Using English at Work
职场实用英语
第七课—预约开会
Lesson 7 - Scheduling a Meeting
完整的听力文本
COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT
欢迎收听由.出品的“职场实用英语”的第六课。“我是你们的主持人，来自教育发展中心的杰夫迈克兰博士。
You're listening to ESLPod.com's "Using English at Work" lesson seven. I'm Dr. Jeff McQuillan, from the Center for Educational Development, your host for this course.
eslpod.com
In the sixth lesson of "Using English at Work," we learned vocabulary that is used when we're having computer problems. In lesson seven, we're going to learn how to schedule a work-related meeting in English.
在“职场实用英语”中的第六节课中，我们学到了电脑故障的相关词汇。在七课，我们将学习如何安排与工作相关会议的英语
We'll get started by listening to our story at a slow speed.
我们将开始听用慢速英语阅读的故事。
At 3 p.m., I get a call from one of our vendors who wants to set up a meeting for the following week. Since I was away from my desk at the time, she left a voicemail message. When I get back to my desk, I retrieve the message and listen to it, and then return her call. I call her twice, but she isn't there, so I leave a voicemail message for her. We're playing phone tag. Finally, at 4 p.m., she calls again and since I am at my desk, we can talk at last.
[听力文本的开始]
Andrea asks me if it is possible for us to meet early in the week next week. I check my calendar and I tell her that I'm tied up Monday and Tuesday, but that I'm free Wednesday afternoon or Thursday morning. She says that Wednesday afternoon suits her and asks what time would be good for me. I tell her the earlier the better, since I will be entertaining clients that night and need to leave work a little early that day. She suggests 1 p.m. I check my scheduled again to confirm that 1 p.m. Wednesday is free and clear and it is. She says that she will send me an email Wednesday morning as a reminder and I thank her. After all of that back and forth, we finally have a meeting set for next week.
在下午3点时，我接到了一个供应商的电话，他想在下个星期召开会议。因为那时我不在我的办公桌处，所以她留下了语音信息。当我回到我的办公桌处时，我找到了那条信息并聆听了它，然后给她回了个电话。我给她打了两次电，但她不在，所以我给她留了言。我们使用电话标签。最后，在下午4点时，她又给我打了电话，因为我在我的办公桌处，所以我们最终可以交谈了。
[end of script]
安德列问我是否能在下周早点见面。我检查我的日程表，我告诉她我星期一，星期二都很忙，但我星期三下午或星期四早晨没事。她说她星期三没事，问我星期三什么时间有空。我告诉她越早越好，因为我晚上要招待客户，那天我需要很早就工作。她建议下午1点见面，我查了我的工作日程表再次确认星期三下午1点是没事的。她说她星期三上午会给发我一个电子邮件作为提醒并且我感谢了她。这样来回交涉之后，我们终于确定了下星期的会议时间。
When this part of my day begins, it is 3 p.m. and I get a call from one of our vendors. A "vendor" is a company that sells a specific type of product to other companies. Most companies have vendors for computer products, office supplies, maybe photocopy machines, and many other things - whatever that company needs to buy from another business. The vendor who calls me wants to set up a meeting for the following week. "To set up a meeting" means to schedule or arrange a meeting, or to find a time when two or more people are available to meet. You might set up a time to have lunch with a friend, or meetsomeone to fix your broken sink in your house - you'll set up a time. The vendor called to set up a meeting with me for the following, or next week.
[听力文本的结尾]
Since I was away from my desk at the time that she called, she left a voicemail message. To be "away from your desk" means not to be in your office, maybe because you're having another meeting or you're taking a break. Because I was away from my desk, I wasn't able to answer my phone when it rang, so the vendor left me a voicemail message. When I get back to my desk, or return to my office, I retrieve the message and listen to it. "To retrieve" means to get something, especially when we're talking about information that was stored on a computer or, in this case, in a voicemail system. To retrieve a voicemail message, I have to call the voicemail system, enter my PIN (or personal identification number), and then I can listen to the recorded message. Sometimes when you call someone in an office and they don't answer their phone, you may hear a message like this: "I'm away from my desk right now. Please leave a message and I'll return your call when I get back." That's a very common outgoing message. "Outgoing," here, means that's what people will hear when they call you.
当我一天中的这部分开始时，它是下午3点。我们的供应商给我打了个电话。“供应商”是一家向其他公司销售特定类型产品的公司。大多数公司都有供应电脑产品，办公用品，也许是影印机和许多其它东西的供应商——这家公司需要从其它商品公司购买的任何商品。打电话给我的供应商想在下星期召开会议。“召开会议”意味着安排会议，或者找到一个双方都空闲的时间见面。你找个和你朋友一起吃午饭的时间，或者让某人来修理你家里坏了的水槽——你将会确定一段时间。供应商打电话给我接下来或下个星期要跟我开会。
After listening to the vendor's message, then I return her call. "To return someone's call" means to call someone back on the telephone after he or she has called you and left a message. When people leave a message, they usually give their name, their telephone number, and the time they called. I call the vendor twice, but she isn't there, meaning that she isn't answering her phone. So I leave a voicemail message for her. Now we're playing something we call "phone tag.""To play phone tag" means that two people are exchanging voicemail messages but aren't able to actually speak to each other. For example, I start by calling you, but you don't answer your phone so I leave you a message - a voicemail message. Then, when you get the message, you call me, but I don't answer the phone, so you leave me a message. If we are both busy people - I'm not, but you probably are - we might continue to do this for a long time, and this is what we call "playing phone tag.""Tag" (tag) is a game that children play, when one person is touched by another person and they become what we call "it." You say, "You're it!" and then that child has to run and touch someone else, and that person becomes "it," and you don't want to be "it." I don't know why we say "it," but that's the word we use. Getting back to our story.
因为她打电话给我时我不在办公室，她留下了语音信息。“远离办公桌”意味着不在办公室里，也许是因为你正在开会或你正在休息。因为我不在办公室，所以当电话响时我不能接听电话，所以供应商给我留语音信息。当我回到我的办公桌处或回到我办公室时，我重新这条语音消息并聆听了它。“恢复”意味着得到某东西，尤其当我们谈论到存储在计算机上的信息，在这种情况下，是使用一个语音信箱系统。为了恢复语音信息，我必须打开语音信箱系统，输入我的密码（个人识别号码），然后我可以听录音了。有时当你在办公室打电话给某人时，但他们却不接电话，你可能会听到这样的信息：“我现在不在办公室。有事请留言，我回来时，会给你回电话。”这是一个很常见的外部语音信息。“外部语音信息”，在这里，这意味着当人们打电话时，他们会听到这些内容。
Fortunately, I don't have to play phone tag with the vendor for very long. At 4 p.m. she calls me again, and because this time I'm at my desk, or in my office, we can talk at last, or finally. Andrea, who works for the vendor, asks me if it is possible for us to meet early in the week next week. The phrase "early in the week" usually means Monday or Tuesday - maybe Wednesday. The phrase"late in the week" usually means Thursday or Friday. The "middle of the week" or "mid-week" usually means Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday. So, someone may call you and say, "Let's meet late next week," they mean Thursday or Friday. Or, "Let's meet next week in the middle of the week," Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday
听了供应商的语音留言后，我就给她回了电话。“给某人回电话”意味着“在他或她打电话给你并留下一个信息之后，你再可以打电话给她。当人们留下语音消息时，他们通常会留下他们的名字，他们的电话号码，还有他们打电话的时间。我给供应商打了两次电话，但她都不在，意味着她没有接电话。所以我给她留了语音信息。现在我们正在玩所谓的“打电话追逐游戏。“打电话追逐游戏”意味着两人交换语音信息但不能面对面相互说话。例如，我打电话给你，但你不接电话，所以我给你留了信息——一种语音信息。然后，当你得到这个消息时，你打电话给我，但我没接到电话，如果我们两个都是忙碌的人——我不是，但你可能是——我们可能会在很长的一段时间内继续这样做，这就是我们所说的“打电话追逐游戏”。“追尾”（追尾）是一种孩子们玩的游戏，当一个人被另一个人碰到时，他们成为我们所称的“追尾现象。”你说，“你就是它！”然后，孩子必须跑并触摸别人，和那个人成为“它，”你不想成为“它”，我不知道为什么我们说“它”，但这是我们使用的词。让我们回到我们的故事吧。
Before responding to her question, I check my calendar. A "calendar" is a schedule of the days and months of the year. It's also a person's personal schedule or list of when you are available to meet with someone and when you are busy - when you have other things going on or happening. I check my calendar to see whether I am available to meet early in the week next week and I tell Andrea that I'm tied up Monday and Tuesday. To be "tied up," here, means to be busy or occupied and therefore unable to meet at a certain time. In other words, I'm tied up on Monday and Tuesday because I have other appointments those days, so I cannot meet with her then. If your friend asks you if you want to play basketball on Saturday and you're working that day, you would say, "I'm sorry. I'm tied up on Saturday, I can't join you." But if I tell my friend that I'm free on Wednesday afternoon or Thursday afternoon, then you're saying that you have time to meet during those particular days. So "free" is the opposite of being "tied up." If you're free, you have time; if you're tied up, you have something else on your schedule.
幸运的是，我不必长时间地和供应商玩打电话追逐游戏。在下午4点时，她又打电话给我，因为这时我在办公室里，我们最终可以交谈了。安德列，为供应商工作的人，问我下周初我是否有空。“本周初”这个短语通常是指星期一或星期二——也许星期三。“本周末”这个短语通常指星期四或星期五。“本周中”或“中间周”通常指星期二、星期三或星期四。因此，有人会打电话给你说，“我们将在下周末会面，”他们是指星期四或星期五。或者，“让我们下周中见面，”是指星期二，星期三或星期四
Andrea says that Wednesday afternoon suits her (I tell her that I am free on Wednesday afternoon). "To suit someone" means to be convenient for someone, or not to create problems for someone. When Andrea says that Wednesday afternoon suits her, she means that she is available to meet with me on Wednesday afternoon. "To suit someone" can also be used more generally to mean that it's okay or it's acceptable to someone. For example, if your husband or wife asks you if you want to go on vacation to beautiful Los Angeles, California, you might say, "That suits me!" meaning that you like the idea, it is acceptable to you.
在回答她问题之前，我查了一下我的日程表。“日历”是指一年中的月和日的时间表。这也是一个某人忙碌或空闲的个人时间安排表——你会有其他事情要做或发生。我查看我的日程表看看我下周初是否有空，我告诉安德列我星期一和星期二都很忙。“忙得不可开交的”，在这里，意味着很忙或被占领了，因此在某一特定时间不能开会。换句话说，我星期一和星期二都很忙，因为在那些天中我要开其它会议，所以我不能和她开会。如果你的朋友问你是否想在星期六打篮球，然而你那天要工作，你会说：“很抱歉。我星期六很忙，所以我不能加入你们了。”但我如果告诉我的朋友我星期三或星期四下午有时间时，然后你说你在那些特定的日子里你有时间开会。所以“空闲”与“忙碌”是反义词，如果你是自由的，那么你有时间；如果你是忙碌的，你的日程表上就会有事要做。
Then Andrea asks me what time would be good for me. This is her way of asking me what time I would like to meet. I tell her the earlier the better. The phrase "the earlier the better" means the sooner the better or as early as possible. I want to meet in the afternoon, not in the late afternoon. The late afternoon would be after 3 or 4:00; I'm asking to meet in the early afternoon, in fact, the earlier the better. I explain that the reason meeting earlier is better for me is that I'll be entertaining clients that night and I need to leave work a little early that day. "To entertain clients" means to take important customers for your business to dinner or perhaps to a play or some entertainment. This is supposed to improve their relationship with your company, or your relationship with them.
安德列说星期三下午她有时间（我告诉她我星期三下午有空）。“适合某人”意味着对某人而言是方便的，或不为某人制造麻烦。当安德列说星期三下午适合她时，她的意思是她可以在星期三下午与我见面。“适合某人”更常以来指情况还好或它对某人而言是可以接受的。例如，如果你的丈夫或妻子问你是否想去美丽的加利福尼亚度假时，你也许会说：“这很适合我！”意思是你喜欢这个想法，你能接受这个建议。
Usually managers are given a certain amount of money to entertain clients, taking them out for lunch or dinner, especially if they work in sales. Since I have to entertain clients on Wednesday night, I need to leave the office early that day, and that's why I would prefer to meet with Andrea earlier in the afternoon.
安德列问我什么时候空闲时。这是她问我什么时候有时间开会的方式。我告诉她越早越好。短语“越早越好”意味着越快越好，越早越尽可能地早。我想在下午见面，但不是在下午晚些时候。下午晚些时候通常是指在下午3点或4点之后；我想在下午早些时候开会，事实上，越早越好。我解释说我希望越早越好的原因是那天晚上我要招待客户，那天我要早点离开办公室。“招待客户”是指带重要客户去吃晚餐或听戏剧或是其它的娱乐活动。这应该改善他们与你们公司的关系，或改善你与他们的关系。
Andrea suggests 1 p.m. I check my schedule again, meaning that I look at my calendar to confirm that 1 p.m. on Wednesday is free and clear. To "confirm" means to verify something, or to say that something is correct or true based on the information that you have. We often confirm appointments to make sure that the people we're supposed to have a meeting with still have time to meet with us. Doctors' and dentists' offices usually call their patients to confirm their appointments to make sure that they will be coming at the scheduled time, often calling the day before, for example. When I say I'm "free and clear," that's just another way of saying I am open, I don't have any meetings or other obligations during that time. I'm looking at my calendar to confirm, or check, that 1 p.m. on Wednesday is free and clear. It is free and clear, so Andrea and I agree to meet at 1:00 on that day.
通常经理都会拨钱用来招待客户，把他们带出去吃午餐或晚餐，特别是做销售工作方面的顾客。因为我必须在星期三晚上招待客户，我需要早点离开办公室，这就是我为什么想在下午早些时候和安德列见面的原因。
Andrea says that she will send me an email Wednesday morning as a reminder. A "reminder" is something that is said or written so that the other person doesn't forget about something important. So, when the dentist or doctor's office calls you to confirm your appointment, they're really giving you a reminder. Andrea doesn't want me to forget our meeting, so she's going to send me an email as a reminder. Many people write notes for themselves, for example, as reminders of the things they need to do. I thank Andrea for offering to send a reminder. After all of that back and forth, we finally have a meeting set for next week. "Back and forth" is a conversation where two people alternate in speaking, first I speak, then you speak, and so on and so on. We usually use this expression when there is a long conversation or we need to negotiate something. In this case, we're trying to find the best time that will be good for both of us, so we go back and forth. I say something, she says a date, I say, "No, how about that date?" she says, "No, how about this date?" and so forth. Andrea and I have been going back and forth looking at our calendars, trying to find a time when we can both meet. Finally we have a meeting set for next week.
安德列建议在下午1点开会，我再次检查了我的日程安排，这意味着我察看我的日程表来确认我在星期三下午1点是确实空闲的。“确认”意味着验证某事，或依据你所拥有的信息来确认某事是否正确。我们经常确认预约以确保要与我们开会的人还有时间与我们见面。例如，医生或牙医诊所通常会打电话给病人，以确认他们的预约并确保他们在预定的时间到来，通常是在前一天打电话确认。当我说我“确实有空”，这只是说我在那个时候是空闲的，没有任何会议或其他任务的另一种表达方式。我察看我的日程表确认或检查我在星期三下午1点是的确空闲的。确实是有空，所以安德列和我都同意在星期三凌晨1点见面。
That's a good example of how meetings are scheduled at work in the U.S. Now that we've talked about this part of my workday, let's listen again as I describe how we scheduled the meeting, this time when I'm speaking at a normal pace.
安德列说她星期三早晨会给我发电子邮件作为提醒。“提醒”是为了让其他人不会忘记某一重要事件而说或写的东西。所以当牙医或医生的办公室打电话让你确认你的预约，他们实际上是在提醒你。安德列不想让我忘记我们的会议，所以她给我一个电子邮件作为一个提醒。例如，许多人写便条作为他们需要做某事的提醒。我感谢安德列给我发送了一个提醒。在所有来来回回地事情之后，我们终于决定在下周召开会议。“来来回回”是指在一个对话中，2人轮流发言，首先我说，然后你说，等等，如此轮流下去。当我们进行长对话时或当我们需要讨论某事时，我们通常在使用这种表达。在这种情况下，我们正努力寻找一个对我们双方都有好处的最佳时机，这样我们就这样来来回回讨论了好久。我说了些事，她说了一个日期，我说：“不，那一天怎么样呢？”她说：“不，这一天怎么样？”等等。安德列和我一直在来回地察看我们的日程表，试图寻找一个我们两个可以开会的时间。最后我们决定在下周召开会议。
[start of script]
这是一个在美国任何安排会议的典型例子。既然我们已经谈到了我的工作日的这一部分，让我们再次聆听我们如何安排会议的描述，这一次，我将以正常语速讲述。
At 3 p.m., I get a call from one of our vendors who wants to set up a meeting for the following week. Since I was away from my desk at the time, she left a voicemail message. When I get back to my desk, I retrieve the message and listen to it, and then return her call. I call her twice, but she isn't there, so I leave a voicemail message for her. We're playing phone tag. Finally, at 4 p.m., she calls again and since I am at my desk, we can talk at last.
在下午3点时，我接到了一个供应商的电话，他想在下个星期召开会议。因为那时我不在我的办公桌处，所以她留下了语音信息。当我回到我的办公桌处时，我找到了那条信息并聆听了它，然后给她回了个电话。我给她打了两次电，但她不在，所以我给她留了言。我们使用电话标签。最后，在下午4点时，她又给我打了电话，因为我在我的办公桌处，所以我们最终可以交谈了。
Andrea asks me if it is possible for us to meet early in the week next week. I check my calendar and I tell her that I'm tied up Monday and Tuesday, but that I'm free Wednesday afternoon or Thursday morning. She says that Wednesday afternoon suits her and asks what time would be good for me. I tell her the earlier the better, since I will be entertaining clients that night and need to leave work a little early that day. She suggests 1 p.m. I check my scheduled again to confirm that 1 p.m. Wednesday is free and clear and it is. She says that she will send me an email Wednesday morning as a reminder and I thank her. After all of that back and forth, we finally have a meeting set for next week.
安德列问我是否能在下周早点见面。我检查我的日程表，我告诉她我星期一，星期二都很忙，但我星期三下午或星期四早晨没事。她说她星期三没事，问我星期三什么时间有空。我告诉她越早越好，因为我晚上要招待客户，那天我需要很早就工作。她建议下午1点见面，我查了我的工作日程表再次确认星期三下午1点是没事的。她说她星期三上午会给发我一个电子邮件作为提醒并且我感谢了她。这样来回交涉之后，我们终于确定了下星期的会议时间。
[end of script]
[听力文本的结尾]
I hope that listening to me schedule a meeting with Andrea has taught you some new vocabulary that you can use in your own job the next time you need to set up a meeting. In our next lesson, lesson eight, I'm going to talk about a meeting with my boss.
我希望听完我与安德列的预约会议已经教了你一些新的词汇，在下一次你工作中需要预约会议时你可以使用这些词汇。在下一课中，第八课，我要谈谈与我老板开会的事情。
This course has been a production of the Center for Educational Development, in beautiful Los Angeles, California. Visit our website at eslpod.com.
这门课程一直是位于加利福尼亚州美丽的洛杉矶的教育发展中心是的出品。欢迎访问我们的网站.。
This course was produced by Dr. Jeff McQuillan and Dr. Lucy Tse. Copyright 2008.
本课程是由杰夫博士和露西博士联合所制作的。版权所有2008年
GLOSSARY
单词表
vendor - a company that sells a product or service to other companies
*Which company is your vendor for computer products?
供应商——向其他公司销售产品或提供服务的公司
*为你提供产品的供应商是哪家公司？
to set up - to schedule; to arrange; to set a time for
*Let's set up a meeting with all of the department heads for next Thursday at 11:30.
安排——为某事安排时间
*让我们在下星期四的11:30与所有部门领导召开会议。
away from (one's) desk - not at one's desk; not near the phone at work; not in one's office
*I put your mail on your chair when I saw that you were away from your desk.
不在办公室——不在一个人的办公桌处，不在办公室的电话旁，不在办公室
*当我看你不在办公室时，我就把你的邮件放在你的椅子上了。
retrieve - to get information that was stored on a computer or in a voicemail system
*Were you able to retrieve the files after your computer stopped working?
重新得到——获取存储在计算机或语音信箱系统里的信息
*在你的计算机出现故障之后，你可以重新获取你的文件吗？
to return (one's) call - to call someone back on the telephone after he or she has called you and left a message because you weren't there
*I would appreciate it if you could return my call as soon as you get this message.
回（某人）电话——他或她给你打电话时，因为你不在就留下了语音信息，你回来后，就给她回了电话
*如果你一听到这个消息就给我回复信息，我会很感激的。
to play phone tag - to repeatedly leave messages for someone because he or she is not there to answer the phone when you call, and to have him or her repeatedly call you back and leave messages for you when you are not there
*Monty and Vito both had several meetings this week, so they were playing phone tag with each other.
电话追逐游戏——重复给别人留语音信息因为你给他或她打电话时，他或她不在；当你不在时，你让某人重复给你打电话或留语音信息
*蒙蒂和维托这个星期都有几个会议，所以他们玩起来互相打电话的游戏。
early in the week - Monday or Tuesday of a week; the first days of a week
*I'm available early in the week, but from Wednesday through Friday I will be at a conference.
本周初——一周的星期一或星期二；一周中的第一天
*我在本周初有空，但从星期三到星期五我将有一个会议。
calendar - schedule of appointments; appointment book; a piece of paper or book showing when one is available and when one is busy; a schedule showing the days of the week or month
*Marco keeps Rhonda's calendar, so if you want to make an appointment with Rhonda, you need to call Marco to find out when she's available.
日程表——预约的安排；预约书；显示某人什么时候有空闲或繁忙的一张纸或一本书，一星期或一个月的时间安排
*马可有朗达的日程表，所以如果你想和朗达约会，你需要打电话给马可以了解她什么时候有空。
tied up - busy; occupied; not available
*Jorge was tied up in meetings all morning and we couldn't speak to him until the afternoon.
忙得不可开交的——繁忙的；被占用了；不可使用的
*豪尔赫今天一上午都在开会，到下午我们才有和他说话的时间。
free - available; not busy; not occupied
*When are you free for an interview next week?
不受约束的——可用的；不忙；没有被占用的
*你下周什么时候有空去做一个采访？
to suit (someone) - to be convenient or good for someone; to not be inconvenient or bad for someone
*I'd like to send you my resume via email, if that suits you.
适合某人——对某人来说是方便或好的；对某人而言不方便或不好的
*如果你方便的话，我想通过电子邮件把我的简历发给你。
the earlier the better - as soon as possible; preferably very soon
*Please come to my office anytime tomorrow morning, the earlier the better because I have lots of afternoon appointments.
越早越好——尽快；最好很快
*明早，请到我的办公室来，越早来越好因为我下午有很多会议。
to entertain clients - to take important customers to dinner and/or a show while they are visiting one's city to try to improve the relationship between them and one's company
*When you're entertaining clients, don't talk about the company and our products too much or they'll get tired of hearing about them.
招待客户——当重要地顾客来访问这个城市时，而你试图改善与他们或与他们公司之间的关系，你就会带他们去吃饭或看演出
*当你有招待客户时，不要谈论太多与公司产品相关的事，他们会厌倦听这些内容的。
to confirm - to verify; to say that something is correct or true after checking to make sure
*We'll call to confirm your appointment with Dr. Litchman in one week.
确认——验证；经过检查确认后说某事是正确的
*我们会在一周内打电话确认你和博士利居曼的约会。
free and clear - open; without appointments; available for a meeting
*This week is very busy, but next week is free and clear.
没有义务的；没有牵连的——开放的；无预约的；可以开会的状态
*本周很忙，但下个星期是空闲的。
reminder - something that is said or written so that one does not forget about something important
*Sometimes people tie a piece of string around their finger as a reminder to do something.
暗示——为了让人不忘了一些重要的东西而说或写的东西
*有时人们在他们的手指上绑一根绳子作为做某事的提醒物。
back and forth - a conversation where two people alternate in speaking; a conversation where first one person speaks, then the second, then the first again, and then the second again, especially when exchanging information
*It was interesting to hear the children's back and forth as they tried to explain their math homework to each other.
反复地，来回地——在一段谈话中两人轮流说话；在一段谈话中，第一个人先讲，然后是第二个，然后第一个人说，然后第二个人说话，特别是在交流的时候
*当孩子们试图向对方解释自己的数学作业时，听到他们来来回回地讨论是一件很有趣的事。