在職場中,有些人總是希望通過送禮來搞好自己與上級領(lǐng)導(dǎo)及同事的關(guān)系,殊不知如果這個“禮”送不好,就會惹禍上身。給鄰桌的可愛女孩送張Victoria’s Secret性感內(nèi)衣的代金卡?這可不太合適。或者給經(jīng)常遲到的同事送一塊手表?這也不會讓對方心生感激。
Angie: Hey, Toby. Has anyone ever given you an inappropriate gift?
Tobias: Hmmm…I must say, no one has ever asked me that before. And no, I can’t recall ever receiving a gift I thought to be inappropriate in any way. But, come to think of it, there are a lot of things that would 1)constitute such a gift.
Angie: How about this: if someone, 2)hypothetically mind you, gave you some 3)skin-tight, 4)confederate flag Speedos to wear at the beach, what would you think? Tobias: I think I’d look damn good in’em. And they’d match my American flag and Union Jack ones.
Angie: Can you be serious for a second. I’ve got a situation on my hands and I’m debating whether or not to go see HR about it.
Tobias: Oh, you didn’t get the 5)memo? I got promoted to assistant head of HR last week.
Angie: Really? You?! The most 6)flirtatious guy in the office?
安琪:嘿,托比。有人曾經(jīng)給你送過一份不合適的禮物嗎?
托拜厄斯:呃……我必須說,以前沒人問過我這個問題。沒有,我想不起曾經(jīng)收過一份不恰當(dāng)?shù)亩Y物。但是,想一想,很多東西都會是不恰當(dāng)?shù)亩Y物。
安琪:不如這樣:如果有人,提醒你只是個假設(shè),送你緊身的聯(lián)盟旗幟的Speedo泳褲(譯者注:Speedo(速比濤)是世界著名的泳衣制造商Speedo公司的運(yùn)動品牌,來自澳大利亞,創(chuàng)立于1928年。),讓你在沙灘上穿,你會怎么想?
托拜厄斯:我想我穿上它們一定會很好看。它們會和我美國旗幟和英國旗幟的泳褲成一系列。
安琪:你能認(rèn)真一點(diǎn)嗎。我現(xiàn)在遇到了一個情況,正在糾結(jié)要不要去跟人事部說呢。
托拜厄斯:哦,你沒收到通知嗎?我上周升職去做人事部主管助理了。
Tobias: Yes, they chose me. And no, I’m not the flirtiest guy in the office. That title goes to Lester over there. Plus, there is a distinct difference between flirty and inappropriate. And the scope of inappropriateness goes far beyond flirty colleagues and 7)gag gifts. It has to do with intention and respect.
Angie: Wow. You are a lot more responsible than I gave you credit for.
Tobias: But I’m still just me. Anyway, who’s sending who these gifts that may or may not be of an inappropriate nature?
Angie: Lester…
Tobias: I knew it! Sorry. Go on…
Angie: He gave me an 8)effervescent bath ball from Bed, Bath Beyond.
Tobias: Alright. That is slightly 9)perverted and way too personal a gift. I’ll talk to him, but I don’t think it’s 10)obscene enough to take disciplinary action, at least, not as a first offense.
Angie: So what would be an 11)actionable offense?
Tobias: Good question, but one with plenty of grey area to navigate through.
Angie: ①So it’s pretty much on a case by case basis?
Tobias: For the most part. I mean, there are levels of appropriateness when it comes to giving gifts to colleagues. And it’s almost never alright to give your boss a gift, because it might seem as if you’re trying to 12)curry favor.
安琪:真的嗎?你?!辦公室最不正經(jīng)的家伙?
托拜厄斯:對,他們選了我。不,我不是辦公室最不正經(jīng)的人。這個頭銜應(yīng)該給那邊的萊斯特。還有,不正經(jīng)和不恰當(dāng)是有明顯區(qū)別的。不恰當(dāng)?shù)姆秶h(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)大于不正經(jīng)的同事和惡作劇禮物,它應(yīng)該與(其中的)意圖和(對事情)的尊重程度有關(guān)。
安琪:哇。你比我認(rèn)為的負(fù)責(zé)得多。
托拜厄斯:但我還是我。不管怎樣, 誰給誰送了這些可能不恰當(dāng)?shù)亩Y物?
安琪:萊斯特……
托拜厄斯:我就知道!對不起,繼續(xù)……
安琪:他送給我一個Bed, Bath Beyond公司(譯者注:美國最大的出售高級床上用品和家庭用品的連鎖商店)的起泡浴球。
托拜厄斯:好吧。這個禮物是有一點(diǎn)不恰當(dāng),而且太私人了。我會找他談?wù)劊艺J(rèn)為這算不上是猥褻而要受到紀(jì)律處分,至少,不能算是初犯。
安琪:那么什么才能是可控告的冒犯呢?
托拜厄斯:問得好,但是這些情況都是有很多灰色地帶的。
安琪:所以我們要視具體情況而定了?
托拜厄斯:大部分的情況都要這樣。我意思是,送禮物給同事要適度。送禮物給老板幾乎都是錯的,因?yàn)檫@看起來像是你在巴結(jié)老板。
Angie: That’s understandable. How about giving gifts to colleagues or clients?
Tobias: Planning on getting me that 13)skimpy swimsuit after all? Angie: Ha ha, very funny. I was just wondering. Especially since this past Christmas I may have gone overboard on the Secret Santa gift I got for Eileen.
Tobias: ②Just try to shy away from things of a personal nature like perfume, bath products, jewelry, 14)lingerie or other clothing. And don’t worry. I’ll make it crystal clear to Lester that such gift giving will not be tolerated in the workplace. Angie: Thanks Toby.
Tobias: No problem. Just doing my job.
安琪:這是能理解的。那給同事或者客戶送禮呢?
托拜厄斯:打算給我送一件布料很少的泳裝嗎?
安琪:哈哈,太搞笑了。我只是在琢磨,特別是上個圣誕節(jié)我給艾琳送的神秘圣誕老人的禮物也許有點(diǎn)過了。托拜厄斯:只需避免送一些太私人的東西,像是香水、沐浴用品、珠寶、內(nèi)衣褲或是其他的服飾。別擔(dān)心,我會向萊斯特清楚地表明這樣的禮物在工作場所是不允許的。
安琪:謝謝你,托比。
托拜厄斯:沒事。我只是在做本職工作。
Smart Sentences
① So it’s pretty much on a case by case basis? 所以我們要視具體情況而定了?
on a case by case basis: handle things separately and individually(視具體情況而定)。例如:Each customer’s complaint is different, so we need to handle them on a case by case basis.
每個顧客的投訴都不盡相同,所以我們需要視具體情況區(qū)別對待。
② Just try to shy away from things of a personal nature like perfume, bath products, jewelry, lingerie or other clothing. 只需避免送一些太私人的東西,像是香水、沐浴用品、珠寶、內(nèi)衣褲或是其他的服飾。
shy away from sth. or sb.: avoid sb. or sth.(躲開,避開、回避某事或某人)。例如:
At first, some companies shied away from the wave of selling merchandise on the Internet, but not for long.一開始,有些公司想避開在網(wǎng)上售賣商品的浪潮,但這種狀況并沒有維持多久。