麦兜和麦唛的家

 

16. Even employees who adhere strictly to standard business dress in the office may not know what the bosses might consider vulgar in evening wear. Here is a chance to show off their racy and imaginative off-duty clothes. But over there are supervisors murmuring that people who look like that can’t really be sent out to represent the company.

    即使是那些平日严守上班着装规定的员工，可能也无从知晓哪类晚装在老板们看来低俗不堪。他们会误以为晚会是展示自己大胆而有创意的休闲服饰的好机会。但是不远处的上司们可能正在私下嘀咕，认为穿那种服装的人绝不能被委派出任公司的代表。

strictly  [5striktli]adv.严格地, 确实地

vulgar [5vQl^E(r)]adj.粗俗的, 庸俗的, 普通的, 通俗的, 本土的

supervisor[5sju:pEvaizE]n.监督人, 管理人, 检查员, 督学, 主管人, [计](网络)超级用户

represent[7ri:pri5zent]vt.表现, 描绘, 声称, 象征, 扮演, 回忆, 再赠送, 再上演vi.提出异议

 

17. Worse are the comments on anyone whose idea of fun is a little boisterous. It may be just the behavior that makes one a delight—or a trial—to one’s friends. But here, it is not being offered for the delight or tolerance of friends. It is being judged on criteria other than whether the person is a riot.

    更糟糕的是那些尽情取乐、喧闹不止的员工。一个人令他人喜欢或厌恶很可能只取决于这个人的行为举止本身。但是员工在晚会上的行为不再是这种简单的令旁人产生好恶感的表现，而是被用来判断某人是否属于狂暴之徒的标准。

comment   [5kCment]n.注释, 评论, 意见vi.注释, 评论

boisterous  [5bCistErEs]adj.狂暴的, 喧闹的

delight    [di5lait]n.快乐, 高兴, 喜悦v.(使)高兴, (使)欣喜

trial    [5traiEl]n.试验, 考验, 审讯, 审判

tolerance [5tClErEns]n.公差,宽容,忍受,容忍, (食物中残存杀虫剂的)(法定)容许量vt.给(机器部件等)规定公差

criteria  n.标准

riot     [5raiEt]n.暴乱,骚动,(植物,疾病等)蔓延,放荡v.骚乱,放纵,挥霍,参加骚动

 

18. It is not that Miss Manners wants to spoil the office party by these warnings. She just wants to prevent it from spoiling careers. And the solution is what was banished from the party for being too inhibiting: etiquette.

    礼节小姐提出上述警告并非旨在破坏公司晚会的快乐气氛。她只想防止晚会毁掉员工的事业前途。而这类问题的解决之道是曾因过分拘束而被晚会摈弃的方法：礼节。

spoil [spCil]vt.损坏, 搞糟, 宠坏, 溺爱v.扰乱

spoil [spCil]vt.(spoilt [spCilt], spoiled)损坏[害], 损伤; 弄坏, 弄脏, 糟踢; 搞糟

career [kE5riE]n.(原意：道路, 轨道)事业, 生涯, 速度

banish [5bAniF]vt.流放, 驱逐, 消除

inhibiting[In`hIbItIN]adj.抑制作用的, 约束的

 

19. The first formality that must come back is inviting everyone by name. The practice of merely counting every invitation as two is as dangerous as it is unflattering. But people who have been clearly identified and told that they must respond—the suggestion must be made neutrally, to show that the party is a treat, not a requirement—already have some sense that they are both individually sought after and expected to be responsible.

    首先需要恢复的礼节是在发出邀请时写明每个受邀人的姓名。以往简单地把每一份请柬按两个人计算的做法既不保险又不能讨好他人。对那些被指明并告知需回复邀请的人而言——当然告知时的语气应尽量中立，表明晚会只是一次款待并非务须之事——他们应该意识到各自分别获邀并需回复是否出席。

formality [fC:5mAliti]n.拘谨, 礼节, 仪式, 正式手续, 拘泥形式

practice  [5prAktis]n.实行, 实践, 实际, 惯例, 习惯, 练习, 实习, 开业

practice of  有...习惯

merely [5miEli]adv.仅仅, 只, 不过

unflattering [5Qn5flAtEriN]adj.不讨好人的，不奉承人的

flatter[5flAtE]vt.过分夸赞, 奉承, 阿谀, 使高兴, 使满意, (画, 肖像上的形象)胜过(真人或实物)

flattering[5flAtEriN]adj.谄媚的,讨人欢喜的,奉承的,(肖像等)比真容更美丽

neutrally adv.中立, 保持中立

neutral[5nju:trEl]adj.中立的; 中立国的.中庸的; 中间的; 不偏不倚的, 不确定的.非彩色的(指灰、黑或白色).无性的(非雄非雌)

individually[IndI5vIdjJElI]adv.个别地

 

20. What constitutes a couple is a murkier question than Miss Manners and any sensible employer ought to investigate, but employees simply can be asked to supply the name of a spouse or friend they want to invite. (An office party can be limited by confining it to employees, in which case it should be held during office hours. But inviting spouses and such is better. Having to work is enough distraction from one’s more intimate relationships, and the staff was not compiled like a guest list, according to personal compatibility.)

    谁和谁结伴出席晚会是令礼节小姐和任何一位明智的雇主都感到难以查清楚的事。不过可以让员工自己填写同行的配偶或朋友的姓名。(公司晚会可以只限于内部员工参加，并在上班时间内举行。但是邀请员工配偶或朋友参加效果会更好。因为外出工作已经疏离了员工同家人密友间的关系，而且平日员工工作时也不会象来宾名单那样按照彼此的意气是否相投进行组合。)

constitute      [5kCnstitju:t]vt.制定(法律), 建立(政府), 组成, 任命

murky        [5mE:ki]adj.黑暗的

investigate [in5vesti^eit]v.调查, 研究

confining   [kEn5fainiN]限制的； 拘束的； 狭窄的； 偏狭的

confine     [5kCnfain]vt.限制, 禁闭n.界限, 边界

distraction [dis5trAkFEn]n.娱乐, 分心, 分心的事物

distract      [dis5trAkt]v.转移

intimate    [5intimit]adj.亲密的, 隐私的vt.宣布, 明白表示n.熟友

relationship [ri5leiFEnFip]n.关系, 关联

compatibility   [kEm7pAti5biliti]n.适合，适应（性）.一致（性），协调（性）.并存性；两用性（彩色电视兼收黑白电视信号）.配伍性；相容性.互换性；通用性，兼容性

 

21. Since we have established, Miss Manners hopes, that the point of an office party is not whooping it up or telling people off, what is it? It is showing appreciation of the staff.

    礼节小姐希望上述所言已经表明公司晚会的目的不是任意嬉戏玩闹或是对他人说长道短。那么应该是什么呢？晚会的目的应该是表达对员工的感谢。

whoop it up  庆祝, 大肆宣扬

whoop[hu:p]n.大叫,呐喊,喘息声,哮喘声,小块vi.叫喊,喘息vt.高声说,唤起

 

22. This starts with a well-run receiving line. However much popular opinion may regard receiving lines as nasty ordeals, they were invented to be, and remain, the easiest way to get everyone recognized by the key people. The oldest receiving-line trick in the world still works: Someone whose business it is to know everyone—or someone unimportant enough to be able to ask each guest his name—announces the guests to the host as they go through the line. The host can then scornfully declare: “Of course I know Annette. We couldn’t run this place without her.” For extra charm, the employee’s guest is also told how wonderful that employee is. This always seems more sincere than straight-out flattery, and from then on, whenever the employee complains that everyone at the office is an idiot, the spouse will counter by repeating that appreciation.

    这首先需要有一个安排恰当的迎宾队列。虽然许多人认为这种方式简直是活受罪，但一直以来却是每位来宾得以被大人物认识的最好方法。旧时最古老的作法仍然奏效：一位专职负责问清客人姓名的人——或是一位无关紧要但又可以询问每位来宾姓名的人——在客人走过迎宾队列时向主人通报该客人的姓名。主人听到时可能会开玩笑地说：“我当然认识安娜特，公司没有她可不行。”更妙的是，员工的随行客人会听到人们称赞邀请自己的这位员工。这些赞美之辞比直截了当的奉承话听上去要真诚得多。而且，从此以后，如果哪位员工抱怨公司里的人都是蠢货，其配偶就会用曾在晚会上听到的称赞予以反驳。

nasty[5nAsti]adj.污秽的,肮脏的,令人厌恶的,淫秽的,下流的,凶相的 威胁的

ordeal[C:5di:l, -5di:El]n.严酷的考验, 痛苦的经验, 折磨

easiest   adj.容易的,轻松的

trick[trik]n.诡计, 骗局, 恶作剧, 窍门, 诀窍vt.欺骗, 哄骗

scornfully      adv.轻蔑地, 藐视地

scornful  [5skC:nful]adj.嘲笑的, 藐视的.傲慢的

charm [tFB:m]n.吸引力, (女人的)魔力, 魅力, 符咒vt.迷人, 使陶醉, 行魔法vi.用符咒, 有魔力

straight-out[`streIt`aJt]adj.坦诚的, 不隐讳的, 不客套的

flattery[5flAtEri]n.谄媚, 阿谀, 巴结, 奉承, 捧场话, 恭维话, 谄媚的举动

 

23. It is often erroneously assumed that the style of the party ought to be what employees are used to: their own kind of music, food, and other things the executive level believes itself to have outgrown. Nonsense. What employees want is a taste of high-level entertaining. This may vary greatly according to the nature of the business. If, however, the party is too formal for the employees’ taste, they’ll get a good laugh and enjoy the contrast all the more when they continue partying on their own afterward.

    人们经常错误地认为公司晚会应该以员工们习惯的方式举办：他们喜欢的音乐、食物、还有高级管理层人士弃置不顾的其他东西。这就大错而特错了。员工们想要的其实是更高级的娱乐。高级与否视公司的不同性质而定。即便晚会太过正式，员工们也同样会开心地尝试不同的风格，然后再按自己的方式尽情娱乐。

erroneous[i5rEunjEs]adj.错误的, 不正确的

entertaining[entE5teiniN]adj.愉快的, 有趣的n.招待, 款待

 

24. The clever employee will dress as the executives do, keeping in mind that there are few fields in which people are condemned for looking insufficiently provocative. Refusing or limiting drinks is not the handicap at business parties that it may be under the overly hospitable eye of a private host. And the real opportunity for career advancement is not petitioning a boss but rescuing one who has been cornered or stranded, thus demonstrating that one knows how to talk charmingly about nonbusiness matters.

    聪明的员工会在穿着上与上司们保持同一风格，因为他们深知，几乎没有哪个场合有人会因为穿得不够惹眼而被人指指点点。在公司晚会中拒绝或尽量少喝酒的做法无人指责，但在私人晚会中碍于主人好客的目光这种行为会很难堪。另外员工寻求仕途晋升的真正机会不是恳求上司，而是替陷入尴尬局面的人解围，因为这样可以表现出该员工懂得如何愉悦地高谈工作之外的话题。

executive[i^5zekjutiv]adj.实行的,执行的,行政的n.执行者,经理主管人员

condemn[kEn5dem]vt.判刑, 处刑, 声讨, 谴责

insufficient[7insE5fiFEnt]adj.不够的, 不足的, 不充分的; 不适当的; 缺乏体力、能力或技巧的; 不胜任的

sufficient[sE5fiFEnt]adj.充分的, 足够的

provocative[prE5vCkEtiv]adj.煽动的n.刺激物

handicap[5hAndikAp]n.障碍, 阻碍, 障碍赛跑v.妨碍, 使不利, 阻碍

rescue [5reskju:]vt.援救, 营救n.援救, 营救

cornered[`kR:nEd]adj.有角的, 被逼至绝路的

demonstrate[5demEnstreit]vt.示范, 证明, 论证vi.示威

 

25. At the end, there is another receiving line. That is, the bosses plant themselves conspicuously by the exit, grabbing the hand of anyone trying to get away and thanking him for coming. Even the dimmest guest will then realize it is appropriate to thank back—that is, to realize that something has been offered and deserves gratitude.

    最后，还需另外一个送客队列。此时老板们一动也不动地站在抢眼的出口处，握住每位想离开的来宾的手，感谢他的光临。此时，即使是最懵懂的客人也会意识到应该回谢一番——也就是说，意识到应该感谢这番好意。

conspicuously   adv.显著地, 超群地

conspicuous[kEn5spikjuEs]adj.显著的， 显眼的.卓著的， 出类拔萃的

dim    [dim]adj.暗淡的, 模糊的, 无光泽的, 悲观的, 怀疑的vt.使暗淡, 使失去光泽n.<美俚>笨蛋、傻子

deserve   [di5zE:v]vt.应受, 值得v.应受

gratitude [5^rAtitju:d]n.感谢的心情

 

26. After all, isn’t that why the office Christmas party is given?

    公司圣诞晚会不就是为此而举办的吗？

 

27. If the only goal were for the company to show the staff its appreciation, this could be effectively done with a day off and a bonus to go with it.

如果公司只想对员工表示谢忱，那么，放一天假外加一个红包就足矣。

bonus  [5bEunEs]n.奖金, 红利