商务礼节美语第126期:口香糖能为你的职业生涯做些什么?

　　What Chewing Gum Can do to Your Career?
口香糖能为你的职业生涯做些什么？
陈豪在北京的ABC美国公司工作。他到办公室去找美国同事Amy 。
(Office ambience)
CH: Hi Amy. 几天不见，来看看你。
A: That's nice of you. I'm fine.
CH: 你有几分钟的时间吗？
A: Certainly. Have a seat, please.
CH: 你要不要口香糖？
A: Thank you, Chen Hao, but I don't believe so.
CH: 这是一种新口味。我今天早上去买咖啡的时候顺便买的。
A: I personally don't like chewing gum.
CH: 真的吗？为什么呢？
A: Chewing gum is a personal preference. Where and when you chew it is NOT. I see too many people chewing gum at inappropriate times and places.
CH: 嚼口香糖还有规定的时间和地点吗？我不太明白你的意思。
A: I'll be happy to explain what I mean later. Right now I have to prepare for a meeting.
CH: 那我们下班后一起走？
A: OK. I'll meet you at the exit at 5:30.
两人下班后一起去地铁站。
CH: Amy, 你上午说嚼口香糖还有规矩？
A: Yes. If you like to chew gum, that is your business, but chewing gum does not belong in the workplace.
CH: 为什么不？
A: It is totally unprofessional anywhere in the business environment.
CH: 我在电脑前面工作的时候最喜欢嚼口香糖。这样可以让我放松。
A: I understand, but what if the boss walks up at that moment and starts a conversation with you?
CH: 那我就装作嘴里没有口香糖。
A: Why would you hide it if you think its okay?
CH: 我想老板看见我嚼口香糖，心里一定不高兴。
A: See. You already know that chewing gum is not a good idea in certain professional situations.
CH: 可我还是不明白为什么我独自工作的时候就不能嚼口香糖。
A: You never know who will walk up to your desk or call you on the phone. If you are caught smacking¹, it could affect your current job or the career move you had planned for.
CH: 影响前程？你说得太严重了吧？
A: I don't think so. Chewing gum is a leisure activity at best. At its worst, it can make you look sloppy² and incompetent³.
CH: 我知道你说的有道理，可我还是觉得独自工作的时候可以嚼口香糖。
A: Well good luck. If it gets to be a habit, consider this. One day you will have gum in your mouth when you walk into a meeting. I've seen it happen.
CH: 有过先例？那结果呢？
A: The poor fellow who forgot about his gum got stuck. Every time someone asked him a question, he tried to hide his gum in his cheek. Finally he decided⁴ to swallow it.
CH: 我也听说过这件事，后来成了全公司的笑料。我以后一定注意，在办公室里绝不再嚼口香糖。

1 smacking   

活泼的，发出响声的，精力充沛的

参考例句：

• He gave both of the children a good smacking. 他把两个孩子都狠揍了一顿。
• She inclined her cheek,and John gave it a smacking kiss. 她把头低下，约翰在她的脸上响亮的一吻。

2 sloppy   

adj.邋遢的，不整洁的

参考例句：

• If you do such sloppy work again,I promise I'll fail you.要是下次作业你再马马虎虎，我话说在头里，可要给你打不及格了。
• Mother constantly picked at him for being sloppy.母亲不断地批评他懒散。

3 incompetent   

adj.无能力的，不能胜任的

参考例句：

• He is utterly incompetent at his job.他完全不能胜任他的工作。
• He is incompetent at working with his hands.他动手能力不行。

4 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。