常春藤生活英语【16】Bobby's Balance 过犹不及

Bobby Jones liked his job as a computer programmer. His co-workers were all nice and the office was close to his house. There was only one problem—his boss. Mr. Li never complimented anyone. Most people in the office worked hard and even stayed a couple of hours late each night, but Mr. Li never said a word. As a matter of fact, he rarely talked to any of his employees.

One Monday morning, Bobby had a huge presentation that he had to give. He worked all weekend to wrap up the special computer program he designed to show to some important clients. After the presentation, everyone in the meeting applauded except for Mr. Li. Bobby sold the program and made millions of dollars for the company. However, Mr. Li still didn't come by Bobby's office to thank him in person. This was when Bobby decided¹ that he had had it. He needed to work in a place where someone appreciated him enough to say thanks when a job was well done.

巴比?琼斯很喜欢他这份计算机程序设计师的工作。他的同事人都很好，办公室离家也近。只有一个问题──他的老板。李先生从不称赞任何人。办公室里大部分员工都很努力工作，甚至每晚都加班好几个小时，但李先生从未说些什么。事实上，他很少跟他的任何员工交谈。

巴比在某个周一的早上必须做一份很重要的简报。他整个周末都在赶工完成一个他所设计的特殊计算机程序，好呈现给一些重要的客户看。简报结束后，除了李先生以外，与会的所有人都给予掌声。巴比卖出程序，为公司赚进了数百万元。然而，李先生仍没有到巴比的办公室向他当面道谢。这时巴比决定他受够了。他需要的工作环境，是一个当他工作表现良好时，有人能因赏识而向他致谢的地方。

Building Your Vocabulary

1.compliment　vt. & n. 赞美
Mitch complimented Beth on her new shoes.
米契称赞贝丝的新鞋。

2.rarely　adv. 很少，难得
I rarely go to that restaurant for lunch.
我很少到那家餐厅吃午饭。

3.applaud　vi. 鼓掌；喝采
After the play, everyone stood up to applaud.
话剧表演结束后，所有人都起立鼓掌。

Phrases for Learning

1.wrap up...　　完成∕结束……
The police will soon wrap up their investigation².
警方很快就会结束调查工作。

2.except for...　　除……之外
No one passed the exam except for Vicky.
除了薇琪之外，没有人通过考试。

3.have had it　　受够了，忍无可忍
Jason has had it with his boring job.
杰森受够了他那份无聊的工作。

参考字词

1.computer programmer　n. 计算机程序设计师

2.employee　n. 受雇者，雇员

3.presentation　n. 报告；说明

4.client　n. 客户

Tips In Use

...everyone in the meeting applauded except for Mr. Li.
（……除了李先生以外，与会的所有人都给予掌声。）

1."except for"用于肯定句中时，表『除了……以外，……』。"except for"使用时，必须与表完全概念的形容词 all, every, any, no 等并用。

No one is absent except for Janet.
（除了珍娜以外，没有人缺席。

2. "except for..."用于否定句中（即有 nothing 出现）时，表『除了……之外，其它什么也没有』。等于"apart from..."、"aside from..."及"other than..."。

Except for art, nothing can interest him.
=Apart from art, nothing can interest him.
=Aside from art, nothing can interest him.
=Other than art, nothing can interest him.
（除了美术，没有任何事可以使他感兴趣。)

1 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

2 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。