2011/12/17

Got Paid and a Raise? Hurrah! 老闆加薪!英文說對了嗎?

發薪、加薪、升職,這些讓人開心的事,英文該怎麼說,才不會詞不達意?下面看似正確的句子,你找得出bug嗎?下回要恭喜同事或宣布自己的好消息時,就不會不小心用錯字了!

1. I got increased pay today! (x)我今天加薪了!

2. My boss paid me today. (x)今天領薪水。

3. Congratulations for your promotion! (x)恭喜你升遷!

4. I got bigger bonus this month. (x)我這個月獎金比較多。

5. I hope I will get both bonus and increased pay. (x)真希望我能拿到獎金又加薪。

6. His good work made the boss recognize him. (x)他的工作表現獲得了老闆的賞識。

Debugged

1. I got a raise today.

這是「被加薪」最精簡的講法。不需用increased當形容詞放在pay前。也可說I got higher pay today.

2. It's payday.

直接用payday(發薪日)就可完整說出「今天領薪水」。口語中,也可說I am getting paid today. 用pay動詞的被動用法來表達get paid (領薪水)。

3. Congratulations on your promotion!

雖然for有表明原因的意思,例Thank you for helping me out. 但「恭喜別人」congratulations後面需用on,再加上原因。這句也可說成更簡單的Congratulations! You got promoted!

4. I got a bigger bonus this month.

這句乍看像沒問題,但要小心bonus (紅利、績效、獎金)是一筆一筆的來算,要加上冠詞a。

5. I hope I will get both a higher bonus and higher pay.

承上句,bonus是一筆筆來看,在英文裡是可數的。反觀pay卻不可數,要表達「加薪」,英文只需說 I got higher pay. 或 I got a raise.

6. His hard work has gained the recognition of the boss.

這個字recognition (認可、賞識),在英文注重時態的邏輯裡,需要用到完成式has gained來清楚表達「老闆目前已認可此人的表現」。




作者: 吳青樺

2011/12/14

A Bad Hair Day? 是三千煩惱絲讓你抓狂了嗎?


文/吳青樺

某國際時尚雜誌曾統計並分析各國女性最在意的外觀部分,亞洲女性追求白皙無暇的肌膚(fair skin);而北美洲女性則是對於髮型有相當程度的偏執!不過,當美國人說 "I had a bad hair day!” 可不一定在抱怨他的髮型有多糟多亂!頂著一頭亂髮出門見人,的確讓人心情不佳,甚至影響一整天的辦事效率,口語中衍生出了這個和頭髮相關的俚語來形容--「諸事不順的一天」!

I had a bad hair day! First, my computer shut down this morning. And then, I forgot an important meeting with my clients. I came home with bad hair. 今天真是諸事不順!一開始是電腦在早上當機,接下來我又忘了和客戶有個重要的會議。最後心煩意亂的回到家。

原來,a bad hair day就是a day when everything seems to go wrong! (這天什麼事都不順),也可以用"It’s not my day!"來表達同樣沮喪的感受。

當然,這個俚語也是可以用來描述因為髮型不佳,而影響到一整天心情的:

Is she having a bad hair day or what? I’ve never seen hair that color before! I don’t mean toget on her case, but I’ve never met anyone who canget on my nerveslike her!
她頭髮是怎麼了?可以再糟一點!我從來沒有看過誰的頭髮是那種顏色的!無意在背後這樣說她,可是我還真的沒遇過誰可以讓我這樣受不了的!

例句中有兩個實用片語:
get on one’s case「故意針對某人去挑毛病」。

get on one’s nerves「令人抓狂」。

你被難以整理的頭髮影響心情了?下回聽到人家說I had a bad hair day可別先急著安慰對方的髮型,要適時展現關心、表現同理心,示意對方你理解他/她倒楣的心情!

2011/10/25

Clock in and Clock out, That Matters! 打卡不打卡?有差!

/吳青樺

你有沒有這樣的經驗:朝九晚五上班族(nine-to-five worker),每天早上趕著打卡進公司(clock in);傍晚再盼望著快快打卡下班(clock out)。


可以彈性上班時間的人,英文裡怎麼稱呼他們呢?抑或是,有些上班族雖然不用待在辦公室超時加班,卻得把工作帶回家,多花晚上的時間繼續白天沒做完的事。這樣的工作文化,英文又該怎麼說?本文帶你了解「彈性工時員工」和「下班回家後繼續工作」的英文口語講法!

許多從事設計和藝術方面的工作者,老闆或公司讓他們有自願的彈性上班時間,不受限於進公司打卡的朝九晚五。既然不用clock in / clock out,英文便直接將clock字尾再加上less,就有了clockless worker一詞:「彈性工時員工」。


我們來看看英文例句的用法:

As a graphic designer, I can work anywhere and anytime with my laptop. It’s fruitless to trap me in the office when I’m running out of creativity.
(身為一個平面設計師,我隨時隨地都可用我的筆電工作。若在我創意枯竭之時硬要把我留在辦公室,也只是反效果。)

However, the downside of being a clockless worker is missing the bustle of my office. I’m usually out of sync with my coworkers because of my odd hours.
(然而,彈性工時也有缺點,我想念辦公室裡和大家一起的忙碌氣氛。因為我的特殊工作時間,我常常都和同事進公司的時段錯開。)

或許有些上班族會羨慕clockless workers在工時上享有的自由,但彈性工時者或許也想感受一下所謂的office politics「辦公室政治」來和同事多點時間相處喔!很多上班族可能對以下的內容並不陌生:下班時間到,不是整理好包包就可以輕鬆打卡離開,而是要把一些工作也帶回家。英文裡用extend(延伸)來描述「下班後繼日工作」:day-extender

當然,大家都不想當週末加班的員工!(weekend-extender)來看例句中的用法:Day-extenders might have to spend one to two hours working at home in the evenings. Sometimes, they may even become weekend-extenders!(回家後再繼續工作的人下班後,可能是每天晚上得撥出一到兩小時來工作。甚至還有可能連週末都在家裡加班!)
上班打卡不打卡,真的有差!

2011/06/07

曾二度準確預測美股崩盤 Rodriguez預期下一次悲劇已不遠


投資人必須由Bob Rodriguez的角度來看美國股市。他曾二度預見了來襲的風暴,但卻二度遭到投資人的噓聲,還放棄了他所操作的共同基金。但他也曾二度採取行動,保護他的客戶,避開了降臨的危機。二度--第一次是1990年代的網路泡沫,第二次則是2008年的金融危機--Rodriguez都是正確的。
Rodriguez為第一太平洋顧問公司執行長,該公司負責管理的基金資產高達160億美元。他不是一位以準確預測為自滿的人,總認為應將不好的真相與大眾分享,有義務將即將來到的災難,告知全世界。
Rodriguez在共同基金世界裡,是個異數,典型的經理人總是樂觀,且樂於歡迎更多的投資人。當大多基金經理人將焦點集中於吸引資產時,Rodriguez卻因未能見到機會,而關閉了他的基金。
長期以來,他反對時尚型投資,結果獲利反而良多。過去25年,他的股票基金FPA Capital年報酬率達15%,擊敗眾家股票基金。他的公債基金FPA New Income從來不曾出現年度虧損。
然而,Rodriguez總是感覺到,他的建議往往被當做是馬耳東風。但是到了2009年春季,他感受到,投資人終於開始聽進他的建言。冷靜似乎開始恢復。世界似乎終於開始了解風險。
但是今年1月,他驚訝發現,一切似乎並未改變,承擔風險又成了時尚,美國債務負擔大幅攀升,他相信,美國債務是今日投資人面臨的最大威脅。現在,Rodriguez又發出了警告。
他新的預測是:如果我們不很快修補預算,經濟將面臨災難。「我相信,在二到五年之間,我們將會面臨一項危機,其程度或等於,或大於,我們剛剛經歷過的風暴,」他說。「這場風暴將源自聯邦政府層級。」

2011/05/27

害羞男、愛笑女 較有異性緣

很有意思的一篇文章,怪不得我剛到美國還不會說英文時的女人緣最好。有一得,必有一失啊!

男人要怎麼樣才能在第一眼吸引女生的注意?根據一份加拿大的研究指出,女性在各種男性臉部表情中,最喜歡帶有害羞或是驕傲的表情,反而面帶笑容、陽光燦爛的男生,並不易獲得女性的青睞。
但男生最喜愛的對象則剛好與女性相反,最多男性會挑選面帶笑容的女生,對於給人驕傲感覺的女性,則多敬而遠之。
根據這份刊登在《Emotion》期刊指出,研究人員邀請1千名以上平均年齡21歲的男女民眾參加實驗,其中52%是亞洲人,其餘48%為西方人,民眾可以在「快樂」、「驕傲」或「害羞」以及「中性」(沒有情緒)表情中挑選最喜愛的對象,結果發現,女性最愛給人驕傲或害羞感覺的男生,反而最不會挑選面帶笑容的男性。
加拿大卑斯大學研究人員崔希表示,「這次研究結果發現,男女對於自己喜愛的類型截然不同,」另一名研究人員貝爾則表示,「這次實驗的目的,是欲了解男女對於最喜愛的第一印象,不是要挑選適合的男女朋友。」
至於男女對異性性感的定義為何會不同,研究人員認為,「外表給人驕傲的男生,通常給女性較有陽剛味道,上半身也較明顯,是女性會接受的特點,而笑容則給人柔順或弱勢的感覺。」

2011/01/17

Why Most Shampoos (w/ nutrients) are a waste of money?


Nutrient molecules are too large for hair cells to absorb.. Good point to know! 

But, at least, don't buy 'bad' shampoos.  I heard most of the P&G shampoos are actually detrimental to you hair, because of bad chemicals bad to your body and our environment.  They make our hair feeling smooth, but they can easily congest our hair follicles...  anyway, take a look at the following article first:

How To Grow Long, Healthy Hair and Keep It That Way


Why does this happen? Because the shampoo molecules they contain are too large to penetrate the cells of hair and more importantly the tiny hair follicles where our hair actually grows. They sit atop the follicle until we wash them away.It’s the dirty little secret shampoo companies don’t want you to know—when you wash your hair with one of those nutrient-rich shampoos, most of the nutrients and active ingredients in the product don’t actually end up in your hair, they wind up down the drain… along with all the money you spent on the shampoo.
Why is that a problem? Think about it this way—if you wanted to fertilize a plant, where would you pour the fertilizer? On the leaves? Of course not! You’d pour the fertilizer on the root and the soil where it’s needed most. Our hair works basically the same way—if you want to treat your hair right, you need to treat the roots.
But if regular shampoo can’t penetrate the hair follicles where our roots grow, what are we supposed to do?
Fortunately, a California company called Kronos decided to tackle this problem. Their team of researchers designed a more-effective shampoo—one that contains tiny microscopic spheres so small that they penetrate hair follicles and deliver nutrients to where they’re needed most.  They call it “T-Sfere Technology”.
Once they had solved the delivery method dilemma, they turned their attention to formulating ingredients that targetted the 5 most significant signs of damaged hair:
  1. Thinning hair that lacks volume
  2. Dry, frizzy, unmanageable hair
  3. Limp lackluster hair
  4. Damaged hair with split ends
  5. Hair with poor color retention
Does it work? Check out the results from the product’s clinical testing. In a recent study, the Kronos system was shown boost hair volume and body by an unprecedented 96%; increase hair hydration by 91%; improve luster and shine by 96%; reduce split ends and breakage by 96%; and virtually eliminate color fading for up to four weeks. It’s rare that a shampoo can provide so many amazing benefits.
Already, Kronos has quickly become one of the most talked about hair care systems out there. It was recently featured on the Today show and was rated the #1 Overnight Hair Treatment product by The Good Housekeeping Institute.
Currently, Kronos is not available at retail stores but is being exclusively distributed on DermStore.com, America’s #1 destination for skin care and beauty.  DermStore.com carries over 15,000 products from over 500 top brands and offers useful information from doctors, estheticians, and customers. 
Since Kronos is still relatively new, DermStore.com is offering a limited amount of highly discounted Kronos Shampoo and Conditioner kits to new customers only, so people can see the results for themselves before deciding whether or not they want to purchase Kronos products at full price. 
The special trial is offered for a limited time only.  To learn just how much you can currently save,click here to visit the Kronos products page at Dermstore.com.