ESL Podcast 496 – Driving a Company Car

Michael: Shall we?

Robin¹: Oh, this is nice. Did you get a new car?

Michael: No, this is a company car. Getting to drive one is one of the perks³ of my new job.

Robin: Does your new position call for a lot of driving?

Michael: It does. As the regional supervisor⁴, I have to cover a large territory. I’ll be visiting all of the affiliates⁵ across the state.

Robin: Does that mean you can drive the company car anytime, anywhere?

Michael: Well, I’m only supposed to use it for official business since the company deducts⁶ the standard mileage⁷ allowance on their taxes, but there are ways to account for any extra miles I log.

Robin: You mean you fudge the mileage numbers?

Michael: You could say that. It’s no big deal. Everybody does it, or so I’ve heard. You know, I’ve been meaning to ask you. Do you want to go with me to San Diego this weekend?

Robin: That depends. Are you taking your company car?

Michael: I was thinking about it.

Robin: In that case, no, thanks. I don’t want to be an accessory to whatever rules you’re breaking.

Michael: Suit yourself, but what’s a company perk² if you can’t take full advantage of it?


Script by Dr. Lucy Tse

1 robin   

n.知更鸟，红襟鸟

参考例句：

• The robin is the messenger of spring.知更鸟是报春的使者。
• We knew spring was coming as we had seen a robin.我们看见了一只知更鸟，知道春天要到了。

2 perk   

n.额外津贴；赏钱；小费；

参考例句：

• His perks include a car provided by the firm.他的额外津贴包括公司提供的一辆汽车。
• And the money is,of course,a perk.当然钱是额外津贴。

3 perks   

额外津贴，附带福利，外快( perk的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Perks offered by the firm include a car and free health insurance. 公司给予的额外待遇包括一辆汽车和免费健康保险。
• Are there any perks that go with your job? 你的工作有什么津贴吗？

4 supervisor   

n.监督人，管理人，检查员，督学，主管，导师

参考例句：

• Between you and me I think that new supervisor is a twit.我们私下说，我认为新来的主管人是一个傻瓜。
• He said I was too flighty to be a good supervisor.他说我太轻浮不能成为一名好的管理员。

5 affiliates   

附属企业( affiliate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She affiliates with an academic society. 她是某学术团体的成员。
• For example, these security affiliates participated in the floating of 19,000,000,000 of issues in 1927. 例如，这些证券发行机构在1927年的流通证券中，就提供了一百九十亿美元的证券。

6 deducts   

v.扣除，减去( deduct的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• At the time negotiation, the local bank deducts the loan and the interest. 议付时，当地银行扣除先前的贷款和利息。 来自辞典例句
• After commissariat is sold, cooperation deducts cost, return money to every farmer. 在粮食销售之后，合作社扣除成本，把钱退还给每个农户。 来自互联网

7 mileage   

n.里程，英里数；好处，利润

参考例句：

• He doesn't think there's any mileage in that type of advertising.他认为做那种广告毫无效益。
• What mileage has your car done?你的汽车跑了多少英里？