0015 Problems at the Office

0015 Problems at the Office.mp3
0015 Problems at the Office.pdf

[start of dialogue]

Lucy: Hey Jeff, can I pick your brain for a minute?

Jeff: Sure, what's up?

Lucy: Well, I have a sticky situation at work and I wanted to get your input. You're always so tactful.

Jeff: Thanks. I'm not sure I can help but I'll give you my two cents.

Lucy: Well, it's like this. There's this guy I work with who is always making jokes about the boss. Don't get me wrong. I like a good joke now and then, especially about the boss. But, sometimes he goes too far.

Jeff. What do you mean?

Lucy: Well, just the other day, he got a picture off the Internet and cut and pasted the boss's head onto it. Let's just say it was a very unflattering picture of him.

Jeff: Hmm. That's really unprofessional, but it sounds harmless enough, if he kept it to himself or just showed it to a few friends.

Lucy: That's just it. He didn't keep it to himself. He attached the picture to an email and sent it to the entire company, including the top brass.

Jeff: You're joking, right?

Lucy: No, I'm not. This is what I meant when I said he goes too far. He just doesn't know when to quit.

Jeff: Is he a friend of yours?

Lucy: No, not really. But, I don't want the guy to get fired. He's actually a good person. He's just clueless, that's all.

Jeff: Well, that's a tough one. Let me think about it. Maybe there's a way to get him to cut it out before he gets fired.

Lucy: Thanks. I appreciate it.

Jeff: Oh, it's no big deal. Let's go get a bite to eat.

Lucy: Sure. Sounds good to me.

[end of dialogue]

Our dialogue begins with Lucy saying to me, “Hey Jeff.” “Hey” is an informal way of saying “hi” or “hello.” She says, “Hey Jeff, can I pick your brain for a minute?” “To pick (pick) someone's brain” means to get their opinion, to get their advice, to ask them what they think. Lucy wants to pick my brain for a minute, which means for short time, not necessarily just 60 seconds.

I say, “Sure,” meaning, “yes.” “What's up?” meaning what is the problem? What is going on? Lucy says, “Well, I have a sticky situation at work.” When we say something is a “sticky (sticky) situation,” we mean it's a difficult situation, a situation that is possibly embarrassing or difficult for someone to talk about. We might also describe it as a sensitive situation. Lucy wants to get my input on this problem. Your “input” (input) is your opinion of something, your advice about something. Lucy says that “I am always so tactful.” “To be tactful” (tactful)” means to be polite, to always say the right thing, to never insult anyone – someone who's very good with words who doesn't ever cause problems with other people, who never makes other people upset. We could describe that person as being tactful.

Obviously, Lucy doesn't know me very well. I'm not very tactful at all. But, this is just a story, so, we’ll imagine that I am tactful. I say, “Thanks! I'm not sure I can help but I'll give you my two cents.” “To give someone their two cents” means to give them your opinion. It's the same, basically, as “input.” It's an informal expression. “Two cents” is not worth very much money, so the expression implies the idea that yes I will give you my opinion, but it might not be worth very much. It might not be very useful to you. You're being humble. You're saying. I don't really know very much but I will try to help you.

Lucy says, “Well, it's like this,” which is an informal way of saying here's the situation. Here's the description of the situation. She says, “There's this guy I work with who’s always making jokes about the boss.” The “boss” would be the leader, the head of their group or their company. She says, “Don't get me wrong.” That expression “don't get me wrong,” is used when you want to say to someone “Don't misunderstand me.” “Don't get the wrong idea.” We use it when we’re going to say something that a person might interpret incorrectly. When we say something to someone who may think, “Oh, that's a bad thing,” or “You're saying something bad,” we use this expression “Don't get me wrong.” So, “listen carefully and wait until I finish my explanation.” That's another way of describing the meaning of this expression.

Lucy says, “I like a good joke now and then.” “Now and then” means every once in a while, occasionally. She says she likes a good joke especially about the boss. “But sometimes he goes too far.” “To go too far” means to do something that would normally be okay, but to do too much of it, to do it in such a way that it hurts other people or it bothers other people, that's to go too far. This “guy” at work – and “guy” in the singular is always, or almost always a man – goes too far in making jokes about the boss. He says things that could make the boss or other people in the office angry or upset.

I ask, “What do you mean? And Lucy gives an example of him going too far. She says, “Well, just the other day,” meaning just a few days ago or recently, “he got a picture off the Internet and cut and pasted the boss’ head on to it.” So this guy at Lucy's work downloaded a picture from the Internet and then using some sort of special software, perhaps Photoshop, he put the head of the boss – a picture of the head of the boss – on this photograph. We don't know what the photograph was exactly, but we can guess that it was something funny.

Lucy says, “Let's just say it was a very unflattering picture of him.” The expression “Let's just say” is used when you don't want to give the exact details. You don't want to go into a very detailed description of something. You just want to give the person an idea what you're talking, about a general idea of what you are talking about. That's when we would use this expression “Let's just say.” Not wanting to describe the picture in detail, Lucy says “Let's just say it was a very unflattering picture of him.” “To flatter” (flatter), as a verb, means to say something nice about someone. “Unflattering” as an adjective, would be something that is not nice, something that doesn't complement that person, something that makes that person look bad.

Jeff says – that's me – “Hmm. That sounds really unprofessional.” Notice again the prefix “un.” “Un” means not. So, when I say that's really “unprofessional,” I mean that's not professional. That's not something you should do in a work environment. “But,” I say, “it sounds” – it appears – “harmless enough.” “To be harmless” (harmless) means to not cause any problems, to not be very serious, to not cause any injury or damage. I say that the picture is harmless enough, meaning it's no big deal. “If,” I say, “he kept it to himself or showed it to a few friends.” So, it's harmless enough only if this guy kept it to himself, meaning he didn't show anyone else or only showed it, only gave it to, a few friends.

Lucy says, “That's just it.” That expression “that's just it” means now you’ve identified the problem. You’ve said something that indicates the problem and now I'm going to tell you what that is. Lucy continues, “He didn't keep it to himself. He attached the picture to an email and sent it to the entire company, including the top brass.” So, this guy at Lucy's work sent the picture via email, using email, to everyone in the company, including the top brass. “The top brass” are the bosses, the people who run the entire company. If it's a large company, you may have several different levels of bosses. The top brass would be the most important ones – the president, the vice president and so forth.

I then say, “You're joking, right?” I am asking if Lucy is making a joke, if she's just kidding. She says, “No, I'm not. This is what I mean when I said he goes too far. He just doesn't know when to quit” – when to stop, when not to go too far. Jeff says, “Is he a friend of yours?” Lucy says, “No, not really, but I don't want the guy to get fired.” “To get fired” means to lose your job.

“He's actually a good person. He's just clueless. That's all.” “To be clueless” (clueless) means to not understand really what's going on, someone who is ignorant, someone who doesn't quite understand the implications of everything he says or does. That would be someone who is clueless. Notice also the suffix (less), which comes at the end of this word. It means without. Before, we had the word “harmless,” meaning without harm. Here, we have “clueless,” meaning without a clue, without an idea.

I say, “Well, that's a tough one.” That's a difficult situation. “Let me think about it. Maybe there's a way to get him to cut it out before he gets fired.” “To cut something out” is a two-word phrasal verb meaning to stop, to no longer do it, especially when we're talking about something you shouldn't be doing anyway, something that's bad. Lucy says to me, “Thanks, I appreciate it.” I say “Oh, it's no big deal.” It's not something that she needs to thank me for. “Let's go get a bite to eat,” I say. “To go get a bite (bite) to eat” means to go and get some food, to go to lunch or to go to dinner. Lucy says, “Sure, sounds good to me,” meaning yes, that's a good idea.

Culture Note
Taking the Moral High Ground

“To take the moral high ground” means to keep one’s beliefs and to behave according to what is generally accepted as a high standard of good and correct behavior. When we talk about “morality” (noun) or “moral” (adjective) behavior, we are talking about our “principles” (important beliefs) about what is right and wrong, and what is good or bad.

“High ground” is the term we use for a place or piece of land that is higher than the areas around it. That’s where you want to be if there is a “flood” (too much water over land), so you can stay dry. A person who has or takes the moral high ground in a debate or controversy is someone who has or wants to have the better moral position when compared to others involved, whether it’s “in their own eyes” (from their own point of view) or in the eyes of others. If, for example, people at work are trying to “curry favor” (get someone to like them more by trying to please that person) with the boss by telling lies about their coworkers, you may want to take the moral high ground and not do the same thing, even if it means you will not gain the same advantage as your coworkers.

The opposite of taking the moral high ground is “to sink to (someone’s) level.” “To sink” means to fall or to drop to a lower level. “To sink to (someone’s) level” means to lower one’s standards so that one behaves in a way that is similar to another person who has lower standards. For instance, if you’re in car race and one of the racers “routinely” (regularly) wins by “paying off” (giving money to someone so they’ll do or not do something) his competitors, you might say, “I won’t sink to his level to win.”

So people who take the moral high ground are people who won’t sink to the level of others. We often think highly or well of people who take the moral high ground, especially if it means there is some “sacrifice” (giving up of something important) on their part.

[对话开始]

露西：嘿，杰夫，我可以跟你谈谈吗？

杰夫：当然，什么事？

露西：嗯，我在工作中遇到了一个棘手的情况，我想听听你的意见。你总是那么圆滑。

杰夫：谢谢。我不知道我能不能帮上忙，但我会给你我的两分钱。

露西：嗯，事情是这样的。有一个和我一起工作的人，他总是在开老板的玩笑。不要误会我的意思。我喜欢偶尔开个好玩笑，尤其是关于老板的。但是，有时他做得太过分了。

杰夫。你是什么意思？

就在前几天，他从网上找了一张照片，把老板的头剪下来贴在上面。我们只能说这是一张非常不讨好的照片。

杰夫：嗯。这真的很不专业，但听起来无伤大雅，如果他把它留给自己或只给几个朋友看的话。

露西：就是这样。他并没有把它留给自己。他把照片附在一封电子邮件中，并把它发给了整个公司，包括高层。

杰夫：你是在开玩笑，对吗？

露西：不，我不是。这就是我说他走得太远的意思。他只是不知道什么时候该退出。

杰夫：他是你的朋友吗？

露西：不，不是真的。但是，我不希望这家伙被解雇。他其实是个好人。他只是没有头脑，仅此而已。

杰夫：嗯，这是个难题。让我考虑一下。也许有一种方法可以在他被解雇之前让他切掉它。

露西：谢谢。我很感激。

杰夫：哦，这没什么大不了的。我们去吃点东西吧。

当然，对我来说听起来不错。

[对话结束]

我们的对话以露西对我说 "嘿，杰夫 "开始。"嘿 "是一种非正式的说 "嗨 "或 "你好 "的方式。她说："嘿，杰夫，我可以挑剔一下你的大脑吗？" "挑选（pick）某人的大脑 "意味着征求他们的意见，获得他们的建议，询问他们的想法。露西想挑我的大脑一分钟，这意味着短时间，不一定只有60秒。

我说，"当然，"意思是，"是的。" "怎么了？"意思是有什么问题？发生了什么事？露西说，"嗯，我在工作中遇到了一个棘手的情况。" 当我们说某件事情是 "棘手的（sticky）情况 "时，我们的意思是它是一个困难的情况，一个可能让人尴尬或难以启齿的情况。我们也可能把它描述为一种敏感的情况。露西想征求我对这个问题的意见。你的 "投入"（input）是你对某件事的看法，你对某件事的建议。露西说，"我总是那么有技巧"。"圆滑"（tactful）"是指有礼貌，总是说正确的话，从不侮辱别人--一个很会说话的人，他从来不会给别人带来麻烦，他从来不会让别人不高兴。我们可以把这种人描述为圆滑。

很明显，露西并不了解我。我根本就不是很有技巧。但是，这只是一个故事，所以，我们可以想象我是有技巧的。我说："谢谢！"。我不确定我能帮上忙，但我会给你我的两分钱。" "给别人两分钱 "意味着给他们提供你的意见。基本上，它与 "投入 "相同。这是一个非正式的表达。"两美分 "并不值钱，所以这个表达方式意味着，是的，我会给你我的意见，但它可能不值钱。它可能对你不是很有用。你是在谦虚。你在说。我其实知道的不多，但我会努力帮助你。

露西说，"嗯，是这样的。"这是一种非正式的说法，即情况是这样的。这里是对情况的描述。她说，"有一个和我一起工作的人，他总是拿老板开玩笑"。"老板 "是指领导，是他们小组或公司的负责人。她说，"不要误会我的意思"。这个表达方式 "不要误会我"，是在你想对某人说 "不要误解我 "时使用的。"不要弄错了"。当我们要说一个人可能理解错误的东西时，我们会用它。当我们对某人说一些话时，他可能会想，"哦，那是一件坏事，"或者 "你在说一些坏话"，我们就用这个表达方式 "不要误会我"。所以，"仔细听，等我解释完"。这是另一种描述这种表达方式的含义。

露西说，"我喜欢时不时地开个好玩笑"。"现在和那时 "是指每隔一段时间，偶尔一次。她说她喜欢一个好的笑话，尤其是关于老板的。"但有时他走得太远了。" "走得太远 "的意思是，做一些通常情况下没有问题的事情，但是做得太多了，做得伤害了其他人或者让其他人感到困扰，这就是走得太远了。工作中的这个 "家伙"--单数中的 "家伙 "总是，或者几乎总是一个男人--在开老板的玩笑方面走得太远。他说了一些可能使老板或办公室里的其他人生气或不高兴的话。
我问："你是什么意思？露西就举了一个他走得太远的例子。她说，"好吧，就在前几天，"意思是就在几天前或最近，"他从网上下载了一张图片，并把老板的头剪下来贴在上面。" 因此，露西工作的这个人从互联网上下载了一张照片，然后使用某种特殊的软件，也许是Photoshop，他把老板的头--一张老板的头的照片--放在这张照片上。我们不知道这张照片到底是什么，但我们可以猜到，它是一个有趣的东西。

露西说，"我们就说这是一张非常不讨人喜欢的照片"。"我们就说 "这个表达方式是在你不想给出确切的细节时使用的。你不想对某件事情进行非常详细的描述。你只想让对方知道你在说什么，关于你在说什么的一个大致概念。这时我们就会使用这种表达方式 "我们就说说吧"。露西不想详细描述这张照片，她说："我们就说这是一张非常不讨人喜欢的照片。" "奉承"（flatter），作为一个动词，是指说某人的好话。"unflattering "作为一个形容词，是指不好看的东西，不补充那个人的东西，使那个人看起来很糟糕。

杰夫说--那是我--"嗯，这听起来真的很不专业。" 再次注意前缀 "un"。"un "意味着不。所以，当我说那真的 "不专业 "时，我的意思是那不专业。这不是你在工作环境中应该做的事情。"但是，"我说，"它听起来"--它看起来--"足够无害。" "无害"（harmless）的意思是不造成任何问题，不是很严重，不造成任何伤害或损害。我说，这幅画足够无害，意思是它没有什么大不了的。"如果，"我说，"他把它留给自己或者给几个朋友看。" 所以，只有当这个人把它留给自己，也就是说他没有给其他人看，或者只给几个朋友看，才是无害的。

露西说，"就是这样"。这句话 "就是这样 "意味着现在你已经确定了问题所在。你已经说了一些话，表明了问题所在，现在我要告诉你那是什么。露西继续说："他没有把它留给自己。他把照片附在一封电子邮件中，并把它发给整个公司，包括高层。" 所以，露西工作的这个人通过电子邮件，用电子邮件把照片发给了公司的每个人，包括高层。"高层 "是指老板们，即管理整个公司的人。如果是一家大公司，你可能有几个不同级别的老板。最高层将是最重要的人--总裁、副总裁等等。

我接着说："你在开玩笑，对吗？" 我在问露西是否在开玩笑，是否只是在开玩笑。她说："不，我不是。这就是我说他走得太远的意思。他只是不知道什么时候该放弃"--什么时候该停止，什么时候不要走得太远。杰夫说，"他是你的朋友吗？" 露西说，"不，不是真的，但我不希望这个人被解雇。" "被解雇 "意味着失去工作。

"他其实是个好人。他只是没有头脑。这就是全部。" "毫无头绪"（ clueless）的意思是不明白真正发生了什么，一个无知的人，一个不太明白他所说或所做的一切的含义的人。这将是一个没有头脑的人。还要注意后缀（less），它出现在这个词的末尾。它的意思是没有。之前，我们有 "无害 "这个词，意思是没有伤害。这里，我们有 "无知"，意思是没有线索，没有想法。

我说，"嗯，这是个难题。" 这是个困难的情况。"让我考虑一下。也许有办法在他被解雇之前让他切掉它。" "断绝关系 "是一个两个字的短语动词，意思是停止，不再做，特别是当我们谈论的是你无论如何都不应该做的事情，是坏的事情。露西对我说："谢谢，我很感激。" 我说："哦，这没什么大不了的。" 这不是她需要感谢我的事情。"我们去吃点东西吧，"我说。"去吃一口（bite）"的意思是去拿一些食物，去吃午饭或去吃晚饭。露西说，"当然，听起来不错。"意思是，是的，这是个好主意。

文化说明
站在道德的制高点上

"站在道德的制高点 "是指保持自己的信念，并按照人们普遍接受的良好和正确行为的高标准来行事。当我们谈论 "道德"（名词）或 "道德"（形容词）行为时，我们谈论的是我们的 "原则"（重要的信念），即什么是对和错，什么是好或坏。

"高地 "是我们用来指比周围地区高的地方或一块土地的术语。如果发生 "洪水"（土地上有太多的水），你就想去那里，这样你就能保持干燥。在辩论或争议中拥有或占据道德制高点的人，是指与其他相关人员相比，拥有或希望拥有更好的道德地位的人，无论是 "在自己的眼中"（从自己的角度）还是在别人的眼中。例如，如果工作中的人试图通过说同事的谎言来 "讨好"（通过努力讨好某人）老板，你可能想站在道德的制高点上，不做同样的事情，即使这意味着你不会获得与你的同事一样的好处。

与站在道德制高点相反的是 "沉沦到（某人）的水平"。"沉沦 "的意思是下降或降到一个较低的水平。"沉沦到（某人的）水平 "意味着降低自己的标准，从而使自己的行为与另一个标准较低的人相似。例如，如果你参加汽车比赛，其中一个赛车手 "经常"（定期）通过 "贿赂"（给某人钱，让他们做或不做某事）他的竞争对手而获胜，你可能会说，"我不会为了获胜而沉沦到他的水平。"

因此，站在道德制高点的人是不会沉沦到别人的水平的人。我们经常对站在道德制高点的人有很高的评价，特别是如果这意味着他们要做出一些 "牺牲"（放弃一些重要的东西）。