友達英語》禮節(jié)學(xué)習(xí)》losing a job can be positive

Suzanne 約朋友 Mickey 一起吃午飯。

Suzanne: Mickey! Good to see you! It's been too long!

Mickey: Hi， Suzanne! you're right， it has been too long.

S: Did you find something on the menu that interests you? Sorry I'm late for our lunch. Traffic was horrific.

M: Yeah....I think I'll have the chicken Caesar salad.

S: That sounds pretty good.... hey， is everything okay? -- You seem kind of down.

M: I got laid off last Friday.

S: Oh....I'm so sorry to hear that.

Suzanne 跟 Mickey 很久沒見面，發(fā)現(xiàn) Mickey 心事重重，情緒不高，seem kind of down. Down 在這里是形容詞，意思是情緒低落。原來，Mickey 上星期五被炒了魷魚，He got laid off. 也可以說，He was let go. 丟了工作，難怪心情沮喪，我們來聽聽這是為什么。

M: They said it had nothing to do with my performance. They just need to try and save on costs. So they're axing a bunch of jobs.

S: Ouch! Losing a job is such a nasty experience.

M: Yep....it sure is. I guess I have been a bit depressed.

S: I remember when I got fired from my job as a senior manager with a Web design company. I felt awful for weeks. But you know something? Getting fired turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to me.

Mickey 被解雇是因為公司要削減開支，所以 they axed a bunch of jobs. Ax is spelled， a-x， 或者 a-x-e， 做為動詞，是砍的意思。他丟了工作，心情十分抑郁，depressed. Suzanne 安慰他說，自己也曾有過類似經(jīng)歷，好幾個星期緩不過來，但是最后證明，getting fired turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to me. 被開除是她這輩子最幸運的事。怎么可能，我們繼續(xù)聽。

M: And why was that?

S: It gave me a jolt that I really needed. I was just coasting along in my position day in and day out， never really thinking about my life or my career.

M: So getting fired helped you reflect on these things?

S: Absolutely! I started asking myself what I really wanted to do.

M: That makes sense. Our daily routines can turn into habits. I've been working at this company for almost 8 years and I have kind of been running on autopilot.

Suzanne 說，失業(yè) gave me a jolt. Jolt is spelled j-o-l-t， jolt 在這里是震動的意思。Suzanne 說，有工作的時候，她從來都是 coast along day in and day out. Coast along 做為詞組，英語學(xué)習(xí)暑期班，意思是不用花一點努力隨波逐流， day in and day out 意思是日復(fù)一日，年復(fù)一年。過著這樣的生活，怎么還會想著如何進取呢？被解雇后，她才開始思考這些問題，to reflect on things 意思是反思。Mickey 深有同感，說自己在原來的公司已經(jīng)干了將近八年了，I have been running on autopilot. Autopilot 自動駕駛，工作已經(jīng)成了一種習(xí)慣，順手就干了，就好象是 run on autopilot. 現(xiàn)在沒有工作了，Mickey 下一步有什么打算呢？我們下次繼續(xù)聽。

友達英語》美國新聞》蘇寧收購國米多數(shù)股權(quán)

China's retail giant Suning Commerce Group has bought a majority stake in Inter Milan， marking the latest entry into the European soccer market by cash-rich Chinese firms.

中國零售業(yè)巨頭蘇寧云商集團買下了國際米蘭的多數(shù)股權(quán)，這是資金雄厚的中資企業(yè)進軍歐洲足球市場的最*新動向。

6日，蘇寧在南京召開'蘇寧并購國際米蘭媒體通報會'，宣布旗下蘇寧體育產(chǎn)業(yè)集團以約2.7億歐元的總對價，通過認購新股及收購老股(subscribe to new Inter Milan shares and buy existing shares/purchase existing and new shares in Inter Milan)的方式，獲得國際米蘭俱樂部約70%的股份(hold around 70% of the club)。這是中國企業(yè)首*次實現(xiàn)對歐洲足球豪門俱樂部的控股(the first time that a Chinese company have controlled a major European soccer power)。國際米蘭成立于1908年(be founded in 1908)，是一支有著百年歷史的老牌歐洲豪門俱樂部(top European club)，吾悅國際英語，擁有3座歐冠冠軍獎杯(three UEFA Champions League trophies)和18座意甲冠軍獎杯(18 Serie A titles)。

交易完成后，英語學(xué)習(xí)從0開始，埃里克·托希爾(Erick Thohir)旗下的國際體育資本公司(International Sports Capital)仍持有國米約30%的股份，成為國米唯*一的少數(shù)股東(the sole minority shareholder)。托希爾將繼續(xù)擔(dān)任國米主席(stay on as president of Inter Milan)。據(jù)意大利媒體披露，截至2015年6月底，國米債務(wù)高達2.3億歐元。

中國企業(yè)正在對英國和歐洲其它國家的職業(yè)足球展開前所未有的投資活動。中國投資者已經(jīng)收購了曼城俱樂部母公司城市足球集團和西班牙馬德里競技的少數(shù)股份(minority stakes)，而規(guī)模較小的西班牙人俱樂部和英格蘭的阿斯頓維拉則被中企控股(be Chinese-owned)。國米的同城勁敵(cross-town rival)AC米蘭據(jù)傳也在與中國投資者洽談，欲出售大多數(shù)股權(quán)。

[相關(guān)詞匯]

足球迷 soccer fan

足球場 soccer pitch

國際足聯(lián) Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA)

東道主 host

主要股東 major shareholder

并購 mergers and acquisitions (M&A)

收購 takeover

友達教育，常州市武進區(qū)友達語言培訓(xùn)中心是教育局正式批準的社會力量辦學(xué)單位。旗下包括友達日語、友達英語和日本留學(xué)三大品牌。通過海歸精英和資深外教聯(lián)合授課，為學(xué)員創(chuàng)造最/好的語言學(xué)習(xí)環(huán)境。2013年成為JSST日語標準口語考試常州地區(qū)唯/一官方考點。在日本留學(xué)服務(wù)方面，友達教育擁有資深的留學(xué)顧問團隊，并且2013年在日本東京成立“TSJAPAN株式會社”，為赴日留學(xué)生提供“一站式”服務(wù)，目前通過友達日本留學(xué)服務(wù)到日本的學(xué)員數(shù)量已經(jīng)過百人，成功率百分/百。