文:Vivian Chen
不管事在學校還是愛摸職場,相信大家身邊都有不喜歡的魚馬厭的英文同學或同事,有些人是屁精「玻璃心」、有些人是玻璃「馬屁精」!這些討人厭的心?性格個性該怎麼用英文表達呢?繼續看下去吧!
職場新鮮人Irene工作才不到一週,?這就發現同事Jacob不理她,討人為什麼呢?
Irene: What’s wrong with Jacob? He just ignored me when I greeted him this morning.
Irene: Jacob 怎麼了?我今天早上跟他打招呼的麼說時候,他直接無視我。愛摸Chloe: I told you he’s a snowflake.
Chloe: 我早跟你說過他很玻璃心。魚馬厭的英文Irene: Did I do or say something to offend him?
Irene: 我做了或是屁精說了什麼話惹到他嗎?Chloe: No. But do you remember when you answered the manager’s question for him yesterday? He probably thought you did it deliberately to make him look bad.
Chloe: 沒有,但你記得你昨天幫他回答了經理的玻璃問題嗎?他可能會覺得妳在故意讓他難堪。Irene: What? I knew he was self-centered, but I never realized he was such a narcissist.
Irene: 蛤?我的心?性格確知道他很自我中心,但我從來不知道他這麼自戀。?這Chloe: Yeah, and he’s very cocky. He always holds the opinions and ideas of others in contempt.
Chloe: 沒錯,討人而且他還很自大,他總是對他人的點子不屑一顧,覺得自己最厲害。Irene: Well?? no wonder all of you told me to keep my distance.
Irene: 唉??難怪你們都叫我要離他遠點。
Irene的一片好心似乎被誤會了,職場關係真的很困難啊!
snowflake(n.)玻璃心
snowflake原本的意思是「雪花」,「玻璃心」是形容人過度敏感、脆弱,英文裡就用snowflake來形容。
She’s such a snowflake! When the boss gently pointed out her mistakes, she threw a massive tantrum.
她真的很玻璃心!老闆只是稍微指出她的錯誤,她就爆炸了。
self-centered(adj.)自我中心的
self-centered直譯就是「自我中心的」,指凡事都用自己的角度思考、揣測的人,這類人通常也很自私(selfish),凡事只考慮自己利益、需求。
We hate traveling with John. He’s so self-centered that he never takes others’ opinions into consideration.
我們很討厭跟 John 一起旅行,他太自我中心了,完全不會考量別人的意見。
cocky(adj.)自大的;自負的
cock是「公雞」,給人昂首挺立的印象,形容詞cocky就好像是形容那些昂首向前,但過分自信、趾高氣昂的人,可以翻成「自大的;自負的」。
He is very cocky and always thinks that he is superior to others.
他很自大,而且總以為自己高別人一等。
中午吃飯時間,Jacob便跟同事Hanson抱怨起Irene。
Jacob: Do you know the newbie, Irene? She really bugs me!
Jacob: 你知道那個菜鳥 Irene 嗎?她真的很討厭!Hanson: What happened?
Hanson: 怎麼了?Jacob: Yesterday when the manager was asking me some questions, she rushed to answer. I knew the answer, I was just taking my time.
Jacob: 昨天當經理在問我一些問題的時候,她就急著跳出來回答。我知道答案好嗎,我只是還在思考。Hanson: Who does she think she is? What a know-it-all.
Hanson: 哇嗚,她以為她誰,還真是萬事通呢。Jacob: And Chloe, she is nothing more than a brown-noser. A total kiss-ass. A suck-up of the highest order.
Jacob: 還有那個Chloe,她根本就是個馬屁精。最愛拍馬屁上面的馬屁。Hanson: True. Whenever I see her, she’s either flattering the supervisor or slacking off.
Hanson: 沒錯,我每次看到她,她要不是在阿諛奉承主管,就是在摸魚耍廢。Jacob: Moreover, she’s such a copycat! I know she’s imitating the way I talk just because she wants to be the leader of the team.
Jacob: 除此之外,她還是個學人精!我知道她因為想當團隊的領導者,所以在模仿我的說話方式。
嗯,越聽越羅生門了呢??或許大家對彼此都有點誤會吧!
know-it-all(n.)萬事通
know-it-all字面上的意思是「知道所有事」,但這個字通常帶有貶意,指那些自以為知道所有事情的「萬事通」。
She is a know-it-all and argues with her classmates over trivial matters all the time.
她自以為自己是個萬事通,一天到晚都在跟同學爭辯雞毛蒜皮的小事。
brown-noser(n.)馬屁精
brown-noser直譯是「咖啡色的鼻子」,brown就像便便的顏色,「馬屁精」為了奉承,甚至願意親別人的屁股,最後鼻子就變成咖啡色的了。
The newbie is such a brown-noser! He kept complimenting the director on his lame proposal.
那個新來的真是個馬屁精!他沒完沒了一直稱讚導演的爛企劃。
slack off(phr.)摸魚;偷懶
slack當動詞時意思是「偷懶」,因此動詞片語slack off就是指「打混摸魚」。
If the boss catches you are slacking off, you will be toast!
如果老闆發現你在偷懶,你就完蛋了!
copycat(n.)學人精
copycat跟貓沒關係,這個字是用來指「愛模仿人的討厭鬼;學人精」。此外它還可以當形容詞,形容「模仿的;仿效的」,像許多人說,報導犯罪新聞會導致「模仿犯罪」,英文就是copycat crime。
Don’t be a copycat! You should live your own life.
別當個學人精!你應該為了自己而活。
人際關係真的是一大學問,好同學/好同事的確能讓你保持愉悅心情、提高學習/工作效率,所以如果有什麼小誤會的話,與其自己在心中猜忌,不如委婉地跟對方講清楚唷!
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核稿編輯:翁世航