轻松日记商务职场篇65:坏老板多如牛毛

 　　核心句型：

　　Bad bosses are a dime¹ a dozen.

　　坏老板简直多如牛毛。

　　a dime a dozen字面理解就是：“十美分一打”，要是一样东西这么不值一文的话，那必定是数目很多而又极其普通了。同时，这个俚语还可以用来形容某类人毫无价值、多如牛毛。所以这个俚语的正确意思是：“多如牛毛、比比皆是”。因此，当美国人说"Bad bosses are a dime a dozen."时，他/她要表达的意思就是"Bad bosses are as plentiful² as blackberry."、"Bad bosses are here and there."。

　　情景对白：

　　Shirley: This morning my boss blamed me again, but I didn't do anything wrong.

　　雪莉：今天早上，我们老板又批评我了，但是我没有做错任何事情。

　　Benjamin: Never mind, honey. Bad bosses are a dime a dozen, but a good one is hard to find.

　　本杰明：别放在心上，亲爱的。坏老板简直多如牛毛，好老板可遇不可求啊。

　　搭配句积累：

　　①His boss is very good at finding quarrel in a straw.

　　他的上司很擅长挑人家的刺儿。

　　②Our boss always makes us work overtime³ without being paid.

　　老板总是让我们加班却不付加班费。

　　③The boss has docked a third of my wages.

　　老板扣掉了我三分之一的工资。

　　④He is always criticized as good for nothing by his boss.

　　他经常被老板批评得一无是处。

　　单词：

　　1. dime n. 一角硬币

　　The liberty torch is on the back of the dime.

　　自由火炬在一角硬币的反面。

　　Small. Maybe smaller than a dime.

　　很小，可能比一个一角硬币还小。

　　2. as plentiful as blackberry 多得像黑刺莓子一样，多得不得了

　　It is as plentiful as blackberry!

　　真是像黑刺莓子一样多啊！

　　find quarrel in a straw 吹毛求疵，找茬儿

　　She is not one to find quarrel in a straw.

　　她不是吹毛求疵的人。

　　3. dock vt. 扣掉，削减

　　The company plans to dock the officers' pay and is threatening disciplinary action.

　　公司打算扣减主管工资，并扬言要给与纪律处分。

　　He docked her pocket money until the debt was paid off.他削减了她的零用钱, 直到还清了债务。

1 dime   

n.（指美国、加拿大的钱币）一角

参考例句：

• A dime is a tenth of a dollar.一角银币是十分之一美元。
• The liberty torch is on the back of the dime.自由火炬在一角硬币的反面。

2 plentiful   

adj.富裕的，丰富的

参考例句：

• Their family has a plentiful harvest this year.他们家今年又丰收了。
• Rainfall is plentiful in the area.这个地区雨量充足。

3 overtime   

adj.超时的，加班的；adv.加班地

参考例句：

• They are working overtime to finish the work.为了完成任务他们正在加班加点地工作。
• He was paid for the overtime he worked.他领到了加班费。