美語情景對話 第384期:Strong and Weak Points 優點和缺點

Simon: Yeah, I got a job interview coming up and I know they're gonna ask me about what are you. strong points and your weak points. You know.

西蒙：我馬上要參加一個工作面試，我知道他們會問我的優點和缺點。

Todd: Yeah, that's tough, because like I know my strong points and my weak points.

託德：是啊，那很難回答，因爲我知道我的優點和缺點是什麼。

Simon: Yeah, well, let's talk about that, actually, personality wise. Forget about the job interview. Let's talk about, what do you think, what are your strong points as a person?

西蒙：對，我們來談談這個話題吧，人格智慧。忘掉工作面試吧。我們來談談這個，你認爲你的優點是什麼？

Todd: Ah, let's see. Well, I think the biggest one is I'm pretty generous. Like I really don't care about money, so I'll give my friends money or things that I have, cause I just don't care about that. Um, so that's probably my strong point. My weak points are I am very late all the time. I'm late to work. I'm late to meet my friends. I'm late when I have appointments, and I am always late, so that is probably my number one bad point, and um, I'm, and sometimes I'm a little selfish. I want things my way, and only my way.

託德：嗯，讓我想想。我想我最大的優點是非常大方。比如我完全不在乎錢財，所以我會借錢或者物品給朋友，因爲我不在乎那種事情。嗯，這可能是我的優點。我的缺點是我總是遲到。我上班經常遲到。和朋友見面我也總是遲到。我去約會也會遲到，我總是遲到。這可能是我最大的缺點，還有有時我有點自私，我想什麼就得是什麼，而且必須是。

Simon: So it's, do you use that expression, "It's my way or the highway!"

西蒙：那你會不會用那個表達,"我說什麼就是什麼！"

Todd: I would never say that, but that's maybe how I think sometimes.

託德：我從來不會說那種話，不過有時我是那麼想的。

Simon: That's how you feel inside, yeah.

西蒙：那是你內心的想法。

Todd: How about you? What are your strong points and your weak points?

託德：那你呢？你的優點和缺點是什麼？

Simon: Well, one of my weak points. I can say, much like you, was being late but, uh, since, you know, uh, since I've has a long term girlfriend, she's made sure that that part of me has changed, but I think one of my weak points is that, uh, I'm mentally disorganized. I'm all over the place all the time, so that sometimes makes me forget things like, uh, my keys, or you know, where I put an important piece of paper or something like that.

西蒙：嗯，我其中一個缺點和你的很像，也是遲到，不過你知道，因爲我有一個長時間交往的女朋友，她讓我改正了那個缺點，不過我還有一個缺點，就是我思緒混亂。我一直都來往於各地，所以有時我會忘記事情，比如我會忘了把鑰匙或者是一份重要的文件放在哪裏了，我通常會忘記這種事情。

Todd: You know sometimes I wonder, because I'm a teacher, that maybe more people are that way today because we have so much input, so much stimulus from TV, from the internet, from movies, from radio that we are not as mentally organized as people maybe 50 years ago.

託德：你知道，因爲我是老師，有時我就在想很多人之所以成爲現在這種樣子，是因爲我們從電視、網絡、電影或是廣播中吸收了太多東西、太多的刺激物，所以我們不像50年前的人們那樣思維有條理。

Simon: Yeah, that quite, that could be possibly true, but most of my close friends, you know, say that I'm more disorganized in that way, or more chaotic than most people, so I think I'm a special case. You know, I lost my wallet about four or five times in the past year, so.

西蒙：對，可能那是對的，不過我有很多親密朋友說我的思維比大部分人更混亂，更沒有秩序，所以我想我可能是個特例。你知道，去年我丟了四五個錢包。

Todd: That's pretty bad. Um, what's your strong point though?

託德：那真是太糟糕了。嗯，那你的優點是什麼？

Simon: Well, you know, that's putting me on the spot. That's a pretty difficult question cause it's difficult to talk about yourself, but uh, you know I would have to say that I'm friendly, and easy-going and.

西蒙：你知道的，這讓我很爲難。這是一個非常難回答的問題，因爲誇自己是件很難的事情，不過我認爲我的優點是我很友好、隨和。

Todd: Yeah, I agree actually.

託德：對，實際上我很贊同。

Simon: And uh, I think I have, I think I can get along with people well, so, that's would be my strong point I guess, easy going and and friendly, easy to get along with.

西蒙：我認爲我可以和人們相處得很融洽，我想這可能是我的優點，我很隨和，很友好，很容易相處。

Todd: Well, I agree.

託德：嗯，我同意。

Simon: Oh, thank you, and I agree about you.

西蒙：哦，謝謝你，我也同意你的情況。

Todd: What? I'm always late.

託德：什麼？我總是遲到嗎？

Simon: That, too.

西蒙：那點也是事實。

重點講解：
1. come up
即將發生；即將到來；
eg. A new problem had come up.
發生了一個新的問題。
eg. I expect something to come up soon.
我預料很快就要出事的。
2. care about
關心；在乎；在意；
eg. People don't care about how talented or charming you are. They only care about how much you care about them.
人們不在乎你多有才能或多有魅力，他們只在乎你對他們有多好。
eg. Most employers believe that those who look as if they care about themselves are more likely to care about their jobs.
大多數僱主認爲那些看起來似乎在乎自己形象的人更可能在乎自己的工作。
3. make sure that
一定要；設法保證；
eg. We make sure that the ads are reaching 70% legal-drinking-age adults.
我們的目標是確保我們廣告受衆的70%都是達到法定飲酒年齡的成年人。
eg. But, we want to make sure that everything we do has the right nutritional value for our kids.
但我們還是希望確保我們提供的所有食品對孩子有恰當的營養價值。
4. put sb. on the spot
使…陷入困境；使…爲難；
eg. He put me on the spot a bit because he invited me right in front of his mum and I didn't particularly want to go.
他讓我有點難堪，因爲他當着他母親的面邀請我，而我又不太想去。
eg. Even clever people are not terribly clever when put on the spot.
即便是聰明人在面對難題時也未必就能表現得特別聰明。
5. get along with
（與…）和睦相處；
eg. You should try to get along with them.
你應該試着和她們好好相處。
eg. Mary is a very nice girl to get along with.
瑪麗是個能與之和睦相處的好女孩。