Using English at Work：30 Having Computer Problems(2)

Of course I never abuse¹ my computer, but it's no use telling her.At least my computer is fixed² and I can keep working.

When the story begins, we're returning to the office after lunch and I know that I have to try to make some headway with my report.

"To make some headway" (headway) means³ to make progress on a project to try to finish the project.

I've spent most of the morning in meetings, organizing my desk and taking breaks -fairly typical, I think, of many people who in an office - so now I really need to get serious about working on my report if I'm going to make some headway and meet the deadline.

If your parents are planning to visit you, you may try to make some headway in cleaning your house before they arrive by cleaning the bathroom today and the kitchen tomorrow and the living room the next day.

Each day, you make some headway on cleaning your house - you make some progress.

Unfortunately, as soon as I sit down in front of my computer, it starts acting⁴ up.

When we talk about machines and equipment, "to act up" means to stop working properly.

For example, your car radio might act up and stop playing music, or your cell⁵ phone might act up and not ring when people call you - that would be great, actually, for me!

In the story, my computer is acting up at work.

First, my computer screen freezes.

A "screen" (screen) is the part of the computer page that you can see on your computer monitor.

You have a screen on your television, a screen on your computer monitor; many people a screen on their cell phones.

The screen is where the images and text are shown.

When we talk about computers the verb⁶ "to freeze" means to stop responding⁷, to stop working.

It seems like computers often freeze whenever I'm in the middle of writing a very important note!

When my screen freezes - when my computer stops working - I have to boot it up again.

1 abuse   

vt.滥用；辱骂；诋毁；n.滥用；恶习；弊端

参考例句：

• You can't make personal abuse on her.你不可对她进行人身攻击。
• She screamed abuse at me.她尖声责备我。

2 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

3 means   

n.方法，手段，折中点，物质财富

参考例句：

• That man used artful means to find out secrets.那人使用狡猾的手段获取机密。
• We must get it done by some means or other.我们总得想办法把它干完。

4 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

5 cell   

n.区，细胞，血球；小室，牢房；电池，光电管；基层组织

参考例句：

• Soap destroys the cell walls of bacteria.肥皂破坏细菌的细胞壁。
• They have locked the prisoners up in their cell.他们已把犯人监禁在小牢房里。

6 verb   

n.[语]动词

参考例句：

• The sentence is formed from a verb and two nouns.这句子由一个动词和两个名词构成。
• These are the finite forms of a verb.这些是一个动词的限定形式。

7 responding   

回答，回报，响应( respond的现在分词 )； 有反应； 有效果； 有影响

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals. 他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• Responding with a smile, he said, "Well, why don't you?" 他也笑道：“咦，你为什么不说话了？”