
11. I don't know the reason, but he always treats me like an enemy.
我不知道为什么，不过他总把我当作眼中钉。
不喜欢听闲话时
1. Do not give currency to idle gossip.
不要传播闲言。
2. I would prefer to hear no more gossip of any kind.
我希望不要再向我唠叨这种闲言碎语。
3. Can you put an end to that kind of gossip?
你能不能别再说那种闲话？
4. I mustn't stay gossiping with you any longer.
我不能和你再闲聊下去了。
5. Don't talk against others behind their backs.
不要背地里说别人的坏话。
6. I can't stand here gossiping all day.
我可不能整天站在这里闲聊下去。
7. I have no time to engage in gossip.
我无暇闲聊。
8. They are friends of mine and I am unwilling to tell tales when they are away.
他们是我的朋友，我不愿在背后讲人家的坏话。
核心单词要牢记
gossip [ˈgɔsip] n. 闲话
complain [kəmˈplein] v. 抱怨
exploiter [eksˈplɔitə] n. 剥削者
callous [ˈkæləs] adj. 无情的，麻木的
exaggerate [igˈzædʒəreit] v. 夸张
teach sb. a lesson 教训某人
more than oneˈs share 很多
职场小贴士
Do you take part in office gossip?
Amid a rise in office gossip, researchers are disagreeing over whether it is fundamentally good or bad. Some defend it as a way of building bonds among people and sharing essential information. But others hold that office gossip can be savage and destructive, as the New York Times reports. At one company which has a strict no-gossip policy, gossiping about colleagues can become a firing offense.
Gossip helps us analyze the motivations of other people, and enables those low on the food chain, in particular, to understand how power is used in their organizations, says this New York Times article. It is relaxing, it brings people together, and as a pastime it beats gambling, drinking or doing drugs, this reasoning holds.
Whatever side you take, gossip is here to stay. It is a universal human practice and it is too complex to say it is either good or bad, a University of Colorado researcher says.
I have seen gossip help co-workers in some places where I have worked, giving rise to compassion or offers of support when someone is going through hard times. On the other hand, I have also seen gossip——over an office romance, for example——distract people from their work and even force unwanted transfers.
译文
你会参加办公室里的八卦吗？
随着办公室八卦的兴起，研究人员对它到底是好是坏也存在不同看法。一些人为它辩解说，这是同事间建立关系和分享必要信息的一种途径。但根据《纽约时报》的报道，也有人认为，办公室八卦可能十分低级，具有破坏性。一家公司制定了严格限制八卦的政策，谈论同事的闲话可能被解雇。
《纽约时报》的文章说，闲谈可以帮助我们分析其他人的动机，尤其是那些处于食物链低端的人可以了解所处组织中的权力是如何使用的。它是一种放松，可以让人们融洽。作为一种消遣，它比赌博、饮酒或吸毒要好，这种判断也不无道理。
无论你站在哪一面，八卦都不会改变。美国科罗拉多大学的研究人员说，这是人类普遍存在的，很难说清到底是好是坏。
我看到八卦在我曾工作过的一些地方给同事带来了好处，增进了感情或给遇到困难的人提供了支持。另一方面，我也看到八卦——比如针对办公室恋情。它分散了人们的工作精力，甚至带来了意想之外的变动。