Common Talk Weeklyshuang yu zhou kan

Be gentle in public
By Joanna

One day, I went to Gulangyu with an American friend who had been to China for the first time.
We waited for the ferryboat to go across the channel. The American sat in the chair and read a book leisurely. When the ferryboat came, all the passengers rushed and pushed, instantaneously there was less space to stand on the first floor.

The American stood up and looked at me saying, "What happened?" I laughed and replied, "Come on!" He did not understand completely and just followed me. When we sat on the second floor, he said, "The pushing and shoving at bus stops and the ferry is appalling. "

A few days later, we went to Gulangyu for the second time. When we saw the ferryboat coming, he made a running gesture and told me, "Joanna, get ready!" Of course it was a joke, but I really felt ashamed about that. Again I saw many men pushing into the ferryboat and sat on the seats unperturbedly, letting women, children and senior citizens stand around them.

A Canadian friend once told me that he was so confused to see many men sit on the bus but women stand, which is rare in Canada and other European countries.

Although I wanted to say something to change his idea through facts, I have seen Chinese men push and shove in public, so all my words were useless. There is an old saying that says, "Seeing is believing." Why can't our Chinese people behave a little more gentle and civilized? It is not a big deal.

Although China is a country with a large population, if everyone had a sense of modesty, everything would be in good order.

 

 

跟Suky一起看Friends
By Suky

Ross开会,Rachel替他照看儿子Ben并教会了他一大堆的恶作剧(practical joke / prank).

1. I have a bone to pick with you.
我对你有些不满.

bone to pick: 抱怨或争论的理由.中文也有"鸡蛋里挑骨头"的说法.

2. Well I think it's safe to say that our friendship is effectively ruined.
我想可以毫不夸张地说我们的友谊彻底破坏了.

It's safe to say that ...:可以毫不夸张地说; 可以万无一失地说.
Joey试图说服Monica 和Chandler让他来主婚,因为Monica 和 Chandler见过两个牧师都不满意,一个讲话喷口水,一个老盯着Monica的胸脯看,所以Joey想毛遂自荐.

3. I won't spit, and I won't stare at Monica's breasts. Everyone knows I'm an ass man.
我既不喷口水,也不盯着莫妮卡的胸脯看!人人都知道,我更喜欢看屁股!

ass man: 这个词还可以解释为傻瓜,它原来的意思是"驴"(中文里面也常常说"笨驴"啊).有条谚语就是这样的:All asses wag their ears. 驴子摇耳朵, 傻瓜装聪明.
Phoebe头疼,吃了一些药,可是说明书上写的副作用让她非常担忧.好不容易药效过了,她觉得脱离了危险,所以很兴奋.

4. I'm out of the woods. Oh! What a relief.
out of the woods: 脱离险境或困难.
Phoebe总是这么另类.试想很多特效药不都是写着Dizziness(头昏眼花),Nervousness(神经过敏),Drowsiness(瞌睡),facial swelling(面部肿胀),nausea(恶心反胃),rash(皮疹),hives(麻疹)这些恐怖的side effect (副作用)么?

 

 

Women bosses
By the Chef

Some management books coached women to break through glass ceilings by acting more like men. Corporate women were advised to wear shoulder pads and use sports and military analogies to "play hardball" and "divide and conquer." But it was never proven that acting like men made women more adept leaders.

In several studies completed in the past decade, researchers in this field compared the abilities of executive men and women. The methodologies varied widely, and included performance evaluations, questionnaires, observations and peer evaluations. Research confirmed conventional wisdom that women did indeed excel at many of the soft skills of management.

Conventional wisdom says that women lead better in these areas:
1. Team-Building
Women are good at encouraging participation and facilitating groups. A 1999 study by Lawrence A. Pfaff and Associates in Michigan found that one of the many ways women rated higher than men was in facilitating teamwork, a skill stereotypically feminine.

2. Empowering
Women are more likely than men to utilize facilitative leadership, a style that enables and encourages others. Facilitative leaders empower and motivate people rather than lead by reward and punishment.

3. Communication
Women working in education were found to use a more open communication style that came from their focus on relationships. As a result, they communicated more frequently than men with their colleagues, stakeholders and subordinates. In the business world, open communication encourages feedback and sharing of information and power.

4. Consensus-building
Women are talented collaborators and support contributive, consensual decision-making. Team members appreciate knowing that their contributions are valued. However, consensus building can have pitfalls for women. An over-reliance on this method of decision-making can make a leader appear indecisive and too dependent upon the opinions of others. A true leader knows when to stop conferring and propose a decision.

Evidence has mounted that if you are a woman, then statistically speaking, your natural, authentic leadership style is working just fine. Yet women try to be more like men, while men are unencumbered by such thoughts, and get ahead simply by being themselves. Can you imagine a male chief executive rising to the top job by pretending to be someone other than who he is?

If you are a woman and want to be a better manager, don't try to lead more like a man. Lead like a strong woman, with confidence and backbone.

 

 

Crossword Puzzle
本栏目内容由 www.1cm.com.cn 提供



Across
1. Part of a computer.
4. Opposite of "lend".
7. A usually cylindrical metal container.
8. Where rain comes from.

Down
2. Something that you can write on.
3. Food for pandas.
5. Old-fashioned.
6. To use again.
9. 2 times 5, plus 30, then divided by one quarter of 8.

The following people have won free movie tickets:阮亚玲,刘玉蓉,陈忠永,林晓吉,潘瑞琼,胡颖星,张宁,郑希详,曾铭德,柯豫斌 . Please go to the Jinying Cinema (世贸金鹰影院) within two weeks. 欲知上期答案,请登录www.common-talk.com.

 

 

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