Joshua Odgen-Davis

Penelope： Hey， Sebastian！ ①Glad to see youre still kicking！

Sebastian： Hi， Penelope. Whats that supposed to mean？

Penelope： Im just glad your new job hasnt done you in. ②Youve been kind of off the radar lately， so we all assumed you were in over your head at the new company. Sebastian： Well， kind of. But Im still alive and well； its nothing I cant handle！

Penelope： ③Thats the spirit！ So， whats it like？ Is the new boss a slave driver？

Sebastian： Hardly. Shes pretty relaxed about working styles， as long as everyone meets the deadlines.

Penelope： She sounds reasonable. If shes not the problem， then it must be the workload thats got you down. Did they load you down with projects right off the bat？

Sebastian： Not at all. ④Theyre letting me get my feet wet with some small projects， so I can really ease into the new position.

Penelope： Then Im 1）stumped. Why have you been 2）bummed about the new job？

Sebastian： It actually has nothing to do with the job itself. Ive just been trying to figure out how to fit in with my new co-workers.

Penelope： ⑤I never would have guessed！ Youre such an 3）upbeat guy， its hard to imagine youd have a problem fitting in.

Sebastian： Its never been a problem before， but this office culture is different from my last job. Theyre a lot more negative. Penelope： Im surprised. From what youve said， the work environment seems pretty relaxed. Why would there be a negative 4）vibe？

Sebastian： I dont think theyre actually bad people， but many of them really like to gossip.

Penelope： ⑥You mean， they like to talk about people behind their backs？

Sebastian： Yep. Co-workers， clients， even the boss. It seems like every time they take a smoke break， they pick someone else to criticize.

Penelope： I can imagine. All your co-workers standing around 5）dissing people， and you standing off to the side， not saying a word.

Sebastian： Thats right！

Penelope： Well， is that so bad？ If they want to be rude， you can let them. Dont feel the need to sink down to their level.

Sebastian： I mostly agree with you. But the problem is， if I dont start gossiping with them soon， Ill end up with a reputation as the anti-social new guy.

Penelope： Ah， now I can see where youre coming from. No matter who they are， your co-workers are still your co-workers， and a good rapport is important.

Sebastian： Bingo. So what can I do？

Penelope： ⑦Well， in my humble opinion， I think youre doing it half-right already. Theres no need to pick up other peoples bad habits. Always follow your own moral compass instead of sacrificing your ideals just to fit in.

Sebastian： I wholeheartedly agree. So how can I do that？

Penelope： It wont be easy， but I think you can do it. If they dont want to talk about anything other than gossip， see if you can start some conversations about something else.

Sebastian： That will be hard， especially since I dont know them very well yet.

Penelope： You dont have to do it with everyone all at once. You can start one-on-one. After you get a feel for who they are， then you can start conversations about their interests.

Sebastian： Thats not a bad idea. Maybe its the group 6）dynamic thats the problem， not the individuals.

Penelope： Almost certainly！ Hey， its time for me to go. Good luck， and let me know how it goes！

Sebastian： Sure thing！ See you later！

佩內(nèi)洛普：嘿，塞巴斯蒂安！很高興看到你活得好好的！

塞巴斯蒂安：嗨，佩內(nèi)洛普。你這是什么意思？

佩內(nèi)洛普：很高興你的新工作沒(méi)把你搞垮。你最近都不知所蹤，所以我們猜想新公司讓你忙得焦頭爛額。

塞巴斯蒂安：好吧，是有點(diǎn)。但是我還活得好好的；事情還在我掌控之中！

佩內(nèi)洛普：這就對(duì)了！那么，新公司怎么樣？新老板是個(gè)壓榨機(jī)嗎？

塞巴斯蒂安：她不是。她對(duì)工作的方式很放寬，只要每個(gè)人都能在截止日期前完成工作就行。

佩內(nèi)洛普：那她聽(tīng)起來(lái)挺人性化的。如果不是她的問(wèn)題，那肯定是工作壓力把你弄垮了。他們馬上就讓你接手一大堆的項(xiàng)目嗎？

塞巴斯蒂安：沒(méi)有。他們讓我著手一些小的項(xiàng)目，所以我可以真正輕松地進(jìn)入新環(huán)境。

佩內(nèi)洛普：那我就不明白了。你為什么還為新工作而煩惱呢？

塞巴斯蒂安：其實(shí)根本與工作無(wú)關(guān)。我一直在想如何才能融入到我的新同事當(dāng)中去。

佩內(nèi)洛普：我真的沒(méi)想到！你是那么歡樂(lè)的一個(gè)人，很難想象你不能融入他們。

塞巴斯蒂安：這從前不是個(gè)問(wèn)題，但是這個(gè)辦公室的氛圍跟我上一家公司的不同。他們會(huì)更消極些。

佩內(nèi)洛普：我很驚訝。據(jù)你所說(shuō)，你的工作環(huán)境看起來(lái)很放松，為什么會(huì)有消極的氛圍呢？

塞巴斯蒂安：我不認(rèn)為他們是壞人，只是他們很多人都喜歡八卦。

佩內(nèi)洛普：你的意思是，他們喜歡在別人背后說(shuō)閑話(huà)？

塞巴斯蒂安：對(duì)。同事、客戶(hù)甚至老板。他們每次都在抽口煙的時(shí)間挑個(gè)人來(lái)挖苦。

佩內(nèi)洛普：我能想象得到。你所有的同事都站在一起貶損別人，而你卻站在一旁無(wú)話(huà)可說(shuō)。

塞巴斯蒂安：就是這樣！

佩內(nèi)洛普：嗯，這不好嗎？如果他們要對(duì)別人無(wú)禮，你就隨他們?nèi)ズ昧?。沒(méi)必要認(rèn)為自己也要降低到他們的水平。

塞巴斯蒂安：我大致同意你的看法。但問(wèn)題是，如果我不開(kāi)始跟他們一起八卦，就會(huì)變成那個(gè)不合群的新人。

佩內(nèi)洛普：啊，我現(xiàn)在明白你的意思了。不管他們是誰(shuí)，你的同事就是你的同事，把關(guān)系搞好很重要。

塞巴斯蒂安：對(duì)。那么我該怎么做呢？

佩內(nèi)洛普：好吧，依我看，我覺(jué)得你已經(jīng)做對(duì)了一半。沒(méi)必要去挑別人的壞毛病。你應(yīng)該遵循自己的道德準(zhǔn)則，而不是為了融入同事而犧牲它。

塞巴斯蒂安：我完全同意。那么我該怎么辦呢？

佩內(nèi)洛普：這真的不簡(jiǎn)單，但是我相信你能做到。如果他們除了八卦就什么也不想聊，看看你能不能展開(kāi)一些別的話(huà)題。

塞巴斯蒂安：那真的很難，因?yàn)槲疫€不夠了解他們。

佩內(nèi)洛普：你不用馬上對(duì)每個(gè)人都這樣。你可以一個(gè)接一個(gè)來(lái)。當(dāng)你了解他們后，就能發(fā)起他們感興趣的話(huà)題。

塞巴斯蒂安：這個(gè)主意不賴(lài)。也許這是群體驅(qū)動(dòng)力問(wèn)題，不關(guān)個(gè)人的事。

佩內(nèi)洛普：這是肯定的！嘿，我該走了。祝你好運(yùn)，告訴我事情發(fā)展得怎樣！

塞巴斯蒂安：一定會(huì)！再見(jiàn)！CS

Smart Sentences

① Glad to see youre still kicking！ 很高興看到你活得好好的！

still kicking： active and well， well and healthy（活蹦亂跳，照舊活躍）。例如：

—How is Bill since his stroke last year？

比爾去年中風(fēng)之后，現(xiàn)況如何？

—Oh， hes still kicking.

噢，他還活得好好的。

② Youve been kind of off the radar lately， so we all assumed you were in over your head at the new company.你最近都不知所蹤，所以我們猜想新公司讓你忙得焦頭爛額。

off the radar： be forgotten or ignored（被忘記，不被留意）。例如：

Lily has locked herself in the lab to work on the new materials and has been off the radar.

莉莉把自己關(guān)在實(shí)驗(yàn)室里，忙著研究新材料，漸漸淡出了人們的視線(xiàn)。

in over sb.s head： a situation is too busy or difficult for sb. to handle（太忙/難，無(wú)法承受）。例如：

Ive been in over my head all summer， working on my thesis.

這個(gè)暑假我為論文忙昏了頭。

③ Thats the spirit！ 這就對(duì)了！

Thats the spirit： used to express approval of the others attitude and energy， same as “That is the right attitude.”（表達(dá)對(duì)對(duì)方態(tài)度和干勁的贊許，等同于“That is the right attitude”）。例如：

—Ive decided not to worry about the final result and just try my best at the speech competition.

我已經(jīng)決定不再糾結(jié)最終的結(jié)果，而是在演講比賽中盡力而為。

—Thats the spirit.

這就對(duì)了！

④ Theyre letting me get my feet wet with some small projects， so I can really ease into the new position. 他們讓我著手一些小的項(xiàng)目，所以我可以真正輕松地進(jìn)入新環(huán)境。

get ones feet wet： get a little first-time experience with sth.（開(kāi)始參與，初試）。例如：

You cant blame him for the not-so-perfect report. Hes hardly got his feet wet yet.

你可不能為他不那么完美的報(bào)告責(zé)怪他，他才剛剛開(kāi)始呢。

⑤ I never would have guessed！我真的沒(méi)想到！

I never would have guessed： used to express surprise（用以表達(dá)意外）。例如：

I heard Wendy was let go because of the accident. I never would have guessed it.我聽(tīng)說(shuō)韻迪因?yàn)槟菆?chǎng)事故被解雇，我怎么也不會(huì)想到是這種結(jié)果。

⑥You mean， they like to talk about people behind their backs？ 你的意思是，他們喜歡在別人背后說(shuō)閑話(huà)？

behind sb.s back： sth. is done without sb. knowing about it（背地里）。例如：

Amy loves to talk about her co-workers behind their backs.

艾米喜歡在背后議論同事。

⑦ Well， in my humble opinion， I think youre doing it half-right already. 好吧，依我看，我覺(jué)得你已經(jīng)做對(duì)了一半。

in my humble opinion： a phrase introducing the speakers opinion（按愚見(jiàn)，據(jù)鄙人之見(jiàn)）。例如：

In my humble opinion， we really need to buy a new printer instead of endlessly repairing the old one.

依我之見(jiàn)，我們應(yīng)該買(mǎi)臺(tái)新的打印機(jī)，而不是沒(méi)完沒(méi)了地修那臺(tái)舊的。