Larry和李华在谈一位最近刚找到工作的朋友。今天李华会学到两个常用语:cushy和legit。
LL: Hey, Li Hua, did you hear about Kelsey? She just got a cushy new job.
LH: A “cushy” job? 我知道Kelsey最近找到了新工作,但什么是cushy job?那是不是她找到了很理想的工作?
LL: Oh, yeah. A “cushy” job a cushy job is one that isn’t hard to do and has lots of benefits. A cushy job is soft and has a lot of padding like a cushion.
LH: 我懂了,cushy就是从cushion软垫子这个词来的。所以cushy job就是很舒服的工作,就是钱多事少的好差事。Larry,快告诉我,Kelsey的工作到底是什么性质,为什么能够这么cushy?
LL: Well, she’ll be working as an interpreter for a local businessman who does a lot of work with Chinese companies. Her salary is very high, she’ll get to travel regularly to China, and her other benefits are good, too.
LH: 哇,帮美国商人做翻译,不但薪水高,还有机会到中国出差。真好!Kelsey的中文很好,个性又活泼,我想这个工作对她来说应该不难。 真是一个cushy job!
LL: Doesn’t it make you want to find a new job, Li Hua? Being a teaching assistant isn’t the cushiest job.
LH: 就是啊,当助教一点也不舒服,每星期我得花很多时间备课,和学生面谈,上课,批改作业,但是助教的薪水却少的可怜。It isn’t a cushy job at all.
LL: But you know, the teaching assistant job gives you valuable experience, and maybe some day you will have a cushy job as a Chinese professor at a major university.
LH: 我也希望如此啊。希望我这个助教工作能为我将来能到名牌大学当教授打下基础,那可就是个cushy job了。Larry,那你呢?你希不希望你的暑期工作也是个舒服的好工作呢?
LL: Well, it isn’t hard to do, but I am hardly being paid anything, so I don’t think you can call it a cushy job.
LH: 工作虽不难做,可是工资微薄。那没什么意思。 那你想找个新工作吗? 你可以去问问Kelsey 她是怎么找到的,没准那公司还要人呢!
LL: Yeah, I am going to talk to Kelsey. Maybe she has some good advice for me.
LL: Well, Li Hua, I talked more to Kelsey about her new job, and now I am a little concerned that it isn’t legit.
LH: 你说,Kelsey的工作怎么样?什么是legit?
LL: Legit. It’s short for legitimate. I am afraid Kelsey’s new job may not be legitimate.
LH: 噢,legit就是合法的意思,是legitimate这个词的简化。你是说,你担心Kelsey找到的工作不合法?为什么呢?
LL: Kelsey told me she hasn’t actually started her job yet, and she had her interview in a coffee shop.
LH: 嗯,在咖啡厅里面谈,这也不奇怪啊,很多公司觉得在办公室外面谈比较放松一些嘛。
LL: But, I tried to look up the company name in the phone book and couldn’t find it. If a company is legit, it should have a listing in the phone book.
LH: 那倒也是。你在电话本里找不到这公司的名字?一个合法的公司应该在电话本里有它的名字呀。或许是你把公司的名字拼错了?
LL: I am pretty sure that I got it right. The more I think about the job it seems too good to be true.
LH: Larry,我知道你是为Kelsey担心,不过Kelsey很聪明,这个工作到底合不合法,我想她自己心里应该很明白。
LL: I guess you’re right. Maybe it is my concerns that aren’t legit.
LH: 不过话说回来,Larry,你替好朋友担心,这也是很正常的。
LL: Well, that’s true. I should stop worrying about Kelsey.
LH: 好啦,现在什么都别担心了,我们一起去吃冰淇淋好不好?
LL: Now, that is a business we KNOW is legit!
今天李华学到两个常用语。第一个是cushy。这是形容很软,很舒服的意思,用来形容一个工作,就是轻松容易的工作。另一个常用语是legit。这是指合法的,正确的意思。