ESL Podcast 229 – Irritating Co-workers

Since our office reorganization, I’ve been sharing an office with Isabel. We’ve been getting on each other’s nerves.

Pete: Hey, Isabel, can you cut that out?

Isabel: Cut what out? I’m not doing anything.

Pete: You’re tapping your pencil on your desk. It’s driving me crazy.

Isabel: Okay, I will if you’ll stop slurping² your coffee.

Pete: I don’t slurp¹ my coffee. And plus, how can you hear it when you’re shouting into your phone all the time?

Isabel: You’ve got to be kidding me! You’re complaining about me talking on the phone when your friend Deepak stops by ten times a day to shoot the breeze? I can’t stand that guy.

Pete: It’s no skin off my nose if you don’t like Deepak. Look, we have a lot of pent-up anger from working in these close quarters, and it’s probably okay to let off steam once in a while. But, it’s probably not a good idea to keep it up. I’m willing to forgive and forget if you are.

Isabel: Fine. Let’s call a truce³. I’ll try to be more considerate and to keep the noise down.

Pete: Yeah, I’ll try to do the same.


Script by Dr. Lucy Tse

1 slurp   

n.啜食；vt.饮食出声

参考例句：

• You may not slurp your soup.喝汤不可发出声音。
• Do you always slurp when a milkshake?你总是这样啧啧喝牛奶吗？

2 slurping   

v.啜食( slurp的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He was slurping his tea. 他正咂着嘴喝茶。
• Although the downturn has not stopped consumers slurping ice-cream, it has affected the bottom line. 尽管经济低迷没有阻止消费者吃冰淇淋，但却影响了净利润。 来自互联网

3 truce   

n.休战，(争执，烦恼等的)缓和；v.以停战结束

参考例句：

• The hot weather gave the old man a truce from rheumatism.热天使这位老人暂时免受风湿病之苦。
• She had thought of flying out to breathe the fresh air in an interval of truce.她想跑出去呼吸一下休战期间的新鲜空气。