老板Tom的班机因为台风来袭而停飞,Tom从机场打电话给秘书Susan,了解公司在中国的工厂有没有受到台风的破坏。

(Phone rings)

T: Susan?

S: Yes?

T: It’s bad news. All flights for the rest of the day have been canceled and we’re stuck here for the night.

S: Oh, I’m sorry.

T: The airline is going to put us up at a hotel near the airport and they say hopefully we’ll be able to depart first thing tomorrow.

Tom开门见山,说有坏消息,因为当天的所有航班都被取消了。We’re stuck here for the night,今天晚上算是困在这儿了。航空公司安排乘客在附近一家旅馆过夜,这里用的put someone up, 有安排某人住宿的意思,Tom 还说,航空公司希望第二天一早first thing tomorrow,航班能恢复。

S: Well, I know it’s a hassle, but better safe than sorry, right?

T: Yeah, I wasn’t looking forward to flying through a typhoon anyway. Any news on the flooding at the factory?

S: Yes actually….and it’s good news. The water has mostly receded and the production area was not affected. Looks like we dodged a bullet.

T: We sure did! And that is great news. Now maybe I’ll get a good night’s rest.

Susan劝老板说,虽然要在旅馆过夜很麻烦,it’s a hassle, hassle is spelled h-a-s-s-l-e, hassle,指讨厌,麻烦的事情,但是better safe than sorry. Better safe than sorry, 是英语里很常用的一句话,意思是多加小心总比出了事再后悔要强。

Susan还高兴地告诉老板Tom,说公司设在中国的工厂因为台风引起的洪水已经基本退了,we dodged a bullet. to dodge a bullet,意思是躲过了一劫。Tom听了很高兴,说这下我晚上可以睡个好觉了。

S: Oh, and Mr. Tang says to tell you that he can’t get a flight out of Singapore either so he’ll probably miss the conference as well.

T: (Chuckle) Well, it looks like we’re all in the same boat. There’s nothing we can do but be patient and wait it out.

S: Well, try to get some sleep and call me first thing when you have a new itinerary.

T: Will do. Thanks for your help, Susan.

S: Of course. Bye!

T: Bye

Susan还告诉老板Tom, 新加坡的合作伙伴唐先生也被台风困住了。Tom说,看起来we’re all in the same boat,说跟别人in the same boat,意思是境况都一样。看起来,没有其他办法,只好be patient and wait it out,耐心等待台风过去了。Susan让老板晚上好好休息,明天早上有了新的日程表就马上通知她,这里所说的itinerary is spelled i-t-i-n-e-r-a-r-y, itinerary,指日程和活动安排。