月度归档： 2022年8月

本栏目是由世博英语Starry_Night原创编写！

第十五篇

Chandler 平时的工作是做一些数字处理方面的事，最近他的上司想把他提升为主管(supervisor), 可Chandler却辞职不干了,理由是他觉得这个工作不够cool。

Joey: Hey Chandler, while you were sleeping that guy from your old job called again.
Chandler: Again?
Joey: And again, and again, and again… Hello? And again.
Chandler: (on phone) Hey Mr. Kostelic! How’s life on the fifteenth floor? (Listens) Yeah, I miss you too. (Listens) Yeah, it’s a lot less satisfying to steal pens from your own home, you know? (Listens) Well, that’s very generous (Listens) er, but look, this isn’t about the money. I need something that’s more than a job. I need something I can really care about…. (Listens) And that’s on top of the yearly bonus structure you mentioned earlier? (Listens) Look, Al, Al… I’m not playing hardball here, OK? This is not a negotiation, this is a rejection! (Listens) No! No! No, stop saying numbers! I’m telling you, you’ve got the wrong guy! You’ve got the wrong guy! (Listens) I’ll see you on Monday!

【世博视角】

Chandler以前的上司 (Mr. Kostelic) 以为他是因为钱的原因而辞职不干的，所以又打电话过来和Chandler商量。Chandler先是有些嘲讽地问候Mr. Kostelic, 然后说 “Yeah, it’s a lot less satisfying to steal pens from your own home, you know? (是啊，你知道啦，从自己家里偷笔太没满足感了)。” 我本人蛮喜欢Chandler的这种幽默的，不过我也在猜想他平时是不是老从公司 “揩油” 啊？

接着Mr. Kostelic报了一个很generous (慷慨)的待遇, 但Chandler好像不为所动，他解释说这根本不是钱的问题，他想要的也不仅仅是一份工作，而是想做一些他能真正在乎的事情 (This isn’t about the money. I need something that’s more than a job. I need something I can really care about….)。大家不妨背一背这句话，在面试的时候拿出来show一下，说不定有奇效呢，呵呵。

显然Mr. Kostelic根本不理会Chandler刚才说的那一套，有一句谚语中西方都有，那就是 “有钱能使鬼推磨” (Money makes the mare go.) 于是他告诉Chandler说他刚才所讲的待遇可是额外于年终奖金的 (That’s on top of the yearly bonus structure.) 他肯定觉得Chandler是在故做姿态以便讨价还价，但Chandler 说: “I’m not playing hardball here, OK? This is not a negotiation, this is a rejection! ” play hardball 原本是垒球术语，表示使用标准的硬球，后来引申为 “使用非常手段，有时甚至是不光彩的手段来取得胜利”，这个短语在商业或政治方面尤其常用，又比如：

Bush officials set to play hardball for tax cut.
(布什政府决心在减税问题上决不妥协。)

面对这么丰厚的待遇Chandler不动心才怪，再加上Ross、Joey和其上司的一再劝说，在一连串的NO之后, 他终于气鼓鼓地接受了这个 “硬塞给他的工作”！

*本篇所讲到的地道表达法：

yearly bonus
play hardball

本栏目是由世博英语Starry_Night原创编写！

第十四篇

圣诞节快要到了，Chandler和老友们约好说这次圣诞节就他们六个人一起吃年夜饭, 不准有其它约会(Just the six of us-dinner.)。

在大伙装饰圣诞树时，Phoebe说到了她新交的男友：

Phoebe: I just- I just wanna be with him all the time. Day and night, and night and day… and special occasions…
Chandler: Wait a minute, wait a minute, I see where this is going, you’re gonna ask him to New Year’s, aren’t you. You’re gonna break the pact. She’s gonna break the pact.
Phoebe: No, no, no, no, no, no. Yeah, could I just…?
Chandler: Yeah, ’cause I already asked Janice.
Monica: What?!
Ross: C’mon, this was a pact! This was your pact!
Chandler: I snapped, okay? I couldn’t handle the pressure and I snapped.
Monica: Yeah, but Janice? That-that was like the worst breakup in history!
Chandler: I’m not saying it was a good idea, I’m saying I snapped!

【世博视角】

刚刚坠入爱河的恋人们总是恨不得每天都粘在一起，就像Phoebe说得那样：I just wanna be with him all the time. Day and night, and night and day…(日日夜夜)，and special occasions…（还有一些特殊场合）。听到这儿，Chandler有点反应过来了：“Wait a minute, wait a minute, I see where this is going, 这句话颇有点像我们中文所说的“我知道你葫芦里装的是什么药了” ，圣诞节不就可以算是个 “特殊场合” 吗？所以Chandler猜测Phoebe想和他的男友一起过圣诞 （you’re gonna ask him to New Year’s, aren’t you.），这样的话Phoebe就要打破他们先前的约定了(She’s gonna break the pact)。pact就是 “约定” 的意思，它既可以指那些非常正式的，比方说国与国之间的互不侵犯协定 (e.g. The two countries signed a non-aggression pact.), 也可以是几个人之间的口头约定, 譬如：We made a pact never to tell anyone about what had happened.

既然和别人有了约定就应该遵守，break the pact 总是要被人骂的，所以当Chandler一语道破Phoebe的心思之后，她起先还一个劲地否认，最后才不好意思说：“Yeah, could I just…（是的，我能不能…?）” 没料到Chandler居然也回答说Yeah, 因为他自己也约了别人(’cause I already asked Janice.) 这下大伙都跳了起来，要知道那个pact可是Chandler提出来的, 难怪Ross说： “This was your pact!” 自知理亏的Chandler只得承认自己受不了新年没有约会的压力，出尔反尔(I couldn’t handle the pressure and I snapped) 。handle 是一个常用的动词，看它的拼写我们就不难想象出它的意思，需要用hand来做的事情总是比较复杂的，因此handle就可解释为 “处理” 棘手的情况、问题或是人，比如：She’s very good at handling difficult customers. 而pressure （压力）就属难对付的情况之一，有些人就处理不好，像Chandler在压力之下就 “啪” 地一声被折断了( snap的基本含义.) 。顺便说一下，handle也可作名词，表示 “把手”, 如：She turned the handle and pushed the door open.

Monica更是想不通Chandler为什么偏偏还要约他的前女友Janice, 在和她分手之后,Chandler曾夸张地告诉大伙说那是史上最糟糕的分手 (That was like the worst breakup in history!) 面对Monica的诘问，Chandler只能辩解道：“我又没说这是个好主意，我说我受不了了嘛！（I’m not saying it was a good idea, I’m saying I snapped!）”

*本篇所讲到的地道表达法：

sign / make / break a pact
handle something / somebody

本栏目是由世博英语Starry_Night原创编写！

第十三篇

感恩节到了,Monica 忙着为大家做感恩节大餐，做到一半的时候，Chandler跑进来让大家去天台看热闹，于是一伙人都跟了出去。

热闹看完了，回到家门口时：

Monica: Ok, right about now the turkey should be crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside. Why are we standing here?
Rachel: We’re waiting for you to open the door. You got the keys.
Monica: No I don’t.
Rachel: Yes, you do. When we left, you said, “got the keys.”
Monica: No I didn’t. I asked, “got the ke-eys?”
Rachel: No, no, no, you said, “got the keys”.
Chandler: Do either of you have the keys?
Monica: The oven is on.
Rachel: Oh, I gotta get my ticket!
Joey: Wait, wait, we have a copy of your key.
Monica: Well then get it, get it!
Joey: That tone will not make me go any faster.
Monica: Joey!
Joey: That one will.
Joey: Nope, not that one.
Monica: Can you go any faster with that?
Joey: Hey, I got one keyhole and about a zillion keys. You do the math.

【世博视角】

Turkey（火鸡），是过感恩节必吃的一道菜，在看完热闹回来之后，Monica 美滋滋地说现在的火鸡应该被烤得外脆里嫩了（right about now the turkey should be crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside.）Monica用了两个很好的词crispy和juicy来形容她烤的这只火鸡，前者表示松脆，后者表示鲜嫩多汁，让人听了之后不禁垂涎三尺。

正说得起劲的时候，Monica忽然觉得奇怪为什么大家都站在门外(Why are we standing here?) Rachel回答说我们正等着你开门呢，你有钥匙 (You got the keys.) “No I don’t (我没有)。”听到Monica这样说，Rachel急了， “你有的啊，我们离开的时候你不是说拿了钥匙吗？(Yes, you do. When we left, you said, “got the keys.”) “不是，我是问拿了钥匙了吗？(No I didn’t. I asked, “got the ke-eys?”) 注意她俩说话的语调，同样一句话 “got the keys”, Rachel用的是降调表示这是一句肯定句，而Monica强调自己用的是升调，所以是句问句,于是误会就这样产生了，搞了半天原来两人谁也没拿钥匙。由此可见我们平时在听说英语的时候也要注意语音语调，因为它能传达文字以外的信息。

还好事情还没那么糟，Joey想起来他们屋里有一把备用钥匙(we have a copy of your key)，Monica催促他赶紧去取,结果他拿了一抽屉的钥匙过来，一把一把地在试，Monica不耐烦地说: “Can you go any faster with that? (你能不能快一点啊？” Joey的回答很绝: “Hey, I got one keyhole and about a zillion keys. You do the math.” 钥匙洞只有一个，可钥匙却有无数把，你说Joey怎么快得了。math是算术，是mathematics的简写，You do the math 意思就是 “你自个儿去算吧”，怎么样,是不是很简单实用？下回你要表达相同意思时，记得用这句话噢！

*本篇所讲到的地道表达法：

be crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside
you do the math