情景:威爾士科奇勒公司,一家大型電器公司,員工們正在討論新的醫(yī)保方案。

Horace: Well, I, for one, think the new plan sucks. I mean, a fifty dollar copay? That's absurd. I don't want to have to pay fifty bucks every time I see the doctor. Not to mention that there's a five hundred dollar deductible, so any hospital visits are going to cost half a grand! Jesus!

Jane: At least there's some dental still. That's much better than a lot of plans my friends are on.

Horace: Did you read it carefully, though? There's no orthodontics coverage. Laurie has to get braces this year. That's going to cost a fortune.

Susan: It definitely will, I'm afraid. Adam had to get them when he was 13, back when I was working at the library, and the plan there didn't cover it. It costs us hundreds, and that was nearly fifteen years ago. I mean, we got him the good ones, because we didn't want him to be embarrassed at school – you know, no kid likes to have that chunk of metal attached to their teeth – but still …

Bill: And there's no provision for optical. I need new glasses every year, you know that. My eyes have a degenerative condition.

Susan: Oh, I noticed your lenses have been getting thicker recently.

Horace: I wish we didn't have to bring all this up – I know this isn't easy for people, to discuss their medical problems, but I think we need to stand together on this one.

Jane: Well – this is – kind of embarrassing, but there was one thing I noticed. No birth control provisions.

Horace: I heard a lot of insurance companies shy away from that.

Susan: Just how expensive is birth control for you, Jane?Lucky thing!

Bill: Hey, I know I get through my share.

Susan: And it's a managed healthcare plan – it locks us in to that HMO. I like my doctor just fine; I don't want to have to go to one mandated by the insurance company. HMOs have a terrible reputation overall, too.

Bill: Well, we're having a meeting with management to discuss it later. I don't know how much flexibility there's going to be on this, though. Times are still tight, and they're cutting costs.

Susan: Then they can cut the costs from middle management! God knows it's bloated enough.There must be seven people to do one person's job there.

Horace: Fat chance of that.

Jane: I think we just have to accept it. Maybe things will get better next year. Times are hard at the moment, after all.

Bill: I agree.It's not a good plan, but we're going to have to live with it, I suspect.

Susan: Oh, come on! We have to at least make some noise.This is intolerable.

Horace: I think we bring it up strongly, and maybe even have a lawyer look at our contracts, to see if they're violating anything. It wouldn't be the first time they've tried to screw us that way.

Jane: I can't afford a lawyer. I mean, I'm stretched enough with the kids.

Horace: I've got a friend who'll take a look at it for free. We at least need some ammo for the meeting.

Susan: That's a pretty good idea. God, I'm not looking forward to this, though. It's going to be a bitter pill for everyone to swallow.

Horace: I guess we'll be swallowing a lot of bitter pills – literally – if we have to eat this new plan.

Jane:I wonder if the bosses' plan is changing to? Somehow I doubt it.

Bill: I wish I lived in Canada …

賀瑞斯:嗯,首先,我認(rèn)為這次新方案糟透了。我是說,55美元的掛號費?這太荒謬了。我可不想每次看病都要付55美金。更不要說500美元的自付額了,這樣一來,每次看病都要花去半張千元大鈔!天啊!

簡:至少還有一些牙診費用是不變啊。這可比在我朋友身上實行的方案好多了。

賀瑞斯:你到底有沒有認(rèn)真閱讀過啊?這次方案可不包括牙齒矯形的費用。今年勞拉要安副牙套。那將是一筆不小的開支。

蘇珊:恐怕是這樣的。亞當(dāng)13歲那年要戴牙套了,當(dāng)時我還在圖書館工作,那會兒醫(yī)保方案不包括這塊費用。那花了我們好幾百塊大洋,而這差不多是15年前的事了。聽我說,因為不想他在學(xué)校感到窘迫,我們給他安了副好牙套——你們是知道的,沒有哪個孩子喜歡戴牙套——但還是……

比爾:而且還沒有關(guān)于眼科的條款。你們知道啊,我每年都要換新眼鏡。我的視力越來越不好了。

蘇珊:哦,我發(fā)現(xiàn)你的鏡片最近越來越厚了。

賀瑞斯:要是我們不必談這些事就好了——我知道讓人們討論自己的醫(yī)療問題不容易,但我想在這份醫(yī)保方案上,我們需要統(tǒng)一戰(zhàn)線。

簡:嗯——這——有點令人尷尬,但我發(fā)現(xiàn)了這沒有涉及計劃生育。

賀瑞斯:我聽說很多保險公司都回避這個問題。

蘇珊:計劃生育要花你多少錢啊,簡?你真有福氣!

比爾:嘿,我想我已經(jīng)讀完我所關(guān)心的部分。

蘇珊:這是一項管理型醫(yī)療保健方案——我們都受限于健康維護組織。我對我現(xiàn)在的醫(yī)生就很滿意,不想被保險公司指定去看醫(yī)生。再說了,健康維護組織的名聲也不好。

比爾:那么,稍后我們會同管理層開個會,討論這個問題。但我不知道這件事的協(xié)調(diào)性有多少。經(jīng)濟仍不景氣,而且他們正在縮減開支。

蘇珊:那他們大可以削減中層管理的開支啊!天知道,人浮于事有多嚴(yán)重,7個人做1個人的活兒。

賀瑞斯:這(削減中層管理的開支)可能性也太小了。

簡:我想我們只得接受。也許明年情況會好一些。畢竟,眼下不好過啊。

比爾:我同意。這不是個好方案,但是我認(rèn)為,我們不得不忍受這一切。

蘇珊:哦,拜托!我們至少也要抗議一下吧。這個方案太過分了。

賀瑞斯:我想我們該強烈抗議一下,或許還該請個律師檢查一下我們的合同,看看有什么侵犯了我們的權(quán)益。這也不是他們第一次壓迫我們了。

簡:我可付不起律師費。我是說,我剛夠勉強撫養(yǎng)孩子的。

賀瑞斯:我有個律師朋友,可以為我們免費看一下。我們至少要有所準(zhǔn)備,才能在會議上開火吧。

蘇珊:那倒是個好主意。天啊,可我不希望這么做。到頭來,我們只能是自食惡果。

賀瑞斯:我想我們會吃不少的苦頭——真正地——如果我們接受了這個新方案。

簡:我懷疑老板會不會改變計劃。反正,我持懷疑態(tài)度。

比爾:要是在加拿大生活多好啊……

Notes:

1. attach to

意為“(使)貼,系,粘在……上”。另外,人們習(xí)慣用attach importance to 這樣的表達方式,來表達他們對某事的重視。

例句:Is there a dining car attached to the train?

本次列車有沒有附設(shè)一節(jié)餐車?

例句:The old man didn't seem to attach any importance to the question.

這老人似乎一點也不重視這個問題。

2. bring up

意為“提及;提出……”。

例句:Mr. Chairman, I should like to bring up the question of the reorganization of the committee.

主席先生, 我想提出改組委員會的問題。

3. shy away from

意為“(由于羞怯等)躲開/避開”。

例句:She's always shied away from close friendships.

她總是避免與人深交。

4. lock in

意為“使固定”。

例句:On the new television sets, the color is locked in so that you don't need to keep changing the control.

這些新式電視機的色彩已調(diào)定, 你不必老去動控制鈕。

5. Fat chance of that.

意為“那不太可能”?？吹健癴at”這個詞,很多人會馬上想到脂肪、肥胖之類的字眼,而fat chance從表面上來看應(yīng)該是機會很多。不過我們今天要來介紹它另一個含義。其實“fat”在口語當(dāng)中還可以表示“很少的、極少的,幾乎沒有的”意思。那么,fat chance是指機會很少,甚至根本沒有機會。我們還可以用The chance is slim.來表示可能性小的意思。

例句:There is a fat chance Michael will be chosen by any director at Hollywood.

麥克被好萊塢導(dǎo)演選中的機率是很小的。

6. live with

意為“學(xué)會去適應(yīng);接受并忍受”。

例句:Most of us don't like the new regulations, but we have to live with them.

我們大多數(shù)人不喜歡新的規(guī)定, 但我們必須學(xué)會適應(yīng)它們。

Links:

HMO健康維護組織

美國是一個醫(yī)保模式多樣化的國家,HMO是美國若干種模式中運行得最好的醫(yī)保模式之一。HMO即為Health Maintenance Organizations的縮寫,稱健康維護組織。HMO在30年代由Kaiscer先生創(chuàng)辦,最初是為解決本公司雇員就醫(yī),又不增加太多的費用。參加HMO的成員每月交少量保費后看病就不需要再花錢了,故醫(yī)生和醫(yī)院會盡量減少不必要的診治以控制費用。為HMO工作的醫(yī)生是其雇員,只拿薪水,不從病人服務(wù)中提酬。

HMO的醫(yī)生較少像個體醫(yī)生那樣誘導(dǎo)病人需求,鼓勵病人多開藥,多向病人提供服務(wù),而是把工作重點放在健康教育上,強化預(yù)防措施。同時鼓勵醫(yī)生用經(jīng)濟頭腦,實行有效治療獎勵制,做好入院前準(zhǔn)備,盡量縮短平均住院日,控制費用上漲。

HMO出現(xiàn)的初衷是為了解決醫(yī)療保險收費過高的問題,實際上是針對中低收入人群的一種醫(yī)療保險。然而廉價的優(yōu)點也正是導(dǎo)致它存在局限性的弊源,因為它收取低廉保費的條件是給投保者的醫(yī)療設(shè)下條條框框。為了控制成本,計劃規(guī)定投保者就診的醫(yī)生或醫(yī)療機構(gòu)必須由保險公司指定,并嚴(yán)格限制醫(yī)療服務(wù)范圍,因此經(jīng)常發(fā)生醫(yī)療延誤而引起的爭議,并引起法律訴訟。

美國貨幣

美國貨幣由紙幣(note or bill)和硬幣(coin)組成,包括美元(dollar)和美分(cent)。硬幣上鑄刻著:In God We Trust(我們信仰上帝)。

美元中的“一元”票,俗稱buck,這種叫法在影視中聽得最多,它的原意是“雄鹿”。其中有個典故。一七九二年四月二日,美國才開始有了自己的貨幣。在這以前,北美是英國殖民地,流通著許多不同國家的貨幣,而且還有代替貨幣用的商品,尤其在同當(dāng)?shù)赜〉诎踩说慕灰字?有的用貝殼、煙葉、河貍皮等來代替貨幣,而最普遍的是用buck(雄鹿皮)。因此到今天,美國民間仍然把美元中的一元稱作“buck”。 一美元(a dollar) 還經(jīng)常叫做a single,a bill。10美元可以說ten bucks也可以說a sawbuck。

buck是英語中一種非正式口語用法,表示錢,即“money”,流行于美國和澳洲。相當(dāng)于漢語中的“塊”。

例句:He owes me ten bucks.

他欠我10塊錢。

相關(guān)詞組如big bucks意為a lot of money。make a fast buck指“一下子賺得一筆錢”,常指“不義之財”。

英國英語中,grand常指“一千英鎊”(one thousand pounds);而在美國英語中,常指“一千美元”(one thousand dollars)?，F(xiàn)在,有人經(jīng)常說自己的月收入是10 grand,其實就是說1萬。

硬幣的正面叫head,背面叫tail。