PART 1 Expressions
1. It was a bit of a wrench.
wrench: (n.) 1. 扳手 SYN spanner
2. a strong feeling of sadness that you get when you leave a person or place that you love
Leaving New York had been a terrible wrench.
3. throw a (monkey) wrench in the works/ throw a spanner in the works: informal, to do sth that will cause problems or spoil sb's plans
The funding for the project was withdrawn so that really threw a monkey wrench in the works.
2. What began as an off the cuff idea five years ago has now become something bigger.
off-the-cuff: (a.)/ (ad.) an off-the-cuff remark, reply etc is ine that you make without thinking about it first 即席的；未预备的
She's very good at speaking on these issues off-the-cuff.
No sloppy statements, no off-the-cuff remarks, no casual preparation and no excuses.
3. The return you get from passionate people vouching for your company and culture, and the word of mouth that generates, is going to be intangible at the beginning.
vouch for sb/ sth: to say that you firmly believe that sth is true or good, or that sb will behave well because of your experience or knowledge of it
I'll vouch for the quality of the report. I read it last night.
Why don't you phone my office? They'll vouch for me.
voucher: （n.）代金券；收据，凭证
4. We give readers a true sense of the brand in a non-obtrusive way.
obtrude: (v.) if sth obtrude or if you obtrude sth, it becomes noticeable where it is not wanted
A 40 watt bulb would be quite sufficient and would not obtrude.
obtrusive: noticeable in an unpleasant or annoying way
obtrusive TV antennas (天线)
non-obtrusive/ unobtrusive: not easily noticed
The staff are trained to be unobtrusive.
5. We don't measure call times, and we don't upsell.
upsell/ up sell: to persuade a customer to buy more or buy sth more expensive 劝说顾客买更贵的商品，比如电影院通常劝说看电影的人买大袋的爆米花和饮料
down sell: 顾客想买贵的商品，但是没有，所以推荐他买稍低档次的商品，比如机票、火车票等。
cross sell: when one company helps to sell another company's products by, for example, advertising the second company's products at the same time as its own
6. In our inebriated state, a few of us cajoled her into calling Zappos to try to order a pizza.
inebriated: (a.) [ɪˈni:brieɪtɪd] drunk
Scott was obviously inebriated by the time the desert was served.
7. It's just another example of something that evolved organically overtime for us.
organic: change or development which is organic happens in a natural way, without anyone planning it or forcing it to happen
The company's path to success was by means of organic growth.
A writer's style must develop organically.
8. I thought about all the employees I wanted to clone because they represented the Zappos culture well, and tried to figure out what values they personified.
personify: 1. 拟人化
Time is often personified as an old man.
2. to have a lot of a particular quality or be a typical example of sth 象征；体现
Carter personifies the values of self-reliance and hard work.
personification: (n.) sb who is a perfect example of a quality because they have a lot of it
He became the personification of the financial excess of the 1980s.
9. We were able to ride through these rocky times and produce pretty incredible results.
rocky: informal, a relationship or situation that is rocky is difficult and may not continue or be successful
Rangers got off to a rocky start this season.
The company faces a rocky road ahead.
10. I put this to the test tonight and threw a curveball or two at the guy helping me in a live chat.
curveball: (n.)1. 棒球里的曲线球； 2. informal, a surprising and unexpected action or event
When life throws you a curveball, you need to know how to handle it.
11. I used the name "Timmy" as my alias.
alias: [ˈeɪliəs] 别名；化名
a spy operating under the alias Barsad
He had renting a house using an alias.
12. "Timmy" is my alter ego and not my actual name.
alter ego: [ˌæltər ˈi:gəʊ] 1. an invented person that you use to represent part of your character that is very different from your usual one 另一个自我；个性的另一面
What you don't say is perhaps the alter ego of what you say.
2. someone you trust and who has similar opinions, attitude etc
Mrs. Reagan was widely regarded as the president's alter ego.
PART 2 Sentences
1. To keep our culture strong, we wanted to make sure that we only hired people who we would also enjoy hanging out with outside the office.
2. Looking back, a big reason we hit our goal early was that we decided to invest our time, money, and resources into three key areas: customer service (which would build our brand and drive word of mouth), culture (which would lead to the formation of our core values), and employee training and development(which would eventually lead to the creation of our Pipeline Team).
3. We ultimately came to realization that a company's culture and a company's brand are really just two sides of the same coin. The brand is just a lagging indicator of a company's culture.
4. Wake up every day and ask yourself not only what is the 1% improvement I can change to make Zappos better, but also what the 1% improvement I can change to make myself better personally and professionally.