美语情景对话 第384期:Strong and Weak Points 优点和缺点

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

西蒙：我马上要参加一个工作面试，我知道他们会问我的优点和缺点。

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

托德：是啊，那很难回答，因为我知道我的优点和缺点是什么。

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：对，我们来谈谈这个话题吧，人格智慧。忘掉工作面试吧。我们来谈谈这个，你认为你的优点是什么？

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.

托德：嗯，让我想想。我想我最大的优点是非常大方。比如我完全不在乎钱财，所以我会借钱或者物品给朋友，因为我不在乎那种事情。嗯，这可能是我的优点。我的缺点是我总是迟到。我上班经常迟到。和朋友见面我也总是迟到。我去约会也会迟到，我总是迟到。这可能是我最大的缺点，还有有时我有点自私，我想什么就得是什么，而且必须是。

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

西蒙：那你会不会用那个表达,"我说什么就是什么！"

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

托德：我从来不会说那种话，不过有时我是那么想的。

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

西蒙：那是你内心的想法。

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

托德：那你呢？你的优点和缺点是什么？

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，我其中一个缺点和你的很像，也是迟到，不过你知道，因为我有一个长时间交往的女朋友，她让我改正了那个缺点，不过我还有一个缺点，就是我思绪混乱。我一直都来往于各地，所以有时我会忘记事情，比如我会忘了把钥匙或者是一份重要的文件放在哪里了，我通常会忘记这种事情。

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.

托德：你知道，因为我是老师，有时我就在想很多人之所以成为现在这种样子，是因为我们从电视、网络、电影或是广播中吸收了太多东西、太多的刺激物，所以我们不像50年前的人们那样思维有条理。

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：对，可能那是对的，不过我有很多亲密朋友说我的思维比大部分人更混乱，更没有秩序，所以我想我可能是个特例。你知道，去年我丢了四五个钱包。

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

托德：那真是太糟糕了。嗯，那你的优点是什么？

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，这让我很为难。这是一个非常难回答的问题，因为夸自己是件很难的事情，不过我认为我的优点是我很友好、随和。

Todd: Yeah, I agree actually.

托德：对，实际上我很赞同。

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：我认为我可以和人们相处得很融洽，我想这可能是我的优点，我很随和，很友好，很容易相处。

Todd: Well, I agree.

托德：嗯，我同意。

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

西蒙：哦，谢谢你，我也同意你的情况。

Todd: What? I'm always late.

托德：什么？我总是迟到吗？

Simon: That, too.

西蒙：那点也是事实。

重点讲解：
1. come up
即将发生；即将到来；
eg. A new problem had come up.
发生了一个新的问题。
eg. I expect something to come up soon.
我预料很快就要出事的。
2. care about
关心；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.
人们不在乎你多有才能或多有魅力，他们只在乎你对他们有多好。
eg. Most employers believe that those who look as if they care about themselves are more likely to care about their jobs.
大多数雇主认为那些看起来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；设法保证；
eg. We make sure that the ads are reaching 70% legal-drinking-age adults.
我们的目标是确保我们广告受众的70%都是达到法定饮酒年龄的成年人。
eg. But, we want to make sure that everything we do has the right nutritional value for our kids.
但我们还是希望确保我们提供的所有食品对孩子有恰当的营养价值。
4. put sb. on the spot
使…陷入困境；使…为难；
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.
他让我有点难堪，因为他当着他母亲的面邀请我，而我又不太想去。
eg. Even clever people are not terribly clever when put on the spot.
即便是聪明人在面对难题时也未必就能表现得特别聪明。
5. get along with
（与…）和睦相处；
eg. You should try to get along with them.
你应该试着和她们好好相处。
eg. Mary is a very nice girl to get along with.
玛丽是个能与之和睦相处的好女孩。