be late for… (phr.) 迟到
late 在此为形容词，意思是「迟到的」，常搭配介系词 for 再接迟到的场合。
Henry was fired because he was always late for work.
Henry 上班总是迟到，所以被炒鱿鱼了。
late 亦可指「延迟的；延误的」。
I was late for school because the bus was late.
公车延误导致我上学迟到。
punctual (adj.) 守时的
punctual 是形容词，意思是「准时的；守时的」。这个字源自于拉丁文 punctualis，原来意思是「尖端；尖顶；点」，想想「准时」和「准点」之间是不是也有关系呢？
Being punctual is one of Brenda’s many good traits.
守时是 Brenda 的众多优点之一。
dock (v.) 扣薪
dock 当名词时意思是「码头」，但在这里它作为动词，意思是「扣薪」，其主词常为 pay/wages (薪资)，另外 dock 也有「(使) 靠岸，(使) 停泊，(使) 进港」的意思。
Jeff’s boss decided to dock his pay because of how often he came into work late.
Jeff 的老板决定给他扣薪水，因为他太常迟到了。
回到 Jeff 的卧室，他的手机响了。
Jeff: (picking up the phone) Hello … ?
Jeff：(接起手机) 喂…？
Brenda: JEFF!
Brenda：Jeff！
Jeff: Who is this …?
Jeff：哪位…？
Brenda: It’s Brenda. It’s 8 o’clock and we’re about to start the meeting! Where are you!?
Brenda：我 Brenda 啦。已经八点了，会议要开始了！你人在哪！ ？
Jeff: (jumping out of bed) I missed my alarm!
Jeff：(跳下床) 我错过闹钟了！
Brenda: Again!? Come on, you’re going to be late for the meeting!
Brenda：又来！ ？真是够了，你开会要迟到了！
Jeff: Alright, alright, I’m on my way.
Jeff：好啦，好啦，我在路上了。
Brenda: (sigh) When will you start being punctual.
Brenda：(叹气) 你什么时候才会守时。
Jeff: Damn, I hope my pay won’t be docked.
Jeff：可恶，希望不会被扣工资。
Jeff 赶得及开会吗？记好以下三个单字，我们再继续 Jeff 的故事！
in time (phr.) 及时
in time 为时间副词片语，意思是「及时」，易混淆片语 on time 意思则是「准时」(意思同上一节讲到的 punctual)。
Henry arrived at the wedding ceremony in time to find out he forgot to bring the ring.
Henry 及时赶上婚礼，却发现忘了带戒指。
The wedding ceremony began on time.
婚礼准时开始。
flexible working hours (n.) 弹性工时
flexible 是形容词，表示「弹性的」，working hours 的意思是「上班时间」(注意不要写成 work hours，且要用复数 hours)，也就是「工时」。补充：fixed working hours (固定工时)，fixed 在此意思是「固定的」。
My working hours are quite flexible. My boss doesn’t care when I arrive at the office, so long as I get my work done.
我的工作时间很弹性；我老板不在乎我何时到办公室，只要我有把工作做好。
clock out (phr.) 打卡下班
clock out 意思为「打卡下班」，反义词 clock in 则是「打卡上班」。同义片语还有 punch in 和 punch out，其中 punch 的意思为「打洞」。
Tammy usually clocks in at ten in the morning and clocks out at seven in the evening.
Tammy 通常早上 10 点打卡上班、傍晚 7 点打卡下班。
转眼间到了下班的时刻。
Brenda: Will you be late tomorrow, Jeff?
Brenda：你明天会迟到吗 Jeff？
Jeff: Thank you for waking me up this morning, but enough with the sarcasm!
Jeff：谢谢你今天早上叫醒我，不过别再挖苦了吧！
Brenda: Haha, fine. I still don’t know how you managed to get to the meeting in time.
Brenda：哈哈，好。我只是很好奇你怎么有办法及时赶上开会。
Jeff: That’s because I live very close.
Jeff：那是因为我住得很近。
Brenda: Then how come you’re late so often!?
Brenda：那你为什么还那么常迟到！ ？
Jeff: Dunno, it’s a mystery. (walking out of the office) Hey, don’t you think it would be better if we have flexible working hours? In that case, we could… (walking into the elevator)
Jeff：不知，是个谜。 (走出办公室) 嘿，你不觉得如果有弹性工时会更好吗？那样的话，我们就… (走进电梯)
Brenda: Jeff, wait! You forgot to clock out!
Brenda：Jeff，等等！你忘了打卡！
