职场新鲜人 Irene 工作才不到一周,就发现同事 Jacob 不理她,为什么呢…
Irene: What’s wrong with Jacob? He just ignored me when I greeted him this morning.
Irene: Jacob 怎么了?我今天早上跟他打招呼的时候,他直接无视我。
Chloe: I told you he’s a snowflake.
Chloe: 我早跟你说过他很玻璃心。
Irene: Did I do or say something to offend him?
Irene: 我做了或是说了什么话惹到他吗?
Chloe: No. But do you remember when you answered the manager’s question for him yesterday? He probably thought you did it deliberately to make him look bad.
Chloe: 没有,但你记得你昨天帮他回答了经理的问题吗?他可能会觉得妳在故意让他难堪。
Irene: What? I knew he was self-centered, but I never realized he was such a narcissist.
Irene: 蛤?我的确知道他很自我中心,但我从来不知道他这么自恋。
Chloe: Yeah, and he’s very cocky. He always holds the opinions and ideas of others in contempt.
Chloe: 没错,而且他还很自大,他总是对他人的点子不屑一顾,觉得自己最厉害。
Irene: Well… no wonder all of you told me to keep my distance.
Irene: 唉…难怪你们都叫我要离他远点。
Irene 的一片好心似乎被误会了,职场关系真的很困难啊!
snowflake (n.) 玻璃心
snowflake 原本的意思是「雪花」,「玻璃心」是形容人过度敏感、脆弱,英文里就用 snowflake 来形容。
She’s such a snowflake! When the boss gently pointed out her mistakes, she threw a massive tantrum.
她真的很玻璃心!老板只是稍微指出她的错误,她就爆炸了。
self-centered (adj.) 自我中心的
self-centered 直译就是「自我中心的」,指凡事都用自己的角度思考、揣测的人,这类人通常也很自私 (selfish),凡事只考虑自己利益、需求。
We hate traveling with John. He’s so self-centered that he never takes others’ opinions into consideration.
我们很讨厌跟 John 一起旅行,他太自我中心了,完全不会考量别人的意见。
cocky (adj.) 自大的;自负的
cock 是「公鸡」,给人昂首挺立的印象,形容词 cocky 就好像是形容那些昂首向前,但过分自信、趾高气昂的人,可以翻成「自大的;自负的」。
He is very cocky and always thinks that he is superior to others.
他很自大,而且总以为自己高别人一等。
中午吃饭时间,Jacob 便跟同事 Hanson 抱怨起 Irene。
Jacob: Do you know the newbie, Irene? She really bugs me!
Jacob: 你知道那个菜鸟 Irene 吗?她真的很讨厌!
Hanson: What happened?
Hanson: 怎么了?
Jacob: Yesterday when the manager was asking me some questions, she rushed to answer. I knew the answer, I was just taking my time.
Jacob: 昨天当经理在问我一些问题的时候,她就急着跳出来回答。我知道答案好吗,我只是还在思考。
Hanson: Who does she think she is? What a know-it-all.
Hanson: 哇呜,她以为她谁,还真是万事通呢。
Jacob: And Chloe, she is nothing more than a brown-noser. A total kiss-ass. A suck-up of the highest order.
Jacob: 还有那个 Chloe,她根本就是个马屁精。最爱拍马屁上面的马屁。
Hanson: True. Whenever I see her, she’s either flattering the supervisor or slacking off.
Hanson: 没错,我每次看到她,她要不是在阿谀奉承主管,就是在摸鱼耍废。
Jacob: Moreover, she’s such a copycat! I know she’s imitating the way I talk just because she wants to be the leader of the team.
Jacob: 除此之外,她还是个学人精!我知道她因为想当团队的领导者,所以在模仿我的说话方式。
嗯…越听越罗生门了呢…或许大家对彼此都有点误会吧!
know-it-all (n.) 万事通
know-it-all 字面上的意思是「知道所有事」,但这个字通常带有贬意,指那些自以为知道所有事情的「万事通」。
She is a know-it-all and argues with her classmates over trivial matters all the time.
她自以为自己是个万事通,一天到晚都在跟同学争辩鸡毛蒜皮的小事。
brown-noser (n.) 马屁精
brown-noser 直译是「咖啡色的鼻子」,brown 就像便便的颜色,「马屁精」为了奉承,甚至愿意亲别人的屁股,最后鼻子就变成咖啡色的了。
The newbie is such a brown-noser! He kept complimenting the director on his lame proposal.
那个新来的真是个马屁精!他没完没了一直称赞导演的烂企划。
slack off (phr.) 摸鱼;偷懒
slack 当动词时意思是「偷懒」,因此动词片语 slack off 就是指「摸鱼打混」。
If the boss catches you are slacking off, you will be toast!
如果老板发现你在偷懒,你就完蛋了!
copycat (n.) 学人精
copycat 跟猫没关系,这个字是用来指「爱模仿人的讨厌鬼;学人精」。此外它还可以当形容词,形容「模仿的;仿效的」,像许多人说,报导犯罪新闻会导致「模仿犯罪」,英文就是 copycat crime。
Don’t be a copycat! You should live your own life.
别当个学人精!你应该为了自己而活。
人际关系真的是一大学问,好同学/好同事的确能让你保持愉悦心情、提高学习/工作效率,所以如果有什么小误会的话,与其自己在心中猜忌,不如委婉跟对方讲清楚唷!