李華和Larry 在公園散步。最近全球性的經濟衰退，讓Larry 憂心忡忡。今
天我們要學兩個常用語：do-or-die 和 to crater.

    LL： Well ， Li Hua ， I'm glad to hear that you are enjoying your
job. But I can't help worrying about the overall economy. Last night I
was out with my friend， Tom， you know.

    LH：我記得Tom ，他還在那家電腦公司上班嗎？

    LL： Tom lost his full-time job last month， and now he has only a
part-time job at his local gym.

    LH：好可憐，誰會想到做電腦這一行的也會失業。

    LL： That has happened just as his relationship with Sarah， his girlfriend，
is reaching a crucial stage. Sarah is about to get her degree this June.
For Tom ， this is a "do-or-die" year.

    LH： Do-or-Die？ Tom生重病了嗎？那他可真是太倒霉了。

    LL： No ， "Do or die" just means that Tom faces a key moment. He
has to decide how he wants to handle his relationship with Sarah.

    LH：哦，你是說Tom 要決定跟女朋友Sarah 的關系。這跟他被公司裁員有什
么直接關系嗎？

    LL： If he does nothing ， Sarah may find a job and move to another
city. If he wants to keep their relationship， he might decide to propose
to her， but how can he ， with only a part-time job？

    LH：我明白了，如果Tom 現在不求婚，Sarah 畢業會可能會在外地找到工作
搬走，如果求婚，Tom 現在又剛失業，沒有經濟財力。

    LL： That's it exactly. Tom's situation is one of "do or die."

    LH：那你覺得，Tom 在這種do or die 的情況下，該怎么做呢？

    LL： That's a tough call. Tom is doing everything he can to get a
new job ， but the job market is really tight now.

    LH：是啊，現在找工作真的很難，就連很多華爾街原來年薪十幾萬的經紀人
都屈尊去做一些低酬勞的工作了。

    LL： If Tom keeps his part-time job ， perhaps he can slowly save
up enough for an engagement ring by the time Sarah graduates.

    LH：這可能是最好的權宜之計了。不行，外面太冷，我們到對面的咖啡廳去
坐坐吧。

    LL： That was a good idea.

    ******

    LH：啊……一杯熱咖啡下肚，我才慢慢暖和過來。你繼續說，Tom 怎么會被
公司裁員的呢？

    LL： Last November， business at Tom's company began to slow down.
They tried to cut costs ， first by not hiring new workers， then by asking
the employees to take off every Friday， without pay.

    LH：公司讓雇員每周五休息，這么說，Tom 不是還能工作四天嗎？

    LL： That right ， Tom still had his job at first ， even if he was
earning less. But it didn't work out. The company finally cratered and
had to let everybody go.

    LH： Cratered ？什么叫cratered？

    LL： It means that the company went bankrupt. You see ， a "crater"
is a hole or pit in the ground， such as is caused by a bomb or a mine
that has exploded.

    LH：哦，crater就是中文里說的彈坑。這跟公司倒閉有什么關系呢？

    LL： If the company fails ， it may be said to have a crash landing.
And if the landing is uncontrolled， only a crater may remain.

    LH：我明白了。說公司倒閉，就好象是飛機硬著陸，如果控制不好，最后就
只剩一個大坑了。I hope my company never craters.哎，Larry ，你們公司現
在情況怎么樣？有可能會crater嗎？

    LL： I hope not. Usually there are warning signs before a company
fails ， such as cost-cutting measures.

    LH：對啊，倒閉也有先兆。我聽說，去年美國很多大公司為了削減開支，取
消了年底的圣誕派對，甚至減少了超級杯的廣告經費。

    LL： I'm afraid that this year and next will bring very tough times
for many people ， and companies， too. Even big car companies like GM
and Chrysler face major problems. For them， it's also "do or die."

    LH：那政府雇員呢？他們應該沒事吧。

    LL： Generally， Americans believe that government jobs are stable，
because the government will never "crater."

    LH：可我怎么聽說加州政府為了省錢，要求雇員每個月第一個和第三個星期
五不要來上班呢？這就損失了十六個小時的工資啊。

    LL： Yes， but they still have their jobs.

    MC：各位聽眾，今天李華學了兩個常用語。一個是do or die ，意思是生死
關頭。另一個是to crater ，意思是公司倒閉。