流行美语 第198课:eager beaver; grunt work

Larry在跟李华讲他办公室里新来的实习生。今天李华会学到两个常用语：eager beaver和grunt work。

LL: A new intern started working in my office today. He sure is an eager beaver, Li Hua!

LH: Beaver不是海狸吗？动物怎么能到办公室实习呢？

LL: No, the new intern isn't an actual beaver! But he works hard and is always busy like a beaver building a dam. And he is always eager to do work, so we say he is an "eager beaver.”

LH: 对了，我想起来了。Beaver不仅指海狸，有时也指工作勤劳的人。Eager就是很热情的意思，所以"eager beaver”指的是做事特别努力，特别积极的人。 Larry， 我看你也是个"eager beaver”，早出晚归的。

LL: I am not quite the eager beaver that the new intern is - I've been in the office a while. People are generally eager beavers when they are new to a job and want to impress their bosses.

LH: 没错，一般新到一个地方工作的人会特别热情积极，因为他们要让老板有个好印象。我刚开始教中文的时候， 也特别卖力，每天都花很多时间备课:。

LL: And would you say you still are an eager beaver when it comes to teaching Chinese?

LH: 现在呢，不像刚开始那么卖劲了。像你一样， 我也不是以前的eager beaver了。

LL: That's OK, Li Hua. While being an eager beaver can be a good thing, someone can also take it too far.

LH: 勤奋当然是好事呀！居然还会有的人勤奋过头？这是什么意思？

LL: Well, the intern in my office is such an eager beaver he wants to do everything! He ends up making my work more complicated.

LH: 这个实习生什么都要做，这不是很好吗， 怎么会给你添麻烦呢？

LL: Yeah, that's right. He always wants to help, but sometimes I work better on my own.

LH: 你要是有的时候喜欢自己做，不要别人插手的话，你不能对他说你不需要帮忙嘛！对了，Larry，也许你可以 想办法让他作一些你不喜欢作的事呀。

LL: What a good idea!

******

LL: Thanks to your advice, Li Hua, I've now got the new intern doing some of my grunt work.

LH: 什么是grunt work? Grunt不是指猪发出呼噜呼噜的声音吗？

LL: Yes, pigs grunt. And people make grunting sounds, too, when they are working really hard at something like digging ditches.

LH: 这我知道。人在做挖沟之类的工作时也会发出表示疲劳的声音。Larry, 那grunt work 是不是就是指繁重的体力劳动？

LL: Not necessarily. Grunt work is basically routine, menial work. There are always some repetitive, boring tasks people working in offices do.

LH: 我明白了，grunt work就是简单的，枯燥乏味的工作。

LL: Yeah, and grunt work generally doesn't require a lot of knowledge or experience. That is why I am having the intern do my grunt work.

LH: 做简单的工作当然不需要丰富的知识，也不需要很多经验。Larry，说了半天，你究竟让这位实习生做什么呢?

LL: I am having him reorganize the office files, make new labels for the file folders, filling out forms and typing up letters.

LH: 你还真让他干不少活耶！整理办公室的文件，并把它们存档， 还要为文件夹贴新的标签、填表格、打信件。这些事的确是既费事又枯燥的。这位实习生该不会在意吧？

LL: No, I am sure he won't mind doing the grunt work.

LH: 你怎么肯定他不在意呀？

LL: He is such an eager beaver, Li Hua, that he will be delighted to do whatever grunt work I give him!

今天李华学到了两个常用语。一个是"eager beaver", 意思是做事特别积极，努力的人。李华学到的另一个常用语是，grunt work意思是简单枯燥的工作。