Larry 在告訴李華他公司里發生的事。李華今天會學會兩個常用語，trash
talking 和make waves.

    LL： So ， Li Hua ， yesterday at the office I heard two of my co-workers
trash talking my boss.

    LH：什么是trash talking ？難道他們在談垃圾，垃圾有什么好談的？

    LL： No ， it's not. Trash talking is saying really mean things about
someone.

    LH：噢，trash talking 就是說別人的壞話。那你的這兩位同事為什么要說
老板的壞話呢？

    LL： I think they were upset because he didn't like a proposal they
submitted. They were saying my boss wasn't very smart and didn't make
good decisions for the company.

    LH：就因為老板沒有接受他們的建議，他們就說他笨，作出的決策對公司不
利？他們也太自負了吧！ Larry，那你是怎么看的呢？

    LL： I am sure he had his reasons for rejecting their proposal. I
have a lot of respect for my boss ， and that is why their trash talking
him bothers me so much.

    LH：老板拒絕他們的建議總有他的道理。我知道你很尊重你們的老板，所以
聽見別人在背后說他壞話就感到很討厭。我那天也聽到兩個研究生在說一個教授
的壞話。我也覺得很討厭。

    LL： Did you do anything about their trash talk ？

    LH：我當時就為這位教授辯護。他們不一定會改變看法，但是我不能聽任他
們誣蔑這位教授。

    LL： Good for you ， Li Hua ！

    LH：后來別人告訴我那兩個人又在背后說我的壞話 - They trash talked me
.

    LL： I guess you made them mad by bringing attention to their trash
talking. I just don't have the courage to deal with my two co-workers
who talked trash about my boss.

    LH：你沒有勇氣來對付他們？這有什么呢？你就對他們說，你們這樣說老板
的壞話是不對的。

    LL： I don't think it is that easy， Li Hua. After all， I still have
to work with these trash talkers.

    ******

    LH：你是不是擔心他們會找你的麻煩呀？

    LL： It is not so much that I am afraid of them ， as it is that I
don't want to make waves at work.

    LH：你不是怕他們，而是不想在工作單位make waves. Make waves是什么意
思？你不想興風作浪？

    LL： No ， no. Making waves means to cause a disturbance.

    LH：噢，你是不想得罪他們，引起糾紛。

    LL： I know it would make waves at work. These two co-workers are
senior to me， and I know if I talked to them ， they'd just cause trouble
for me.

    LH：這兩個人資歷都比你深。你要批評他們，他們就會給你找麻煩，你實際
上還是有點怕他們。

    LL： You know ， I also don't want to make waves at home， too.

    LH：公司里的事情怎么會牽涉到你的家人，又怎么會給家里制造麻煩呢？

    LL： Well ， my parents just want me to do well and be successful.
It would upset them to know I was having trouble at work.

    LH：我明白了，你不想讓父母擔心。 Larry，你不愧是個孝子。我的一個學
生可不像你。他暑假回家的時候，給家里制造了不少麻煩。

    LL： What did he do ？

    LH：他在肚臍上穿了一個洞，帶上了一個金屬環。他要趕新潮。可把他的父
母都快要氣瘋了。

    LL： Well ， that certainly is one way to make waves. Li Hua， you
don't seem to be able to make waves.

    LH：那你就不了解我了。幾個月前我也跟我的房東鬧了一場呢。

    LL： Really ， Li Hua ， you didn't tell me about this. What happened？

    LH：我公寓里的浴缸漏水了。我跟老板說了好幾次他都不理我。后來我實在
忍無可忍，就去他辦公室問他為什么不給修，so I made some waves.

    LL： It is too bad you had to make some waves to get your landlord
to do what he is supposed to do.

    LH：其實我是不喜歡這樣做的 - I don't like to make waves.他要早派人
修了不就沒事了嘛！

    今天李華學到了兩個常用語。一個是trash talking ，意思是說別人的壞話。
還有一個是make waves，意思是制造麻煩或糾紛。