Obscenity in the Office
办公室里不文明的话

陈豪在北京的ABC美国公司工作，今天他开完会出来，刚好遇到美国同事Amy.

(Office ambience)

C: Hi Amy, 你有时间吗？

A: Sure. Come into my office and tell me what's on your mind.

C: 刚才开会的时候，我们的老板Mr. Jones对年终报表上的数字大发雷霆，说财会部门没有好好追查公司的欠款。

A: I can understand why Mr. Jones was upset. What did he say?

C: 他说的不少词我都没听懂，后来Todd告诉我，这些都是American obscenities, 是不是就是英语里的脏话啊？

A: That's right. Obscenities are not nice words. They are curse words. When some people get mad, they resort to using bad language to express their anger.

C: 在办公室里骂人可不怎么样，结果弄得大家特别不自在，低着头都不说话，特别是不敢看那个挨骂的人。

A: Swearing, which is another word for cursing, is never effective. It only makes the person who is cursing look badly and is awkward for everyone else.

C: 我们下午还要开会，希望Mr. Jones能冷静下来。

陈豪下午在走廊上又遇到Amy。

A: How did it go this afternoon at your meeting?

C: Mr. Jones不仅冷静了下来，而且还跟我们所有人道歉。他承认自己上午开会时非常失态。

A: What did he say?

C: 他说自己这么做很不得体，冒犯了大家。

A: Did he say anything else?

C: 说啦。他说，在任何情况下，所以他也不准备为自己的错误提出什么辩解。

A: Cursing has become all too common these days. So much so that some people think nothing of it.

They don't realize the negative effect it can have on their careers or business relationships.

C: 那如果不是骂人，能用这些字眼吗？我上次去看球，那些球迷都是满嘴脏话，也没人介意。

A: No, it is never appropriate to curse in public. You have no idea of the effect you'll have on others. Besides you can't predict who may be present and will recognize you later as the foul-mouthed person at the baseball game.

C: 如果别人当着我的面说脏字，我该怎么办呢？是表现得无所谓，还是表现得受了冒犯呢？

A: If you are around total strangers whom you are not likely to see again, ignore them and move on. If you are with co-workers, suggest that you are willing to meet with them and discuss issues with them, but not when they use obscene language.

C: 我可以让他们消了气再来找我。

A: That's a good idea.