纯正地道美语 第115期(外教讲解):The Office-You Mis

A: And so, I just wanted to check in with you and find out where we are with this ject.  As you know, you’ve  missed  a  fairly  significant  deadline  last week, and this   will negativity impact the team’s ability to move forward with the next stages of this   project.

B:I know, I’m really sorry that I missed the deadline.  But really, it wasn’t my fault.   You see, we had all of these unexpected technical problems at the last minute, and that   I couldn’t get into the database and extract the kind of information that I needed for   the data analyis. You know, if the tech guys would have done their job and kept the CRM   stable, then I wouldn’t have missed my deadline.

A:Oh, come on!  An excuse like that is tantamount to lying. You’re essentially¹ blaming   the tech team for your time management issues, rather than accepting responsibility for   the fact that you were procrastinating² for the past two weeks.

B:No, I’m not trying to pass the buck³ here; I know that it was me who is ultimately  responsible for getting this done.  But the thing is, I could have finished on time if  the system hadn’t gone down. And you know, with everything I’ve got going on now, I     can’t afford to waste time dealing⁴ with technical problems. I’ve got a lot on my  plate and there are only twenty-four hours in a day...

A: I’m not going to accept this excuse.  You’re using these small technical glitches⁵ as  a crutch⁶ and trying to rationalize the fact that you’ve missed your deadline. Look, we  have standards and I expect you to live up to those standards.  No more phoney cuses. If you’re in over your head, you tell me. No more missed deadlines. Now, I want that  data on my desk by nine am!
 

1 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

2 procrastinating   

拖延，耽搁( procrastinate的现在分词 )； 拖拉

参考例句：

• Begin while others are procrastinating. Save while others are wasting. 当别人拖延时你开始。当别人浪费时你节约。
• Before adjourning, councillors must stop procrastinating and revisit this controversial issue. 在休会之前，参议员必须停止拖延，重新讨论这个引起争议的问题。

3 buck   

n.雄鹿，雄兔；v.马离地跳跃

参考例句：

• The boy bent curiously to the skeleton of the buck.这个男孩好奇地弯下身去看鹿的骸骨。
• The female deer attracts the buck with high-pitched sounds.雌鹿以尖声吸引雄鹿。

4 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

5 glitches   

n.小过失，差错( glitch的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Manufacturing glitches have limited the factory's output. 生产中的故障影响了该厂的产量。 来自辞典例句
• Another kind of period variation,\"Glitches,\" are seen in several pulsars. 在几个脉冲星中还看到了周期的另一种变化，即“自转突快”现象。 来自辞典例句

6 crutch   

n.T字形拐杖；支持，依靠，精神支柱

参考例句：

• Her religion was a crutch to her when John died.约翰死后，她在精神上依靠宗教信仰支撑住自己。
• He uses his wife as a kind of crutch because of his lack of confidence.他缺乏自信心，总把妻子当作主心骨。