純正地道美語 第114期(外教講解):The Office You Missed The Deadline!
A: And so, I just wanted to check in with you and find out where we are with this ject. As you know, you’ve missed a fairly significant deadline last week, and this will negativity impact the team’s ability to move forward with the next stages of this project.
B:I know, I’m really sorry that I missed the deadline. But really, it wasn’t my fault. You see, we had all of these unexpected technical problems at the last minute, and that I couldn’t get into the database and extract the kind of information that I needed for the data analyis. You know, if the tech guys would have done their job and kept the CRM stable, then I wouldn’t have missed my deadline.
A:Oh, come on! An excuse like that is tantamount to lying. You’re essentially blaming the tech team for your time management issues, rather than accepting responsibility for the fact that you were procrastinating for the past two weeks.
B:No, I’m not trying to pass the buck here; I know that it was me who is ultimately responsible for getting this done. But the thing is, I could have finished on time if the system hadn’t gone down. And you know, with everything I’ve got going on now, I can’t afford to waste time dealing with technical problems. I’ve got a lot on my plate and there are only twenty-four hours in a day...
A: I’m not going to accept this excuse. You’re using these small technical glitches as a crutch and trying to rationalize the fact that you’ve missed your deadline. Look, we have standards and I expect you to live up to those standards. No more phoney cuses. If you’re in over your head, you tell me. No more missed deadlines. Now, I want that data on my desk by nine am!
詞彙註釋：
fairly adv. 非常地，十分地
significant adj. 重要的
impact v.影響。例句：
Falling export rates have impacted (on) the country's economy quite considerably.
出口比率下降已經嚴重影響了國家經濟。
move forward 繼續，進行。例句：
As the basis for unity becomes stronger, our work will move forward.
團結的基礎鞏固一步，工作也就前進一步。
unexpected adj.無法預料的
at the last minute 最後時刻
tantamount adj. 同等的, 相等的, 相當於
essentially adv.本質上，基本上
procrastinate v.耽擱，拖延
To procrastinate, I fell in with the spirit of the occasion.
爲了拖延時間,我也就順應看當時的氣氛。
pass the buck 責備別人，推卸責任。例如：
Don't pass the buck to me.
別把責任推給我。
ultimately adv.最後，最終
on my plate 有很多事要處理
as a crutch 作爲失敗的藉口
rationalize vt. 使合理化, 合理地說明。例句:
He's constantly rationalizing.
他總是不斷反省是否言行合理。
phony a.假的，僞造的
in over your head 太多的事情要處理
參考譯文：
A: 我只是想和你覈實下，確認我們處理這項工程的進度。正如你所知，你上週已經錯失了非常重要的 最後期限，這將嚴重影響團隊進行下一階段的工作。
B:我知道，很抱歉在最後期限我沒能完成。但是這不是我的錯。你知道，最後時候我們遇到了這些意 想不到的技術問題，但是我無法進入數據庫來獲得需要進行分析的各種數據。如果技術人員能做好 他們的工作，並確保CRM穩定運轉，我就能在最後期限完成。
A: 別繞彎子了。那種藉口就等同於撒謊。你實質上在時間控制上責備技術團隊，而不是爲你已經延誤 了兩週這件事負責。
B:不，我不是在推卸責任。我知道，我應該爲這件事負責。問題是，如果系統不出問題，我能按時完 成。現在我有很多事要處理，我不能將時間浪費在處理技術問題上。我有太多的事要做，但是一天 僅有24小時。
A:我不接受這個藉口。你把技術上的小問題作爲藉口，併爲延誤工作找依據。我們有標準，我希望你能達到這些標準，不要再找假的藉口。如果你有太多的事要處理，告訴我，不要再延誤了。在上午9點前，我要你完成那份數據並交給我。
