听播客学英语 232 忙碌

 　　Today’s podcast is about words and phrases which we use to talk about being very busy.

　　Kevin’s boss wants his staff to prepare a new report. As usual, he wants it straight away. His staff explain that they can’t write the report instantly¹. So the boss says OK, but he wants it on his desk tomorrow morning. He sets a deadline of 9am – that means, he wants the report to be ready by then.

　　So Kevin and his colleagues set to work. They rush around trying to find all the material that they need for the report – facts, figures, pictures, tables, charts, diagrams² and so on.

　　In the middle of the morning, Joanne telephones Kevin. Kevin says, “I can’t talk to you now. We’ve got lots to do. Everyone here is rushed off their feet.”

　　Joanne says, “But we were going to meet for lunch.”

　　Kevin replies, “Sorry, Joanne, we’re too busy. I’ve got no time for lunch. I will probably need to work late this evening, too. Sorry, I must go, the boss wants to talk to me immediately.”

　　Kevin skips lunch, and eats a sandwich and drinks coffee while working at his computer. He and his colleagues stay working in the office after the rest of the staff go home. At last, at about 8 pm the report is finished. It will be on the boss’s desk when he comes in in the morning.

　　Alas³, when Kevin’s boss sees the report, he finds several mistakes which his staff had overlooked⁴ in their hurry. So they need to rewrite the report – as soon as possible.

　　There is an English saying “More haste⁵, less speed.” It means that if you try to do something too quickly, it will in the end take longer than if you had taken a little more time.

　　There are some vocabulary notes on the website. In the meantime⁶, here is Alice Leon, and she is So Busy!

　　Vocabulary:

　　immediately, straight away, at once, instantly – these all mean the same.

　　And here are more words and expressions about being busy – in a hurry, in a rush, no time, as soon as possible, busy, deadline, can’t stop, rushed off my feet, it’s crazy round here, skip lunch, work late.

1 instantly   

adv.立即，立刻

参考例句：

• She was used to having her orders instantly obeyed.她习惯了让人即刻服从她的命令。
• Though he slept soundly,he awoke instantly.他虽然睡得很香，但是马上就醒了。

2 diagrams   

图解，简图，图表( diagram的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Don't clutter the page with too many diagrams. 别用太多的图表来堆砌版面。
• The computer reproduces the data as a set of diagrams. 电脑使这些数据再现为一系列图表。

3 alas   

int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等)

参考例句：

• Alas!The window is broken!哎呀！窗子破了！
• Alas,the truth is less romantic.然而，真理很少带有浪漫色彩。

4 overlooked   

v.忽视( overlook的过去式和过去分词 )；监督；俯视；（对不良现象等）不予理会

参考例句：

• He seems to have overlooked one important fact. 他好像忽略了一个重要的事实。
• This is a minor point, but it must not be overlooked. 此事虽小，然亦不可忽视。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 haste   

n.匆忙，急速；草率；v.赶快；匆忙

参考例句：

• In his blind haste he almost ran into the river.他匆匆忙忙地几乎跑到河里去了。
• The contract says the work must be completed with all possible haste.合同上写明这项工作必须尽快完成。

6 meantime   

n.其时，其间；adv.同时，当时

参考例句：

• I continued working,meantime,he went out shopping.我继续工作，这期间他出去买东西。
• In the meantime we pressed on with the airlift.与此同时，我们加紧进行空运。