ESL Podcast 200 – Meeting a Deadline

Pam: You wanted to see me?

Ed: Yes, I did. Have a seat. I want to talk to you about the Pulsen project.

Pam: I know I’m a little late in getting that report to you, but I’ve been pulling out the stops to get it done.

Ed: But it’s still not done, is it? You know that the deadline for the next milestone¹ of the project was this past Monday.

Pam: Yes, I know, but the scope of the project turned out to be a lot bigger than I had anticipated. And, they just didn’t allocate² enough resources for something this size. Is there any way we can push back the deadline by a week?

Ed: The time to ask that was last week, not after you’ve missed the deadline. I have the management breathing down my neck about this report. I’ve tried to stall them for the past two days and they’re not happy.

Pam: I promise to have it on your desk by tomorrow morning. You have my word.

Ed: All right. I’ll give you until 9:00 a.m. tomorrow. I’m tired of taking the heat, though, and I don’t plan to do it any longer.

Pam: You can count on me.

Ed: Don’t let me down.

Pam: I won’t.


Script by Dr. Lucy Tse

1 milestone   

n.里程碑；划时代的事件

参考例句：

• The film proved to be a milestone in the history of cinema.事实证明这部影片是电影史上的一个里程碑。
• I think this is a very important milestone in the relations between our two countries.我认为这是我们两国关系中一个十分重要的里程碑。

2 allocate   

vt.分配，分派；把…拨给；把…划归

参考例句：

• You must allocate the money carefully.你们必须谨慎地分配钱。
• They will allocate fund for housing.他们将拨出经费建房。