英语每日学（3.2）

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下面是两段英语对话
主要是描述一位总裁即将召开例会商讨公司未来发展, 两个职员听到了小道消息，称公司因业绩关系可能会被竞争对手收购，公司规模缩减，员工福利不保。这些风言风语把各位职员吓坏了，猜测例会上老板会鼓舞士气还是宣布裁员。

一、

** Jingjing**: Hey, Xiao Gao, do you know what's on the agenda for this afternoon's meeting?

Xiao Gao: Not entirely, but I know what's up at the top. There's been a lot of backroom chatter lately about a possible take-over by one of our competitors.

Jingjing: Oh,right,I've heard some talk about that,I thought it was mostly rumors.

Xiao Gao: No, we've been performing very poorly lately and I'm afraid it's time to face the music, unless we see a white knight, there's a good chance that we'll be bought out.

Jingjing: How do our job prospects look? I just signed a new 2-year contract, do you think their buy-out will affect our positions?

Xiao Gao: That's one thing we're going to discuss today, I know that the boss wants to rally the troops.

Jingjing: I've got a feeling he's gonna scale back our responsibilities just in case we do lose out.

Xiao Gao: Could be, I know the** big cheese** has been talking about down-sizing, if that's the case, some of us will definitely lose our jobs.

Jingjing: Yeah, I can hear the message loud and clear,** shape up or ship out!**

习语短语

1. on the agenda =要讨论的话题
2. at the top =最重要的事
3. backroom chatter =背后议论，谣言。
   backroom 幕后人员，幕后场所
   Public scrutiny had brought civil servants out from the backroom and into the spotlight.
   公众监督把公务员从幕后带到了公众关注之下。
4. take-over =收购
5. face the music =面对一个不太令人愉快的现实。
   为什么music会有这样的用法？这和希腊神话有关
   In Greek mythology, the goddesses who inspired creativity were called the Muses, from the words mousikḕ téchnē ("the art of the muses”). This led to the Latin mūsica. The word is also used in various idioms, such as "face the music," which means to accept consequences, and "making beautiful music together," which suggests making love. If something is "like music to your ears," you are happy to hear it.
6. white knight =白衣骑士，指大救星
7. rally the troops =将员工集结起来，为某事鼓舞他们的士气
8. scale back =减少（员工或工作职位）
   应该10年的考研真题出现过
9. big cheese =公司里的高层，做重要决定的人;
   中国人照相说茄子，外国人照相有的时候会说cheese。
   那为什么“大奶酪”就是厉害的人？
   还是和神话故事有关
   *The idiomatic phrase big cheese comes from a definition of cheese that comes from Urdu, in which chiz means "a thing." The British colonization of India brought English speakers and Urdu speakers together, and one result was the phrase "the real chiz" to mean "a big thing or event." This evolved over time into big cheese.

10. down-sizing =裁员，缩减规模
11. shape up or ship out =提高工作表现，不然就会被开除。used to tell sb that if they do not improve, work harder, etc. they will have to leave their job, position, etc.

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二、

Chairman: I'm calling this meeting to session. As you may have heard, we have a wolf at the door and we're here to discuss a possible buy-out by one of our competitors.

Jingjing: Can you tell us our deadline?

Chairman: We have one month to the day, but pending a bail-out, I think it's an open and shut case.

Jingjing: Are we looking at becoming a subsidiary or is this a whole-sale buy-out?

Chairman: That is up for discussion, however, I'm tabling a motion to allow us to operate under the same brand name.

Jingjing: I think we are looking at tightening our belt. We've been spending too much lately.

Chairman: True, we've been in the gutter for sometime now, and this buy-out can help us get back on our feet.

习语短语

1. call this meeting to session = 宣布会议正式开始
   session通常的词义是会议，但有时候也表示“某一段时间内进行的某项活动（这活动又是一系列同样活动中的一次）”。比如 a training session 一次训练 /a recording session 一次录音”
2. wolf at the door = （门外有一只狼）指公司正面临着困境和威胁
3. deadline = 截至日期
4. to the day = 从今天算起
5. bail-out = 通常指对处于危机中的行业进行经济上的援助， bail-out funding
6. open and shut case = a simple and straightforward situation without complications. 既定事实，非常明确的事情
7. subsidiary = 子公司
8. whole-sale = 完全的
9. table a motion = 提出建议.
   table 做动词时，既可以表示“提交”（美语）也可以表示“搁置”（英语）。
   to decide not to discuss (something) until a later time
   eg. The committee tabled the issue until the next meeting.
   to formally present (something) for discussion
   eg.She plans to table a motion for debate in Parliament
10. tightening our belt = 勒紧裤腰，指缩减开支。
    这个短语也是考研真题中出现的内容。
11. in the gutter = 处于不好的状况.
    misfortune resulting in lost effort or money
12. get back on one's feet = 从某事中恢复过来

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