Water cooler (n.) 饮水机
Water cooler 意思即是「饮水机」，同义词还有 water dispenser (dispenser 意思是「分配器」)，两个名词皆可用来指「饮水机」。 Water cooler chat 可以理解为「茶水间的闲聊」，指的是同事在茶水间聊一些和工作无关的话题，亦可写为 water cooler talk。
I happened to hear my colleagues talking about me behind my back during their water cooler chat.
我碰巧听到同事在茶水间闲聊时讲我坏话。
Gossip (v.) 八卦
Gossip 可以当动词或是名词，接下来会出现在本文的为动词：gossip about sb. 意思即是「讲某人的八卦」。当名词时 gossip 则可以指「八卦；流言」。
I miss the good old days gossiping with my friends at school.
我想念那些和朋友在学校八卦的好时光。
Staff trip (n.) 员工旅游
Staff 用来泛指「全体员工」，staff trip 指的即是「员工旅游」，或可称为 company trip。
Merriam is looking forward to her first staff trip.
Merriam 引颈期盼第一次员工旅游。
所以 Ben 他们今天在聊什么呢？
Ben: Hey! You guys started the water cooler chat without me?
Ben：嘿！你们没等我就开始聊了？
Merriam: Come on, we knew you would come here and take a break soon enough.
Merriam：少来，我们知道你很快就会过来这里休息。
Ben: Fine. So what are we gossiping about today?
Ben：好啦，所以我们今天要八卦什么？
Merriam: We were just talking about the staff trip.
Merriam：我们刚刚在聊员工旅游。
Ben: Oh… right, we’re going to Penghu in three months.
Ben：噢… 对哦，我们三个月后要去澎湖。
Merriam: I’ve been thinking if I should buy a new bikini for the trip.
Merriam：我一直在想要不要替这次旅行买一套新的比基尼。
原来在聊员工旅游啊！ Merriam 竟然已经在想新泳衣的事了，先学习以下三个单字，然后继续加入他们的聊天室吧！
Year-end banquet (n.) 尾牙
Year-end 为形容词，意思是「年末的」，banquet 意指「宴会」(尤其用来指很正式的宴会)，year-end banquet 指的即是「尾牙」，也可以说 year-end party。
Alison is going to play the guitar at the year-end banquet.
Alison 要在尾牙表演弹吉他。
Year-end bonus (n.) 年终奖金
Bonus 的意思是「奖金；红利」，year-end bonus 指的即是「年终奖金；年终分红」。
Alison’s year-end bonus was smaller than she expected.
Alison 领到的年终奖金不如预期。
Performance (n.) 业绩
一般常见 performance 用来指「表演；表现」，但用在职场上 performance 也可以指「业绩；绩效；工作表现」。
Eric’s excellent performance saw him win employee of the month six months in a row.
Eric 因着绝佳的表现连续六个月获选为最佳员工。
所以 Merriam 决定为了员工旅游买比基尼了吗？继续听下去！
Ben: Sure, why not? Seeing as it’s your first trip to Penghu, you’ll definitely end up taking lots of photos at the beach.
Ben：行啊，为什么不？这会是你第一次到澎湖，你一定会在海边拍很多照。
Merriam: You’re right. In fact, there’s a bikini I’ve had my eye on for a while.
Merriam：你说得对。说实话，有一套比基尼是我一直都很想买的。
Ben: So what are you waiting for?
Ben：那你在犹豫什么？
Merriam: The only problem is that the one I want is quite expensive.
Merriam：唯一的问题就是实在太贵了。
Ben: Hmm … Isn’t the year-end banquet next week? once you get your year-end bonus you’ll have no problem buying whatever bikini you like.
Ben：嗯… 下礼拜不是尾牙吗？你到时候拿到年终奖金想买什么比基尼都没问题了。
Merriam: I don’t think I can expect a very good bonus this year. My performance has been really bad, so I reckon I won’t get much.
Merriam：我这次一点也不指望年终有多多。我今年的业绩一直很糟，我想年终应该没多少。
