英语杂谈：37 Christmas backs out

It sure looks a lot like Christmas at the Fairmont Hotel in Dallas. Trees are decorated, the presents wrapped, but the lights have gone out on the extravagant¹ holiday party.

"We have had a couple of major ones back out. The rooms are along this aisle²."
Shannah Milstead is the director of sales and marketing³ for the Fairmont Hotel. Corporate⁴ party bookings here are down 15%.
"Every year we'd have major parties in the ballrooms⁵, so those are the ones that are gonna be quiet this year."
Human resources consultant⁶ and author Sherrie Elliot says money is not the only reason companies are scaling back, when it comes to holiday parties.

"Making sure that the company has a good PR spin." Elliot says lavish⁷ soirees can be seen as bad form in this economy. "They don't want to send the wrong message that they are allocating⁸ dollars to the wrong place instead of covering benefits and 401k dollars they don't want to put into a Christmas party."

Fairmont says it still has hundreds of holiday parties on its books, just less extravagant ones. For example open bars may now be cash bars, and many holiday dinner parties are turning into luncheons⁹.

"It still gives people the ability to, to gather but it lowers the cost, plus if you do something at lunch time you usually not involving spouses¹⁰, so you can still bring your employees over but you don't necessarily have to bring the spouses in the evening."
 

1 extravagant   

adj.奢侈的；过分的；(言行等)放肆的

参考例句：

• They tried to please him with fulsome compliments and extravagant gifts.他们想用溢美之词和奢华的礼品来取悦他。
• He is extravagant in behaviour.他行为放肆。

2 aisle   

n.（教堂、教室、戏院等里的）过道，通道

参考例句：

• The aisle was crammed with people.过道上挤满了人。
• The girl ushered me along the aisle to my seat.引座小姐带领我沿着通道到我的座位上去。

3 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

4 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

5 ballrooms   

n.舞厅( ballroom的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• It was performed in fashionable Casino ballrooms. 人们在时髦的娱乐舞厅里跳这种舞蹈。 来自互联网
• Some settled into ballrooms or theaters or hotels for weeks or months at a time. 有的乐队在舞厅、剧院或旅馆作数月甚至数月的逗留。 来自互联网

6 consultant   

n.顾问；会诊医师，专科医生

参考例句：

• He is a consultant on law affairs to the mayor.他是市长的一个法律顾问。
• Originally,Gar had agreed to come up as a consultant.原来，加尔只答应来充当我们的顾问。

7 lavish   

adj.无节制的；浪费的；vt.慷慨地给予，挥霍

参考例句：

• He despised people who were lavish with their praises.他看不起那些阿谀奉承的人。
• The sets and costumes are lavish.布景和服装极尽奢华。

8 allocating   

分配，分派( allocate的现在分词 )； 把…拨给

参考例句：

• Administrative practice generally follows the judicial model in allocating burdens of proof. 在分配举证责任方面，行政实践通常遵循司法模式。
• A cyclical multiplexing technique, allocating resources in fixed-time slices. 以固定的时间片分配资源的循环复用技术。

9 luncheons   

n.午餐，午宴( luncheon的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Edith Helm was not invited to these intimate luncheons. 伊迪丝·赫尔姆没有被邀请出度反映亲密关系的午餐会。
• The weekly luncheons became a regular institution. 这每周一次午餐变成了一种经常的制度。

10 spouses   

n.配偶，夫或妻( spouse的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Jobs are available for spouses on campus and in the community. 校园里和社区里有配偶可做的工作。 来自辞典例句
• An astonishing number of spouses-most particularly in the upper-income brackets-have no close notion of their husbands'paychecks. 相当大一部分妇女——特别在高收入阶层——并不很了解他们丈夫的薪金。 来自辞典例句