生活英语对话 Episode 89: Tim fights back

本单元是关于Tim 反击的对话

Tim: I won't do it! You swapped¹ the real watches for the fake ones and now you're trying to wriggle² out of it.
Boss: Tim, you're making some very serious allegations. Do you actually have any hard evidence?
Tim: Well, I bet the police do. I bet it's only a matter of time before you're behind bars, where you should be.
Boss: I don't think so. You're the one who sold the watches and if anyone's going to prison, it's you, Tim. But whatever happens, I think our working relationship is about to come to an end, don't you?
Tim: You mean you're firing me?
Boss: I'm sorry Tim, I think I'm going to have to let you go.
Tim: Oh no, you can't fire me, because you know what? I quit!!!


Vocabulary

swapped 交换；更换
changed one thing for another; exchanged

to wriggle out of it 用计逃脱，设法赖掉
to escape from a difficult situation or avoid doing something, in a way other people don't like

allegations (n) 指控
accusations³ of wrong-doing against somebody

I bet 我敢断定
I'm sure

hard evidence 真凭实据
real proof

behind bars 监禁
in prison

 本单元的语言点是关于工作的词汇，请看下面的解释和例句

Work vocabulary


Starting & finishing work

employ (v) 雇用
to employ somebody means to give them a job.
'My father's company employs 25 people.'

take on (v) 雇用
this means to hire or employ someone (at the beginning of their period of employment).
'The company got a really big order. It had to take on 10 new workers.'

knock off (v) 中止(工作)
this informal verb means to finish work for the day.
'We finish work at 5pm every day, but on Fridays we knock off at 3.'

fire (v)解雇
sack (v) 解雇
when a boss makes someone leave their job, because they have done something wrong or bad.
'The company fired / sacked six people after they were caught sleeping at work.'

These verbs can be used in the passive form with get or be.
be / get fired (v)
be / get sacked (v)
'He got fired / got sacked for stealing.'

quit (v) 辞职
to leave your job through your own choice; to resign.
'She quit her job when she got married.'

to be made redundant⁴ (v) 被解雇,遭遣散
to lose your job because the company no longer needs the type of work you do.
'50 people were made redundant when the shop closed down. Another 20 were transferred to another branch.'


People

gaffer (n) 工头,雇主
a slang word for boss, often used in manual labour.
'Quick - get back to work! The gaffer's coming!'

line manager (n) 部门经理
your immediate⁵ boss, who is not usually the boss of the whole company.
'If you have a problem at work, you should first speak to your line manager. If s/he can not resolve the problem, you should go to the head of your department.'

co-worker (n) 同事
somebody you work with, usually doing jobs of equal pay and status.
'My co-workers are very nice. Most of them have been working at the company for years.'

freelancer⁶ (n) 自由职业者
a person who works as a writer, designer, performer etc., selling work or services by the hour, day, job, etc., instead of working regularly for just one employer.
'He worked for the same company for several years before he quit and became a freelancer.'


Avoiding work

pull a sickie 请病假(这里指以生病为托辞)
this slang expression means to contact your place of work and tell them you are sick and cannot come to work when really there is nothing wrong with you.
'The boss told her she could not have any time off to go to her sister's wedding, but she pulled a sickie and went anyway.'

skive (v) 偷懒，开小差
to avoid work by either staying at home without permission, or by being lazy or not doing your job properly when you are at work.
'She is so lazy. She always arrives late and she skives all the time.'

skiver (n) 偷懒的人，开小差的人
a person who skives (see the definition of skive above).
'He is such a skiver! He takes really long tea breaks and he always goes home at least 30 minutes early.'

leave (n) 请假
permission to be absent from work for an agreed length of time, usually measured in days or weeks. 'He was given 2 weeks' leave when his elderly father died.'


Money

wage / wages (n) 工资
money that is paid or received for work or services, usually by the hour, day, or week.
'We get our wages in cash every Friday.'

salary (n) 薪水
a fixed⁷, regular (usually monthly) payment for work.
'Secretarial salaries in London are quite high.'

payslip (n) 工资单
a slip of paper included with your pay that records how much money you have earned and how much tax or insurance etc. has been taken out.
'I always keep my payslips so that I can prove what my income is.'

bonus (n) 奖金
a sum of money given to an employee, in addition to regular pay, usually because the employee has done their job especially well or has worked very hard or for a long time.
'All the workers got a $100 bonus at the end of the year.'

timesheet (n) 工作记录表
a piece of paper on which you write how many hours you have worked in a day, week or month so that you can be paid for what you have worked.
'Don't forget to fill in your timesheet every Wednesday. Otherwise you may not be paid on time.'

severance⁸ pay (n) （雇主违约辞退雇员时的）解雇费，遣散费
money paid to an employee who has to leave their job because of lack of work or other reasons beyond the employee's control.
'The redundant workers each got one week's severance pay for every year of employment.'

1 swapped   

交换（工作）( swap的过去式和过去分词 )； 用…替换，把…换成，掉换（过来）

参考例句：

• I liked her coat and she liked mine, so we swapped. 我喜欢她的外套，她喜欢我的外套，于是我们就交换了。
• At half-time the manager swapped some of the players around. 经理在半场时把几名队员换下了场。

2 wriggle   

v./n.蠕动，扭动；蜿蜒

参考例句：

• I've got an appointment I can't wriggle out of.我有个推脱不掉的约会。
• Children wriggle themselves when they are bored.小孩子感到厌烦时就会扭动他们的身体。

3 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

4 redundant   

adj.多余的，过剩的；(食物)丰富的；被解雇的

参考例句：

• There are too many redundant words in this book.这本书里多余的词太多。
• Nearly all the redundant worker have been absorbed into other departments.几乎所有冗员，都已调往其他部门任职。

5 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

6 freelancer   

n.自由职业者

参考例句：

• He has great interest in working as a freelancer.他对做个自由职业人很感兴趣。
• It's not always easy to make it as a freelancer.做个自由职业人，要能时常感觉满足，可不容易。

7 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

8 severance   

n.离职金；切断

参考例句：

• Those laid off received their regular checks,plus vacation and severance pay.那些被裁的人都收到他们应得的薪金，再加上假期和解职的酬金。Kirchofer was terminated,effective immediately--without severance or warning.科奇弗被解雇了，立刻生效--而且没有辞退费或者警告。